Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Carlson.
Hi Aaron, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Music in my family goes back almost as far as I can remember. Since I was (probably) 7 years old my oldest brother Will Carlson was always in the basement recording drums, guitar, or working on songs. I never really understood the amount of drive he had for it at that time, I even used to poke fun at him for how dedicated he was to music and his business.
In high school, I played the snare drum in marching band with my other brother Ethan Carlson. I absolutely loved anything involving music including the songs I got to play with my brother, but after he graduated the program went downhill and I turned to different hobbies to fill my time.
Skip forward to 2021, my uncle unexpectedly passed from COVID and I was training martial arts out of Ronin Training Center in Columbus, Ohio. I was very passionate about kicking ass, but starting to think I wanted to take my life a different direction to fill that “void” that martial arts no longer did for me after my uncle’s passing. In the midst of the pandemic, left with a mental health disorder with more time on my hands that I knew what to do with, I made a full 180 and picked up a guitar for the first time and learned some basic chords from my other brother, Ethan Carlson, who has also been a multi-instrumentalist for as long as I had known.
Soon enough, what was meant to be an hour of practice one day would start to easily turn into an inspired songwriting session on my crappy laptop my mom bought me for school that could barely run Logic Pro. I had seemingly “forgot” I had a mental disorder with how immersed I would get into crafting a song. I would take these songs that I had made to different producers in the area who my oldest brother had connected me with and have them finish them for me, and before I knew it I seemed to start finishing those songs by myself and sending them out for mixing, closing the gap on the scary unknown that had led me to send out my songs in the first place through endless repetition with endless trial and error.
Eventually while working on these songs, I gravitated more towards the creative process as I enjoyed it much more than trying to be a personality online that I didn’t think really felt like me, and started helping my friends with recording their songs and reaching out to producers that I looked up to on YouTube, offering free assistance with editing if they could teach me more about the industry, and what it takes to make amazing songs with professional quality.
Throughout that time, my oldest brother recognized how driven I was and decided to let me take a crack at some editing gigs for him in return for payment which helped me get on my feet and go full time. A good friend of mine, Unnus Latif of Blackmoon Recordings also recruited me to assist in producing and recording which definitely sealed the deal (Thank you Unnus). I officially quit both my part time jobs in 2023 and since then haven’t looked back.
When working for Will, I would always ask him questions such as “Am I doing this right?” or “What do I use for _?”, his response was always the same thing, “Figure it out.” My own brother, a professional with 15 years of experience at the time in the same industry could’ve given me all the answers right then and there, but instead wanted me to find my own way and develop my own style.
For the last 2 and a half years working full time I’ve done exactly that, taking songs from the smallest voice memo and bringing them to the finish line. Now understanding the drive that my oldest brother has in this industry, I can’t help but feel a bit corny when I say music really does heal. I nearly spend every waking moment working on music and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
While working as a producer and mixing engineer, I come face to face with new challenges almost every day. My job essentially is to bring an artists vision to life, whether it be from a voice memo of a hummed melody, or a fully constructed song that I then need to improve upon. Everybody has their own vision, a different “sonic character” that they’re after. After being an artist myself, I’ve unfortunately experienced what it’s like to hand off a beloved song to somebody only for it to come back and not give that same feeling you get the very first time you play it back to yourself.
I certainly had more hurdles starting out, but through every struggle I started to realize that it’s not a good day unless I learned something new. There are definitely challenges along the way with every song, whether it be having to find new sounds, or put together ideas that don’t exactly sound right to me at that moment, etc. Which is why I greatly prioritize having a good friendship with those that I work with and be someone that they can be comfortable sharing the emotions and meaning behind a song that they’ve written.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a producer and mixing engineer based out of Columbus, Ohio. I specialize in modern pop, pop rock, rock, and metal music.
Something that I am most proud of and separates me from other producers is my undying dedication to my work. Making sure every song is right with every little aspect, and being able to bring the artists vision to life in an efficient and accurate manner. I try my hardest to be a producer for the artist, somebody who can simply be a funnel for all of their ideas as well as offering my own for what I think a song might need to be its absolute best.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is being transparent to the people I work with. There is nothing more important than the relationship and artist has with their producer and the vulnerability that comes with that which goes both ways.
If you are an artist, you deserve to work with somebody who values your opinion every step of the way, truly cares about the end product, and confidently has the experience to bring your vision to life!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aaroncarlsonaudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaroncarlsonaudio/
