ArtistInfo

Eric G

Electronic
A.k.a. Erik Grönberg

Eric G was introduced to electronics around 1970, when his friend Joakim showed him electronic device that could make different sounds and noises. It turned out to be a simple two transistor astable multivibrator, but that was definitely a milestone. In 1974 when he came to a new school and his music teacher presented 10 well-known classical pieces. One of them was the Brandenburg Concert nr. 3 performed by Wendy Carlos. He was stunned, bought "Switched on Bach" and was totally blown away by the sounds and the 3P on the cover. Then he got Philips Electronics Experiment Kit and built the astable multivibrator that he had heard years ago. It turned out that the "Siren" circuit was perfect for the job. He integrated the keyboard from a toy accordion and could play it as a very simple electronic, monophonic, organ. But changing all component values turned it into a very basic synthesizer. He tried to recreate the SOB sounds. Back in the early 60's he grew up with lots of The Beatles' music. This was since his two older sisters were big fans. He remembers not so much the straight pop songs, but rather the more experimental songs from "Revolver", "Sg. Pepper" and "Magical Mystery Tour". Some years went on, and then his parents forced him to learn to play the piano. He hated it, but of course that was a good thing. He also began to play with tape recorder. The next milestone, around 1977, was when one of his sisters forced him to sit down and listen to a certain french album named "Oxygène". He then played it over and over again... The soundscapes were fantastic! Soon to follow, he discovered Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Synergy and Vangelis. He knew that this was the music he should come to love, and have done ever since. In parallel with this, he also started listening to music from ELO and also Abba. Mike Oldfield came in next. Further on, he discovered the progressive rock from Genesis, Yes etc. He have also some swedish influences like Benny Andersson, Ralph Lundsten, Hans Lundin and others. In 1979 he bought his first real synth - Roland SH-1000, which he still has. One might dismiss this synth as being a very simple preset synth, but in fact the Control Section is very capable. He learned everything about analog synthesis from this synth. In the early 80's he began expanding with a Roland RS-09 Organ/Strings, a Boss DR-55 and a Casio VL-Tone. Korg MS-10 and SQ-10 also made a serious addition. In the 80's, he composed and recorded loads of songs, like 25 full C90 cassette tapes. As time went and he could afford more equipment, he bought a Tascam 368 8-track cassette recorder, which he still uses. He recorded a few of his very best songs from 1978 to 1999, named the result "Conclusion" and sent the demo to several music magazines. In 2001 he started burning CD-Rs at home and sell them, and later, around 2007, SMD was willing to distribute them. As far as education goes, he developed an interest in electronics and got himself an MSEE. He can design, build, modify and repair anything he likes in synths. That comes in very handy!

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