Tag Archives: stockholm

Fantastic day

Posted by Harmonic Agenda on

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I have had a fantastic day today!

We got our new dishwasher installed! It looks really nice and is super quite! Around 13:00 I toke a long nice walk with Kalia downtown in the sun. We met up with an old friend André Sandor. We used to work together at Viper Room. He is a local DJ there and have been for a long time. We ate lunch and hung out in the sun all day. He bought a new jacket and I bought some things for the kitchen.

Now Kalia is sleeping, at least she is trying. ;) Paula and I are trying to watch the original Wall Street. Neither of us have seen it! I am in the mood for good 80s movies. So if you have any nice recommendations, feel free to drop a comment. I’m sure I have seen a lot of them already, but maybe it is time for a rerun? :)

I’m kind of thinking about making some night pancakes!

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Uncharted saturday

Posted by Harmonic Agenda on

Hey good saturday!

How are you guys doing? I am all good!

Tonight I’m off to see Tiësto at Globen! It’s been a while since I was out at a party, I think it will be FUN! At least the music will be great! There are some other warm up DJs before but I don’t care about them. I’m all in for Tiësto! :D

Liam woke me up a few hours ago with a BIG smile. “John it is time for Uncharted 3..!!”. Yeah! It is so awesome! So far it is the best in the series! I think Drakes Fortune was better than Among Thieves. But this game series is one of the best I have ever played. It is the first time in YEARS since I feel like I want to replay a game. That does NOT happen regularly. Good job Naughty Dog! This is probably the best if not the ONLY good thing that came out of the PS3.. Except for MGS4 of course.

But still.. 4 good games? That’s it?! I hope Sony does some MAJOR changes with their next console launch, because if they don’t then I would probably not bother to buy it at all. PS3 is such an EPIC fail! I never get tiered of talking trash about Sony PS3, I guess you already get that! Haha! ;)

So when I came home last night, our christmas tree and all decorations was all set, thanks to Paula and Liam! It looks great! Real christmas:y! (:

I think I want to grab another breakfast sandwich, then we’ll jump right back into Uncharted 3!

Have a nice day loved ones!

Shure tryout!

Posted by Harmonic Agenda on

Though the weather sucked b*lls today in Stockholm, the family went for a little walk to Reference Audio to try out the headphones.

I don’t know if there is any words to describe them. They just sound the BEST. The sound clarity was insane. You could easily scale of layers and layers of the track without problem. Just like a really good cake! :D All frequencies where right in place. More than enough base to come around twice. So much punch and top in all sounds. I listened to some of my own stuff and could hear “bad top frequencies” in my kick drums through all the other layers of sounds. That is incredible! I am sold! I don’t feel like I need to compare any other in-ear phones in this price range. They are simply the best! And I want these bad boys more than ever! The Shure SE535 breaths Quality. When you get them right in place in your ears, you are connected to a brand new world of music. I will probably do all my mixes in them once I get hold of them!

They look so cool! :D

Trying out Shure SE535 at Reference Audio

Game on!

Posted by Harmonic Agenda on

Night..

We have a “massive” storm called Berit hanging over some parts of Sweden tonight. I’m sitting in my kitchen in Stockholm, and it is quite windy outside my windows. SMHI calls this a class 3 warning. I feel pretty confortable where I am at the moment.

It has been a good day today. I bought some new facial products from my favorite brand Clinic and a new Björn Axen salt water spray for my hair. The woman in the store gave me some free 3 step products from Clinic. Thank you! It is so important to take care of your body. Though there are too many people who don’t seem to care at all. I used to be like that. The only thing I have always been taking care of my whole life is my hair. I Got bullied a few times, because the other dudes called me a girl! Haha! :) Kids.. And the funny part was that they all loked like shit and didn’t get a single girlfriend! Way to go parents! *Thumbs up*

I can honestly say that I am NOT going to the gym. I have always liked playing sports. I did my whole youth. Football, Marshal arts, Indoor bandy, Basketball, Skateboarding, Soccer, Snowboarding, riding BMX and other bikes etc. I miss doing it, a lot. But I don’t feel tempted to work out at a gym. It is not my thing, Yet. And the gym cards are SO expensive.

I ordered new glasses yesterday! Woho!! They look exactly like I imagined them to look like when I finally found them. My old ones are starting to fall apart. I got annoying scratches on my shades. I’m so looking forward to put them on! :D

Would you like to have a piece of this Angry pizza? Haha, it is so cool!

Me and my brothers Simon and Johan are big Forza Motorsport fans. We play a lot together online. We always have a blast together! Just like old times in our sofa 10 years ago. :) I sometimes take pictures of us driving together. The photo features in Forza is simply AMAZING! If you get the camera settings just right, some photos are impossible to tell if it is a real life picture or in-game. I have a few pictures in my gallery. If you are interested, feel free to check it out!

To view my gallery, please Click this picture.

Now I feel like playing some more 360! It really is the BEST console ever made! If Microsoft keep playing the cards right, I believe they can make the next one even better! Remember to keep the best from the 360! Sony, I do not have much to say to you.. The Uncharted games may be one of the best games I have ever played in my life. But ONE title is not enough to make a console great. I really can’t understand why people choose PS3 over the 360! Sure, Blu-Ray is awesome and the player in the PS3 is REALLY good. But.. then what?? Where is the love for videogames? Why choose to give the players free online play if the service stinks?! Why keep a menu system that is ugly and boring as f*ck?! I think the PS2 is probably the best console before the 360.. For ONE reason – THE GAMES! The games where AWESOME! And there where TONS of them, just like on the 360! The games ROCK! Sure Microsoft had a bumpy ride in the beginning when they first launched their brand new console. But they managed to turn the game around, literally. They made their new version stylish and quite. They released Kinnect. A groundbreaking new device and a totally new way to experience games. They keep updating their Dashboard, to keep it fun and up to date. I LOVE MY XBOX! (And I did NOT own the first one).

I feel so luck to be alive in this time era. I feel blessed to be able to swipe my fingers on my phone to read the news, or to tell my phone to play my favorite music. Or to be able to play my games and watch my movies in high definition with incredible digital mind blowing sound. I am so looking forward to experience more groundbreaking new games and technical advancement in my life.

I love my life.

Sunday music convention

Posted by Harmonic Agenda on

Last sunday, me and my boy Claes Hedman went to a music convention in München Bryggeriet. It is always nice to be surrounded by music geeks and musicians. Robert Wells was there (and some other celebrities too) , playing together with a ten year old girl who was incredible good at playing the piano. They played together with four hands, awesome actually! I have never been the type that plays classical pieces or quick melodies, I see myself more of a songwriter player. I like playing with large chords and harmonies, with slow melodies..That is my cup of tea. ;)

Thank you for a nice sunday man!

Let’s head to Costa Blanca

Posted by Harmonic Agenda on

So tomorrow is the day. We are leaving for one week in beautiful Spain. My cold is almost over.. Good times! :)

Last night Paula and I watched a movie I totally missed in the 90s.. Primal Fear with Richard Gere and Edward Norton (his first movie). What an excellent thriller. Usually I’m not in to thrillers at all, but this is an amazingly clever movie. The last scene made my jaw drop down to my knees.. Even though I thought I was pretty sure about how it would end, it came back an kicked me in the ***. Excellent work Edward! I loved it!

The fall is lurking around the corner here in Stockholm. I hope the weather is good in Alicante. I want to lay in the sun, listen to music and drink a few San Miguel, now that is vacation. ;)  Now it is time to pack my bags!

And yeah, btw.. my cover of Shy Remixed, featuring my remix of Broken Hearts is next to miss Kelly Rowland on iTunes! :D

Lovely Day 101..

Posted by Harmonic Agenda on

Hey people!

The sun is shining on Stockholm city today. I hade a lovely morning with Paula and Top Gear. My new thing is to go to sleep around 11-12 and then wake up 8 in the morning. It is so much better. You get so much out of every day.

I met up dad for a father and son cappuccino. I rarely see him since he lives in Tromsö, Norway. We talked about the future and my upcoming little cupcake. I love you dad!! :)

Now I’m on the train out to Saltsjöbaden. My grandmother lives there. I’m helping her with electronic stuff you know. :) It’s always nice to be at service.

Later tonight I have a date with Paula out in Sickla. We are going to watch the new movie with Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell. Looking forward.

Tomorrow is the last day for me at SAE. It’s makes me kind of sad actually. It feels like 6 months has passed in an instant.. Well it’s time to move on with my music and now I feel ready to take it to the next level. I’m currently planning an original release in the coming months. I waiting for my friend Johan to make my single cover. And I have to bring the track to a mastering studio. I guess cuttingroom is the right place. What do you think?! ;)

Joy Deb – Salute (Harmonic Agenda Remix)

Posted by Harmonic Agenda on

I want to give you all a listen to my new remix for Joy Deb who is also my teacher at SAE Stockholm. This is an unreleased track with vocals from his wife Linnea Deb. I only used her acapella for this remix. And I made a dreamy dance/progressice trance track with it. It may remind you guys about the Broken Hearts remix for Shy.

Please enjoy..

Harmonic start & some thoughts about the music scene

Posted by Harmonic Agenda on

Good morning people!

I must start taking this blogging thing more seriously, I guess. It feels like almost everyone has their own blog now days. To be honest I’m more of a Twitter guy actually. I like short, sweet necessary & unnecessary texts, i think it is more convenient and easy to do. I don’t have to think to much about it, and I can do it from my phone.

But since we are in the new era where everything is supposed to be available on the web, archived and easy accessed, by everyone. (It is almost like it’s our human right to do so these days.) Therefore I’ll try my best!

I’m planning to make some progress with my website, it is supposed to be my media hub on the web. With news, personal stuff, my music, remixes, thoughts about why I make my music, pictures from studio sessions, maybe some from my personal life as well. In short terms – my Harmonic Agenda.

I am pretty new to be blogging in english, so please bare with me if the spelling and grammar isn’t 100% at all times.

It is amazing how many things you have to be good at today, compared to the last 50 years. I mean take the music business  for example. 30 years ago you had to be good with your instrument or (and) your voice. You could spend time learning your guitar, piano or synthesizer in and out or writing your own songs. To achieve something you would have to know someone with studio equipment (since the stuff they used where REALLY expensive), rent studio time or earn your studio time by meeting “the right people”. You would record an album over let’s say a year or six months with many people involved (artists, singers, audio engineers, mixers, audio masters , and then hope for the best or use your distribution team. And once the albums hit the shelfs you would have to sell tons of records. If you did, you could call yourself successful and then write new songs, to do the process over again.

Armin's studio - photo: Sound on Sound

Today many things have changed. First of all our equipment is SOOO much more powerful and easy to use in many ways, it is also cheeper. Wich makes it possible for any music interested person to buy enough, to build up a studio in his/her bedroom. We got computers wich are capable of doing the same things that 10-20 different people had to do manually, and the computers can make it more precise with no sweat. (You can even by a laptop & headphones, and then you got yourself a portable studio!) It is AMAZING! Though there is a catch, since your computer is handeling all the heavy things, someone has to be in charge.. YOU. First of all you would have to know how to play an instrument (note: you don’t have to, but it certainly would contribute to the musicality of your music). And then you have to learn your audio sequencer to either record or program your music. If you (like in my case) are a natural born piano player, you probably already own a MIDI keyboard & hardware synth. That is not all folks. You also have to learn all your plug-ins. (Fortunately you have access to an unlimited knowledge, such as youtube, wiki, tutorials etc). When you know what to do, you can start making your own first demos.

After a while when you have reached your comfort zone, you can start finishing up your first tracks and mixes. Then what?! Well you should start looking for some labels. It is important to do proper research, depending on your music style. Or else you can kiss that one and only response you are going to get good bye. To have a bigger shot impressing your label scouts, you should also have some knowledge about mastering. Even IF you get some tunes signed (and the labels usually make the final master) you should always send your stuff with at least some compression, EQ and limitering on the master channel. So that is one MORE thing you have to learn to handle yourself. And guess what folks.. we can not stop there. ;) To act like a pro and to have a chance to be found it is important to “be seen”. So that means you have to know how to promote yourself. So guess what?! You have to learn how to make your own website (CSS, HTML etc), and pimp it out with pro photos, a logo, some music snippets, your social networking (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & Soundcloud etc.)

Armin - photo: John Svartberg

Of course all of this depends on what kind of music you want to create. When I was younger in my teens I always listened to R n’ B, pop and ballads. That was the kind of music I lived for. I still like to listen to all sorts of geners. But I must be honest, the trance music has completely turned my life in the opposite direction. I feel at home, I feel more love then ever through my music. I’ll quote one of my greatest heros, Armin van Buuren

“It’s not just love for music, it’s my passion. It goes beyond liking, and beyond a hobby, it’s about a way of living. Music is essential to my life”.

You can not get more accurate about how I feel, and no one has ever explained my love for music better than that Armin, you are a huge inspiration for me, everyday.

Like I said earlier the music industry have changed. You can not earn a living on royalties today, unless your name is Lady Gaga! ;) But there are other ways of making it happen. The combination of releasing your music and play live/dj:ing will help you get the attention you need and deserve. It is the future, at least for now. Who know’s what will happen in the next 20 years..?