It all started in the early ’80s, after having spent time playing in local bands. My first musical adventure was with a synth band called Svart Natt (Black Night), and later on, after being influenced by the upcoming U2, I joined a band called Criss 99. We recorded and released an album that became a minor local success. During this period, I realized that the music studio was the place for me.
The adventure began in the early 80s when punk faded, and the synth wave began. My first musical adventure was with a local synth band called Svart Natt (Black Night), and later, after being influenced by the rising success of U2, I joined a band that we named Criss 99. We recorded and released an album and had some minor local successes. During this period, I gradually realized that the music studio was my place to be.
After getting a job as a studio assistant by Ola Håkansson, founder and CEO of Stockholm Records, at a large studio complex in Stockholm (Europa Studios), I was in heaven! From then on, I was happy to run errands and assist artists and studio staff with coffee. It turned out that I would eventually experience a fantastic new world of a professional music studio, all to myself, during the night after work hours!
After being offered employment as an assistant in a big studio complex in Stockholm (Europa Studios) by Ola Håkansson, ”founder and MD at Stockholm Records,” I was in heaven! From that moment on, I was delighted to run errands and support stars and staff with coffee. It so happened that after working hours, during the night, I got to experience an amazing new world consisting of a professional music studio, all by myself!
After a while, I started to work as an in-house engineer and did re-mixes during nighttime. I started working with the track when all producers and engineers had gone home for the day. I often worked all night until morning when the others returned to the studio. Tired and nervous, I presented my work; sometimes they liked it, and sometimes they did not! I lived for the precious moments when they enjoyed my work and quickly forgot my failures; in time, they became less.
The following years were filled with hard work and fun, and slowly but surely, I developed a skill for the trade! I got to work with artists such as Army Of Lovers (Crucified, etc.) and many other local Swedish acts until 1992 when I teamed up with Tommy Ekman to form the production team – Adebratt & Ekman. Throughout the 90′s, we worked with artists like Inner Circle, Ace of Base, Aqua, Dr. Alban, Real Mc Coy, All 4 One, Aaliyah, etc.
In the late 90s, I took part in founding The Sprinkler production house, which includes Sprinkler recording facilities (a four-studio complex in the center of Stockholm/Sweden) and a label partnership with Universal Music – Sprinkler Records. A collaboration with Daniel Jones,” Savage Garden,” resulted in a project with an Australian group called Aneiki, a success in Australia. I continued working with other production teams. With C&N Productions, I produced songs with Antique, a Swedish-Greek Dance/Pop group with an ethnic touch that became a huge success.
During the early 2000s, I traveled to Phuket, Thailand, for a long and well-deserved vacation. Once there, I decided to stay and start up a new business focusing on film production for the tourism industry. In the following years, I created many films for dive companies, travel companies, hotels, IT companies, and even an international school. And, of course, I used my musical skills to create the soundtrack to my movies.
In 2005, I returned home to Stockholm, Sweden, where I continued my musical adventure for a while. Sadly I felt it didn’t give me the same satisfaction anymore, so I decided to explore my opportunities elsewhere!
After a difficult time searching for a new path in life, I stumbled into sales. It was like learning to walk again. I had to start from scratch and learn something completely new. And slowly but surely, success came to me. I quickly discovered that the creativity I had used in music and the visual arts I could use when conducting business. It was fantastic to experience success in a profession far from my previous activities. I had taken the big step from music, movie, and photo into sales and business development!
Today I work primarily with Digital Sales, Performance Marketing, Growth Hacking, and Market Automation. But I have yet to be able to stay away from music entirely. In my spare time, I hide away in my home studio, where I now feel the same enjoyment from creating music as I did in the early days! Pure happiness!
In the summer of 2023, I released the album ”The 60th Playground Diary”, containing eight songs written, performed, and produced by me. It is still a hobby project, but I thought it would be fun to finalize and release some of my songs for people to hear. Credit to generative AI for the album cover. Midjourney interpreted a picture of me in the style of Pop Art, and the result became so crazy I felt I wanted it as my album cover.
Regards
Per Adebratt
per@adebratt.com
