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because they know what it can potentially accomplish. But with all
things, there needs to be a healthy balance. You still need to create
work. There are extremes of both obviously. I know people who
can’t create anything, but are brilliant at networking and I know
people who I think are basically Picasso, but also social Neanderthals.
How do you stay ahead of the curve?
How do you keep your creative juices flowing? How do you create
something new everyday?
L.A. is insanely competitive, but I’ve grown to be comfortable
in this type of atmosphere. It makes me work harder. A feeling
of communal atmosphere is extremely important. You can sometimes
feel the energy of the city resonate all around you. You can
feel a collective consciousness that’s moving in a certain direction.
L.A. is the epicenter of many forms of art and it’s no wonder that
people from out of town or from different countries are asking
people here about what the newest trends are.
Part of my job is to try and be at the forefront of that movement.
I do this in multiple different ways.
1) I keep a tight community of friends who I think are innovators
around me.
2) I browse the deep ends of the interned for new music from
recommendations that are sometimes extremely “out there”
and that only people “in the know” catch on early.
3) I listen to the work of my fellow producers and writers that I
respect, to gain insight into their “Jar of Tricks” so to speak.
4) I surround myself with people who are better than me. This
one is a big one and I could talk about it forever.
© YLE / KALEVI RYTKÖLÄ
Then there’s the concept of branding
When I set out to become a producer, one of the most crucial ideas
I struggled with was branding. I’ve seen many producers go from
zero to hero in a matter of months and most of the time they all
share one thing in common: they branded themselves in one genre
or style. It’s a smart way to get into any field quickly, but it can have
its potential downsides.
The main one being that you can easily have your 15 minutes
of fame, but then get pigeonholed into being “that guy who does
that one thing”. You will get branded whether you like it or not, so
choose carefully. For some people, or in other fields like medicine,
it’s all about specializing and that makes total sense. But that wasn’t
my path. And that was a hard choice for me to make.
Early in my move to L.A., I decided to trust my gut. I’ve never
been the kind of musician, writer or producer who enjoyed just
one style. When people ask me: “Who’s your favorite artist?” I always
reply: “Of which genre?”
I wanted to be known as an “All-Around, Jack-of-all-Trades”
type. Why would I choose to take such an obviously difficult path?
Why wouldn’t I focus on one thing, get my foot in the door and
then expand? For me it’s never been about being the best at one
specific genre or getting paid the most. If I wanted to be a billionaire,
I would have moved to Silicon Valley or Wall Street maybe. I
really just cared about my own mental health with regards to the
love that I had for music. I was afraid that if I got branded a certain
way, I would never be able to re-brand myself or worse; it would
potentially dismantle my passion for my first true and real love:
music.
Los Angeles is a city that harbors creativity but if you let it get
to you, it can suck the life out of you. I was consciously aware of
this and I fought it off in the way that made sense to me. Now I
think of L.A. as a my 3rd home. It’s comfortable and easily manageable.
I’ve had some experiences in this industry – many fairly
recently – where the thing that I planned out and never thought
could work because it seemed too cliché or absurd, actually ended
up working perfectly.
We all know that we can’t be afraid to make mistakes. We
should revel in our mistakes and blunders because those are the
moments we learn. I get a faint sense of almost an idiotic degree of
outlandishness when I think about some of my actions, but I also
think it reflects on my willingness to follow what I believe to be my
path. Even if that’s the road less travelled.
Nico Stadi (Nico Hartikainen) is Finnish American music producer living in Los
Angeles. He has worked professionally in the music business for 10 years. He
has been a producer, mixer, sound engineer and song writer on three different
albums, out of which 1 is #1 iTunes album. He also received EMI Gold Certification
(2011) for producing/co-writing/engineering full length album. Some
of the artists he has produced to: Justin Bieber, A-Trak, Maejor, Isac Elliot, Lindsey
Stirling, Goldroom, All Time Low, Sidibe and Flo Rida.
L.A. is insanely competitive, but I’ve
grown to be comfortable in this type
of atmosphere.
Los Angeles is a city that harbors
creativity but if you let it get to you,
it can suck the life out of you.
Oletko kaivannut mitään Amerikasta?
MH: Melkein kaikkea! Tykkäsin kovasti
asua siellä.
PV: Kaipaan sitä ihmisten arkipäivän
iloisuutta ja kohteliaisuutta. Viihdyn
loistavasti ympäristössä, jossa ventovieraiden
kanssa voi puhua.
Yksi tavara, jonka otat mukaan?
MH: Joku suuri runokirja. Yritän pitää
huolen siitä, että suomen kieleni ei pääse
köyhtymään.
PV: Hmm.. kun koko Helsingin-koti on
pakattu konttiin 195 laatikkoon, voisi kai
paremmin kysyä, mitä en ota mukaan.
Toivon, että noissa 195 laatikossa on
ne elementit, jotka tekevät perheemme
pienemmille Washingtonin asunnosta
kodin.
Haastattelimme Hentusta ja Vilénia
heinäkuun lopussa.
SAM | 21
