NEWS

1. Let’s start with some basic background information, since many EAS readers may not be familiar with you. How old are you? Where were you born? Is this your full time job, or what do you do for a living?

Well, I guess that most EM musicians need to have another job to earn for a living. So do I at the moment. I've got a full time job at a radio station in Roskilde here in Denmark and I am working mostly behind soundboards and reel-to-reel tape recorders there, editing lots of interviews that journalists have done. I am also doing a show myself as well twice a month called Elektroland.

2. What were your musical influences growing up, and when did you first realize that electronic music was the direction you wanted to go?

A very difficult question. I was given an electric organ at the age of 5 and 3 years later I got the yamaha DSR-2000 keyboard which sounds a bit similar to the well known DX-7 synthesizer. The DSR-2000 has a built in 4 track sequencer so I was recording lots of stuff on that for some years. At that time I also listened to some electronic artists like Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis.

As for Nattefrost I started it in 1995 and has since developed the musical ideas and built up my studio.

3. Wait a minute, hold on. You were given an electric organ at the age of FIVE? And by age 8 you had a synth similar to the DX-7? How did this happen? Did you express an interest, or were your parents musically inclined and wanted to encourage you? That seems awfully early to jump into the EM scene.

My parents might have thought that I was very much into music. I was given the electric organ at Christmas and I started to learn a track by Jean Michel Jarre, “Oxygene 4”. I also remember that I composed a track myself. And then later my parents were so kind to buy the Yamaha DSR-2000 for me, that made my day I remember. It has a 4-track sequencer built in and I had 2 tape recorders so I managed to record the music as well.

4. You mentioned you have your own radio show, Elektroland. What albums and/or bands might you play in a typical show?

It's all kinds of electronic music really. From ambient to the more sequencer driven music and some electro stuff too, maybe even a bit of different techno styles sometimes.

5. You said Jarre and Vangelis were early influences. They tend to be very melodic, sometimes melodramatic. Your music, what I've heard of it so far, seems more reserved, even ambient. Where does that influence come from?

Maybe they were influences at that time but I've always wanted to have my own style. It's not so easy with EM but at least I don't want to sound like someone just copying some other artist or band. That could also be why some of my tracks are more ambient than others. I don't know for sure but maybe I don't play a certain style of EM. I like to compose different things but I also want it to be smooth sounding all together, not just some ambient in the beginning and then a very melodic and happy tune afterwards, it has to go very well together.

I always tend to focus on the more melodic and harmonic things with Nattefrost, so even my ambient-like tracks have melodies. I think the new album is even more melodic than my previous releases.

I think the guys behind Groove are doing an excellent job for the EM scene. And I also think they are very professional. And very important as well is that they are very respected and people like what they do and what they release. So I thought that I could ask them if they'd be interested in releasing my new album. And they agreed to do so.

7. You said that Nattefrost has been around since 1995. Of the 5 releases you’ve had in that time, some were EPs, some were cassettes, and one was a full CD release. Do you know if you will be reissuing any of this material on Groove, or will you just be releasing new material through them?

The 2 recent releases, De som sejrede... and Vejen til Asgård, were released on the Belgian label Nothingness Records. Those CDs are now only available from a few shops but have been sold out from Nothingness and I've been given the permission to re-release them myself since many people still ask for them. They'll be available later this year as a remastered CD, both the album and the EP on 1 CD. I'll also add some new artwork and English translation of the titles probably.

There are no plans for that at the moment but we'll never know what the future might bring. I'd like to perform live with Nattefrost. I can say for sure though that I won't be performing with big modulars and vintage gear like many other "electronic musicians" do. For me it's important to also be a bit original, so I'll try to do it differently but of course still very interesting. I'd like something visual along with my music too.

9. Where do you get your inspiration for your musical ideas? Do they just pop into your head, are they inspired by stories, do they come from playing in the studio, or what?

Inspiration is always hard to explain, but I guess I've got it mainly from the Danish nature. I am very interested in our roots and ancient history here in Scandinavia and the other Germanic countries, so that's definately another input. On the more musical side I find lots of sounds from the synths to be quite inspiring. When I am trying to come up with new ideas I am in my studio surfing through the sounds and I sometimes find myself spending hours just trying to find the main sound for a track. At that time I haven't even recorded anything.

10. Sounds like the recording process can be different every time, then. So what was it like this time, creating your new album that's coming out?

This time I've worked both in the main studio and in my mobile studio. The mobile studio consists of a laptop with Steinberg Cubase SE 3 and Propellerhead Reason 3.0, an M-Audio Ozone 2 octave midi synth and of course the Sennheiser HD-280 headphones. This is a very simple setup and I am able to carry everything in a rucksack. I am very often visiting Germany so small parts of the new album are recorded there, in Münster that is. Well that doesn't give me much of a Scandinavian feeling, but I find this a good way to add something different to the music I create. I'd like to be able to travel around with this very simple setup since that means that I can compose or at least record some ideas and when I am back in my main studio I can continue working with the ideas. People sometimes ask me how much time I spend in my studio, it's really hard to say and I am not working everyday. But I work at least 4-5 days a week in the studio. Sometimes only 3 hours an evening, and sometimes up to 12 hours which means nearly the whole day, mainly weekends.

I think Absorbed in dreams and yearning is a bit different to my other releases, not very different but still there are new elements that are not to be found on the earlier CDs. I've always loved my music to be sounding very melodic and on my new album I would say that there are even more melodies. I also worked with drum machines this time, not very dominating at all, but they are there at least and I think they fit into the music.

One last thing I can say that I added is the use of samples. You'll hear the sound of thunder, water and wind and I recorded a few "speaks" myself too. Last but not least the guest vocalist Ute Stemmann did some "speak" and quiet singing on "Visions of a pale moon". None of this is dominating the music at all but I think that it gives the whole album some extra life. One might not even be able to hear Ute's backing vocals but they are definitely there and you'll hear if they aren't, that kind of feeling in music is for me very enjoyable.

Thanks for this interview, and we look forward to enjoying your music when the new CD comes out!