About Christer

Hi, I’m Christer and I’m a mixing engineer and producer. I own and run Cederberg Studios in Kristiansand, Norway.

I started playing music at an early age and got my first record deal when I was 17. As a guitarist and songwriter, I was in various bands and worked as a session musician, recording numerous albums during the late 90s/ early 2000s. This led to me becoming increasingly fascinated with production. By 2001, I was a full-time engineer and producer.

Successful band

From 2002 – 2009, I was also in a band called Animal Alpha. We recorded two albums, appeared at a lot of big festivals, toured throughout Europe and played in the USA. In addition, we were nominated for a Norwegian Grammy several times and had songs featured in movies and video games.

Understanding the artist

Having experienced all aspects of being in a band, I can relate to what other artists go through. I understand how much their music matters to them, the various dynamics there are in a band, and how different musicians interact with each other both creatively and socially.

Mixing 

When mixing, I enjoy being creative. I get a kick out of following my intuition and letting a song lead me wherever I feel it needs to be. On the other hand, if an artist has their own idea of how the mix should sound, then I’m more than happy to help guide them there or offer my opinion. I can work in either a hybrid of analogue and digital, or just digital. Whatever’s most suitable for the project. The main thing is that the artist remains happy, relaxed and inspired. At the end of the day, I want people to leave my studio feeling like they’ve just mixed the song or album of their lives.

Producing and recording 

As for producing and recording, I’m always fully focused and strive to have complete empathy with everyone in the room. If someone is struggling with a part, for example, I’ll do all that I can to help make them feel comfortable, while boosting their confidence. The aim is to get the best and most natural sounding performance out of people.

Arranging

I love being involved in the arrangement of a song. To me, it’s about finding the essence of each part and then building things up from there. Over the years, I’ve learnt to instinctively know how to make the instrumentation more interesting, lively and accessible. It’s about captivating the listener by taking them on a journey and leaving a lasting impression.