Michiel van Erp

Music producer & remixer

Michiel van Erp on SoundBetter

Hey! I’m a music producer from The Netherlands and you might have heard my ‘Butterflyz’ remix for Alicia Keys or my first online single ‘Jungle‘ in 1998.

During my formative years I grew a love for a broad spectrum of music ranging from Vangelis to BT’s early bleep & breakbeat tracks. I create my own compositions, remixes and soundtracks.

Send me an email through 'Contact' button above and I'll get back to you asap.

Interview with Michiel van Erp

  1. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

  2. A: That I'm a DJ.

  3. Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

  4. A: I composed the soundtrack for a big brand commercial. My role was to come up with a composition that would fit the feel of the movie, although I only had a storyboard to begin with. I'm proud because the visuals, actors and music work nicely together.

  5. Q: What are you working on at the moment?

  6. A: Two remix contests and a soundtrack project for a client, something short and uptempo.

  7. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  8. A: Analog emulation in a digital world so listeners think it's all tubes and warmth, while it was my cold hexacore processor doing all the work.

  9. Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

  10. A: You'll get the music or sound you need and I'm very willing to adjust until you like it.

  11. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  12. A: Creativity and technology coming together.

  13. Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

  14. A: They mostly ask for a new composition that matches certain reference tracks - more or less. My answer is a track that is inspired by the reference tracks but does not sound like it.

  15. Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

  16. A: The goal of a project, durations/variations of the music I need to make. Also, if there's a written context such as a script or storyboard, that would be nice.

  17. Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

  18. A: Try to be specific in your needs, the better my outcome will match what you were looking for.

  19. Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

  20. A: I founded my own music production company in 2010, since then doing remixes and soundtracks for a range of clients.

  21. Q: How would you describe your style?

  22. A: Electronic, experimental

  23. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  24. A: Use EQ on all your tracks and I mean: ALL your tracks. Remove the low-end on instruments that will otherwise clash with the kick and bassline. Use subtle parallel compression on the drum bus, makes things punchier.

  25. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  26. A: Lounge, pop, orchestral.

  27. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  28. A: Coming up with new chord progressions for an existing melody.

  29. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  30. A: New ideas, such as a cool chord progression or a mix of dreamy and uptempo vibes.

  31. Q: What's your typical work process?

  32. A: For soundtracks, I usually get a storyboard or script and start recording the mood with some melodies or chord progressions. After that it's layering tracks and arrange the whole thing. For remixes, see http://www.michielvanerp.com/my-remix-approach/

  33. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  34. A: I'm working in a VST based setting, with mostly virtual instruments controlle by two workstations. Also featuring a Mackie mixing desk and an RME audio interface.

  35. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  36. A: Vangelis, Underworld, Sigur Ros.

  37. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  38. A: I create soundtracks for videos and musicals. Also, I do a lot of remixes.

  39. Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

  40. A: A synth, a laptop, an audio interface, headphones and lots of VST instruments.

Gear Highlights
  • Cubase
  • Roland workstation
  • Korg workstation
  • RME audio interface
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