Let’s start at the very beginning. Can you tell us how you got involved in composing, and what was your very first piece of gear?
I started writing songs when I was about 13 when I started learning guitar (I switched over from violin) and was in a band. So I guess my first piece of gear was my guitar and amp back then. I quickly got into recording, too. Regarding electronic music, it later was Propellerheads Reason and NI Reaktor – my first little piece of hardware was a Volca Beats, which I quickly upgraded to the OP-Z.
How many different studio iterations have you gone through, and what does your final setup look like right now?
The studio I am in right now is my fifth “real” studio, I believe. I wouldn’t dare call it final, but in all instances, my setup has revolved around a DAW – owing to my main job as a media composer, where flexibility and recalls are a requirement. I don’t really have a set dawless setup – I choose tools by what i feel like at that moment. But the centerpieces I really always come back to are the Digitakt II, the OP-1f and OP-XY, and a TX-6.
Tell us about your favourite piece of hardware.
I really have two of those – the Digitakt and the OP-Z, which has recently been replaced by the OP-XY. To me, they really are two sides of the same coin: incredible sequencers with different strengths. The Digitakt is much more controlled and surgical, both regarding sound design as well as sequencing, whereas the OPs are more fluid and unpredictable, but really inspiring nonetheless. They really excel at generating harmonic material. Both are really fast in their workflow (I never got why some people have trouble with the Elektron workflow, I never did)
Also, they both feel awesome to use (this was less the case with the OP-Z and its quality control and material issues, of course) and are easily transportable, which is a huge bonus for me. I love being able to just throw very integral tools in a bag and set up anywhere.
And what about the software that you use for production?
For my keinseier tracks I mostly use Ableton‘s Live – its integration of hardware and flexible MIDI and audio routing makes it not stand in the way of creativity at the moment. But it mostly runs just as a recorder, where I record to as few tracks as possible and just add some final touches mixwise. In my media work, I use Logic Pro with NI Kontakt and a ton of libraries extensively.
Is there a particular piece of gear that you’re just dying to get your hands on, and do you think one day you’ll have it?
I don’t really have that one piece of gear I am absolutely lusting after, BUT I would love to have a Rhodes Mark I and a Juno 60 in great condition…
Can you please share some aspects of sound design in your work?
I think I always look for two key elements- textures and contrast. I want to have something to latch onto, be it an interesting transient or a somewhat raspy, ever-changing sustained note. And I want contrast – in harmony, as well as in sound design or arrangement. I want to juxtapose soft sounds with harsh ones, low frequencies with high ones, plucks with sustains, harmony and dissonance… And, not to forget: sound and silence.
People always ask me about my drums/ percussions/ glitches. There really is no secret to them, most are just noises I collect and edit to be very, very short – mostly no low end and then it’s all about arranging. Lots of variation in volume, panning…
Any particular new techniques that you tried out for your new album?
I always employ minimal setups, but my newest album concentrates on using only the Digitakt II for the entire composition and arrangement process. I would also like to mix it as best as I can on it and really only have the final stereo mix straight out of the Digitakt mastered.
I am a firm believer in the concept of eliminating choices to move forward and come up with interesting ways of arriving at a goal. Even if the goal changes in the process.
Let’s see how that works out! Not sure if this counts as a technique, but at least it’s the concept.
What does your live setup look like, and what do you bring with you when you travel for an extensive tour?
I don’t really play live, but I do always take a setup with me when travelling: OP-1f, OP-XY, a pedal, like the Chase Biss Mood or AC Noises Ricorda and the TX-6. If I have room, I‘ll also take my mobile Aiaiai monitors.
What is the most important environmental aspect of your current workspace, and what would be a particular element that you would improve on?
It’s hard to pinpoint, but I’d say it’s being in a very comfortable environment with no distractions. Building this studio, I made it a point to have no non-music-related things here. In my last studio, there were also folders with contracts, guitar cases, and other stuff. This is all in adjacent rooms now, nothing to distract me from music. As far as improvements go, I think in most cases the listening situation can be improved – as in: better acoustic treatment, maybe a speaker upgrade…
What can you tell us about your overall process of composition? How are the ideas born, where do they mature, and when do they finally see the light?
It’s pretty random, but there seem to be a couple of recurring themes. One is where I listen to music and something in it strikes me at that moment, be it a certain interval, a sound, a use of modulation, a drumbeat. That element often is the seed for something else. I might start to try to recreate that tiny little piece and often fail – which leads me to an entirely different piece. Often, that first idea doesn’t even make it into the final track. You have to let it go, which sometimes is hard to do because you mistakenly think it’s the essence of that track.
Also, I try not to judge while I am starting a piece – I try to get a sketch going quickly, without censoring myself – what wants to come out, does.
Then comes the important part of trying to get some distance from it – I let it lie for a night, or a couple of days. Then I’ll decide if I want to work on it further, maybe take it in a different direction.
Through all stages of this I work with a lot of chance, randomness and generative techniques. I look for happy accidents, or things that surprise me – in that way, I somewhat treat the instruments as band members, like a drummer would play his own fill, or a pianist playing different voicings.
I try to keep some sort of flow – I find that if I work on it on a microlevel I tend to edit the life out of the track. At the end, I try to see if I strongly feel something is missing, AND if something can be taken away…
Releasing the tracks is often a matter of time – I’d rather not release single tracks, but at least an EP, which has a common theme. So I have to look for time where I am not so tied in my other productions.
After the piece is complete, how do you audition the results? What are your reactions to hearing your music in a different context, setting, or a sound system?
I do the classic listening in the car and on a Bluetooth speaker – that’s just your typical check for balances and obvious mistakes. By now I mostly am not too surprised by the sound, I am pretty familiar with my speaker setup. A whole different story is listening on headphones on the subway or when walking. This is not so much for checking the mix but for experiencing the music in a totally different state. That’s always really interesting, it has the potential of making me go back to the arrangement and adding bars in, or making a part sparser than before. This might be because at that moment of listening, I am somebody else, so to speak – at least not the audio professional looking for mix mistakes.
Do you ever procrastinate? If so, what do you usually find yourself doing during those times?
Social media seems to be my time machine, or some YouTube rabbit hole.
What gets you inspired?
Anything. Art, nature, music, cities, everyday noises… life, basically. There is always a spark somewhere.
And finally, what are your thoughts on the state of “electronic music” today?
Well, the music business is shattered, as we know, and I don’t follow the scene too closely. But I see incredible music in all kinds of genres every day. It’s extremely fragmented and everybody struggles to get heard, but people are producing fantastic music right and left. You just have to go and look for it.
