Folk & Country Mixing
Tapetown Studio in Aarhus, Denmark, mixes and masters indie folk, Americana and country remotely for artists anywhere. Gustav Scheel, a trained recording engineer, mixes these records with room for the voice and the words; the studio was founded in 2011 by Rasmus Bredvig and works with artists across Scandinavia, Europe, the UK and North America.
Folk, Americana and indie pop need room for the voice, the words and the movement of the performance. At Tapetown, Gustav Scheel mixes these styles with a smooth, spacious and refined approach: clear vocals, natural dynamics and instruments that support the song without crowding it.
We mix folk and country to keep the people in it.
That means a vocal that sounds like someone singing to you, not a product. Acoustic guitars with wood and air in them, not a thin strip of top end. Fiddle, pedal steel and harmonies placed so you can hear the players listening to each other. And dynamics left alone, because a quiet verse only works if the chorus is allowed to be bigger.
What usually goes wrong
Acoustic records are unforgiving. A little too much compression and the guitar starts pumping. A little too much tuning and the vocal loses the small bends that carry the feeling. Too much reverb and the band sounds like it was recorded in four different rooms, which it often was.
We don't fix what isn't broken. Bleed between microphones, a bit of push and pull in the timing, a breath before a line: that is usually the record. We fix what actually gets in the way and leave the rest.
How we work
We mix on a hybrid analogue setup: digital editing and balance first, then the mix runs through real transformers, tubes and analogue circuits. On acoustic music that is where the body in the low mids and the air on top come from.
Gustav is a natural starting point for intimate arrangements and softer indie and alternative records. For rougher textures, more forceful drums or a rawer band sound, Rasmus Bredvig brings energy and bite. Both mix indie and alternative, and they work together on selected projects when the song calls for both approaches.
References matter. A sparse Laurel Canyon record, a raw Americana record and a modern Nashville production want completely different things. Tell us which direction your record points, and tell us what we are not allowed to ruin.
Send a rough mix, a couple of references and your release date. Tell us what must stay: the breath in the vocal, the acoustic guitar’s attack or the push and pull of the band. We agree the engineer, files, scope, revisions and delivery dates with your quote. Mixing can take place remotely wherever you are. Attended mixing is available when the schedule allows.
We mix and master for artists across Scandinavia, Europe, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, remotely, with attended sessions across time zones. Rasmus Bredvig has mixed Tapetown Sessions for artists from the US (Mikal Cronin, Bambara, Moaning, The Fresh & Onlys), the UK and Ireland (Ulrika Spacek, The Murder Capital) and Sweden (Pale Honey, Les Big Byrd). Our sessions and records have been covered by more than 130 independent music publications in 19 countries since 2013, including Stereogum, Clash and The Quietus: Tapetown in the press.
“one of Aarhus’s foremost music producers” — Scandinavia Standard, on Rasmus Bredvig, 2018
Where and how. Tapetown Studio, Aarhus and Djursland, Denmark. Remote mixing for bands anywhere, with attended sessions scheduled across time zones, and in-person sessions on Djursland when the calendar allows.
What to send. Consolidated multitracks from the start of the song, one WAV per track, plus a rough mix and two or three reference records. Grouped stems only by agreement.
What happens next. We listen first and reply with an honest assessment and a quote, usually within two working days.
Revisions. The first mix is followed by a round of notes; the number of rounds is agreed in the quote, and one round of small notes is the norm.
Delivery. Stereo WAV masters; stems, instrumentals and other formats on request. Quotes in DKK, EUR or USD.
FAQ
Our record was tracked live in one room. Is that a problem?
No. Bleed is part of the sound. We mix with it, not against it.
Will you tune the vocal?
Not by default. The small bends stay. If one note genuinely bothers you, we talk about it.
Do you master folk and country too?
Yes, with the same principle as the mix: keep the dynamics, loud enough for streaming without flattening the quiet parts.
How do I send my tracks?
Send individual multitracks: one consolidated file per track, all starting at the same point, plus a rough mix and two or three reference tracks. Agree grouped stems with us first. Details are in our track prep guide.
What does it cost?
Professional mixing in Europe runs roughly €400 to €1,200 per song depending on track count, song count and whether mastering is included; anything offered well below that range is a different kind of service. Tapetown quotes each project individually after hearing a rough mix, so send the mix and the number of songs and we will reply with a number.
How fast do you reply?
Fast. Gustav reads every message and replies himself.
Can you work with a band outside Denmark?
Yes. Most Tapetown mixing is remote, for bands in Scandinavia, the UK, the rest of Europe, the US, Canada and Australia; files move by upload link and attended sessions are scheduled in your time zone.
Send us the rough mix. We'll tell you honestly what your record needs.