After having a great deal of guests from Norway and Sweden, we think it's finally time to take a look at Denmark's talent. Kasper Bjørke has made his mark in recording studios, DJ booths and offices, as well as on the national radio. To find more about all of that, check out the interview we did with Kasper right before his Finnish debut and the release of the new solo album Fool.

 

For those not so familiar with you yet, could you give us a brief introduction to your musical history – how did you start making music and DJing? Are there people that have been particularly influential for you as a producer or a DJ during the years?

 

– I started making music almost 15 years ago. At first on a Atari computer and a mono sampler together with Tomas Barfod. And soon after, we started DJing. We had some dance chart hits quite early in our career with the Filur project. So, after about five years of touring all over Europe and Japan, we decided to take a break from Filur and from each other. That is when I started to make my solo project under my own name.

 

As for influences: Daft Punk and James Murphy are among the best producers in my eyes and they have definitely inspired me through the years. But I guess I have been influenced by everyone from Talking Heads and Giorgio Moroder to Liquid Liquid, Neu! and Joy Division. 

 

Your new album Fool is coming out soon. Can you tell us a bit about the album: how did it come into being and how does it differ from your previous work?

 

– It is sort of a natural development from my second album in terms of the whole vibe – and I have also continued my collaboration with Jacob Bellens on the vocal songs. His songs and my productions seem to glue together in a very "unforced" way. I also did a collaboration with Laid Back which was a lot of fun to make. Those guys are legends and I have been such a fan for many years... 

 

I guess Fool is a fusion of post disco, psychedelic vibes and no wave elements plus a dash of modern electronic pop music. I spend a long time fine tuning my own sound but have tried to be less controlled and more playful in the process. Compared to the two last albums, this one is more focused in terms of the production and the way it sounds – but I decided to split the vocals tracks with Jacob Bellens and the instrumental tracks into two "sides" – as its two completely different moods, like A and B sides of a vinyl album. In that sense, it is sort of a concept album, I guess...

 

I asked Trevor Jackson to do the album artwork design (he also makes music under the name Playgroup and used to run the label Output). Trevor is a great visual artist – he also did artwork for Soulwax, Chromeo, The Rapture and Matias Aguayo, so I am very proud that he wanted to work with me on this album.

 

Any other plans for 2012 you can tell us about already?

 

– I'm touring quite a lot in the next months, all over Europe and in NYC to support the album release. I am taking a break from remixing as I've done it so much in the past years. The next project is an EP under the very gay and strange sounding moniker ManSisters with my good friend, a bass player and a DJ called Sexy Lazer from Iceland. I'm also currently hosting a weekly radioshow on Danish national radio channel P6 Beat. The show is called 4/4 and I play all the stuff that I like and have small themes on labels and producers that I find interesting. I have a few guest DJ mixes, people like Shumi from Kompakt and James Friedman from Throne of Blood have already delivered mixes. You can find the show online. It's fun, but I don't think I will ever be a full-time radio host. It's very hard work.

 

There's also a remix package coming out soon with remixes by Rebolledo and Axel Boman among others. In general, how do you end up choosing the remixers for your tracks? Any personal favourites so far?

 

– Well... I always pick out and control who is remixing my songs. I think that's very important. Usually I ask the producers that I really like, who make music that I play out as a DJ and that I can see will be able to make something cool out of my material. As the singles from my album are very poppy – proper songs with vocals and chords, I try to find producers who have the ability to work with melodies, and not techno producers who can play a two note bassline. I'm really excited about the first two singles and the remixes that have come out of it. First single will be out in early March and besides Rebolledo and Axel Boman, also Maxxi Soundsystem and Till VonSein have done some great mixes. The second single will be out around May/June with another batch of cool names – including Finland's very own hannulelauri – their remix is sounding awesome!

 

Besides Tomas Barfod a.k.a. Tomboy, who was mentioned earlier, you've also worked with another well-known Danish electronic music artist, Trentemøller. How did you meet the guys? As far as I know, you're still working with both of them – if not exactly in the same way?

 

– Well, when Tomas and I started making music together neither of us had made music on a computer before. Our friendship is based on the music we did together in the past. Besides the Filur album from last year we did the Superbacon EP as Bjørke&Barfod on Tensnake's label Mirau. And we DJ together sometimes still.

 

Trentemøller I have known for around 10 years. We have played a lot together through the years as DJ's and we have remixed each other's tracks. Then since five years ago, I started working as his manager as well. I don't know, it just seemed like a natural development and he trusts me with his business. I have always had this in me, "the management gene". I also managed Filur. I am a control freak, so it's very natural for me to fix things – especially stuff that I know a lot about: the business side of being an artist. I know a lot about contracts, deals, splits, accounting and all these things. Sitting in the studio is maybe just half of my time. The rest, I work with practical stuff.

 

The latest Filur album Faces includes a big bunch of guest vocalists. How did you come up with the concept and find the right singer for each track?

 

– Filur has turned into being a very calculated project. It started as our main project, we spent every day of our lives on it for many years and made three albums, toured everywhere and so on. Now it's something we can return to when we have time, energy and think it makes sense. We could never go back to the way it was before. We would propably end up killing each other. Faces was basically about making pop singles that work on the radio in Denmark. We don't have any ambition to make Filur a international succesful act again. We have been there. Now we just want to "keep it local". Even though the internet makes it pretty hard. So we basically chose some of the best and most famous singers in Denmark to write and sing on these tracks. And it worked. 

 

As a former A&R man, can you recommend us some up and coming artists from Denmark we should check out?

 

– Kenton Slash Demon! They have already done three singles and a bunch of remixes on Tartelet Records. When their debut album will come I'm sure it will be the best thing. Holtoug is also a really talented up and coming producer and musician. And the young Taragana Pyarana.

 

To wrap things up, can you give us a hint of what we might hear at Nolla on Saturday – three tracks that you have been playing a lot lately? 

 

Human Woman – Delusional (Kasper Bjørke Remix)

 

– I have been playing my recent remix of Human Woman's Delusional quite a bit. They are my Icelandic friends and I helped them getting signed to hfn music where I am also signed myself.

 

Pachanga Boys – Time

 

– This is Rebolledo and Superpitcher together! Such a heavyweight combo of talent. I heard about this track from my friend Shumi. It is f****** amazing...

 

Todd Terje – Inspector Norse

 

– What a song and a great follow up to Ragysh. This is already a big hit, but I don't care, I keep playing it. It's awesome!