AES144 Student Recording Competition Interview: Frederik Brandt Jakobsen
1) Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from and what do you study?
My name is Frederik Brandt Jakobsen. I’m 27 years old and live just outside of Copenhagen, Denmark.
I'm currently finishing my master’s thesis at the Royal Danish Academy of Music (RDAM), where I study to be a Tonmeister specialized in rhytmic music. I have a Bachelor’s degree as a classical Tonmeister from RDAM, but found myself more passionate about recording drums and noisy guitars, and so I changed to the rhythmical approach for my master's.
I’m currently running my own studio called Hikikomori Mastering that offers full analog mastering and 50/50 ITB/analog mixing. This is where I work professionally. My studio is always growing, evolving around my passion for DIY projects. Every new piece of knowledge and hardware I pick up on my journeys around the world develops me as a producer.
2) What initiated your passion for audio? When did it start?
I grew up in a house filled with music. My dad plays guitar and inspired us kids to play music as well through playing us stuff like Smashing Pumpkins, Joy Division, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Pavement and Sonic Youth.
At 12 years old my parents discovered my abilities playing piano and I went through some kind of prodigy program. But after years of pacing I grew super tired of studying and performing classical music and decided to form a punk band. There was a sweet relief in the simplicity of strumming just one chord and screaming about whatever bothered a given day.
I’ve played guitar and synth ever since in various punk and rock bands until at last I found my passion for music production through an inspiring high school teacher. He was the one who encouraged me to apply for the conservatory in Copenhagen.
3) Tell us about production of your submission? What is the story behind it? What inspired it? How long did you work on it? Was it your first entry?
Yes, this was my first entry and first time at AES. I played synth for the Danish post-punk band Shiny Darkly on their UK tour in late 2014. Shortly after the drummer asked me if I would mix and produce his other band Motorique. The whole process developed my enthusiasm for “producing" bands. The album turned out so great with a well-recieved 12”vinyl release that we decided to hit the studio to do one more. And this is where “I Love To Start A War” is from.
4) What/who made you join AES?
I was encouraged by my professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Jesper Andersen.
5) Tell us about your favorite experiences at the 144th AES convention in Milan!
It was a very inspiring convention for me in a lot of ways. As I do not see myself as much of a technical engineer as much as I consider myself a music producer and mastering engineer. So I especially attended the creative talks at the convention. I think the talks and discussions about mastering; vinyl vs. digital, myths and new loudness standards were very interesting. Also, following the new discoveries and developments of Ambisonic, Atmos, 3D and immersive sound is always interesting. Actually that part inspired me a lot and I’m currently working intensively on a new project to be released soon. If any readers are intrigued, I will definitely post more about it on my Facebook studio page “Hikikomori Mastering” very soon.
Thanks for letting me show my work at AES, it was a learning experience for me to hear people’s opinion on the sound-side of a song, and actually present my thoughts on the process. See you at the next AES!
