How long have you been working as a producer?
Chips – I’ve never seen myself as a professional producer with a career to take care of. I consider myself a musician and songwriter first but I’ve always been interested in sound. I actually never thought of producing other artists but in 1989 the band “Psychotic Youth” asked me if I would produce them. I was taken by surprise but of course I said yes. I’ve always been willing to try my hands at something new.

A year later The Nomads (after hearing the Psychotic Youth) asked me to do their “Sonically speaking” album. And that’s the way it goes. I’ve never had to look for work. The bands look at the records in their own collection and read the credits.
That’s how it usually works. As I said I don’t really see myself as a producer first but as long as I hear something interesting in a band and I feel that it gives me something back I’ll say yes. I have the luxury of only working with bands I like.

What do you think about old versus new technology?
Chips – I love the sound you get from the old U-47’s, Neve desks, Fairchild compressors and so on but I also absolutely love the new technology. I think Pro Tools (when used the right way) is a great tool. I’m constantly learning how to get the best from two worlds.

What kind of music do you listen to when you’re not working?
Chips – I’m a massive consumer. I listen to records from the moment I wake up until I go to bed. I listen to a lot of different stuff depending on the mood. There is so much great stuff from every era. I grew up with punk rock and new wave. Punk was my first love. Especially the first 4-5 years. It was a very creative period between 1976-81. Every week I tuned into Radio Luxembourg and heard amazing stuff I’ve never heard before. The Clash, Buzzcocks, Gang of Four, The Jam, Cabaret Voltaire, 999, Motörhead, The Damned, Barracudas… It was a total revelation and it changed my life forever.

Then you start exploring the roots. There is never a single moment when a new style is born. There’s a long line with certain creative booms in-between I’m very fond of 1965-67 for example. The Byrds, The Kinks, The Beatles, Sonics, Move, Creation…There are so many great records from that period. There was another great period between 1991-95 with bands like The Posies, Redd Kross, Rocket from the crypt, The Devil Dogs, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, Nirvana… Now you have all these different ages at the same time in a way.

What kind of bands do you work with?
Chips - I guess I’m sort of “type casted” ‘cause most of the bands I’ve worked are guitars, drums and bass and vocals. The classic rock`n´roll set-up so to speak. I never get tired of that but I wouldn’t mind trying out some other stuff as well.

I’d love to produce an all-acoustic album, a jazz band or do the hardest/fastest hardcore record ever for example. And I’d love to make the most evil death metal record in history. That’s what makes life interesting. Never get stuck!

Do you have some kind of formula when you produce?
Chips – Not really. It all depends on the band, the music and the budget.
The only thing that I always do is to spend time with the band at rehearsals to check the arrangements and stuff. I still believe in the art of song writing and being prepared.

It doesn’t really matter if you have a great sound if the song sucks does it?
You should really know exactly what you’re supposed to do before you even book the studio. The recording budgets are constantly going down so when you’re finally recording you can’t waste a single minute. I believe in hard work and discipline. The band can live their ”rock`n´roll life style” when the album is done. You don’t waste people’s time and money!

How much do you change when rehearsing?
Chips – It’s very different how much I’m involved in changing song structures and arrangements. Some bands give me demos where everything is already in place.
Others might show up with just some basic ideas.

Do you prefer to record the bands live in the studio or part by part?
Chips – Again it depends on the music. Some bands work better with click-track and some bands would be destroyed by that kind of restraint. It might even change from song to song. Whatever is best for the song.

What’s the best part of recording?
Chips – I’ve always loved working with the vocals. After all the work we’ve done it suddenly turns into a song.

How do you record vocals?
Chips – Every singer is different but most of them work best when they get to sing the song all the way through instead of splitting it up line by line. We usually try to figure out what attitude and voice to use and then they’ll just keep on singing. I might record 10-20 tracks of vocals and then do a mix of the best takes. It usually works. If we’re not happy we’ll go back and do it again.

The vocals are everything! I can live with a sloppy drum fill or an out of tune guitar solo but the vocals must catch your attention. You have to believe the singer.

What about the future? Can anyone afford to record rock anymore?
Chips – I’m constantly trying to find new ways of working. To cut corners without losing quality. I think all the new technology has made it possible to make great sounding records for much less money than before. The idea is to record your backing tracks in a proper studio then you can actually go anywhere to record vocals, percussion and backing vocals.
All you need is some good microphones, compressors and pre-amps and bring pro-tools with you. I’ve have built up my own small but great collection of equipment for just that purpose. I think Music A Matic is one of the few studios around that have not only all the classic stuff but also have embraced all the new technology. That’s really the future in making records.

What bands have you produced so far?
Chips – These are the albums I've produced so far.
Sator "Basement Noise"
Republikans Album
Millencolin "Kingwood days"
The Hellacopters "Rock`n´roll is dead"
Captain Murphy Album
Wilmer X "13 våningar upp"
The Nomads "Big sound 2000"
The Hellacopters "By the grace of God"
Sahara Hotnights "Jenny bomb"
The Hellacopters "High visibility"
The Nomads ”Up-tight”
Plan Nine “Generation action”
The Turpentines ”By popular demand"
The Nomads "The Cold Hard Facts of Life"
Mutts Album
Bazookas! album "First floor second skin"
Psychotic Youth "Juice"
La Secta ”Wild weekend”
The Nomads ”Sonically Speaking"
Psychotic Youth "Some fun"
+Loads of singles, EP's and compilation tracks too many to mention but mostly Swedish bands in the harder style like punk to hardrock...

What artists would you like to work with if you could pick anyone?
Chips – Tough question! But it’s always fun to work with great singers.
So if Neil Young, Iggy Pop, Elvis Costello or Johnny Rotten asked me I wouldn’t say no.