While his name will long be prefixed by ‘re-edit master’, Todd Terje has moved on. The Norwegian whiz who brought the incongruous likes of Wham, KC & The Sunshine Band and Paul Simon to disco dancefloors is now developing a live show and relishing the joys of the studio.

When talking to Terje (that’s actually his first name), you get the sense of a producer who lives for the process, not the praise. He’s leaving the music-making behind for a couple of weeks this month to visit Australia again, so inthemix called the man for a chat at his mixing desk.

How was the summer for you?
The summer was good, not because of gigs, but because I had one month off everything. We just drove around Norway. Right now, I’m working on this live set more than a recorded piece. I’m trying to expand my instrument section, so I’ve bought a lot of stuff, mostly synthesisers but also drums and percussion. Hopefully not too far in the future, I will be able to do a pretty cool live set.

Will that be a one-man show, or with other musicians?
I would like to do as much as I can myself, as I’m the only one who knows exactly how it should sound. I don’t know; I should probably practice giving up the control. I’m so picky on every detail. I’m hard to work with.

What inspired you to develop a live show?
Well, I think doing a live show allows me to think more freely. I don’t have to think it will be judged by journalists or music tastemakers. What I like most about making music is the exact moment that I make the music. After I finish the song and the single comes to release, I’m pretty much tired of it. If I can transfer that feeling of making music when I’m playing live, that’d be really great. I don’t know if it’s possible to do it, but I will definitely try.

So it’s more about creating compositions on-the-fly in the live show, rather than reworking old tracks of yours?
Definitely. It’ll be a little more monotonous, more sequencer-driven. I think that’s where the fun stuff happens. When you hear a monotonous loop for a while, then there’s a small change in the music, you freak out. It’s the same thing techno producers say, but it can of course get very boring. But if you get the feeling that you’re doing something for the first time, it’ll be exciting. That’s my theory anyway.

It sounds like a very different feel from your DJ sets.
Yeah, definitely. When you DJ, you almost have to be action-fuelled to keep everyone’s attention all the time. But at a concert, people act completely differently when they look at that performer and realise he’s playing everything live.

You seem to me like a DJ who chooses his gigs carefully; is that true?
I’m lucky to have a really good agent actually. I don’t take that many decisions myself; I trust them to pick out the good stuff. Their policy is there in the name, The Backroom Agency. I do a lot of main rooms of course, but their policy is less straight four-four, more ‘music’.

Because of your agent, do you rarely find yourself at festivals or big clubs where you have to play outside your style?
It happens, but I usually know. I don’t really mind. It’s sometimes fun to alter your sound, you have to think harder. When you play the perfect party, you don’t have to think that much, you’re just relaxing. Whereas if you play in China and they expect trance, you have to really think about it! Obviously I can’t play trance, they have booked me to play a Todd Terje set, but they still want it to be easy to digest.

Do those ever turn out to be the stand-out parties?
Yeah, actually, when I’m forced to play more techy stuff I really enjoy it. I personally cannot dance to anything that reaches 130 [BPM]. My body just doesn’t like that. Although right now I was just recording a track that’s 140 BPM. But that’s another story.

It’s interesting to see how people react to really fast music. Sometimes you end up thinking, ‘Ah, kids will dance to anything as long as it’s 130 BPM’. But sometimes you can get some fantastic energy out of being the 115 BPM kind of guy. There are so many different tempos though, you need to think differently every once in a while. I think 110 BPM and 140 BPM next to each other is more interesting than being locked into a house groove.

Were you happy with the finished product of the Remaster Of The Universe album?
I don’t think it’s a blockbuster, but it’s just the way I wanted it to be. It’s sort of a teaser for the album.

So the re-edit chapter, or at least releasing re-edits, is finished for you?
Yeah, I stopped doing edits three years ago. I still do them for my own sake, but just as DJ tools. I don’t really thinking it’s that interesting any more, ‘cause I got my dose of it. I did 600, 700 edits. I still do different takes on old tracks myself, but not necessarily very creative ones.

And they are solely for your own use?
Yes. I realised that a lot of the duplicates that have emerged recently have been leaked by people who I thought were my friends. I don’t think I’m going to be sharing even with friends any more. Everyone just leaks them.

Having done a stint in Berlin, is there anywhere else you’d like to set up home?
I’ve always dreamt of moving to Japan, and now I need to find a way to do it. I’m thinking of finding a Japanese guy and switching apartments for a few months.

What is it that you love about Japan?
Obviously the food. The manners are fantastic, generally. They also have a scene for everything, so you always feel like you belong somewhere, and they have so many specialist stores. Right now I’m into synths, so I could go synth shopping in Tokyo. I just like the efficiency and the choice.

How about playing out in Tokyo?
That’s a different story, because it’s the opposite of going to China and they expect to hear trance. You go to Japan and you’re expected to play the most nerdy things you can think of. That bothers me a little bit. People really stand there with notebooks to write down every track you play, and that’s not what clubbing is about. It’s about entertaining, not educating. I remember that [DJ] Harvey was critiqued for playing too much house, and he’s been a house DJ all long. Suddenly they expected ‘Sarcastic Disco’ all night long.

You mentioned synth-shopping. Are synths a big part of your forthcoming album?
Not really, I haven’t really got that far on the album. I’m working on music but I haven’t pinned down any tracks for an album. It’s not as important right now. That’s why I wanted to do the live show, because I’ve always felt that people expect an album from me and if I make music now, it’s expected to be on the album. But if you’re going to put music on an album, it better be pretty fucking good. I want to experiment more and have fun with the music, and I don’t think I can do that unless I do a one-off concert or something.

There’s always so much expectation around a first album. But I just want to have fun with music, and I’m having shit-loads of fun. I just don’t record it! I used to be much more into arrangements and attention to detail, and I think it was too much attention. Sometimes the joy of making music is gone by the end of making it. The best part is that moment where you insert that percussion or whatever, and it gives you goosebumps. But then it disappears.

Do you feel there are a lot of lazy sounding edits coming out these days?
That’s not really bothering me, if people are doing lazy or creative edits. I just think that the pizzazz is not there. Everything just sounds bland. Not to say anything bad about The Revenge, but he represents a new type of producer which just stretches and stretches. I don’t really like that deep house disco much. I prefer the wonkiness of original disco tracks. That sound just seems like ‘90s deep house all over again.

Are you looking forward to these upcoming club shows in Australia?
I’ve enjoyed Australia both times. The only bad thing is that it takes a lot of time to be there. I will be away from my studio for a long while. But I look forward to eating all your food and stealing all your synths.

Todd Terje tour dates:

Friday 10 September – Humm & Move @ Manor, Perth
Saturday 11 September – Lick It @ barsoma, Brisbane
Thursday 16 September – Adult Arts Club @ Sugar, Adelaide
Friday 17 September – Children Of Realness @ Roxanne Parlour, Melbourne
Saturday 18 September – Adult Disco @ Civic Underground, Sydney