May 15th, 2024
SoundGym Hero: Analena Vater
Originally from Germany and now in Belgium, crafts original music, drawing inspiration from diverse experiences and a passion for traditional artisanal work. Analena Vater is this month's SoundGym Hero!
Who are you, and where are you from?
Hey, my name is Analena Vater, currently based in the heart of Belgium but originally, I come from Germany’s most favoured Hollywood scenery Görlitz.
How did you first find your way into making music?
My mum took me and my brother to a lot of theatre plays, operas, and concerts already at an early age. At home, there was always music on. We sang and danced a lot and eventually, I started to learn different instruments, like the violin, drums, and bass. Later I studied acoustical engineering but got increasingly attracted to music composition and production… and that’s where I am now, writing original music in my home studio.
Aside from music, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy?
I love to explore artisanal work, like knitting, crafting furniture and gardening. All those traditional hands-on crafts get less and less attention due to automation and huge factories. I enjoy exploring the effort needed to manufacture clothes, furniture etc. And it is a great way to switch off the mind.
What’s something you're surprisingly good at that has nothing to do with music?
I can come up with German rhymes pretty quickly, like for riddles or stories. Not necessarily poems though, unfortunately. In school, a friend and I sometimes tried to speak the whole day long in rhymes which always was a huge fun.
If you could play or create with any artist, who would it be and why?
I would love to look over Jordan Rakei’s shoulders once. I admire his music and way of composing and producing. There are so many movements and ear candies in his songs. I once watched a video, where he showed how he incorporates real-life recordings to create atmospheres, that you don’t notice but feel. He is a true sound magician.
What piece of music gear do you love the most, and what makes it irreplaceable in your creative process?
My bass guitar. It is the foundation of my songs, my biggest inspiration and the device that feels like coming home. There’s so much power in driving the vibe just by choosing the right bassline. I love that.
What daily or weekly habits do you have in place to keep you creating?
I recently started meditating in the morning before opening a session. My mind often wanders around a lot and a blank session can be as scary as continuing an old one. So, I like to relax before opening a session and start with a focused and fearless mind.
What keeps you motivated to continue making music?
Music can be healing, it can be therapeutic, it can be energising, it can be uniting, and so much more. It is crazy and truly fascinating. Exploring those different purposes of music and with which combination of sounds and notes you can hit a desired emotion drives me to keep making music.
What song would you choose as the soundtrack of your life?
“Now My Feet Won’t Touch The Ground” by Coldplay highly resonated with me ever since, I bought their album when I was 13. I never knew why I just always felt like melting into the song, when I listened to it. Now years later I saw the documentary about David Bowie with him saying the following:
“If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
That really hit me and the song ”Now my feet won’t touch the ground” got a bigger meaning to me. Daring to get out of one’s comfort zone to embrace something unexpectedly exciting.
What's your favorite feature on SoundGym, and how has it helped you in your musical journey?
I love the game EQ Cheetah, as it forces you to not overthink and establish a good intuition. That’s so helpful to not waste time while mixing and get tired.
But honestly, I also enjoy the Sound Gym Heros articles a lot. It is very interesting to hear people’s stories about their musical journeys, what drives them, and where they are heading towards. That is inspiring to me.
What’s something exciting you're working on or looking forward to?
I am currently starting to reach out to music supervisors to professionally compose original tracks for media, like ads, film or TV. Starting your own business can be very scary from time to time, but it feels just right to me at the moment. Overall, I hope the future holds passionate people to work with on interesting projects all around audio experiences. Think of immersive exhibitions, sound UX of apps or sound installations for in public spaces. I’d love to explore those different dimensions of audio experiences!
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