Gus Oberg

Gus Oberg is a Swedish music producer and recording engineer. He is best known as the longtime engineer and a producer of American rock band The Strokes, for whom he has worked since 2009. Oberg is also a close collaborator of Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. and has worked on every one of his solo records. Since the late 2000s, Oberg has produced numerous indie rock albums and has often worked with Hammond Jr. or Johnny T Yerington as a producing partner. Oberg was awarded a Grammy Award in 2006 for his engineering work.

Gus Oberg
Birth nameErik Gustav Öberg
BornSweden
OriginNew York City, U.S.
Genresindie rock, post-punk revival
Occupation(s)
Years active1997–present
Associated acts

Career

Oberg moved from his native Sweden to New York City in 1997 to pursue audio engineering. His career took off in the early 2000s as an engineer at New York's Loho Studio. By the time the recording studio closed in 2007, Oberg had become chief engineer and studio manager,[1] and had worked on records including Moby's Hotel (2005), Willie Nelson's Songbird (2006), and The Klezmatics' Wonder Wheel, for which he was awarded the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album for his work as engineer.[2] During this period, Oberg also met Strokes' guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. who, in 2005, was working on his debut solo record. The two quickly developed a strong creative relationship.[1] Oberg engineered and produced Hammond Jr.'s records Yours To Keep and ¿Cómo Te Llama?, released in 2006 and 2008, respectively. The two later developed Hammond Jr.'s One Way Studios together, located in Upstate New York.[1]

Following this early work with Hammond Jr., Oberg began recording sessions for The Strokes in January 2009 for what would become their 2011 album Angles. The Strokes had already written and demoed these songs, and Oberg recorded them at Avatar Studios with producer Joe Chiccarelli co-engineering. After a few months and eighteen songs, the band decided to rerecord a majority of the tracks exclusively with Oberg at Electric Lady and One Way studios.[1] He ultimately co-produced and engineered most of the tracks on Angles. In mid-2012, he produced and recorded sessions at Electric Lady and One Way studios for their 2013 album Comedown Machine.[3] Oberg also mixed the entire record. Following this album, Oberg produced and recorded Hammond Jr.'s EP AHJ, which was also released in 2013.[4] In 2014, Oberg worked side by side with Hammond Jr. to produce his 2015 album Momentary Masters as well as other artists' albums.[5] Also in 2015, Oberg went back into the studio with The Strokes to produce their EP Future Present Past. Released in 2016, Oberg produced and mixed the record in New York and Austin, Texas.

Following this, Oberg continued to work on Strokes-related projects. In 2016, Oberg mixed the debut album from Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture's project Summer Moon.[6] He also engineered some of the tracks on the debut album New Skin by CRX, a group fronted by guitarist Nick Valensi. The following year, Oberg went to work producing Hammond Jr.'s 2018 follow-up record Francis Trouble, which he also mixed.[7] During this period, Oberg recorded demos for what would be The Strokes' 2020 album The New Abnormal.

Throughout the 2010s, Oberg also produced a series of other albums by indie rock, punk rock, and post-punk revival bands. His earliest production credits outside of his work with Hammond Jr. include the 2011 albums Different Times by Five O'Clock Heroes and Mirrors by U.S. Royalty. He formed a creative partnership with musician Johnny T Yerington (Ryan Adams, Jesse Malin), producing the 2013 EP 7 Minutes In Heaven by Yerington's project Pornography with Adams. That year, Oberg and Yerington produced The Virgins' final album Strike Gently together and later produced songs for its spin-off band Public Access T.V. and the solo debut of lead singer Donald Cumming. They also produced Drowners' self-titled debut album and the 2017 album Primary Colors by singer-songwriter Kelsey Kerrigan.[8] In 2014, Oberg produced albums for bands Walking Shapes, Loose Buttons, and Rathborne, the latter with Hammond Jr. Together, they also produced the 2015 album Ropewalk by The View and 2017's Say Goodbye to Memory by DYGL. In 2019, he was helping Hammond Jr. produce song for Natalie Imbruglia.[9] As an engineer, he has also worked with artists like Har Mar Superstar and The Postelles (again, with Hammond Jr.).

Formerly based in New York City, Oberg now lives and works out of Austin, Texas.[10]

Discography

Studio album discography

Selected credits

Year Artist Title Producer Audio Engineer Mix Engineer Notes
2006 The Klezmatics Wonder Wheel Yes Won – Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album
Willie Nelson Songbird Yes Credited as second engineer
Albert Hammond Jr. Yours to Keep Yes Produced two bonus tracks
2008 Albert Hammond Jr. ¿Cómo Te Llama? Yes Yes Yes Produced and mixed with Matt Romano
2011 U.S. Royalty Mirrors Yes Produced with the band
The Strokes Angles Yes Yes Yes Co-produced with the band and Joe Chiccarelli; mixed with Noah Georgeson
Five O'Clock Heroes Different Times Yes Yes
2013 The Strokes Comedown Machine Yes Yes Yes
The Virgins Strike Gently Yes Yes Produced with Johnny T Yerington
Pornography 7 Minutes In Heaven Yes Produced with Johnny T Yerington
Albert Hammond Jr. AHJ EP Yes Yes Yes
2014 Walking Shapes Taka Come On Yes
Rathborne Soft Yes Co-produced with Albert Hammond Jr.
Loose Buttons Damage Gallery Yes
Drowners Drowners Yes Produced with Johnny T Yerington
2015 Albert Hammond Jr Momentary Masters Yes Yes
Donald Cumming Out Calls Only Yes Yes Yes Produced with Johnny T Yerington
The View Ropewalk Yes Produced with Albert Hammond Jr.
2016 Public Access T.V. Never Enough Yes Executive produced with Johnny T Yerington; engineered two tracks
The Strokes Future Present Past EP Yes Yes Yes
CRX New Skin Yes Credited for additional engineering
2017 Kelsey Kerrigan Primary Colors Yes Yes Yes Produced with Johnny T Yerington
Summer Moon With You Tonight Yes
DYGL Say Goodbye to Memory Den Yes Produced with Albert Hammond Jr.
2018 Albert Hammond Jr. Francis Trouble Yes Yes Yes

References
  1. "Gus Oberg: Recording The Strokes' Angles". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  2. "Gus Oberg". GRAMMY.com. 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  3. "The Strokes Working On New Album in New York". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  4. Doyle, Patrick (2013-10-04). "EP Premiere: Albert Hammond Jr. Back on Creative Roll on 'AHJ'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  5. Diaz-Camacho | @vickyd_c, Vicky. "A conversation with Albert Hammond Jr. about his new album, "Momentary Masters," and life as a singer-songwriter". The University Daily Kansan. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  6. "Summer Moon Interview". www.londoninstereo.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  7. "Albert Hammond Jr Talks 'Francis Trouble'". V Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  8. "Jullian Records". Jullian Records. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  9. "The Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr is in the studio with Natalie Imbruglia". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  10. "Strange Inquiry With: CRX". Do512. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
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