Tralalas On the Making Of “Winter on the Vine”
What was the creative process like for this particular song?
I do all the compositions in my bedroom studio. As I am self taught musician I play a little of every basic instrument, the process can be as slow as surprising and fun. For the particular track, one winter, I got inspired by a visit to a nice waterfall I used for a cover photo - in Sweden - just a few hours drive from Copenhagen. The absolute frozen stillness of the scenery got me thinking about cycles of nature and how they intervene on human life, and our often pretty naive attempts to exempt this, and how this naivety could be said to be a dangerous adversary. I found the sentence "winter on the vine" - inspiring and started humming from there, and the song kind of wrote itself. Back home I quickly recorded a rough sketch of the track. Heidi then dropped by my homestudio one day and did the overdubbed vocal and the track absolutely found its nerve. Heidi is a fantastic and independent collaborator, she works/sings really fast and can improvise and hit any note you ask her to. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to work with her and find her voice absolutely unique. I wanted the track to be down tempo and the arrangement not too complex to reflect a stillness.
How did you approach the arrangement and composition of the music for "Winter on the Vine?"
Once in the studio working with producer Thomas Li it's a different process. Like working with Heidi, working with Thomas is a pleasure. He is a very experienced producer and I trust him to basically disrupt my arrangements. This track is although a more or less 1.1 approach, apart from the very important fact that all tracks have been re-recorded, again with the help of some very capable musicians. This track in particular Thomas Golzen og guitar and bass, as he has recorded all guitar and bass for the upcoming album. Generally I've had some really generous and super-talented musicians in the studio to contribute, that I would like to mention: Heidi Lindahl, and Thomas Golzen, Francis Nørgaard Jensen, Thomas Olsen, and Christina Schmidt Damm.
What impact do you hope "Winter on the Vine" will have on your audience?
The impact? That's a tricky one. Art needs an audience to communicate, so of course I'm aiming for an audience and recognition. So I'm hoping the single will resonate something in an audience, that's the idea of all art I think. To somehow create a dialogue once the (your) art is out there, and you as an artist kind of let it go. To point in a direction, without moralising or being judgmental. I think that's the impact I can only hope for. A commotion.
Can you tell us more about you as an artist?
Ah, me as a musician?. I'm self-taught, and sometimes doubt if I'm even a musician, but somehow I get the basic work and tracks done. Recording the album is my first time in a professional studio and it's been a brutal yet constructive learning curve. My background is in elektro punk. Played in some bands back in the 80ties and 90ties without huge success, and I stopped playing in the mid nineties when I had my first child. I think I stopped believing in the idea of making music and just started listening way more. That lasted until around 2010 when I got divorced and a friend gave me an Ableton set up. It was a f...ing revolution! I started recording like a house on fire, mostly dubbed electronica with a friend in the due VERTICAL. We released a few albums, and played some concerts. I then met Heidi Lindahl in approx 2016, and started writing with her and supporting her for some concerts as a bass player. She is a brilliant singer/songwriter. From there on I started missing recording more "1 2 3 4 bass guitar drum and vocal" basic stuff, so I did. And at some point there and in connection with my work/booker at Frederiksberg Country Club (pop up venue/Copenhagen), I met Thomas Lii, who had a liking for my tracks. So on June 24 we started recording, and now a year later we have completed recording 9 tracks. So there you have it. Art to me, music, is everything or what keeps me afloat.
What role do you feel emotions play in your music, and how do you channel them into your performances?
Emotions in music? They are important. They are just as important as striving for something original or personal. That to me is the most important emotion in music or any art form, and what I think is what always makes a piece of art stand out. I'm not saying I can do it, but I strive for it. I'm trying to avoid the mainstream. I like the analogue approach to recording because it means working with people, communicating with people on an idea. I have a strong belief in small communities rather than large or digital systems. But yes, emotions. I use emotions and personal experience to write from but it doesn't necessarily mean that I write about me. I will write about what I know. Or I try to:-)
