Audio Engineer

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, but with analogue emulations. I have tried several different workflows from mixing with a 48 channel SSL Duality to a laptop with headphones, and in the end, I find that mixing entirely in the box works best for me. Music creation is a different side, in this area I do enjoy having "real" analogue gear in front of me with physical knobs and buttons.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: At the moment I'm running Ableton Live 11 for all mixing and mastering purposes. I've tried most DAWs, but for my current setup, this is my most efficient workflow. My monitoring goes through the UA Apollo twin and I am fortunate enough to own a pair of SE Munro Eggs which sound fantastic. I do find myself doing more and more work through headphones now that I invested in the Slate VSX system, which gives me superb transparency and references. This also makes my system very flexible and I'm able to monitor through a variety of different sources.

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

A: Jon Hopkins is my current music production idol, with Radio slave on a close second. Very different production styles, but both experts in their respective fields. From an engineering perspective, I have a huge amount of respect and appreciation for everything Bob Katz does, but then again, who doesn't??

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

A: These days I focus mostly on doing mixes and masters for clients. This sometimes includes coming with suggestions for the arrangement and suggestions of what I believe could work better, but it's mostly the technical part. I prepare the tracks for release and send them off to the label for distribution.

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

A: The last EP I produced ended up as #1 on the Beatport world chart. I did the production, mixing and mastering.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I just finished mixing and mastering a track for Rafao, At the moment I'm working on sound design for a contemporary art installation in Kraftwerk, Berlin.

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

A: If you are not satisfied with the end-product you do not pay.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: What I love most about this job is that I play a part in creating something beautiful that's being put into the world.

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

A: Q: What's your fee? A: It depends, how many tracks and how long is the piece? Do you also want it to be mastered?

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

A: That I only work with techno.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are your intentions with this track? Is it meant for clubs or home listening? Do you have any reference tracks? How long have you been listening to the demo mix? Are you open to receiving feedback on the arrangement or is this part set?

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

A: Spend some time writing down the idea, meaning and purpose of the track, so that we can align our vision.

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

A: MacBook Pro, Ableton Push 2, Slate VSX, battery bank and solar panels to keep the party going.

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

A: I have been doing music for the last 15 years and there's never really been anything else I really wanted to do. I realized early on that I was more interested in recording bands instead of playing in them, so this has been my passion for as long as I can remember.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: These days my style is becoming more hard, bold and raw.

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

A: Janus Rasmussen, I really love his production style and he seems like a chill dude in the studio!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Use reference tracks!

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

A: For the last 6 months, I've been doing mostly techno productions, but I have a long background in jazz and classical.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: As I pointed out in the previous question I really enjoy working on a broad range of genres. This diversity gives a different point of view than people only working with a specific genre. Jack of all trades, master of some. I also have a solid audio engineering degree from one of the highest regarded universities (LIPA). Not that anyone actually cares about a diploma in this business, but it has given me a solid foundation to understand classical recording and mixing techniques, working with tape and analogue gear and session management.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Clients have told me for a long time that I have "a sound" that makes my productions or mixes recognizable. I believe this comes from listening and working with a very broad range of genres, and not only specializing in one.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Depending on if I work on my own music or others the first thing I need to know is the intent and feeling behind a piece of music. I make sure our goals are aligned and only then I will begin the mixing/production process. This can often be achieved by the client sending me a playlist with songs that inspired them and music they are currently listening to.