Erik Birkelöf is part of the recent Swedish musical movement – he’s already been playing and recording for more than half his life (he is 19 years old) and is constantly honing his craft, with his most recent acquisition being a Lexicon LXP Native Reverb Plug-In Bundle.
Birkelöf began playing classical guitar about 10 years ago and progressed to playing drums and other instruments. He soon bought his first computer audio interface in order to record himself – “and then I was trapped! I found that I loved recording music as much as playing it.”
In addition to his own music he likes to record other musicians. “I’ve done projects from blues to funk to electro to death metal,” he notes. “I like to record all the different styles of music, because each requires different mixing techniques.”
In his pursuit of musical knowledge Birkelöf had heard Lexicon mentioned time and again.
“I can’t tell you how many people told me I needed to try a Lexicon reverb, or that they had been using something else and made the switch to Lexicon because it sounded so much better.
“I didn’t think a reverb plug-in could make that much of a difference – but when I finally got the chance to hear the LXP Native Reverb it was the greatest reverb I’ve ever heard.”
“I’ve used the LXP Native Reverb on some classical guitar tracks, drums, and vocals. On guitar it gives a bigger and more colored sound that really fits well with what I’m trying to create.
“It also does a great job filling in the gaps with vocals and drums while staying transparent,” added Birkelöf.
For Birkelöf the various effects that the LXP Native Reverb offers has opened up a lot of new possibilities.
“I like the Plate as my standard when mixing a track, but now that I have more options I’m using Hall, Chamber, and Room as well. They sit in the mix much nicer then my other reverbs and make the track sound much more put together.”
Sweden is known for its support of music and the arts and Erik Birkelöf’s dream is to attend a school for music production to further his mission to help other young up-and-coming musicians. Currently he manages an initiative that gives four artists a year, under the age of 16, the opportunity to have their music recorded for free.
“Obviously it would be great to work with big names, but I know how difficult it is to break into the music industry and I enjoy providing this opportunity to the next generation of musicians.
“My ultimate dream is to build my own studio and continue to help young artists.”
“Erik is a talented and ambitious young man who is not only working hard to make his dreams a reality, but he is taking the time to help others along the way. We are confident Erik will find Lexicon to be an invaluable tool as his career continues to develop and we look forward to hearing about his future success,” stated Jason Kunz, Market Manager, Portable PA and Recording & Broadcast for HARMAN Signal Processing.
