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Trentemoller
Mixtapes & Movies
"Working on my albums I saw it as working to the soundtrack of a non existent movie" Trentemoller
Renowned Danish music producer Trentemøller is well known for filling the dance floor at clubs around the world, remixing the likes of Röyskopp, The Knife, Apex Twin and Moby. His latest musical venture, Harbour Boat Trips: Copenhagen, his first mix CD, is an eclectic mix of haunting melodies, new wave electro and folksy rock that includes a diverse range of artists that span several decades.
This album (Harbour Boat Trips: Copenhagen) is a compilation of your favourite tracks, how long had you been thinking of making an album like this?
Actually not for that long, often when I talked to friends they would ask for a special mix to play while working at home or just relaxing at home. I thought why not make a mix CD that was not so much pumping dance music, but more a mellow mix that you could put on your home stereo, that you could chill out to. So that was the main point of it. It was quite quick actually, it only took one or two nights, it was quite fast.
How difficult was it to narrow down what tracks you wanted to put on the album?
That was actually more difficult because there was so much good music out there but it was also a matter of what tracks that could be cleared from different labels. There were some tracks that were more than 20 years old, so some of the clearance of the tracks took a while. Actually I think that there were about ten tracks that didn’t make it to the mix because it was impossible to clear them, so at the last minute I had to find some other tracks that had to be used instead. But I had so much music to choose from it was no problem to find similar tracks.
Is there a stand out track or a favourite?
Yeah there are many parts but one of my favourites was one of the ones by Suicide. I heard it for the first time twenty years ago, this track called Ghostrider, and it was actually done in 78 but it has this electronic rockabilly feel to it that I really like. This band came out in the same era as Kraftwerk, they were much more rock oriented but still they were doing all their music with synthesisers and drum machines. So that was one of my favourite tracks.
There are a range of artists on the album from a broad time span; did you consciously include artists from several eras of music?
Yeah it was not my idea to start with but it came out that way because I was choosing music that I liked and some tracks are quite old and some are new. So when I finally set with a mix, I could see that it was music from nearly three, four decades. It was fun to see that a track from 78 can mix with a track that is brand new as long as the sound and vibes mix.
You recently worked on the soundtrack for the Danish film, Det Som Ingen Ved (That Which No One Knows), how did this come about?
The director was also working with another Danish director, Lars Von Trier, and we met up about three years ago. This guy came over to me and said to me that he really liked my album, it was just released back then, and he asked me if I wanted to work with him on a movie. This of course it was something that was very interesting to me because I like working with moods and atmosphere. Working on my albums I saw it as working to the soundtrack of a non-existent movie, so when he asked me I said yeah of course.
How do you compare working on an album to a soundtrack?
It is very different because when you are working on a movie you have to work very closely with the director and the editor and you sometimes have to make some big compromises because the music is very important. It has to fit scenes and mood. Music is a very powerful thing in movies because music can tell more than what is being said in a scene. So it was more like cooperation, working together on the music compared to making my own music which is more of an ego trip for me, making music on my own.
Do you think this is something you will do again?
Yeah definitely. It was really fun but my main passion in life is making my own music purely, but I think it is quite good sometimes to be forced to work with other people and get inspired and not always do the thing that you feel secure about. So making movies for me is a challenge and could be really fun for the future.
What is next for you in 2009?
I am working on my next album and I am also preparing for a big festival. I will be performing in front of 5000 people and that is a bit scary, so I am getting ready for that show. We are going to have a lot of people on stage, like 30 dancers and weird stuff going on visual wise.
Harbour Boat Trips: Copenhagen is available now through Stomp records.
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Actually not for that long, often when I talked to friends they would ask for a special mix to play while working at home or just relaxing at home. I thought why not make a mix CD that was not so much pumping dance music, but more a mellow mix that you could put on your home stereo, that you could chill out to. So that was the main point of it. It was quite quick actually, it only took one or two nights, it was quite fast.
How difficult was it to narrow down what tracks you wanted to put on the album?
That was actually more difficult because there was so much good music out there but it was also a matter of what tracks that could be cleared from different labels. There were some tracks that were more than 20 years old, so some of the clearance of the tracks took a while. Actually I think that there were about ten tracks that didn’t make it to the mix because it was impossible to clear them, so at the last minute I had to find some other tracks that had to be used instead. But I had so much music to choose from it was no problem to find similar tracks.
Is there a stand out track or a favourite?
Yeah there are many parts but one of my favourites was one of the ones by Suicide. I heard it for the first time twenty years ago, this track called Ghostrider, and it was actually done in 78 but it has this electronic rockabilly feel to it that I really like. This band came out in the same era as Kraftwerk, they were much more rock oriented but still they were doing all their music with synthesisers and drum machines. So that was one of my favourite tracks.
There are a range of artists on the album from a broad time span; did you consciously include artists from several eras of music?
Yeah it was not my idea to start with but it came out that way because I was choosing music that I liked and some tracks are quite old and some are new. So when I finally set with a mix, I could see that it was music from nearly three, four decades. It was fun to see that a track from 78 can mix with a track that is brand new as long as the sound and vibes mix.
You recently worked on the soundtrack for the Danish film, Det Som Ingen Ved (That Which No One Knows), how did this come about?
The director was also working with another Danish director, Lars Von Trier, and we met up about three years ago. This guy came over to me and said to me that he really liked my album, it was just released back then, and he asked me if I wanted to work with him on a movie. This of course it was something that was very interesting to me because I like working with moods and atmosphere. Working on my albums I saw it as working to the soundtrack of a non-existent movie, so when he asked me I said yeah of course.
How do you compare working on an album to a soundtrack?
It is very different because when you are working on a movie you have to work very closely with the director and the editor and you sometimes have to make some big compromises because the music is very important. It has to fit scenes and mood. Music is a very powerful thing in movies because music can tell more than what is being said in a scene. So it was more like cooperation, working together on the music compared to making my own music which is more of an ego trip for me, making music on my own.
Do you think this is something you will do again?
Yeah definitely. It was really fun but my main passion in life is making my own music purely, but I think it is quite good sometimes to be forced to work with other people and get inspired and not always do the thing that you feel secure about. So making movies for me is a challenge and could be really fun for the future.
What is next for you in 2009?
I am working on my next album and I am also preparing for a big festival. I will be performing in front of 5000 people and that is a bit scary, so I am getting ready for that show. We are going to have a lot of people on stage, like 30 dancers and weird stuff going on visual wise.
Harbour Boat Trips: Copenhagen is available now through Stomp records.
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