Part 2

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

It really depends. Sometimes, a new idea really requires some time off to see if it’s actually good or not, or what’s needed to improve it. Many times, after one night of sleep, I will reject an idea the next morning. However, sometimes I know right away that an idea is good and just needs a few small fixes.

I would say the songs that I like the most from my own catalog are those which I instantly knew were moving and meaningful to me. And then at other times, songs have taken several years to finish, and then they finally became important. There is no one single answer for me — it’s all very gray.

I definitely don’t like taking too long to finish something — if I set out to finish an album or an EP, I will work hard for a short period of time and get most of the primary writing done. Little tweaks, mixing, etc. will of course take additional time, but I would never take a year or more to finish a record — that would drive me crazy.

But I do always have demos that I’m working on, and some ideas are old ideas which I have a feeling might be good one day, but I’m just not in the right state of mind to complete them. So I let them sit, and come back to them when it feels right.

When you're in the studio to record a piece, how important is the actual performance and the moment of performing the song still in an age where so much can be “done and fixed in post?“

Most of my music is done on a laptop, and I have to say that performance is not very important to me. I view myself more as a composer — I cherish creating an idea from scratch and bringing it to life.

I’ve never been a great performer of any instrument. I mean, I’ve played the piano my whole life, but I don’t practice regularly or enough to be considered a good performer.

I’m ok with both an incredible performer recording a great song, and a shitty performer doing everything in post but making a good song. As long as the song is good in the end, I don’t care how it’s done.

Even recording a solo song is usually a collaborative process. Tell me about the importance of trust between the participants, personal relationships between musicians and engineers and the freedom to perform and try things – rather than gear, technique or “chops” - for creating a great song.

Yes, I think collaborating with other people is super important. I love the intimacy on working on music on my own, but I also love being inspired by others and hearing things I would never think to do in a song.

Whether it’s working with vocalists or mixing engineers or producers, their contributions always add something that is interesting and different from what I would do — and that is the beautiful element of a song coming together.

I definitely like to allow others working on my music to feel like they can do anything — and if I don’t like something, I am direct and honest, but great things come from allowing this freedom, and I truly believe in that.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?

I think production is very important, but it can also sometimes overshadow a composition. What I mean is, in today’s highly polished and clean music production styles, sometimes you can lose the human feeling of a song. A basic song that is not over-produced can sound incredible because it’s simply an incredible song.

So I think it’s very important to be sensitive to that — to know when something needs a lot of mixing and production, and when it doesn’t. The default in our modern digital age is to over-produce everything, which I think leads to a lot of very bland and dull music.

But I do think that producing and good mixing can really improve an idea and give it a more accessible entry point for listeners. I always have other people mix my music, and it makes a big difference I think. So again, it all depends.

I think the starting point should always be an idea that carries strong and genuine emotion, and if it requires further refinement in the production and mixing process, then go for it. But if it doesn’t, then let it be how it is.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Yes I definitely relate to this — especially since an album is finished a long time before it’s released to the public. With my new album, for example, I finished it a year ago, and it’s only now being released. So my state of mind has changed a bunch, and I’ve already moved on to thinking about next ideas and projects.

Of course it’s exciting to finally share something you put a lot of work and emotion into, but releasing it into the world often feels a bit numbing. I’m not sure what would make me feel less empty, I think it’s just natural to feel like this when so much of your emotional energy has been spent on creating something.

In terms of returning to the state of creativity, I think it’s just about time passing and giving your brain some space. After enough time, you get over it, and you carry on.

Music is a language, but like any language, it can lead to misunderstandings. In which way has your own work – or perhaps the work of artists you like or admire - been misunderstood? How do you deal with this?

I don’t know if this is the right answer for what you’re asking, but I’ve experienced my listeners being unhappy when I’ve involved politics and social issues into my creative work (as I mentioned earlier).

I think some people have considered my music to be absent of difficult social discussions, but to me most of what I do creatively is intricately connected to those things that have to do with the world — including politics.

I don’t think music and politics can be separated, and those that have thought my music is art just for art’s sake, have definitely misunderstood what I do or who I am.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I do think that creating music and art in general is different from such tasks. It’s because it involves a lot of emotional energy, which is mentally exhausting and can make you feel very vulnerable and weak. Pouring out emotions into art is daunting, and I think a lot of people would lose their sanity if they did it.

I don’t mean this to say that somehow I’m more special or important, but just that doing what I do often brings a lot of mental health instability. And that sucks — but I do it because it feels like I have to, like it’s an integral part of my identity. I often say that if I didn’t have this need to create music, my life would be easier. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong, but I think at least for my emotional wellbeing, it would be different.

That seems kind of at odds with my earlier answer about music being a form of self-therapy, but it kind of makes sense to me. Basically, the process of making music is emotionally devastating, but the end result is what brings me some peace and what I need to keep going in life. Overall, I feel like this about creating art — of course, you can be creative with non-artistic things, but I think when it comes to creating art, it’s utterly daunting emotionally.

In terms of what I express through music that I wouldn’t in more “mundane” tasks, I think it’s expressing inner darkness — the deep corners of my insecurities, vulnerabilities, traumas, regrets, sadness. I certainly wouldn’t want to do that while making coffee or something else similar to that.