Hans-Peter Lindstrøm is on a roll. His first solo album, Where You Go I Go Too, has been warmly received, he’s actively collaborating with several Norwegian artists on his label, Feedelity Recordings, and he’s swinging briefly though the USA before a pan-European tour in the spring.
Lindstrøm remixes have been a hot commodity since 2004, with his name gracing everything from LCD Soundsytem’s “Tribulations” to Roxy Music’s “Avalon”, but it’s his solo work that has been garnering most of the attention recently. Where You Go I Go Too is a three-track, 55-minute monster of an album, that traverses the distances between space-disco to space-ambient. Not to say that this stuff is playing in the lounge on the Starship Enterprise. On the other hand, it might be what WALL-E listens to as he scrapes the rings of Saturn while clinging to the exterior of a rocket.
Impose caught up with Lindstrøm in the wake of his recent successes before his show at Chicago’s Smart Bar to ask him about the year that just passed and the year that’s to come.
Impose: So, you flew in from Norway three days ago. Are you still jetlagged?
Lindstrøm: Not really, because when I’m at the hotel I’ve spent every opportunity to get some rest; a few hours here or there. I was lucky enough to have a good flight into New York.
How are you feeling about the tour?
Yesterday [at Studio B in Brooklyn] was really, really good. I expect tonight will be good as well. Hopefully all nights will be good.
You’ve said that you wish that you could free yourself from making “music with dance floor functions.” For your next album, do you want to make one that’s away from dance/disco?
Well, in some periods, I’m really bored of everything that got a dance beat. Sometimes I feel like dance music is more and more a function than actually being musical. I like dance music, but if it gets too physical then it gets too boring for me. I think it’s a good thing if you can combine both, and all the songs don’t have to be dance songs. I don’t know – I would probably do something different next time.
Like what? Back in the fall you were making albums with Prins Thomas and Christabelle Solale. You’re done with that?
Well, I just finished an album with Prins Thomas – the follow up to the album we did in 2005. It’s got real drums and bass and guitar – it’s nothing programmed. After working on that one, I would kind of want to do some more electronic stuff. I’ve been fooling around with drum machines. I guess it would probably be more electronic than acoustic. And I’m still finishing the album with Christabelle. After that, I’m done.
And you’re working on a new album? Or you’re going to take a break.
Well, I’m not gonna take a break. I can’t wait to get started with something.
And what’s it going to be like?
I don’t really know. With Where You Go I Go Too, which is long and instrumental, that’s far different than the album I did with Christabelle, which is only vocals and shorter. I’ll probably do something else for my next solo album. I just wanna do different stuff. It’s important – not repeating myself and trying to copy what I did before. I don’t believe in that.
Any idea when it’s going to be released?
My next solo album? I haven’t really started with it. I’ll probably work on that later this year and maybe next year as well. The album with Prins Thomas is getting a release before summer, and the album with Christabelle will be after the summer. I think that two albums is enough for this year.
So, you’ve collaborated with American electronic artists before, right?
Well, a little bit, maybe.
Do you have any that you really admire, or would like to work with?
I’ve gotten a few offers from people, both from here and from the UK, and from Norway.
Like who?
Well… different kinds.
Ha. Alright, alright.
But that’s more like production work. I’m not really sure if I’m a good producer – I think I’m better at working with my own music. It’s the same with the remixing: I can do it, but it’s not that fun anymore. It was more fun before. It depends. Maybe if I’m really up to collaborate, I will, but for the moment, I’m more up for making my own music.
