Metal/Rock Mixing | Mastering

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Music is my life and has been since I was very young. I live and breathe music 24/7 and to be able to help musicians improve their work and make them happy is something I really enjoy.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: To enhance is a key word I think. Trying to bring forward the elements and emotions that are important in the song, and if the artist wants me to I can add elements (production, synths, background percussion instruments etc). Sometimes small extra details enhance whats already there and make it feel an flow better. That is a taste thing, so it's just an option I can provide if needed.

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

A: If you need someone in the pop/rap genre my friend and colleague Mike Parda is your guy! Our studios are in the same building and he is excellent in what he does, definitely check him out.

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

A: How much will it cost? And that is a fair question of course. I'd say it depends alot on the organizing of the tracks. And also the quality, meaning for example if you want a punchy and tight mix, the recorded material needs to be well recorded (to a clicktrack). No tools can magically fix that. Editing can help of course, and I will happily do that for an extra fee. The "secret" to good sounding mixes is always well recorded tracks and good songwriting. So simple, yet very hard to achieve. If the tracks are well organized with names that makes sense, have good sounds and quality it's much faster to mix, and the price will be easier to keep low.

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

A: Maybe that I can turn a bad recording into a killer mix haha...No seriously, that is impossible. But there are misconceptions about what a bad recording is. A bad recording can be using quality gear in an expensive and fancy studio, but lack of passion and quality from both the musicians and the producer can easily make it a bad recording. Then I would much rather prefer quality songwriting and musicians recording in a basement with cheap gear. A good example is the debut album of Rage Against The Machine, recorded by all musicians playing at the same time in a rehearsal space, with an audience, to get the right wibe and feel to it. Without any fancy gear. And the mix by Andy Wallace made it sound like a million dollar recording.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I personally like tight, punchy and agressive sounding mixes in metal and rock music.

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

A: Oh that is a big question....difficult to just name a few, but I can try :-) I've been playing guitar for more than 30 years and working with recording and mixing and all that for almost as long. At first when you are really young and unexperienced it is very difficult to figure out how to get that sound of your favourite bands. And it was before youtube even existed, so very little information available online. But trial and error over time makes you better I guess, patience is a key word there. I started studying mixes of anything from Pantera, Metallica, In Flames, Parkway Drive, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage (to name a few) to Linkin Park, Michael Jackson, Sepultura, Architects, Soilwork, Foo Fighters, Born Of Osiris, Three Days Grace, and the list goes on. And you realize that hey are all so so different in many ways, but still have very much in common. They all use the same tools, but in different ways. It's very fascinating and I love to learn new ways of doing things. Mixers that have influenced me to name a few is Andy Wallace, Dave Pensado, Jens Bogren, Nolly, Joey Sturgis, CLA, Daniel Bergstrand.

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

A: I do alot of mixing and mastering, usually both on every song, but I can of course turn off the mastering if the client wants to have it mastered somewhere else. With my own band, Once Awake, I do most of the songwriting, recording and production too, and I really enjoy all the different parts of it. Also I have musicians coming to my studio in Bergen to record, whether it's guitar, bass, vocals, drums, synths I am lucky to have all options covered.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: The most important thing in my humble opinion is to put your heart and soul into it, whether it's recording an instrument or especially vocals. If you don't believe in it 100% the listener probably won't either. And it doesn't have to be perfect, character is much more important. So what if it doesn't sound excactly like the "big artists", do it your way and it might have a better chance of standing out. And then the mixers job is to make it sound balanced and professional.

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

A: I work mostly on metal and rock music, but also acoustic songs from time to time. I just enjoy good music, doesn't need to be in a spesific genre.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Maybe to listen. Not just to the music to adress issues to improve, but also to the artists desire and try to make it sound like they intended.