We had the chance to speak with Peder Bergstrand, Lead Creative & Artist Relations at XLN Audio, and pick his brain about XLN Audio’s philosophy in product development, how the company got started and where they think music production is heading.
How did XLN Audio become the company that it is today? Tell us about your history please. How did you get started? Passion to profession?
XLN Audio was started out of the passion to create a superior drum production tool, with the same sound quality as going into the best studios in the world with an awesome session drummer behind the kit – minus all the hassle and the massive costs. That’s how Addictive Drums was born, 15 years ago. Since then we have constantly been chasing the next great tool to make it easier, faster and more fun for musicians and producers to go from idea in their head to finished track in blasting through speakers.
Can you give us some pointers for avid producers diving into the world of XLN Audio? Where should they get started?
The most accessible plugin we have made is RC-20 Retro Color – it seems like everyone gets it – and loves it – pretty much instantly. But our motto is to create tools that are easy to get into from the get go. After that it expands with you as you dive deeper. If a plugin is hard to understand, we would have failed at our primary goal – to make music creation faster and more fun.
Addictive Drums 2 receive A LOT of praise from the producer community, including the ForTunes staff. What makes it stand out?
I think it’s the combination of ease of use and depth that make Addictive Drums 2 stand out, really. And the fact that it’s so layered. Every single kit piece in Addictive Drums 2 has so many samples and so much dynamics in there. The end product is indistinguishable from traditionally recorded drums.
In the end, it’s all about workflow and sound quality. And Addictive Drums 2 excel in both.
Regarding product development: Do you interact with your power users? How important is feedback from the community?
It’s super important – we talk to our collaborating artists daily, and have a very tight relationship with producers and artists all over the world. XLN Audio products are made by musicians for musicians – it’s absolutely vital to know what artists and producers look for in their daily workflow.
What’s next for XLN Audio? Any sneak peeks in future developments you want to share?
Can’t confirm or deny on any upcoming product development plans, but let’s just say we are deep deep DEEP into every aspect of nerdery and sorcery that is beat making and drum production… We are aiming for a Nobel Prize in Beatology 😉
Where do you think music production is heading? Any thoughts on future trends?
It’s hard to tell, but we truly believe that the future will be even more collaborative, and have even less borders between genres and the physical location of an artist will matter less and less. Music making and great sounding productions will be even more for everyone, which is awesome!
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