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 practice?

A final pre-mix version is the most important piece for me. I usually listen to a track continuously via headphones until the maximum level of satisfaction I can achieve at pre-mix level and the improvements and refinements are continuously done over the weeks for several weeks. In this phase, I do not consult and I do not get feedback inputs from labels or sound engineers. The track needs to sound correctly for me and my personal satisfaction.

Then, after a couple of months, I step into the mixing phase and I aim to add value to the track using a different setup (laptop, filters and processor) and with clear ears and mind. In this phase I consult and look for feedback. This phase is the most sensitive for me because I am conscious something is changing and leaving controls from my original idea. This phase is very important and if I accept a comment, I fully take the decision to go in that direction and leave my original version back.

For example for the song “Ekkos,” in the middle of the song the voice steps in and the arks follow.



We had 3 final options about volumes and moments to step in the arks. Minimal things but they could change the colour of the song. All of them were very convincing to me.  All sounding right and perfect to my ears. I followed the preference of the sound engineer - Birgir - because he told me it was more catching for him. After one month from the master - I realised he was definitely right.

This is what collaboration means to me. Listening to other professionals is a key success factor.

[Read our Birgir Jón Birgisson interview]

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?“

Actual performance is an important piece and I have commited the mistake to work on poor takes because the feeling or the communication was right.

There is a certain level of quality that cannot be ignored - whatever your post-editing capabilities are. Spending 2 hours in post-editing for fixing 2 minutes of record takes doesn’t make sense. The post-editing and today's digital tools are a magnificent opportunity that should be combined with great performance and recording capabilities. This is maximizing the opportunity of technology.

Of course, it could be experimental recording via iPhone a sound and using it in a song going through post-edit master capabilities. But starting the song process with bad performance from the artist is the worst starting point ever. That said, always thinking in this way is not easy because of the pressure and constrictions we have sometimes.

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.

I would like to know whether the professional has some common and artistic interest, a pure passion for his work that is genuine. From there we start. I have had partners I work with since forever and I have a relationship that goes beyond economic engagement. I hope this is valid also for them. I am happy because they signed the work we did together and this is a form of recognition of our trust for me.

Collaboration implies a certain level of maturity in people but also in the relationship. Everyone should be recognised as competent in their field and based on mutual respect, have an artistic conversation. I select my partners based on their personality and their stories and whether we have communalities in an artistic vision.

Collaboration is a process which starts from the first day. My collaboration starts when I approach a music label and I ask their expectations about my new album. If they followed me during the last works, what they would expect to see from me in terms of evolution. Would you see my work going into a more danceable mood, more electronic, more experimental, more acoustic? I collect inputs and feedback.

Because my evolution came only from me, I leave most of the comments behind because I do not write a dance music album if I am not feeling it. But certain comments are very relevant for my development and I take them seriously.

Then I propose a selection of songs and also I collect feedback. I trust the label manager and I am usually very patient to understand their point of view. I do not propose or impose my songs. We select together what to publish. Also with sound-engineers, it is essential to be ready for other people's opinions and also a plug-in can be part of eternal discussion if someone is not ready to work with others.

I select the professionals I work with because I would like to learn from them about their capabilities, the skills I do not have and for this reason, when I have chosen someone, I am very willing to follow their instructions.
This is valid from sound-engineer to the graphic, photographer or video-maker. Even photo-shooting is based on this approach.

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)?

The music writing needs inspiration and sound research. This can take time. In my case, music editing is quite organic and natural. The sound design and the attention to details is part of the tuning phase of my personal evolution. This comes with time.

During the last piece, during the mixing and mastering, the artist needs to be more understood and supported, in order to receive the right colour to the personal music product. This is very sensitive and it can change the sense of the entire work.

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?

It is almost a biological process and it follows an annual cycle. I need to write and produce just like I need to experience, listen to and metabolise music.

The state of creativity will come back by itself like a virus in autumn. It usually happens in winter and it continues till late spring. It arrives by itself after a period of listening to other artists. The ‘listening’ is composed of different things and (by importance order) from books, photography, movies, art exhibitions and music. I have to say my inspiration is coming more from stories and graphic inputs.


Emmanuel De La Paix Interview Image (c) the artist

Of course, after the third album there is the risk of being empty or short of ideas. Another risk is to be static and to not evolve artistically. I do not have fear of those risks because I do not focus only on my little world and my involvement with music is not only about sounds and words.

Music is part of my personality and interests but I am also interested in other artistic ideas and curious about other artists’ movements that feed my creativity consistently with empathy. I doubt I will be bored or stuck or annoyed by art.

I am a little volcano and if I do not erupt constantly, something will be mumbling, pushing and scratching underneath.

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?

My music cannot be tagged to a music genre instantly and only in one direction. There are elements coming out from ambient, electronic, some are cinematic, some others post-rock. Sometimes I am associated with the shoegaze movement, sometimes tied to post-rock.

In a world where 3 seconds is the average of listening in order to figure out who you are, I can be easily categorised in a place I feel wrong for me. I think music requires time to be listened to and time to be discovered. I deal with this trying to be true to myself, whatever the label is they give me.

In any case do we really need to tag and categorise everything? This is definitely a limit and can lead to a wrong mindset.

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?

You say it right: creativity is an expression we can use in any field.

We are living in an era where creativity is exploding. Tools are democratised and personalisation is given to anyone. This is happening in any field.

I imagine having a music dialogue across genres and art forms because this is the natural result of the digital transformation. This is an opportunity for having a discussion with more artists at the same time and it is powerful.