A man on a mission. Most definitely situated in the upper echelon of dance music producers, Denmark’s Anders Trentemoller is always pushing musical boundaries with whoever he collaborates with. Distinct and original at all times, he’s destroyed many a dance floor with remixes of acts like Röyksopp and Moby along with his own solo work, and there’s few producers out there who can boast to have made the same impact over the past few years.
On his new anthology release The Chronicles, Anders has provided his fans with a much anticipated journey into the realm of his mixing, production and remixing escapades. Here, he sits down with Harry Avers to discuss the new album venture and talk about all things musical.
Tell us about your latest effort The Chronicles?
The Chronicles is not a new studio album, but a collection of some of my best work. A lot of people asked me if there was any chance to get hold of my more rare tracks and remixes on CD. Until now they have only been available on vinyl for the DJs. So I thought, why not? The Chronicles is a double album. CD1 is my own personal favorite tracks, B-sides or tunes only released in very limited editions on vinyl, but also two new tracks. The tracks Blood in the Streets was actually meant to be on The Last Resort album, but there was not enough space for it, as I used all 78 minutes which is the max you can put on a CD. It was very hard to decide which tracks should not be on the album, therefore when I was asked to do The Chronicles, there was no doubt in my mind that this track had to be on it.
All the tracks on CD1 are mixed in a very gentle way. Not as a mix CD, but mixed more in a musical way. You will not find 10 tracks in the same BPMs, it’s more like a journey, slowly building up to the more techy stuff. I also included the radio version of Moan, this is the version you also find on the video made for Moan. It’s my own remix, and many people have asked for that version on CD as well.
Throughout your career, what remixes did you find to be the most challenging and why?
No doubt, the Royksopp remix. I am a big fan of The Knife, and Karin Dreyers’ voice is so cool. Often pitched and electronically fucked up. So when Royksopp asked me to remix their song featuring Karin, I said yes right away. My friend Jokke Ilsoe played the bass on the remix (on The Chronicles, you can actually also find a remix I have done of one of his tracks). I made 7 totally different versions of the track before I was satisfied. It was important for me to do something totally new to the track; especially tonal wise. I used a lot of time on the bassline in the get down. It had to feature the ‘right tones’.
If we were to walk into your studio, what would we see?
Haha… Not much. A new iMac, a laptop, two hardware compressors and pre-amps and some keyboards. I try to keep it very simple.
The first CD is a mix of your own material. Comment on the process of choosing and programming the tracks. Was this the original mix you came up with?
Yeah it was. It was made in 3 hours late at night with some good red wine. I was pretty sure which tracks I wanted on this CD.
What are your favorite tracks on CD1 and why?
The first track called The Forest. I am very happy with the production. It’s good as a starter of the album and I like the warmth in the mix. I am also very satisfied with my remix of Klovn 8, a Danish electronica act. It’s actually not really a remix but more my own composition. I ended up only using a two second snippet of the bassline in the original track. So I, in a way, see this as my own track… Haha a bit strange…
CD2 is a collection of your remixes. Tell us which you are most proud of and why?
Royksopp is my favorite, also because it has such massive effect when I play it as a DJ. And I like the tonal parts in it, especially the big get down and build up.
Who are your favorite DJs?
I don’t have any really. I’m more into seeing artists playing live. I really like the mash up scene. 2many DJs are really cool. People who dare mix different musical styles. I’m SO fed up with boring minimal DJs that only play DJ sets without any melodies!
Are there any up and coming producers/DJs that you are championing at the moment?
He’s not up-coming, but I like Erol Alkan. He has some kind of rock n’ roll attitude to his mixes. I like that!
How do you find time to both produce and perform?
It’s also very hard. Sometimes impossible. So I will soon take a big break from DJing and only play with my band and then find time and inspiration to make some new material.
Can we look inside your record bag?
All from indie rock from the 80s to 2007, electro, discopunk, techno, mash up bootlegs and Swedish jazz from the 70s (mainly Jan Johanson).
Talk about your worldview?
Hehe… That’s too big a question for me to answer… I would prefer to use my time on making some music haha.
Comment on the state of dance music past, present, and future.
Dance music has to get some melody back into the music! Most of the techno and especially minimal is simply too unintelligent if you ask me. I doubt if you can even call it ‘music’.
What is your most memorable gig? And why?
It was playing at this year’s Roskilde Festival in Denmark. We played for 35.000 people. The best crowd ever! There was a magical atmosphere, and people actually listened to the music. Also the slow tracks! There was a very special bond between the band and the crowd.
Who are your musical heroes?
Mazzy Star and of course especially Hope Sandoval. Suicide, The Cure, The Smiths and Velvet Underground among many more….
What are your views on digital downloads? Have we seen the end of Record stores as we know them?
As long as the artists get money for their work, I think it is a very good thing! It’s easy and it makes underground music much easier to achieve. Yeah, I think the traditional record store. But there will still be small stores for the freaks and fans.
Talk about how important it is to take care of your fanbase. Do you always make time to stop in a club and say hello to a fan?
Yeah, always. It’s very important for me. I am so grateful that some people like my music. It’s a big honor for me.
Want to catch a dance music master in action? Trentemoller will be performing live at the following shows…
Thu 29th Nov: Family, Brisbane (with Booka Shade)
Fri 30 Nov: The Gaelic Club, Sydney
Sat 1st Dec: Stereosonic, Royal Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne
Sat 1st Dec: Ministry of Sound Annual Festival, Hordern Pavillion, Sydney
Sun 2nd Dec: Ministry of Sound Annual Festival, Supreme Court Gardens, Perth
Wed 5th Dec: Prince Bandroom, Melbourne
And while you’re at it, check out the review of The Chronicles as well as the extremely memorable clip for his single Moan.
kone says...
i love chronicles and am bursting to see him on saturday night! what a god...that cd does awesome things for me, listened to it so many times since getting a hold of it. Love the journey disc 1 provides especially
awkwardrhythm says...
second that. soo fucking good. can't wait for friday.
Youss_doc says...
one of the best minimal DJ's i have ever heard play!! and his live sets are the best... i have seen him play in london, and here as well... he is the best!! will surely be an unmissable set-:) i will see him at stereosonic along with booka shade!! sweet-:)