SoundGym Hero: John Oskar Ackerberg

A producer, vocalist, and lifelong music lover, he went from recording mock Eurovision acts on his dad’s camcorder to releasing tracks powered by daily SoundGym training. With vocals at the heart of his craft, Oskar this month’s SoundGym Hero!

How did you first find your way into making music?

I've always had a thing for music. I started listening to it at a very early age and even remember using my father's camcorder and recording myself pretending to be every act in Sweden's "Melodifestivalen" from 2002 which is where we decide what song and group we will send to Eurovision Song Contest that year.

From that point on I continued listening to tons of music and eventually realized that I too wanted to create my own music and that has led me up to this point.

Aside from music, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy?

I love training/physical activities, but not just any physical activities. I prefer high intensity physical activities. That can look like going up steep hills, sprinting on treadmills or cycling hard. Nothing worse than walking on a paved road that doesn't incline and doesn't push you.

Other than that I like playing video games, although I was more of a gamer when I was younger. Time is a precious resource and gaming isn't my highest priority any more but I like enjoying the occasional game of FIFA or playing some Rogue Lite with some friends occasionally.

What’s something you're surprisingly good at that has nothing to do with music?

Being alone. I'm so good at it and enjoy it so much that it's causing me problems socially. I'm taking it too far. I would definitely benefit from networking and meeting new people once in a while but my own enjoyment of going solo makes me just stick to myself and my own rhythm instead. I am a classic introvert in that sense.

If you could play or create with any artist, who would it be and why?

Hmmm... Very hard question. I probably wouldn't have chosen this particular artist up until a month ago but I'm going to go for Ariana Grande. Something about her expression while singing would make it a great match as I think we would complement each other quite well. One can only hope right... Strong contenders are Justin Bieber, Sam Smith and Ella Mai.

What piece of music gear do you love the most, and what makes it irreplaceable in your creative process?

I don't necessarily have a favorite gear per say even though every single piece of gear I own is extremely important. I wouldn't be able to make music without them. I am going to go for my Shure SM7B microphone. It has been serving me very well and it's responsible for enabling me to do what I love most when it comes to producing music, recording my own vocals. Few things beat being able to write and record your own vocals. Absolute magic.

What daily or weekly habits do you have in place to keep you creating?

Daily workout on SoundGym is a must and has helped me tremendously as an audio engineer over time. Every day I try to make sure that my best energy goes into my studio sessions. At least 1 hour every day going up to 4 or 5 if it's a really productive day.

That provides me with and excellent system to be able to release at least 1 song per month which is my monthly habit.

What keeps you motivated to continue making music?

The thought of eventually getting to work with it full time some day. I'm not there yet but getting to that point serves as huge motivation. In terms of the process itself nothing hits harder than finding a direction (maybe it's a sample or a new chord progression you've come up with) and then immediately recording some dope vocals over that.

Top three best feeling in the world and that alone would make me continue making music until the day I die.

What song would you choose as the soundtrack of your life?

I think I will go for the track that I've listened to the most by far for the last ten years and that's Heartbreaker by Justin Bieber. For me that song is a perfect example of what music can accomplish when you have the golden trio.

A well written song, a great production and a great singer full of heartfelt expression. That song has always been the benchmark for me and I hope I will be able to get there some day through my own music.

What's your favorite feature on SoundGym, and how has it helped you in your musical journey?

I would say the exercises as a whole. They all provide something different in terms of a challenge and really teaches you how to listen critically which is a fundamental skill to have in music production. Before I started using SoundGym I had massive trouble with EQ.

Maybe I could hear that something was off in the frequency spectrum but I didn't know how to address it or I would simply not hear the problem at all. Exercises like EQ Mirror and Peak Master has been absolutely vital in my journey this last year and I will continue using them for sure.

What’s something exciting you're working on or looking forward to?

I always look forward to creating more music because you never really know where it's gonna take you. The creative process is something you can't really explain. Just step by step execution in the studio and before you know it you have a song full with vocals, percussion, pianos, guitars and basses. Amazing!

I also very much look forward to continue pushing myself and making myself face my fears. I am well aware of hurdles I have in front of me that I need to face head on if this is going to work out long term and while I am terrified of it in some sense it's also very exciting to see what's on the other side of facing those fears.

You can follow Oskar on their Instagram; and listen to their music on Spotify, and YouTube

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