Music producer & remixer

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

A: That I'm a DJ.

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

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.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

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

Q: Analog or digital and why?

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.

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

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

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Creativity and technology coming together.

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

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.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

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.

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

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

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

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

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Electronic, experimental

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

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.

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

A: Lounge, pop, orchestral.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

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

Q: What do you bring to a song?

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

Q: What's your typical work process?

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/

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

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.

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

A: Vangelis, Underworld, Sigur Ros.

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

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

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

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