Tell us about your background. You grew up in Iceland? What made you decide to pick up and begin a audio engineering career in LA?

I'm a fan of both music and gear / technology, and since I don't know that I'd ever make it as a musician (outside of the "avant garde" genre - ahem…), I figured I'd better stay on the 'console side' of the glass. Past that, a quick scan through my CD collection made it clear that most of the studios were either in Los Angeles or New York - and since L.A. has less snow I ended up there.

You have a very eclectic group of people you’ve worked with. Do the projects your work on match your musical tastes in general?

The ratio is definitely getting better. As you start out, you're not always in the position to say no to work - but in those cases, really you're gaining experience anyway, so doing a wide variety of projects is healthy. Even working as a house engineer at some crap studio and being put on session with an inexperienced producer is good, if only to realize how not to do things!

Describe the differences in tracking and mixing a group like Fantomas as opposed to Ani DiFranco. What are the real challenges in each type of project?

Fantomas plays loud and Ani plays quietly. No, really... Fantomas is a completely unique band. With Ani (as most others) she'll play a few takes, come listen, maybe play a bit more, and then pick one - or edit a couple together.
With Fantomas, the songs are almost like classical pieces, in that there is a 'correct' way to play them and then there is the not correct way. The music is written and rehearsed and performed 'till it's "right". Usually with the records I did with them, it's anywhere from a couple of takes to 4 or 5 - and we've got our master. And then, as you would imagine, THEN there is a lot of overdubbing and sound design.

Fantomas’ "Delerium Cordia” is an hour-long journey into sonic mayhem. What were some of the challenges and joys of working on such a unique project?

The thing that's challenging about Fantomas, but also cool, is that there is a lot of sound design. I did the whole record on analog tape, but had the computer on at all times, to be able to run the mic, sampler, guitar or whatever I was recording, through plug-ins or some computer based processors like Reaktor or Tassman, and that record really sent me further down the road of computer based processing.

At the time the iZotope plug-ins were PC only (as were, and are still, tons of other plug-ins) so I made the decision to build a PC to use for processing, in addition to the Mac. That has since evolved into using the PC / Sequoia setup for mixing as well.

You were in the middle of the Norah Jones hit album, "Come Away With Me.” What was your experience on working on that album, and winning two GRAMMY's in the same year?

It was a pretty bitter sweet experience - to be honest. The fact that we made a beautiful, raw, emotional 'Tom Waits - sounding' record was great. The fact that the record company didn't have to balls to put it out, and had someone else retrack a lot of it, and then remix the whole thing, in a 'diet' version, was not that great. Actually, now that I think of it, it wasn't that bitter sweet at all. Seems to me it was almost all bitter... There's really nothing quite like getting an Engineering GRAMMY for the crappiest, most watered down sounding record you've been a part of.

What are some of the current projects you’re working on?

Right now I've got several great indie projects that I'm mixing (read: great artists that I've hand picked to work with and won't get cold feet after they hear the mixes because they're too "weird"). Also, I just finished a couple of higher profile soul records with some of the greatest artists from the 60's and 70's and on top of that I'm finishing another project with Mike Patton, as well as some more sample libraries and sound design work.

Tell us about your studio. Do you gravitate these days more to the analog or the digital?

"The Mute Matrix" is first and foremost an inspiring and relaxing work space (yes, they can coexist). It has a kitchenette, a stove (no microwave), an espresso maker, a lot of scotch and good wines, bookshelves with books (no Mix magazine or Billboard), a couch, coffee table, nice lamps (not a single ceiling light in the facility)... y'know a lot of the stuff "proper" studios don't have.

I put it together as a mix and sound design / editing room. There is no tracking room per se, and it's all digital. The mix platform, as I mentioned before, is Magix's Sequoia on the PC - the single most unique piece of software for mixing out there. In addition to that I have the G5 running Altiverb (inside of Plogue Bidule), Logic, Pro Tools LE, Peak, Melodyne and NI's Reaktor and Kontakt -- all for a variety of tasks of course. Sometimes I'll use Logic for the synths / virtual instruments, sometimes Pro Tools to open a clients' original tracking session, sometimes Altiverb via lightpipe to the PC, as reverb / fx while mixing, sometimes Reaktor and Tassman for sound design, and on and on.

For most of the projects I do, I record on 2" analog tape, do all my overdubs etc., and then transfer into Sequoia, take it to my room and mix it. For the projects I'm not involved in recording, I try to have them deliver consolidated files, so I can import them into the PC. If not, I can open most session files, i.e. Pro Tools, Logic, DP… and do the consolidation there.

How do iZotope plug-ins help with your creative process?

There are not many plug-ins that i use all the time, on all the mixes, any more than a drummer would use the same snare drum on every song, but the iZotope stuff is up there for sure. They are now on the list of plug-ins i go to fairly regularly. The flexibility, the unique feature set and the sound are all top notch.

You’ve been working with Trash recently. Any favorite features?

The coolest thing about Trash is the wide variety of sounds available - how highly customizable it is. The delay, the filters, all of it... After spending 20 min. with it I already had a large number of presets made, and that's the key. Getting to know the plug-ins and tailoring them to your own work / sound. Making it so that you have larger palette of colors…

How has becoming a dad changed your work/life balance? Is your son, Sid, fond of our plug-ins? We can always give him a free t-shirt.

It changes you beyond description. All the BS related to the record business starts rolling off your back, and getting that goodnight or good morning kiss means everything.

On a different note, Sid has said that iZotope's Trash has the warmest and most authentic overdrive algorithm in a plug-in. Reminiscent of the crossover distortion in slightly mismatched output tubes of the old Fender amps.