Remote mixing and arranging

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

A: I am very proud of an old release with the artists "Gustafssons". Its my family getting together (none but me are musically inclined) to make a song saluting my mother at her 60th birthday. its my first public appearance as a singer, and my little sister is rapping! haha. it was so much fun! I am also very proud of a video i did on instagram interpreting Miss Lis sheet music for a song she had yet to release. When it finally was released i compared the two and our arrangments and production choices was spooky similar. That was really cool!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A rock track, a piano ballad, 2 singer/songwriter productions, some ambient clarinet and piano music, and arranging music for a kids orchestra.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: No. Sorry. Totally new...

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. Analog is awesome but aircons makes such loud noise...

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

A: I will not stop until i have done the most i possibly can. I will never charge for subpar work. If you are not happy we just forget the whole thing ever happened!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The sound itself.

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

A: Why are you so cheap, you could charge way more? I dont want to. If i did, i wouldnt get to know these amazing hard working artists, and i would exclude so many poor musicians! I rather have some leway artistically and maybe take a bit of time doing it. I hate beeing rushed if there is no point. So i try to avoid it by making a deal about they paying less and the work takes a few weeks and not days. Its also about balancing beeing a father of three along with life in general.

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

A: The standard "fix it in the mix" of course, but besides that I think it is that its a service job only. Its ART! I love every eq move and every automation point and take my work just as serious as i would when i write!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your references? What is the music for? Why do you do what you do? When do we start?

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

A: Dont be afraid to ask questions, and to take a chance on people (goes both in here and in life in general!). I have hired lots of amazing talents myself that no one else did. And I have made lots of new friends and got some great music recorded in the process!

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

A: My Macbook Air m1 laptop, Metric Halo ULN2 (or a ULN8) and a pair of Ollo Audio headphones.

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

A: 2006 singer/songwriter, busker, music teacher 2007 Music Conservatoire in Falun 2008 Lunds University bachelor. Also touring with a klezmer band 2008-2014 freelancing in symphony orchestras, musical, doing field recordings, finished my masters and took music production classes. 2014-2020Teaching music, and freelancing as a solo artist, learning mixing and production as i go. 2021 Starting my company The Swedish Music Studio

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Diverse!

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Alex Lacamoire and Lin Manuel Miranda. That songwriting and arranging duo is just out of this world. I Love Lacamoires arrangments and must have listened to the Hamilton soundtrack 200 times or more, totally honest.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: The big "aha" moment for me this year came when i started using an actual mono speaker, instead of summed mono in the nearfields. It translates so much better to both cars and phones when there is just a single speaker vibrating.

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

A: singer/songwriter, soft pop, acoustic, classical, ambient.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Vocals, and woodwinds!

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring almost 3 decades of playing music, despite beeing only 34. I have learned to make the most of what i have, since I come from a working class upbringing, and am kind of an expert on turning a feather in to a chicken! I have extensive knowledge in orchestral instruments, and can arrange and record lalmost any genre on the fly. I have been teaching music for 2 decades and know how to bring the best out of the artists performances, and I NEVER let go until every stone is turned hunting for the perfect song!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: If its mixing i will start by listening to a rough mix if there is one, to know what direction to go. Then i listen to any reference material a few times while prepping the session. Listening through each track (more or less), balancing and trimming, cutting, moving parts and tightening individual notes if needed. Then i most often rebalance the entire song starting with the fundamental elements and building my way to a finished static mix. Since i mainly work in acustical music i try to automate as little as possible and leave that to the performers, but i am not afraid to add production elements if needed and asked for up until the final mix. I normally send the stereo file off undithered in 32bit floating /44.1khz to the mastering engineer, but that varies almost as much as the weather!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Its an all digital setup to be able to work remotely and meet clients demands for fast turnarounds and low costs. I work in a well treated room with MunroSonic The Egg 150 nearfield monitors and Metric Halo ULN2 interface/converters. I also use headphones from Ollo Audio (endorsed by the company), Focal and BD, and microphones from Weissklang, CAD, Shure, sE Electronics and others. I work in Studio One and Logic for mixing and Dorico for scoring.

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

A: Gregory Scott, Dan Worrall, Mike Senior, Sylvia Massey

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

A: Full production for local artists. From cowriting music to mastering, and everything inbetween. I want to go more in to mixing, and have been doing remote recording, and mixing over the last year.