Episode 237
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound Recording Studio, Norway
Today's guest is Henning Svoren of Ocean Sound Recording in Giske, Norway.
Henning is a Norwegian music producer and engineer, who has been part of running the recording studio Ocean Sound on the island of Giske in Norway since 2009.
He says, “My responsibilities are pretty wide from developing the business and studio itself to working on the songs and actual music through mixing, recording and producing. In my spare time I like to go hiking or skiing in the mountains and fjords around here.”
Here are some of the key topics we discuss:
· Henning believes that the natural surroundings of an island contribute to the creative process. For example, he learned Peter Gabriel's studio was designed with creativity in mind, as the flowing water outside provides inspiration.
· As the owner of the studio, he explains how the studio was built and how it is different from other studios in New York and London.
· Why the artists are drawn to the studio's setting and equipment. They have kept up with the latest technology by installing a Dolby Atmos system in their studio.
· Henning describes how their music is influenced by the environment, ranging in styles which include sixties pop, German hip-hop, jazz, and even meditation sounds.
· “We had one of my favorite Norwegian bands called Motorcycle which I've been a fan of since I was a kid. I was finally asked to work with them as an engineer a couple of years ago. Their guitar player lives in Trondheim, a Norwegian city. He decided that he is not going to bring any guitars or any pedals or anything. He's just going to use what's in the studio because the different instruments will inspire him to play something different than a normal would. So we also try to have a few weird instruments lying around, like strategically placed around the studio. So if you get stuck with a song you're working on, why don't you try this weird Indian thing?”
· The role of the Engineer. Musicians need an engineer to do more than push the buttons and make them sound great. They need someone who is not close to the project with fresh ears to help contribute to the creative process. The studio and engineer can help the band capture their musical vision.
· The challenge of finding the balance between wanting to be popular and wanting to be unique. Ocean Sound wants to help create new tastes in music and that helps decide what sort of projects they would like to work on.
As we closed, Henning added, “I'm touched by your enthusiasm, both for the music-making process and for our studio.”
Copyright 2024 Mark Stinson
Transcript
auto generated transcript
Mark Stinson, host: [:We're gonna fly and we're gonna take a ferry. We're gonna go over a bridge. We're going out onto an island called Giske off the coast of Norway. And this is the home of a terrific recording studio called Ocean Sound Recording. And my guest today is Henning Svoren of Ocean Sound.
Henning, welcome to the show.
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: Thank you. Thank you. A pleasure to be here.
profiled your studio for the [:Technology marvel for recording music. But really the setting of this island and, the coastline and the beautiful sea and the mountains in the background what is it about the setting itself that contributes to the creative process?
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: I think I remember when I was a kid and was dreaming of one day working in a studio.
I, I was following Peter Gabriel's studio in both outside in south of England, and he had a diary. This was before the blogs and all that stuff. . But on this actual website, you could. C of him talking about how they built his studio, real world. And it has a pond right in front of the control room and there's actually a river under some glass on the floor.
through the studio. Cause he [:And I think that's it's just like unconscious. It's always. Don't necessarily think about it, but it's helps yeah. Certain processes. Yes. I believe
Mark Stinson, host: it's certainly a contrast to maybe London or New York, or, yeah. This is not somebody's basement, this is not a converted warehouse.
You, you built it as a studio from the ground up.
e time we built the studio in:Now that's called Mayfair in London, which had just closed its doors. And so they were selling. The gear we had the, like the console which radio head and Spice Girls and lots, Madonna, lots of famous artists had record the, their records on. And so we started it at that time. And I think since we had the this different thing, it's actually have worked against all.
ut yeah, we came out of like [:it seemed to work. . Yes.
Mark Stinson, host: Yep. I think when the artists come, certainly the setting is part of their process. They want to come there to be and to be isolated, but to also get some different creative inputs. So certainly the scene is set. But you mentioned the equipment. I couldn't help but laugh when you said Instagram.
Yes, there's beautiful photos of the studio and its setting, but there's also the good gear pictures. Here's our amps and here's our engineers. Repairing those amps and tweaking them and preparing them for the artists. What is it inside? Then the guts of the studio that attracts the artists.
arted, first foremost it was [:It helped us design it and build it. And and yeah, we filled it with gear and we stored it out with like a bit of the gear was pre analogue, the tape machines. And we, we could do retro sounding stuff. We also, it been, it's been important to us to follow the trends and right now I'm sitting in our B studio, which we've installed Dolby Atmos system, which is the latest, greatest thing.
Yes. Yeah. So it's, yeah. So it's important to have Cutting edge, dig, digital stuff as well as old tubes and warm first goodness that we all love so much. .
Mark Stinson, host: Yes. And the warmth certainly. I imagine that there are artists who come there for, the peace, the quiet, the isolation and inspiration.
t you worked with all genre. [:Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: We've actually been, I'm not sure if it's happened yet, but we've been we're supposed to have what's it called?
Yeah, music for re or just speech for relaxation, like Monts. And I was gonna record a week of lady from Arabia, Uhhuh
Mark Stinson, host: like meditations and as sm R ,
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: I don't know. Didn't happen. Yeah. Maybe could think. Uh, But yeah, we've had all song roles in the beginning. We we came out of Or environment of maybe sixties pop like a bit retro kind of pop music aesthetic or something.
f German hiphop. , very hard [:There's Italian artist there, or Quinte from. . But they came here because they love the maybe Scandinavian, just the sound tradition or something. And , of course area and stuff. Yes. And maybe the stuff we had leased of this. Black metal actually, . Yes.
Mark Stinson, host: There's always a chance. I liked how you said you're sitting in studio B and there's an Italian jazz quartet over in studio A and I was thinking about as I read your website that certainly yes.
musicians, I always imagine [:Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: Yeah, that's maybe the difference from a studio in LA for example, they would have a lot less instruments and amps and that often and they hire in, or yeah, the bad spring, their own gear. But since we're so remote, lots of people come by plane. We have to have. Yeah. Have our own gear so they can travel light and yeah.
But yeah. The cool thing is we also had some, we had had a, one of my favorite Norwegian bands called Motorcycle which I've been a fan of since I was a kid. I finally asked, I was finally asked to work with them on a as an engineer a couple years ago. Their guitar player. He lives just in Trondheim,
She is a Norwegian city [:So if you get stuck with a song you're working on, Hey why don't you try this weird Indian thing? I'm not sure what it's called, but it's, yeah, it's weird. . Yeah. Who's
Mark Stinson, host: got a great sound you might
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: like. Yeah. Yes.
Mark Stinson, host: And I think about when you say getting stuck it's quite a commitment of time and resources for a band to show up in the island, off of the coast of Norway.
or whether it's the lyrics, [:How can they get unstuck?
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: Yeah. I think. It's yeah, it's, it can be small things like that with a a new instrument might be something that sparks a new id. And it's all, it's also a mentality thing that we try to always be open for any IDs that if we're working with a group, some somebody might have an ID that's not necessarily.
Genius. But if you try it, it's, it might lead you down to new things to try out some so that in the end, , you end up with something that is not necessarily genius, but. Yeah. Nice . Yes.
Mark Stinson, host: And I think we imagined the, board engineer or something, being the silent partner. Hey, just push the button, run the board, make us sound great.
But what is [:Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: effort? Yeah. I hope, but trying, I'm fighting a little bit. engineers to be recognized as creative people because I think most of us are in it for yeah, we're in it to make great music, not to turn knobs,
Turning knobs itself is not the reason why I'm working here, if and but it's also a great opportunity for us as With the outside perspective for the musicians to be someone who looks, who is not that close to the project and have a bit fresh ears and fresh perspective.
sarily thinking about how it [:I think we, as engineers and producers easily take that role of helping them to Realize the whole vision of the song .
Mark Stinson, host: Yes, certainly they have a vision. Yes. And you're there to actualize it for sure. Yeah. But there's also plenty of stories in music about, a random guitar riff or some sample that was just off on the corner that somebody says, wow, we never expected this.
Or you put a tweak on it that we hadn't heard before. , what about those light bulb mo moments?
is being inspired, what by a [:Yes.
Mark Stinson, host: Yes. We've been talking a lot about what's happening inside the studio, but let's go outside for a moment because you guys are very involved in the whole music scene, aren't you? And you're listening to bands you really started a, I read anyway, with the Margarets and a home studio for that group.
But what sort of new sounds and new trends are you hearing out in the festivals? In the clubs, in nor.
t straightforward in English.[:Which it's a competition where they can win like one week in the studio as well as or playing at the big, like sta or football stadium festival. . So it's so we actually had some pretty big Norwegian artists coming up through that system , as for as trends overall trend in Norway.
I'm not sure if I see one big trend, but I feel there's a lot of people taking chances of on doing their own things and finding their own sounds in their own. , which we work quite a bit on the pop format on music that's supposed to do well on playlists. Mm-hmm. Or on the radio. And the format there is can be a bit too in the box with a have set number of bars and structure and so forth.
But we are [:Mark Stinson, host: sense. Yes. Oh, it makes a lot of sense. Yeah. And this is the balance, isn't it? You wanna be popular, you wanna be on the radio, you wanna be on the Spotify playlist, but you also wanna break through and you don't wanna be cookie cutter, with the pop trends.
Yes. That's, how do you find that balance?
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: Yeah that's a big challenge. Challenge and and it can often be in the little details and how. Navigate the production and what sounds you use and the structure. But and as well as instruments. I find there's usually small tweaks or twists you can do that's makes it interesting while staying in or flow.
d resolves in the end, . But [:Mark Stinson, host: question. It definitely does because like I say, people want their own fingerprint and they have a vision for the music. And to some extent they wanna be taste makers, not taste followers, right?
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: Yeah. If you become a taste maker, you've done it's big time.
, yeah.
Mark Stinson, host: Yes. We mentioned some of the music and genres you have had a chance to work on, and maybe a couple you haven't, but as you look ahead, you're making your own plans, you're making connections. Hopefully being on a podcast like this, new people will hear about it. What are you hoping to work on?
What sort of taste making do you have in.
are familiar with them, but [:. . So at the same time I think I've actually talk, discussed this with my colleague here the other day, that of course it would be cool to to work on the next raid you had record or maybe on Elton John thing, but at the same time, the. I think the most exciting thing would be to be working on the next Radiohead or the next Elton John, which we don't know who is yet.
Yes. If that makes sense. I don't think
Mark Stinson, host: we knew arcade fire, maybe. Yeah. When you worked on that.
ink. We should go into every [:Yeah.
Mark Stinson, host: Yes. The right studio, the right producer, and of course the right talent. All ingredients in that, right? Yes.
Yes. Great. Let's continue to paint the picture of your location. I'm so intrigued by the fact that you're out on this island and you were telling me there's no cafes, no grocery store, no anything.
, what's it like to stay there for a week or so and live there and really focus and immerse yourself on the music?
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: Yeah. It is like from a logistic point of view, it's a little bit. Inconvenient with it. So we usually ha have the artists rent a car so they can go either to the city and to a cafe or just to the groceries shop.
ually make their food in the [:So much time together, so they come closer as human humans. And when I started working in Ocean Sound, I actually I did live a bit further away. So I actually slept in one bedroom in the studio with the bands and stuff. And was a very nice couple years for me. Cause I got to hang out with this old maybe or this veteran musicians and hear their stories in the evening and make [00:20:00] music got little bit stressful in after to some years.
So I moved out. Yeah. But that's definitely something about that too. Like the social, thing.
Mark Stinson, host: Yeah. You've touched on a big part of the creative process we often hear, and that is when there's teams involved, you need to know each other, as people, not just as maybe playing your part in a band.
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: . Yeah. That, and that's also I think, a little bit key to being. Successful tech engineer and producer is to be able to quickly assess, not necessarily the personality as a whole on the people you're working with but to get an idea of of their little bit of their personality and what, where they want to go musically and.
So good. It's interlocked .
ke, Norway and Henning as we [:B, besides being the drummer, the guitar player, the vocalist, the basis what role does the studio and the engineer play in executing that mu musical vision?
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: I think I think a good studio and like environment and recording process can take something good to amazing, or the sky's the limit cause it's an integral part, of of yeah, making music.
I think because in the end the music is coming out of speakers. It's a technical process, but it's it's also a creative process and or
our conversation getting to [:Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: you.
It's been a really. I'm touched by your enthusiasm, both for the music making process and our studio. So I'm really happy to be here.
Mark Stinson, host: Thank I'd love to include Giske in my travel itinerary, get outta oslow and get out of Helsinki and Copenhagen and see the, see where the real creativity is.
Yeah.
Henning Svoren, Ocean Sound: Yes.
Mark Stinson, host: Very good. Listeners, you can connect with Henning and his team at Ocean Sound dot. NO. And as Henning mentioned, they have a great Instagram it's Ocean Sound recordings on Instagram. Henning, thanks again for being on the show. Thank you. And l and listeners let's continue our worldwide travels.
r travels. We'll continue to [:We love talking with singer songwriters and producers and illustrators and designers, architect. Restaurateurs, anybody who is putting their creativity to their craft, we love to talk to and get inspired. So until next time, I'm Mark Stinson and we're unlocking your world of creativity. We'll see you next time.
