David Alexander Sjølie

Production in the boys' room

Aleksander has always had a passion for music. He started out with trumpet and guitar in the church at Kløfta, but it was in the boys' room that his passion for production grew.

– I got help from my uncle, who is a music producer, to install Logic on the PC. There I just started playing around.

Aleksander trained as a jazz guitarist with a professional degree in performing improvised music, but continued to experiment on the side.

– I really enjoyed the technical side of it, and was a nerd about microphone placement, different types of equipment and sounds.

After his studies, he got a place in a small studio and tried to establish himself as a producer.

– I told everyone I knew where I had a studio, and that they could come by and record for cheap.

Today he works in a studio with a grand piano and space for entire ensembles.

Freedom to create

For Aleksander, the folk high school is an ideal place to work with music.

– You don't have the hammer hanging over you like you often do in other places. It gives you the freedom to create what you want. My job is to give the students the tools they need.

He believes that a year at a folk high school can be just as formative as other educational courses.

– It's playful, but at the same time very serious. The characters aren't that important in music anyway. What matters is gathering knowledge and experience, and making something out of it – a bit like making a song. 

Two parallel races
Aleksander describes teaching music production as two parallel tracks: technique and creativity.
– The technical stuff is just tools. Today you can open a program, press a few buttons and have a symphony orchestra in front of you. But it's only when you do something with the sound that it becomes yours.

Equally important is the creative track.

– You have to listen carefully: What is this sound saying? Does it say what I want to say? How do I make it mine? That's the key to creating something that really matters.

He emphasizes that everyone can contribute to the process, regardless of technical skills.

– Anyone can say: I imagine a bird flying over a destroyed landscape towards a last green twig – how does that sound? I think it is equally valuable in a creative process. I think one of the most important things you learn is how to talk about what you want to create together.

Musical meetings

 Aleksander had worked as a freelance musician and music producer for 13 years before he started teaching at Rønningen. The assignments varied widely, from playing in house bands to commercial production.

– All of that is fun to do, but I really enjoy real musical encounters. That I make something you listen to, or that we make something together that others might want to listen to.

He experiences these meetings far more often as a teacher.

– They arise in teaching all the time – regardless of level or how it sounds. Just the fact that we are together and learning about music can be magical.