"Deliver something of value" - in conversation with Bo Nurmi

Welcome, Bo, and thank you for taking the time to sit down with us! One of my first questions is always about musical roots and upbringing. What's your origin story?

When I was about 13, the school I went to had a small recording studio with some synths and recording equipment. My friends and I hung out there and made our first few songs. This is how I got around to learning Cubase. Around the same time, I picked up the game MUSIC for PlayStation, which got me really hooked on making music. It didn’t take long until I begged my parents for a Yamaha RM1X groovebox.

 

So, that was officially your first piece of equipment?

Yeah, pretty much. I was later gifted a DX100 from a teacher at school, and that was my first proper synth. I never did learn how to use it, though; I just used it as a glorified MIDI controller. FM isn’t that difficult to learn, really, but the UI of the old DX7 and DX100 was a nightmare. And there were no online resources like YouTube tutorials either. With that, I made my first decent tracks and even got offered a record deal at the age of 15.

 

That is no small feat! What became of that record deal? Care to share a song from that one?

I don’t think you can find any of them online, but I do get checks now and then from the U.S. Unfortunately, it costs more to cash the check than it's worth.

 

 

When talking about composing, what are the main styles you work in?

I started out making trance and Euro dance but later moved on to beats and hip-hop. Nowadays, I simply make whatever I feel like. I am not concerned with producing for an audience but rather for my own enjoyment and making something that feels artistically meaningful. A lot of the music I make right now would be categorized as experimental electronic beats.

 

Playing experimental music means that one’s style is ever-changing. Is this one of your strategies for staying inspired?

Yeah, I suppose it is. I do grow bored pretty quickly. I have moved from Euro dance to trance, to hip-hop and rap, to mixing and mastering rock and pop, to whatever it is I am making now. I think it is hard for me to just stick to one thing. It's a blessing and a curse. My YouTube channel is probably the creative project I’ve been consistent with for the longest time. I suppose it is because I feel beholden to my audience. I am there for them. I don’t want to disappoint, and I owe them to keep delivering good quality videos. With my music, I never quite felt like that. The audience was always so far away. There wasn’t any social media back when I started. You didn’t have the connection you have today with your fans. And I think I need that relationship with my audience. So perhaps that is why I am looking at performing live more in the future, or simply doing synth workshops. Something where I can actually, physically, connect with other people.

 

Talking about different styles and projects, what are the ones you're most proud of?

I will say that I am most proud of what I have accomplished on YouTube. I love being able to combine music with education and a sense of community. I feel like my videos help people not just understand their music gear but be inspired to take the next steps in their own creative journey.

 

 

 

This channel is now 10 years old and is a very beloved household name in the genre. Could you tell us what made you start it back in the day? What role does it have in your life, now looking back?

Like many YouTubers, I didn’t have a plan when I created my channel. I just thought it seemed like fun. I had no idea at the time that it would change my life forever. Sometime in 2016, I uploaded my first synthesizer review, and for some reason, people liked it. The quality was terrible, and I got interrupted mid-recording by my then 2-year-old daughter. I suppose it was authentic, if nothing else. In 2020, I took a leap of faith and left my jobs as a university teacher and psychotherapist and went full-time. So you could say it had a massive impact on my life, mostly for the better. I would lie if I didn’t say being on social media has its downsides. As with anything in music, it is hard to make money from it. And there's a lot of toxicity. But I have also been blessed with a great community. I have had so many people reach out to me and tell me how I’ve changed their lives, and that is something I live for. It is probably what matters the most to me: to have an actual positive impact on people’s lives.

 

I really like our artists being upfront about the hardships of the industry but always keeping a positive mindset. I can agree, authenticity is really a key factor.

Moving a little bit to the technical side of things, what is your Buso desk of choice?

I have the Artist Rise 88, and there were two reasons I chose it. Firstly, it is height adjustable. As you get older, back pain gets harder to deal with, and I can’t sit for as long as I used to. Secondly, it is very compact. My studio is not that big, so I had to get a desk that really fit the space.

 

 

Let's talk a bit more about music! Who are your main influences?

That's a tough one because it's pretty eclectic. I am inspired by everything from Jean Michel Jarre to Timbaland to more obscure electronic music. I like to constantly be moving forward, so I try to find new music to inspire me rather than looking back at what used to inspire me.

 

Having been to Sweden twice in the previous year—and being a huge fan of numerous Swedish bands—I noticed that music holds a very special place in people’s hearts there.

The record stores I visited were packed with customers, and live music was happening almost everywhere. What do you think is the reason behind this?

In Sweden, we have great after-school music and arts programs that children can do. My daughter plays the piano, sings in a choir, and learns how to dance. And it isn’t expensive at all. I think that definitely plays a role in Sweden being a big exporter of music. But I also think we have a culture in which music and art are respected. While math and science are still seen as way more important in school, art and music still have a place. It is respected. And I don’t necessarily think that is the case everywhere.

 

 

 

You even started synth enthusiast meetups back home. How big is the synth addict community in Sweden?

I’d say it is pretty small. We are a small country population-wise, and synths aren't exactly a popular hobby. But we’ve managed to have upwards of 30 people join our synth meetups, which isn’t nothing. People have been traveling pretty far to go to the meetups, so what we lack in numbers, we make up for in pure passion!

 

 

We talked about musical influences, but what about influences from the audio world?

I think I had many when I was younger, but as I have gotten older, I try not to pay too close attention to what others are doing. I feel it gets in the way of my own voice, and I notice that the more information I consume about music, the less creative and productive I get. I suppose it is because it is easy to start comparing yourself. A recent influence, both in terms of musicality but also production, was Kypski, an electronic beatmaker. His stuff is pretty experimental and pushes the boundaries of what beat-making is. I love that.

 

Regarding mixing/mastering workflow, what are your ways of getting the job done?

Nowadays, I do not do a lot of mixing, but I recently mixed a country album, and I relied pretty heavily on Cubase stock plugins as well as the iZotope suite. When I was younger, I was all about the latest plugins, but nowadays, I am pretty happy to use stock plugins and a few select plugins. It is so easy to overdo things. 'Keep it simple' is my approach.

 

That sounds like fast and sharp shooting!

I like things to be immediate, at my fingertips. That's why the Artist Rise 88 was useful to me, because I could fit a lot of rack gear in front of me, plus a large keyboard as well as a Maschine MIDI controller. I don’t want to be moving things around to get something done. I like it when things are set up and easy to use.

 

 

Another one of my recurring questions is about the digital vs. analog debate. Where do you stand on that?

In the world of synthesizers, analog still has its place. In audio recording, I am less sure of its importance because of how good plugins have gotten. You see, with synths, since they are instruments, a hardware synth simply is a totally different experience to use versus a plugin. It would be like comparing an electric guitar to an electric guitar plugin. So whether analog or digital synth, as long as it is hardware, it will always be a quite different experience to software. And thus yield different results, for better or worse.

 

Making a living out of one’s passion is always a challenging—however fulfilling—path. What is your advice to someone starting off these days?

I would say that you've got to dare to try things. Throw things at the wall and see what sticks. Have fun with it. Experiment. That is how you find that sweet spot of what works for you AND works for an audience. I would also advise not to rely on gimmicks. Jumping on trends will only get you so far. Try instead to be authentic and really deliver something of value.

 

Bo, thank you very much for taking the time, and now it is my honor to ask you to contribute a song to our Buso playlist!

 

I will go with 'Metropolis' from 2021.