Hi, I’m Jon Magnusson, music producer and composer, based in Stockholm, Sweden. Despite not having a traditional degree, I’ve honed my skills through a mix of self-learning, online courses, and university courses. My journey in the music business began as a one-man-band making indie folk and rock music, and has since taken me through a range of genres including traditional Swedish music, jazz, and classical music. As a composer and music producer, my vision is for my music to be a never-ending journey with an unknown destination. I strive to bring emotion and depth to every piece I create and to elevate the music of myself and my collaborators to new heights.

Although I’m not from a musical background and didn’t attend a traditional music school, I’ve always been passionate about music. After a series of dramatic life events, in 2016 I decided to pursue a career in music and began learning music production, composition, and music theory on my own and with the help of various online courses.

Thanks to my talent, luck, and a lot of hard work, I was able to leave my full-time employment and dedicate my full attention to music in the fall of 2019. In the three years since then, I’ve been working on a range of projects, from producing my own jazz compositions to arranging the works of classical composers such as J.S. Bach and Robert Schumann. In addition to my musical pursuits, I’ve also been building a sustainable music business and social media presence, collaborating with a number of talented musicians, and juggling the demands of family life with two small children.

As I mentioned earlier, I began my journey in the music business as a one-man band making indie folk, pop, and rock music under my own name, Jon Magnusson later re-named The Southern Valleys. I was heavily influenced by artists such as Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, The Clash, and the indie music scene of the 90s and 00s, including bands like Vampire Weekend and Swedish groups like Broder Daniel.

At first, much of my focus was on building an audience and playing live, but I soon realized that the songwriting and production aspects of music were what I found most rewarding and where I had the most talent.

Soon I started venturing more and more into traditional Swedish folk music and jazz, which I began to release under the names of Georg Nielsen and Beyond the Seasons where the earlier had a more relaxing and acoustic focus and the latter was for different kinds of jazz ensembles, often with a touch of psychedelic jazz fusion.

From the world of jazz, I began exploring classical music, which has since become my great passion and obsession. I’ve delved into the polyphonic choir music of the renaissance, the mastery of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, and the works of Romantic era composers like Schumann, Wagner, and Chopin, and finally the late 19th and early 20th-century composers like Debussy, Mahler, and Sibelius.

Besides releasing music with Beyond the Seasons and Georg Nielsen, in 2022 I’ve been delving deeply into the works of German composer Robert Schumann and have arranged and recorded his pieces “Kinderszenen” and “Album für die Jugend” for both piano and concert harp. These recordings will be released on Prisma Music Group under the artist aliases Otto Lundsgård and Kerstin Viola together with some re-work of earlier original compositions and nursery rhymes arranged for harp under the name Maria Kruse.

As for my production techniques, I’ve been using digital tools to make music since my first demo, recorded in high school. I spend most of my time in front of the computer and my MIDI keyboard, and as a result, I’ve become highly proficient at producing music digitally, also known as “in-the-box.” I have built up a vast collection of software instruments and have honed my skills in making them sound as realistic as possible.

I strongly believe that to fully utilize technology, it’s essential to have a good understanding of the real instruments and hardware that software is modeled after. That’s why I spend a significant amount of time learning about the instruments of the orchestra, how a real tube amplifier works and sounds, and how early reflections and reverb tails work in an actual concert hall. I also enjoy studying the scores of the masters using modern notation software like Sibelius, MuseScore, or Dorico, even though I may not be able to write a treble clef with pen and paper.

By combining traditional music theory studies and compositional skills with modern tools, I can make the process of turning a musical idea in my head into a finished recording as seamless as if I had a full orchestra at my disposal 24 hours a day. This approach also allows me to blend genres and styles and collaborate with other musicians in a way that Mozart and Beethoven couldn’t have even dreamed about.

Among my earlier achievements, I’ve had several editorial placements on Spotify playlists with my jazz project Beyond the Seasons and on YouTube Music with my classical piano project Otto Lundsgård. I also placed my original composition “Beyond the Seasons – Make It Right” in the independent short film “Miracles Happen Elsewhere” by director Wes Tomasz Ciesla. Most importantly, through a lot of hard work, I’ve been able to build a thriving music business that gives me creative freedom and opportunities that many people can only dream about. I’m both proud and humble about this achievement, as I was born in an era that was particularly suited for me.

So if you’re interested in my work or just want to send me a word or to, don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail at info@jonmagnusson.se