Summer = Festivals = Distortion & Start! Festival

— Summer = Festivals = Distortion & Start! Festival —

A Personal Guide To Copenhagen Distortion 2009
In Danish — Introduction to Start! Festival 2009

Boom Boom Magazine 2009 Content Map

The blog version of Boom Boom Magazine has now been online for a couple of months. To sum up all the blog posts, artists and genres, we’ve made a content map –

Boom Boom Magazine Content Map

In tag format –

boom boom –  aura dione –  boom boom magazine — ida corr –  mike sheridan –  alphabeat — dúné — boom boom mag  –  volbeat – aura — sinne eeg – boom magazine — boomboom — caroline henderson – diddan degn karstensen –  aura singer — michael poulsen — kenneth bager – cornstick new music and news — boom boom music — music export — ida corr  — inger/aura — anders houmøller thomsen –  venice — aura dione wiki — boom boom blog   –  dup
sinne eeg blu note –  “spleen united” — mike sheridan blog – caroline, the danish jazz singer – “i’ve been riding all –night” ida corr — bjarne albrektsen — midem 2009 publisher –  singer aura — columbine aura dione — boom boom boom — volbeat sold out cover –  boom ! — thomas thomsen danish

Strippers, T-Shirts, Dubplates & Discount Stores

How do you promote a band or independent label at a time when most of the music industry is wallowing in the wake of a depression caused by the global financial crisis, sales are plummeting, piracy is rampant and new technology is changing the way business can and should be conducted? It’s a question aspiring musicians and industry professionals have to face – especially since recession seems to have little impact on the number of hopefuls trying to make it big.
(from Boom Boom Magazine #03.)

Factors like these have encouraged a lot of people to adopt a more creative approach to promotion, and  to search for alternate means of distributing and selling records – or, quite simply, to find other sources  of income to supplement revenue from concerts and record sales.

Hard-rock fashionistas

Rock Hard Power Spray are known for their penchant for rocking with certain parts of the male anatomy  out, and also for launching their career with a carefully planned on-stage sex scandal involving a stripper. They landed on the front page of the Danish tabloid newspaper Ekstra Bladet long before they landed a record deal.

Their no-frills, aggressive and melodic hard rock and carefree, confident attitude sealed them a deal  ith the major label Universal, who released  their debut album “Commercial Suicide”. At the same time, the band launched a collection of T-shirts featuring not only the band’s name in huge letters, but also a very sexy, very rock’n’roll female silhouette that reminded people of how they first heard of the band. All of a  sudden it seemed that practically every Dane was wearing the T-shirts, perhaps hoping to claim a vicarious slice of the band’s fast-lane lifestyle. Sales of the T-shirts dwarfed those of “Commercial  Suicide”, but the T-shirts wouldn’t have been popular if it hadn’t been for the Rock Hard boys’ cool image and high-energy tunes. This is home-made synergy in action, straight out of the rehearsal rooms and into high-street fashion boutiques.

Dubplate hype-making
Far, far away from the bright stage lights that engulf rock stars, in the deepest and darkest recesses of  Copenhagen clubs, is where we are most likely to find dubstep artist Obeah – also known as DJ 2000F, party promoter from the OHOI! crew, and as Frederik Birket-Smith, co-founder of Kraken Recordings. Obeah is undoubtedly the leading Danish exponent of the dubstep sound that originated in Croydon in South London and has rapidly become a global phenomenon. This music, with its thundering basslines, cavernous reverbs and ultra-dark mood, doesn’t easily lend itself to traditional means of promotion like mainstream radio play, chart shows and music videos. Instead, artists like Obeah employ dubstep culture’s own particular method of promoting new records.

“Dubstep, grime and drum’n’bass are different to other genres,” Birket-Smith explains. “They come out of the dubplate culture that originated in reggae. You supply the right people with a dubplate (dubplates are individually produced acetate records, that allow DJs to play records no one else has) prior to the release to build hype around the record. Dubstep is basically a trainspotting culture, so that’s what we’re working with.”

“It’s all about timing and the right contacts. First, you need to know which DJs will like your particular track. Pick the right ones and it’ll be played at raves around the world, keeping ravers guessing who’s behind that massive bassline until, when the hype is at its peak, you release it to the public on 12” vinyl.”

[...]

Give the people what they didn’t know they wanted
Much like dubstep, world music is usually considered a niche genre. However, Copenhagen-based band Klezmofobia, who play a rock-infused version of traditional Jewish klezmer, have turned their vibrantly melodic music – equal parts melancholia and raucous partying – into something of a phenomenon in their home country. They sold 20,000 copies of their debut album “Tantz!” – which is enough for a gold album in Denmark despite it not being sold in ordinary record shops.

Klezmofobia signed with Tiger Music, a label founded by discount store chain Tiger, which sells its  releases exclusively in its own stores. “We jumped at the chance when it presented itself,” says Bjarke Kolerus, Klezmofobia clarinettist. “We sent in a demo, and then recorded, mixed, and mastered the album in record time once Tiger Music gave us the go-ahead. Of course, we had discussed the pros and cons of being sold between pencil sharpeners and mugs, but we decided it would be better than ending up as a niche band. We weren’t interested in making a lot of money. We wanted the visibility that Tiger’s concept offered.”

[...]

Klezmofobia are now taking their music out into the world, starting with a tour of Germany and Austria. Just like the boys from Rock Hard Power Spray and Kraken Recordings, they’re crossing borders, both geographical and within the music industry.

Text: Jesper Buhl
Photography: RAW FORMAT

Boom Boom Magazine — Contacts

12 Tonár Fiolstræde 26, 1171 København K +45 33365644 louise@12tonar.dk 12tonar.is

A:Larm Enghavevej 40, 4, 1674 København V +45 99340700 info@alarmmusic.dk alarmmusic.dk

Aller International Marielundsvej 46 E, 273 Herlev +45 44858888 info@allerint.dk allerint.dk

Art Management Nørrebrogade 34, 2200 København N +45 35374232 umj@artmanagement.dk artmanagement.dk

Artiscope Music Wildersgade 35, kld. 1408 København K +45 32557744 info@artiscope.dk artiscope.dk

ArtPeople Ørstedhus, Vester Farimagsgade 41, 1606 København K +45 33113311 info@artpeople.dk artpeople.dk

Auditorium Blågårdsgade 3, st. tv, 2200 København N +45 33126205 mads@auditorium.nu auditorium.nu

Bad Afro Records Kronborggade 7, kl. th, 2200 København N +45 26379373 badafro@badafro.dk badafro.dk

Bellevue Entertainment Klokkestøbervej 15, 8800 Viborg +45 70226202 bellevue@bellevue.dk bellevue.dk

Bonnier Music Denmark Dronningens Tværgade 30, 1302 København K +45 33427700 info@bonnieramigo.com bonnieramigo.dk

Calibrated Music Westend 13, 1661 København V +45 70201137 info@calibrated.org calibrated.org

Cope Records Westend 13, 1661 København V +45 70201137 peter@coperecords.com coperecords.com

Copenhagen Records Enghave 40, 4, 1674 København V +45 35209090 jacob@copenhagenrecords.dk copenhagenrecords.dk

Cowbell Music Valby Langgade 23, 1. th, 2500 Valby +45 70260807 mail@cowbellmusic.dk cowbellmusic.dk

Crunchy Frog Studiestræde 24, 2. Sal, 1455 København K +45 33115411 thomas@crunchy.dk crunchy.dk

Dacapo Records Gråbrødretorv 16, 1154 København K +45 32960602 henrik.rordam@dacapo-records.dk dacapo-records.dk

Egmont Serieforlaget A/S Vognmagergade 11, 1148 København K +45 70205035 egmont.com

EMI Music Denmark Falkoner Allé 7, 3.sal, 2000 Frederiksberg +45 36935400 info@emi.dk emi.dk

Evely Records Kirkebjerg Allé 27, 2770 Vanløse +45 26125459 info@evelynrec.com evelynrec.com

Exlibris Klareboderne 3, 1001 København K +45 33755779 xlpa@gyldendal.dk exlibris.dk

Folkeskolens Musiklærerforenings Forlag Gudenåvej 162, 7400 Herning +45 97129452 master@dansksang.dk dansksang.dk

Forlaget GUF Brogade 6, 6400 Sønderborg +45 74422302 guf@post5.tele.dk gufas.dk

Fønix Musik Sønder Allé 14 B, 8000 Århus C +45 86195811 kalyana@fonixmusik.com fonixmusik.dk

Go’ Danish Folk Ribe Landevej 190, 7100 Vejle +45 75722486 go@gofolk.dk gofolk.dk

Good Tape Records Bredgade 25D, 1260 København K +45 33110060 info@goodtaperecords.dk goodtaperecords.dk

Heptown Records Kulturmejeriet, Stora Södergatan 64, 222 23 Lund, Sweden +46 462111449 records@heptown.com heptown.com

Iceberg Records Julsøvænget 10, Postboks 255, 8600 Silkeborg +45 87206600 mette@iceberg-records.com iceberg-records.com

ILK Kongovej 5, 2300, København S +45 33226910 ilk@ilkmusic.com ilkmusic.com

Kjer.com Filmbyen 19, 2, 8000 Århus C +45 22112246 info@kjer.com kjer.com

Label Kollektiv Poul Paghs Gade 9, 3.th, 9000 Ålborg +45 20877153 info@labelkollektiv.com labelkollektiv.com

Lifted House Langebrogade 5, Suite 3.08, 1411 København K +45 33910398 home@liftedhouse.com liftedhouse.com

Loadstar Records Bulgariensgade 1, 4.tv, 2300 København S +45 32849343 klaus@loadstarrecords.com loadstarrecords.com

Lolita Industri Borups Allé 33, st.tv, 2200 København N +45 26191918 ohoiness@hotmail.com lolitaindustri.dk

Mad Man Music +45 60767276 info@madmanmusic.dk madmanmusic.dk

Master Punk Recordings Sortedam Dossering 55, 2100 København Ø +45 35373575 bv@freezone.dk freezone.dk

MBO A/S Fuglevænget 9, 9000 Ålborg +45 96311711 info@mbogroup.dk mbogroup.dk

Melodika Tinggade 12, 3.tv, 4100 Ringsted +45 20868771 peterholesen@melodika.dk olesen-olesen.dk/melodika

Merger Management Schleppegrellsgade 3, kld. tv, 2200 København N +45 40979145 jim@mergermanagement.net mergermanagement.net

Morningside Records Steingata 49, 4024 Stavanger, Norway +45 27649259 info@morningsiderecords.dk morningsiderecords.dk

Mungo Park Fritz Hansensvej 23, 3450 Allerød +45 48131300 jh@mungopark.dk mungopark.dk

Music For Dreams Vesterbrogade 95 H, 1620 København V +45 33260046 musicfordreams@vme-group.com musicfordreams.dk

Naxos Denmark/Olga Musik ApS Landemærket 49, 1119 København K +45 86892428 info@naxos.dk olgamusik.dk

OH Musik Jersie Strandvej 5, Postboks 49, 2680 Solrød Strand +45 56146644 oh@ohmusik.dk ohmusik.dk

Orpheus Records Åbakkevej 9, 2720 Vanløse +45 38338004 someone@orpheusrecords.dk orpheusrecords.dk

OUR Recordings Nordskrænten 3, 2980 Kokkedal +45 45862577 hannibal@michalapetri.com ourrecordings.com

Playground Music Grønnegade 3, 1107 København K +45 33143320 info@playgroundmusic.com playgroundmusic.com

PlayRec Kronborggade 7, kld. th, 2200 København N +45 28458755 info@playrec.dk playrec.dk

PonyRec Tranegilde Strandvej 48, 2635 Ishøj contact@ponyrec.dk ponyrec.dk

Quartermain Records Oehlenschlaegersgade 41A, 4, 1663 København V +45 23737976 kontakt@quartermain.dk quartermain.dk

Rigel ApS Mårkærvej 4, 2630 Tåstrup +45 88700400 info@hithouse-production.dk phdistribution.dk

Roar Music Nørrevej 7, 4180 Sorø +45 60681700 mail@roarmusic.dk roarmusic.dk

Rump Recordings Dybbølsgade 57, 1.tv, 1721 København V +45 60668657 rump.nu

Sand Lerholm Vænge 17, 2610 Rødovre +45 38713813 sand-aps@tdcadsl.dk

So What Film Westend 13, 1661 København V +45 20640858 mail@maiken.dk sowhatfilm.dk

SonyBMG Vognmagergade 7, 1120 København K +45 33760300 info@sonybmg.dk sonybmg.dk

Spangster Records, Alisio Christian Winthersvej 3B, st, 1860 Frederiksberg C +45 33861610 simonspang@get2net.dk

Spin Records/Spin Entertainment Rådhusstræde 3A, 1466 København K +45 33142244 info@mmusic.dk spinrecords.eu

SteepleChase Productions Postboks 35, Slotsalleen 16, 2930 Klampenborg +45 39644244 webmaster@steeplechase.dk steeplechase.dk

Sundance Gothersgade 107, 1123 København K +45 33338720 sundance@sundance.dk sundance.dk

Sweet Silence Njalsgade 19 C, 2300 København S +45 32571260 fan@sweetsilence.com sweetsilence.com

Target Distribution Godthåbsvej 26 B, 2. Sal, 2000 Frederiksberg +45 33210737 michael@targetdistribution.dk targetdistribution.dk

Transistor Music Mejerivej 2, 8305 Samsø poulmartin@transistormusic.dk transistormusic.dk

TUBA Entertainment Søndre Jagtvej 27, 2970 Hørsholm +45 45866655 tuba@kulturkontakt.dk

Tutl Reynagøta 12, FO-100 Thorshavn +29 8314815 tutl@post.olivant.fo tutl.com

Universal Music A/S Grønningen 25, st, 1270 København K +45 33912110 frontdesk@umusic.com universal.dk

Varano Music Kronprinsessegade, 3. tv, 1306 København K +45 24252898 morten@varanomusic.com varanomusic.com

VME Vesterbrogade 95 H, 1620, København V +45 33210135 tom@vme-group.com vme-group.com

Warner Music Denmark Falkoner Allé 63, 2000 Frederiksberg C +45 36166888 kontakt@warnermusic.com warnermusic.dk

Whiteout Music Westend 13 A, 1661 København V +45 26291523 whiteoutmusic@mac.com whiteoutmusic.dk

World Records Holmehaven 3, 2670 Greve Strand +45 43903732 entertainer@bjarnelisby.dk bjarnelisby.dk

Your Favourite Records Kronborggade 6, 1. th, 2200 København N +45 29724639 lars@yourfavouriterecords.dk yourfavouriterecords.dk

 

 

Boom Boom Music Magazine Sampler 2009

01 ALPHABEAT Fascination
The Brits have already demonstrated their unconditional love for the pop sextet Alphabeat – several of  their singles have been highly placed in the UK Top 40. This is pop with a big, bold capital P, and what we have seen so far is probably just the tip of the iceberg! Fascinated? It’s hard not to be!

02 IDA CORR Ride my Tempo (Radio edit)
Ida Corr rules dance floors from Bangkok to Bergen. Her sweaty, super-sexy new single is a delicious,  electro-groovy follow-up to the international hit “Let Me Think About It”, which reached number 2 on the British singles chart. Still wondering whether to check out her retro-soul-dance sound? Enough thinking already!?

03 CAROLINE HENDERSON Bang Bang
Forget everything you thought you knew about Cher’s heartbroken drama “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot  Me Down)”. Elegant jazz chanteuse Caroline Henderson reinvents the old Sonny Bono classic with a  defined arrangement full of offbeat, stealthy rhythms and sophisticated phrasing that’s more supple than an elite Chinese gymnast. A clear example of just how the former pop singer has managed to seduce an international jazz audience. 

04 MOI CAPRICE The Town and the City
Moi Caprice have been plugging away on the Danish rock scene since the mid-’90s, but their pop masterpiece “The Art of Kissing Properly” reached a much wider audience. The album contains so many sing-along moments that you will be in serious danger of losing your voice within a week of getting it. Universal simplicity, intelligent lyrics and perfect, luxurious, melancholy pop. Moi Caprice: Denmark’s next big export?

05 MIKE SHERIDAN Stilhed
Lapping soundscapes, poetic melodies and rhythmic finesse are among 17-yearold Mike Sheridan’s  specialities – as showcased here on “Stilhed” (“Silence”), which features the delicate vocals of Frida Hilarius. Sheridan’s thoughtfully composed and largely instrumental debut album “I Syv Sind” (“In Two Minds”) is surely just the start of this promising young producer’s career…. 

05 Sinne Eeg Just You, Just Me
“Her dark vocals have such strength, intensity and calm that the firmament might as well reserve a place  for a new North Star,” wrote one Danish reviewer of Sinne Eeg. The jazz singer received a Danish Music Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year in 2008 and is slowly but surely on course to conquer the world. Enjoy this taster, and expect to see her on the bill at your local jazz club soon.

07 CHOIR OF YOUNG BELIEVERS Next Summer
A sensitive and grandiose love song from this critically acclaimed one-man choir – also known as 25-year-old Jannis Noya Makrigiannis. “Next Summer” demonstrates his gift for monumental and heartfelt melancholy, as lauded by trendsetting American website Pitchforkmedia.com. local jazz club soon.

08 FIGURINES The Air We Breathe
“‘Catchy’ is without a doubt the right word to start with when talking about ‘Skeleton’,” said music website Pitchforkmedia of Figurines, who also had the honour of landing a magazine cover in the New  York Times. The indie band released “Skeleton”, their second album, in Japan, the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. The reaction to the 2007 album “When the Deer Wore Blue” was also overwhelming.

09 DÚNÉ 80 Years
Emotions on the edge and an insistent melodic momentum; the sound of being pursued by a heavily hung-over Franz Ferdinand. Danish rockers Dúné have gone gold in their native country, and “80 Years” is just one of many gems on their debut album. See the cool video on YouTube, where one user has penned this piece of poetry: “Denmark = the best music in the world! The best music in the world = Roskilde Festival. Roskilde Festival = beer. Beer = Denmark!” Cheers mate!

10 SMALL Cosmic Girl
A big sound emerges when electro-pop trio Small let rip on “Cosmic Girl” – airy synth aesthetics mix with noisy guitars, sculpting a soundscape around a contagious semi-falsetto pop song in praise of the free world. The sky’s the limit; Small are already big!

 11 AURA Song for Sophie
With Sony BMG Continental behind her, songstress Aura is on the verge of a potential European breakthrough. “Song for Sophie” is an excellent example of her spellbinding ability to combine folk and pop. Add to that a particularly strong visual image, and you get an obvious cover star for this edition of Boom Boom. You might want to turn back to the front page! 

12 CALLMEKAT Flower in the Night
Curiosity dominates in CALLmeKAT’s quirky universe. “Flower in the night” is a clattering and groovy piece with a particularly catchy hook. At the centre are Katrine Ottosen’s distinctive vocals and her inventive use of several instruments, manipulated via a laptop. Her imagination seems to know no bounds!

13 JONG PANG Small Cut Sensations
Loose-jointed indie excesses from Anders Rhedin, who also occupies the producer chair for other Danish bands from time to time. “Small Cut Sensations”, from Jong Pang’s debut album “Bright White Light”, clearly demonstrates the band’s talent for seductive, subdued melodies and gripping guitar sounds.

14 EFTERKLANG Caravan
The Efterklang collective are among the most subtle Danish musicians around. Their seductive,  convoluted arrangements create exceptional, entrancing atmospheres. “Caravan” is an excellent example of their work.

From Boom Boom Magazine #03, 2009, MIDEM edition.

 

TEXT THOMAS BORRE & ANDERS HOUMØLLER THOMSEN

Volbeat — Danish Dynamite

The Finns have bowed down in admiration in the snow. The Germans have hailed them as über-cool. Their own compatriots have succumbed too. Volbeat are Denmark’s biggest-ever heavy sensation!

Volbeat — Danish Dynamite

It’s been many years since singer Michael Poulsen and his band played to tiny audiences and slept in flea-pit hotels or on cold trainstation benches while on tour. At the time Poulsen was in Dominus, a  hard-hitting Danish death-metal band that released four albums between 1995 and 2000. Not many people were listening, but Poulsen kept up both the momentum and his faith in the music.

In 2001 he formed a new band, Volbeat, whose heavy sound also reflected his love of ’50s rock’n’roll. One bright scribbler dubbed the band “Elvis metal” – and that’s alright mama, ’cos soon the heartbreak hotel days were behind them, and Volbeat no longer faced being lonesome tonight when they played live.

The band’s 2007 breakthrough album “Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil” was a bona fide sensation that topped the Danish charts and went platinum – something no other Danish heavy metal band has ever achieved. The follow-up, the critically acclaimed “Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood”, also made it to the top in Denmark.

Volbeat’s success has also been spreading through Europe. The famously metallic Finns sent the album  right to the top of the charts, the Swedes took it to no.4, and it entered the Top 30 in Germany, Austria, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The hard road
All this success may just be the beginning, as the group continue to tour with an intensity that would impress even B.B. King. “We played about 30 festivals this summer, and now we’re touring Denmark and the rest of Europe,” says Poulsen. “If we can fit it in, we also hope to make it to the USA in 2008. We’re on a real roll at the moment – in 2007 we played 103 gigs in nine months. But we wouldn’t have it any other way. When I get home from touring I soon get restless. As soon as I’ve zapped through all the TV channels I start thinking: ‘I’ll go for a walk, then.’ Musicians are like rats in a cage. If you pull us off our wheel, it won’t be long before we jump back on again.”

The singer and songwriter thinks that the lean  years, when they had to fight tooth and nail forgigs and a breakthrough, helped toughen the group’s metal soul: “We put up with a helluva lot. But ultimately it’s helped us. Our success  hasn’t been easy, like winning a competition, but our boyhood dream has been fulfilled. We make a living from playing, and we enjoy it. Who knows when the ship will sail in the other direction…? But even when things do start to turn we’ll just keep on going, ’cos we’ve already tried  scraping rock bottom,” he promises.
As the King sang, “It’s now or never!”

Article from the 2009 edition of the music magazine  Boom Boom.

TEXT ANDERS HOUMØLLER THOMSEN
PHOTOGRAPHY NIKOLAJ PALMSKOV

Spot on Denmark

Marketing music to promote a particular nation? All you have to do is produce some glitzy material, hire   trendy nightclub in the capital city of the country you want to make it in, and then just spoil a mob of party-animal industry types with live music hors d’oeuvres and lots of free drinks. Right?!

Erase and rewind. If they even remember anything the next day when the hangover kicks in it’ll probably be a blurred mixture of coloured cocktails and a band that was called, err, ‘something or other’. No, a completely different strategy is called for, according to Music Export Denmark (MXD). The organisation has staged successful “Spot on Denmark” events in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany  and France in recent years in collaboration with ROSA — the Danish Rock Council — and DUP (Danish Independent Records Labels).

Instead of trying to force feed industry people with Danish music, MXD tries to engage record company people, managers, venue staff and journalists in choosing what music they’d like to get to know better.

“What’s unique about Spot on Denmark is that we build on a ‘pull’ strategy. It’s the local industry people who decide what we promote in their regions. For example, we invite them to the Danish SPOT festival in Aarhus, where they help decide which bands should take part in Spot on Denmark events in their countries. It stops MXD acting like some kind of omniscient arbiter of taste. Greater involvement helps push the music,” says Thomas Rohde, the head of MXD .

The strategy pays good dividends. Following a promotion in Brussels in 2007, melancholy dreamrockers Murder played several gigs around Belgium, and ended up selling more records there than at home.

[…]

The 2008 promotion in the three Benelux countries also generated a great deal of media coverage for the groups Slaraffenland, Tone and Said the Shark, who have since had contracts waved under their noses for record deals and/or live gigs. “SPOT on Denmark is a good method of building Danish music as a brand. It’s all about drawing the links between the big hits – like Trentemøller and Alphabeat - and Danish music as a whole. It helps up-and-coming Danish bands on their way. In the autumn, when SPOT on Denmark came to Utrecht in the Netherlands, a lot of people told us the hype about Danish music right now is on a par with the buzz that surrounds Icelandic music. Names like Saybia, Mew and Under Byen are well-known among music fans in the Netherlands. The whole of the Danish scene is skyrocketing because the music is associated with quality, excitement and innovation,” says Thomas Rohde, who plans to roll out the SPOT on Denmark concept in several other countries.

Read the full article in Boom Boom Magazine #03.

Photography: Raw Format
Text: Anders Houmøller Thomsen

Your Record Company, Your Neighbour, interview with Nicolaj Hyltén-Cavallius, DUP & Artiscope

Nicolaj Hyltén-Cavallius – chairman of DUP / Danish Independent Record Labels – is a man with a mission. He wants to modernize the record industry and kill off the myth that it is dominated by greedy, brain-dead speculators.  (from Boom Boom Magazine #03)

“These days, record companies are very much populated by energetic enthusiasts, and we have to get that message across better. I hope we will be able to convince music consumers to think of record companies as a kind of neighbour – something close to their everyday lives – rather than as remote multinationals and  speculators who fritter away fortunes on the high life.” So says Nicolaj Hyltén-Cavallius, record company director – or, in his own words, “music company director”. His label, Artiscope Music, is small and the primary driving force is sheer enthusiasm. Artiscope is one of Denmark’s many indie companies, and Nicolaj also chairs DUP (Danske Uafhængige Pladeselskaber/Danish Independent Record Labels).

OLD MACDONALD’S RECORD COMPANY
Hyltén-Cavallius believes that the myth of the greedy and cynical record company is so tenacious that a lot of music fans download music illegally without any qualms. “But in reality that’s a bit like chancing upon a  roadside fruit stall on a drive in the countryside. You fancy some strawberries and a sign asks you to put money in a tin. Who’d take a couple of punnets and not pay?! Surely everybody agrees that it’d be dishonest, and definitely not cool. And yet a lot of people think they can cheat record companies by downloading illegally because they think labels are ‘cynical multinational companies’ run by greedy misers. It’s a load of rubbish, of course. It’s exactly the same as cheating the farmer – so many labels are run by enthusiasts, hard-working everyday folks with bills to pay. We need to change attitudes.”

 

SPOILED BY SUCCESS
Hyltén-Cavallius also has other ambitions in his role as chair of DUP. “We need a greater degree of professionalisation in the music industry. In the past, people who sold a lot of records had a tendency to be a little bit spoiled by their success. Many of the folk who worked in the industry didn’t have much specialist knowledge about what they were dealing with. These days, with CDs selling less well, we need more properly trained people in the industry. We need people who know about market mechanisms – law, money, marketing, human resources – before they throw themselves into publishing and promoting music. In the past, it was common for musicians to move from playing gigs to sitting on the other side of the record company desk – and some of them turned out to be extremely good at the business side. But I think it would be a positive thing if there were more properly qualified people in the industry, people who also have academic theory and practical tools from higher education to draw upon. It has already started to happen in Denmark.”

 

 PARTNERSHIP IS THE KEY
“I think the music industry still has a long way to go,” says Hyltén-Cavallius. “If you compare it with agriculture, for example, they’ve got the Danish Agricultural Council to look after the interests of their industry and to lobby opinion formers, politicians and the public. The music industry should stand up for itself more, and work harder to find common ground. Those of us who work in publishing and promoting music are very different from each other, but deep down we want the same things. We want Danish music to be heard and sold, and we want exports  to increase. MXD [Music Export Denmark, ed.] is a good initiative that’s progressing positively and harmoniously. DUP also works closely with IFPI (the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), an organisation that we think understands our situation. We must focus more on overarching objectives, and not think in terms of narrow self-interest and our own names. It’s all about branding Danish music as a whole, and in that context I think that MXD’s ‘SPOT on Denmark’ campaign is really good. We should all support it and listen to our partners abroad – who do they think are exciting? Involving the French music industry, for example, in deciding which Danish acts they think that we should support makes for a pleasant change in strategy.”

 From Boom Boom Magazine #03.

Text: Anders Houmøller Thomsen
Photography: RAW Format

Pharfar — Danish Reggae Producer

(Natasja, Djosos Krost, Cornstick, Karen Mukupa, etc.)

With more than a decade’s experience as a reggae producer, Pharfar is considered one of the very  best in his field. One highprofile artist he worked with was the late rapper and singer Natasja – most recently on the song “Better Than Dem”, which also features a guest appearance by Jamaican star Beenie Man. “A good producer gives the song the right packaging,” says Pharfar. “It’s all about letting the tune come into its own, about bringing out the strongest qualities in the music.” For several years, Pharfar has been the prime mover behind Rub A Dub, the popular Copenhagen dub and reggae Sunday club. Also a  capable drummer, Pharfar lives and works in his studio, the Food Palace, whose mixing desk has tackled  big names such as Horace Andy. He is currently working on a riddim series with international artists like Turbulens, Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) and Sizzla.

From Boom Boom Magazine #03.

Danish Producers — Artistic Midwives

The Danish underground is seething and bubbling with talent and resourcefulness. The creative boom is personified by the new generation of inventive PRODUCERS who fiddle about with, screw together, play with and respond to the music, endowing it with that final, crucial and dynamic impact. BOOM BOOM zooms in on some of the most prominent musical midwives on the Danish scene. We asked this diverse bunch, whose sole common denominator is their individuality, what they feel are the most important features of a producer as an artistic facilitator. (from Boom Boom #03)

FREDERIK THAAE

(Murder, I Am Bones, The Late Parade, Lise Westzynthius, Prins Nitram etc.) Thaae is a graduate of the Academy of Music and plays in – and produces for, naturally – the manic, hard-hitting rock band A Kid Hereafter. “A producer’s main task is to make every job a project special,” he says. “It’s about having a profile and setting an aesthetic agenda.” He thinks the fact that many of the producers are also musicians is to their advantage when working behind the mixing desk: “It provides a shared perspective.” Thaae is currently in dialogue with Jesper ‘Junior’ Mortensen (ex-Junior Senior), the DJ known as Turkman, and Jacob Bellens (Murder) about new partnerships.

Read the full article in Boom Boom Music Magazine #03.
Text: Thomas borre
Photography: Raw Format