NIKLAS PASCHBURG
Niklas Paschburg
It’s fair to say that Hamburg-based performer Niklas Paschburg has so far drawn maritime influence for his neo classical-strained ambient releases, from the stormy seas of 2018’s Oceanic to the icy climes of new release Svalbard. It was in the latter Norwegian archipelago that the Ólafur Arnalds-influenced artist holed up with just a piano and his thoughts to compose his newest work, before relaying the whole thing to Brighton’s Andy Barlow (formerly of Lamb and the producer behind hits for U2 and Willie Nelson) for recording and mixing. But is his studio environment equally tempestuous? We found out…
When did you start making music?
“I started to play the piano aged five. My grandparents had a piano at home and I started to play some keys and tried to find sounds which fit together. My parents then asked me if I wanted have piano lessons. That’s how it all started. In the beginning I was mainly playing classical music but later I moved to jazz and pop.”
Tell us about your studio/setup?
“I just moved into a new studio space last week. The new studio has enough space for rehearsing my live set and even more for future gear. I try to use as much hardware as I can. I have nothing against plugins – I use them, but I’m more inspired if I have the instrument or gear in my hands. You can feel the sound in your whole body and you’re free to touch the strings and create unique sounds. I would love to buy some hardware effects like delays or other modulation effects.”
What DAW (or DAWs) do you prefer to use, and why?
“For songwriting and recordings, I’m using Cubase. When I was 15 years old, I started with Cubase LE and ten years later I’m using Cubase 9. I’m so used to that software that I can’t really imagine using a different DAW anymore. When I’m playing a show, I use Ableton Live in my setup. Since I tend to loop most of my instruments live, I find that Ableton comes with the easiest workflow and flexibility to play with loops.”
What one piece of gear in your studio could you not do without?
“Probably my analogue synth OB6 from Dave Smith. I fell in love with that sound from the first second. It has a huge warm sound which plays perfectly with other acoustic instruments like the piano.”
What was the latest addition to your studio collection?
“The Perc from Polyend. It’s a hardware trigger which can play acoustic drums. I also call it my robot arm. It brought me new possibilities when playing live. I got really inspired when I first tried it, and immediately included it on old and also new songs in my live set.”
What’s your dream bit of gear?
“My dream synth is the eight-voice from Tom Oberheim. It’s a beast. There is a sound demo on YouTube where you can hear the oscillators in unison mode. That sound just blow my mind. It was built in the ’70s and is very rare. And also expensive.”
When approaching a new track or project, where do you start?
“I usually start on my piano and see if some melodies or harmonies inspire me. But it depends on the day and mood – whether I feel more into acoustic or electronic instruments. Sometimes I start with the OB6 and go later to the piano. I try to have every instrument ready to record so I can quickly jump to the synth or percussion instruments.”
What are you currently working on?
“I’m working on several different projects but can’t tell you about all of them. One is to rework some songs from my second album with different singers and musicians. Also my tour with my new album starts in March and I have to prepare the whole live set for that!”