When we think about musical virtuosity amongst guitarists, the name Andreas Oberg immediately comes to mind. The Swedish is one of the most balanced and versatile musicians, ranging from super blazing speed runs to soft melodic passages along the instrument, and Gypsy Jazz is just one of the multiple styles he has played throughout his career.
Like the musician, the person is as clear and objective as one can be. Thank you, Andreas, for your time, sincerity, and golden insights shared in this interview.
1 – What has inspired you to start playing music? Tell us about your influences and what was going on around you at the time.
My grandfather played me a lot of records when I was young, everything from classical to pop. Then later on, when I started with guitar, I was lucky to have a guitar teacher who loved fusion music and blues, so that was my introduction to that world, which, a few years later, led me into jazz.
2 - O que o motivou a continuar a praticar?
It was fun, and I felt I was making a lot of progress. Also, playing a lot with other musicians was probably another reason why I developed fast.
3 – What were the biggest challenges you have faced to progress in your practice, performance, and musical career?
The biggest challenge as a young aspiring guitarist in Sweden was to make myself heard outside the country to be able to have an international career. Back then, I think sites like MySpace and YouTube helped me a lot to get recognition and gigs all over the world.
4 - Considera que esses sítios lhe permitiram ser encontrado por pessoas influentes ou pelas massas? Como é que isso aconteceu para si?
Yes, I would say both. A lot of people from all over the world discovered my clips and videos who otherwise maybe wouldn’t have heard me. But I was also contacted by an American record label (Resonance Records). With them I recorded and released a few albums that led me to a solo career in the US.
5 - Como é que vê a web hoje em dia, tendo em conta que há muito bom conteúdo mas também muito ruído?
These days, there is so much material on YouTube that it’s quite hard to discover the really good stuff because all of the other more mediocre stuff that people upload. But it’s still a great resource for all genres of music. If something is extremely good, though, like Dirty Loops or Jacob Collier, it will sooner or later become big.
6 - Lembras-te do teu processo de prática quando começaste a tocar? Quanto é que mudou ao longo dos anos?
I have always practiced a lot of songs, and foremost how to outline the changes of a song within a single string line. This is one of the most important things to know if you want to become a good soloist, I think. I used to practice that, and I still do.
7 - “Como delinear as mudanças de uma música numa única linha de cordas”. Está a falar de construir um solo usando apenas uma corda ou outra coisa qualquer?
With this, I mean the ability to outline chord changes and harmonies through a single note melody. J.S. Bach and Charlie Parker were both masters of this, even though the styles and genres were different.
Just from the solo line, you can hear the chord progression. This is something I really think is important and a lot of instrumentalists are lacking this ability.
8 – Tell us about your routines. How does a regular day in your life look like?
These days, I don’t tour much since I do a lot of writing/producing for the big K-pop and J-pop artists on the Asian market. So on a regular day, I have a writing session with my co-writers, making a new song… often following the leads I get sent from the labels and publishers.
9 - Como é que equilibra o trabalho e o descanso? Qual a duração das suas sessões de trabalho e das suas pausas?
I often take some time off during the weekends. Then I do a lot of sports activities like hiking, running, tennis, etc. When I work in the studio, it’s often daytime, like 10 am to 7 pm, etc. Trying to cut down on the night sessions 🙂
10 – What do you value the most in the music/musicians you love to listen to? What key ingredients do you love to hear when listening to a new album, musician, or student?
Valorizo a capacidade de um bom improvisador, alguém que se surpreende a si próprio e ao ouvinte. Os músicos que conseguem combinar um ótimo som com técnica e sentimento têm os ingredientes certos. Também gosto de músicos que têm uma óptima compreensão dos acordes e da harmonia.
11 – Do you meditate? Do you perform any kind of practice or activity that pulls you towards a more focused, clear, or mindful state?
I don’t meditate, but I think that training all those other sports activities mentioned takes my mind off the music while I do it.
12 – What would you consider to be the most important advice, quote, or reference someone ever gave to you?
Imitate, Integrate, Innovate… learn from the history/tradition, mix it up with what you already know, and then, after that, try to do something brand new.
13 - Por que é que gostaria de ser reconhecido? Qual é o aspeto mais importante do seu percurso de vida que gostaria que as pessoas recordassem?
I would like to be remembered as a guy who managed to do everything from playing advanced jazz for a smaller audience to writing/producing big pop hits with millions of sold records. That’s actually where I’m at right now. I want to show that one thing doesn’t exclude the other, and you can try to do everything you do with quality. Quincy Jones is a grand example of this. He’s one of my role models.
14 – Tell us more about that Asian Pop Market experience. How did this opportunity come up, and how are things going for you and your artists?
The Asian pop music market is amazing. The fans are very devoted, and they still buy physical albums to support the artists.
The musical taste over there is sometimes more advanced than in the West. As a writer, you are not as limited when it comes to the possibility of using more intricate chords and harmonies.
I have now been fortunate to have had many (close to 20) Number 1’s on the single/album charts in Japan/Korea combined as a writer, and I really enjoy writing the songs for the artists.
It started happening for me when I wrote a song with a few Swedish friends, which was close to getting placed over there. Even though this song never got placed, it gave me many connections over there, and in 2012, I got my first big placement. To this date, I have sold around 5 million physical albums (+numerous downloads) as a songwriter, which is quite a good number these days.
15 – What about Django and his music? What would you say to Django if you had the chance to meet him, and which kind of music would you show him?
Provavelmente, se tivesse oportunidade, só quereria tocar uma canção com o Django.
Tenho a certeza que ele teria adorado ouvir Coltrane. Ambos tinham aquele tom único com tanto sentimento e profundidade.
FOLLOW NUNO AT:
Website Book Store: https://www.nunomarinho.com/store
Video Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NunoMarinho
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NunoMarinho
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nunomarinhoguitar/
Facebook: /https://www.facebook.com/NunoMarinhoGuitar/