Metronome #061: John Dahlbäck

Insomniac’s Metronome series features mixes from some of today’s fastest-rising electronic stars, as well as championed legends. It takes listeners deep across a wide range of genres, movements, cultures, producers, artists and sounds that make up the diverse world of electronic music.

You can almost hear the blood, sweat, and tears John Dahlbäck put into Saga, his third, full-length artist album, out now on Armada Music. It took him a year to complete the project, and the amount of hours and attention throughout the release is quite noticeable.

“It has taken me a year to finish, but what a ride it’s been,” says Dahlbäck. “This album is so diverse and musical and that is really important these days. So here is my experiment. With this album, I did my best, and what’s more important: I did it all with my love for music.”

It’s true: Dahlbäck hits so many genres throughout Saga, it’s nearly impossible to categorize. There are downtempo vibes, big room electro house (“Raven”), vocal pop (“Count to Ten”) and beautifully melodic progressive house (“Where You Are”). The sonic diversity on Saga is the type of feat only a producer with Dahlbäck’s amount of experience, almost 15 years and counting, could pull off.

Where Saga is the latest solo contribution from the prolific producer to the electronic community, his imprint, Mutants Records, continues to discover and develop new talent for tomorrow’s generation.

Like the varied sounds on Saga, Dahlbäck’s Metronome mix offers a taste of the loud, the fast, the beautiful and the best in electronic music.

You grew up in a musical family, with music being an everyday occurrence in your life since childhood. Do you think music education and teaching music appreciation at an early age are important for the future of music?
For me It’s important. I think knowing the basics of how to play an instrument helps. It helps with going a bit more original, to try different chord progressions and melodies and not just do the “usual”. It’s so competitive out there so you’ll be ahead if you know how to play the piano for example.

Many of your family members, too, are working or professional musicians in various genres, including your cousin, techno producer Jesper Dahlbäck. What would an all-Dahlbäck musical outfit sound like?
Very weird but musical. We are all in different genres, one thing we have in common is that we all appreciate instrumental music. My dad’s old progressive rock band was instrumental so he gets house music.

You have a background in producing music via traditional instruments like drums and piano. Do you still present this type of musicianship in your current productions? Or do you rely solely on digital production studios and software?
I start off a lot of songs by playing the piano and then write the rest of the track around it. I love the more organic sounds like an acoustic piano or guitars and stuff.

Do you think producers skilled and experienced with actual instruments are better musicians than those who produce solely via digital means?
Well, yes and no. If someone is more technically skilled and knows his/her way around a synthesizer, he/she has maybe more advantage than someone who knows his way around a piano.

Many people don’t know about your love for hip-hop and your early days as a hip-hop producer. With trap on the rise and with the hip-hop and electronic worlds converging more than ever, did you ever envision the two genres coming together in such an organic way?
I love blending genres, even hip house music is awesome! I’ve always tried to mix genres to see what comes out of it.

Any chance you’ll ever produce hip-hop tracks again? Or will we see any hip-hop artists perform on your music?
I’ve used some rappers on songs. It works really well!

You produced most of the tracks on Saga on a laptop while touring the US. Would you say the States played a major influence in the sound and style of Saga?
Yes! Seeing these all kinds of nature and environments and nightclubs gave me so much inspiration into making the album. Most songs were probably made right after a show somewhere.

You even named one of your Saga tracks “New York City.” What’s behind the strong affinity to America?
I love America! I think it has something to do with growing up with all these American sitcoms and movies, it makes me feel safe being in the states for some reason. People are so nice and forward, which is a big difference to Sweden and most of Europe.

Producing on the road via laptop is much different from producing while in a full studio. Does mobile producing ever limit you personally as an artist? Are there sounds or songs you can’t quite reach while producing on the road?
Not especially in my music, I can pretty much make whatever music I want. Sometimes I wish I used more real instruments and stuff, to get another sound but I’m pretty happy with my setup right now. I guess another thing I could miss, is outboard stuff to get that analog sound to my music.

What does the future of Mutants entail?
Keep on finding new talents and give them a chance in this competitive industry.

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