Soon live in Graz

Trentemøller: The one who weaves gentle melancholy

Gloom and melancholy are his musical hobbyhorse: Danish electronic musician Andreas Trentemøller.

(Bild: Sophie Nørregaard)

For almost two decades, the Dane Andreas Trentemøller has been a beloved constant in the wide world of electronic music. He will soon be coming to the Orpheum in Graz with his new, tenderly sinister album "Dreamweaver". He spoke to the "Krone" about his own sound, his life as the father of his son and why he still gets goosebumps when composing.

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, the sound of the Dane Andreas Trentemøller was something of an electronic shoulder to rest on. Anyone who wanted to rest from the wild breakbeat and dubstep parties with the then booming Skrillex could fall into the sound arms of the shy producer, who provided a particularly emotional and haunting component to the sound with songs such as "Rykketid", "Nam Nam", "Miss You" or "Sycamore Feeling". The reward was lavish. "Newcomer of the Year" in the industry bible "Groove", Producer of the Year in his native Denmark, remix commissions from superstars such as the Pet Shop Boys, Moby, Franz Ferdinand and Röyksopp. Appearances at Coachella, Roskilde and Glastonbury and a competitive slot as support act for Depeche Mode on their "Delta Machine" tour. It was at this time that the foundations were laid for Trentemøller's popular status, which has normalized today, but still allows him to play to lavish audiences.

Peace and nature
"The fact that so many people want to hear the thoughts that I put together alone and in peace in my studio is still incredible for me," says the 52-year-old in the "Krone" interview. Trentemøller is the prime example of an anti-rock star. Privately in a happy relationship with a five-year-old son. He lives in comparatively unspectacular Copenhagen, where he only has a three-minute bike ride from his home to the studio. "People keep asking me if I'd like to live in London, but I need the peace and quiet. Nature inspires me more than an urban environment. I used to live in Williamsburg in New York for a year. That was an interesting time, but it wouldn't be a permanent solution for me." Trentemøller also became independent in the music business very early on. With "In My Room" (named after the quiet surroundings of his studio), he founded his own record label 15 years ago, at the height of the hype, and decoupled himself from the annoying mechanisms of the music business.

"I definitely have my own sound and I'm very happy to have found it. Not everyone is so lucky. But in order to be able to realize all my thoughts and wishes, it has to happen the way I think it should. Independence has always been important to me." Trentemøller began his career as an adolescent and young adult in indie rock bands, but it was only as "Lone Ranger" in the electronic melancholy scene that he experienced the success that made him famous worldwide. On his current album "Dreamweaver", he follows the path of its predecessor "Memoria" in terms of sound - even more melancholy, even more minor key. He comes ever closer to his own heroes The Cure, the Cocteau Twins and the early Smiths, while gradually distancing himself from his own successful past. "I wrote lyrics on an album for the first time, which was incredibly difficult. I have very little experience with it and it scares me - especially as English is not my first language."

A life in three phases
The experiment has been more than successful, both lyrically and musically, with fans and critics alike showering him with praise. The 52-year-old Trentemøller is also a different person today than the man in his mid-thirties who never missed a party almost 20 years ago. "Today, my everyday life is divided into three phases. I'm a creative in the morning, I do office work and then I'm a father. I've learned to get up early and implement ideas before 8 o'clock. The phone doesn't ring, there are no emails and the little one doesn't have to go to nursery yet. Later comes the email, phone and office work and from 3 p.m. I'm a father. That's wonderful, but sometimes I miss the long nights when I selfishly immersed myself in my own world and entrenched myself behind my electronic instruments. I don't like the word nostalgia, but in a way my music is always an attempt to bring that creative light-heartedness from the past into the present." 

As on the tour for the last album, Icelander Disa Jakobs has also taken on the fragile-sounding vocal part on "Dreamweaver". Alongside the electronic band, the northerner has long since established herself as the missing piece of the puzzle in the Trentemøller universe. Now not only live, but also in the studio, where Andreas' partner joined in on vocals for "Memoria" due to the pandemic. As always, he insulated himself as much as possible from outside musical influences during the songwriting process so as not to get too diluted in his head. "Every album, every song begins playfully on a blank sheet of paper. The idea has to be good, otherwise it won't be realized. I read an interview with Paul McCartney, who said that he never records an idea. He hums it to himself. If he still has it in his head the next day and can play it freely, then it was good enough. Otherwise it has to go. That's a wonderful quality control."

Expanding the universe
A quality control that he doesn't have as a solo composer. "When I played in bands, there were of course several corrective factors. Not any more, but that makes me all the stricter with my ideas." Trentemøller has let go of the idea that life revolves around him and his creative universe, not least because of his fatherhood. "But I am a child of the 80s and early 90s. That's why this feeling is always part of my sound, no matter where the journey takes me. It is not least this uncertainty that defines his music. "I certainly don't write any particularly special music, but it's my very own. That's how my sound grows and remains different from everything else. I still feel like a kid in a candy store when I'm composing and feel the innocence and joy of the beginning. 80 percent of the job is hard work, but then there are the moments when I sit alone in front of the piano and an idea comes to me. I still get goosebumps that won't go away."

Live in Graz
Trentemøller is coming to the Orpheum in Graz on November 13th for an exclusive Austrian concert with the new songs and many a hit from the past. Tickets and further information about the gig are still available at www.oeticket.com.