Name: Opolopo aka Peter Major
Nationality: Swedish
Occupation: Composer, producer
Recent release: Opolopo teams up with Angela Johnson for Best Of Both Worlds, out via Reel People.
Recommendations: Book: How to Wreck a Nice Beach: The Vocoder from World War II to Hip-Hop, The Machine Speaks by Dave Tompkins. An amazingly nerdy and detailed book on the history and cultural impact of the Vocoder.
Album: Tomita - The Planets. Tomita's interpretation of Holst's The Planets is a masterpiece of sonic creativity and exploration.

[Read our  Angela Johnson interview]

If you enjoyed this Opolopo interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.




Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in production and technology?

Very much so. One of my first "musical" memories is from when I was about 3 or 4 years old, applying pliers to the strings of my father's acoustic guitar to make different sounds.

Another memory from around the same time (early 70s) is of hearing Hot Butter's version of "Pop Corn" on the radio. I remember really liking it and how it sounded. I was of course too young to know anything about synthesizers but I liked that spacey sound.



Then, when I was about 10, our gym teacher in school played us Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygene album as relaxation after a workout session. Again I was drawn to the spacey and alien sounds. I was mesmerized and had never heard anything like it before.

Not long after that my dad (a keyboard playing musician) bought a Korg Polysix synthesizer and let me play with it over a weekend. And that was it. From there on I knew that synthesizers and sound manipulation was the path for me.

[Read our Jean-Michel Jarre interview]

What were your very first active steps with music technology and how would you rate the gains made through experience?

I tried to take piano lessons as a kid but was too impatient and always more interested in not just coming up with my own stuff, but also how things sounded.

I started out with a crappy Casio VL-5 keyboard, a Yamaha CS-01 mono synth, a Soundmaster SR-88 drum machine and two cassette tape decks for overdubbing. I then got to borrow a friend's Korg Mono/Poly for months on end and eventually got a Fostex X-15 4 track cassette recorder and a Roland TR-505 drum machine. I also had a Solina String machine and later bought a Yamaha DX 21 FM synth.

I spent endless hours with these tools, trying to emulate and copy what I heard on records. And while doing that I also taught myself to play keys in a limited but I guess, personal way.

Were/are you interested in the history of production and recording? If so, which events, albums, artists, or insights stand out for you?

Yes, I'm fascinated and in awe of all the pioneers and trailblazers in production and recording technology.

There are so many heroes but one of my biggest when it comes to electronic music is the late Isao Tomita. His synthesizer renderings of classical music in the 70s are still mind blowing. The way he approached sound, not just the type of sound but also its placement and movement within the stereo field and his use of effects, is so unique and ahead of its time.

I still go to those records for inspiration. And to think it was all done with monophonic modular synthesizers and multitrack recording to tape - no DAWs with automation - is very humbling.

Tomita released an amazing album in 1977, called Sound Creature, where he breaks down tracks and effects from his other albums, showing step by step how certain sounds and concepts were created. Still fascinating and a useful insight. 

Making music, in the beginning, is often playful and about discovery. How do you retain a sense of playfulness and how do you still draw surprises from tools, approaches, and musical forms you may be very familiar with?

That can be tricky as with time you grow into your musical personality and you know what works for you and doesn't, and you become more honest about your limitations. All that can lead to being stuck in a comfort zone.

I do listen to other stuff for inspiration, trying to figure out a certain chord change or how a specific sound was achieved. Even if I try to "copy" something for an educational purpose, I stumble upon so much stuff on the way that leads me onto different paths.

Sometimes I try to think up new concepts for myself and see if I can actually apply them to a project. Many years ago I thought about flipping the idea of drum'n'bass where you have the bassline in regular tempo and the drums are in double tempo.

For this remix for "Sugar Beats," I layed down some regular tempo wonky drums with a double tempo bassline:



Another concept I messed around with was the idea of linear drumming but applied to a whole composition. The rule I set for myself was: Only one chord, drum hit, melody or bass note is allowed to be played at any one moment.



Another great way to find new ideas and sources of inspiration is to go down a musical rabbit hole on YouTube. There are so many videos on all aspects of music making and recording, both historical and contemporary, that you can't help but pick up new ideas and knowledge to try out and explore.

How and for what reasons has your music set-up evolved over the years and what are currently some of the most important pieces of gear and software for you?

I've gone from hardware to 100% software. When I first tried out Propellerheads Rebirth, a software emulation of the 303 and 808, in 1996, I was blown away. I immediately thought, "What if, sometime in the future, you could have your whole studio on the computer".

A little more than 10 years later I had basically replaced all my hardware with a PC and software. Not very sexy but it suits me perfectly. To have everything contained in one project file, making it easy to jump between different projects. The control and precision you have in software and the endless possibilities with automation - all this appeals to me and fuels my creativity and enhances my workflow.

Having said that, If I had all the money, I'd still hunt down every piece of classic hardware and set up a massive studio. Just for the tactile and visual experience. I do have a hardware station with some synths, a Rhodes and an Akai Force. But I only use it for jamming and having fun.



Already as a little kid, I was drawn to all aspects of electronic/electric music but I've never quite been able to put a finger on why this is. What's your own relationship to electronic sounds, rhythms, productions like – what, if any, are fundamental differences with “acoustic“ music and tools?

Funny, that's exactly how I felt as a kid. For me, I think I liked that electronic music sounded as if it was produced by aliens. I was (still am) heavily into science fiction and that's how electronic music sounded to me - science fiction.

I liked drum machines, sequencer lines and ring modulated noises, because it all sounded like the future. A future where robots and aliens were creating the music with technology. Acoustic sounds sit in the present.

Of course today, a lot of the electronic sounds I still love are very nostalgic and part of history - "the future ain't what it used to be" ...

Late producer SOPHIE said: “You have the possibility with electronic music to generate any texture, and any sound. So why would any musician want to limit themselves?” What's your take on that and the relevance of limitations in your set-up and process?

I kind of agree but if I were to play devil's advocate, I'd say I think limitations are a prerequisite for most forms of human creative expression - or perhaps for human flourishing in general. Limitations can spark your creativity and lead you to new paths and surprises. When everything is possible without limits, there are no surprises. Nothing is unexpected.

With all the tools available today, especially with AI, the art of making as well as listening to music has the risk of becoming more and more devalued. If you limit yourself to only using a kazoo and milk cartons to make techno, people would probably be more interested to see and hear what you come up with than if you write a few prompts into an AI tool that gives you an instant and sonically perfect techno banger.

So I can see why somebody might want to spend 10 hours a day perfecting their kazoo chops ...

In relation to sound, one often reads words like “material”, “sculpting”, and “design”. How does your own way of working with sound look like? Do you find using presets lazy?

I never use presets. For me, sound design is an integral part of the creative process and, hopefully, something that gives my work its identity and personality.

It ties into the previous question in the sense that the 'limitation' of always having to design your own sound to solve a sonic challenge forces you to be creative and come up with your own solution, rather than scrolling through 200 presets hoping to stumble upon something that might work.