When Prins Thomas dropped his self-titled debut album on the world last year in 2010 hallelujah was cried from the mouths of dance-music aficionados the world over. Having spent the 2000s working on all things space-disco with his partner in crime Lindstrom, doing numerous remixes for dance music elite, LCD Soundsystem and Junior Boys to name a few, running his label Full Pupp and spreading the love across the world with his infectious DJ sets, no one was sure when the day for an album would come.

Although the release was a long time coming, the bearded Norwegian proved the wait was worth it, producing an avant-garde experimental album which was less likely to hit the dancefloor, but a slowed-down, continuation of the space-disco sound perfect for cold nights and star gazing.

So it may come to a surprise to fans that his follow-up album isn’t too far away. And in fact, Prins Thomas will have two releases in 2012, having completed an EP for his side project Prins Thomas Orchestra.

We caught up with the innovative producer and DJ ahead of his Australian summer tour, where he was chilling at home in Oslo, listening to some old Derrick May and avoiding the European winter.

Is it cold in Norway at the moment?
Yeah. I’m getting so used to it now, everything is cold, but there’s a lot of snow. We had a couple of little-bit-hotter days and the snow started to melt and turn into ice, so it’s kind of impossible to be outdoors.

Do you still have your beard?
Yes, I’ve been preparing for the winter; it’s bigger than ever. I might shave it off for Australia, get ready for the heat.

Do you think living in Norway has had a big influence on the music that you make?
Yeah, I think just having a little bit of distance to all these very urban and metropolis areas around the world. If I had been anywhere like Berlin or London, I guess it would’ve been kind of different, would have felt like being part of an industry or something.

It’s very nice to travel but it’s also very nice to head back home and away from it all. I get more inspired by being away from nightlife and making my music inside my little bubble rather than being at clubs and hearing that pounding four by four beat on the dancefloor.

It’s been over a year since Prins Thomas came out; have you been making much music of late?
Yes, I’ve been working on tonnes of stuff actually. I have this side project now called the Prins Thomas Orchestra which is kind of self explanatory but it’s me and my band, it has nine people, it’s a little too big for touring much but it’s just a fun side project. We have done a few shows here in Norway, doing one in Madrid on Saturday and we’re planning some European summer festivals next summer. We recorded an EP and I have started making some new tracks for the band that we’re going to try next year. So the EP from the orchestra should come out early next year.