Knowing... Lindstrom

He´s probably the man of the moment. "It´s a Feedelity Affair" is probably the best electronic album of 2006 and.... what can I say about "I Feel Space"?
A Letter For The Stars has had the chance to talk with Hans-Peter Lindstrom in what it has become an amazing interview (Accede a la versión en español):

Hi Hans-Peter! How are you? Is Oslo covered by snow?
- Not yet. It’s dark & rainy. Anyway, I’m fine. :o)

To start with, your career as a producer has been really fast, how it was at the beginning?
What can you tell us about your first recordings?
- When I started the label in 2003, my network was really limited. Basically, I locked myself into the studio to record music. I saved enough money to manufacture a 500-limited 12”. Then I went to see all the dj’s coming to Oslo to play, which is quite few really. Heh. I got a distribution-deal in 2004, which helped me to reach more people.

Did you ever expect the big success of "I Feel Space"? Can you tell us something about the song?
- It was supposed to be on my first 12”, but at the time, I didn’t think it was ‘interesting’ enough. My friend Rune lindbaek asked me if I wanted to release it on his ROMKLANG-label, but since nothing happened after 2 years, I phoned him and told him that I’d like it back .. hehe. So I released it in 2005, and licensed it to Playhouse. I still find it strange that it’s been selling lots of copies. But I’m not complaining.

Album releases are not very usual in dance/electronic music, why do you decide to make a long play?
- Because I believe that the tracks on the CD sounds good on headphones or at home too!

Are you in favour of vynil releases?
- Yes, I am. Because of many reasons: it sounds good, it feels good, it smells good, it looks good, and it’s probably the only music-format which isn’t possible to duplicate at home.

Somehow, your music seems a revival of some of the 70´s and 80´s most acclaimed styles, which is the spirit of "It´s A Feedelity Affair"? What are your main musical influences from then and now?
- My musical influences are basically the same, and I’ve been a fan of the 70/80’s music since many years. Genres doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s recorded in the golden era of production. Hehe.

Do you prefer deejaying or producing?
- I’m a producer.

Talking about your music, how is your creative process? How do you decide the mood of your songs?
- Hm, hard to tell. I need to be inspired. I need lots of time. And good coffee.
It must be difficult this so different sounds, what equipment do you use for production?(Computer,sequencer,synths,audio
interface...)

And for your live sets? (Ableton,tracktor...)
- Live I’m using Ableton Live & a midikeyboard. Really simple, but works everytime. But for everything else I’m using a PC running Cubase to record prettu much everything I get my hands on: drums, bass, various percussion, guitars, clavinet, autoharp ++

What clubs are which you like most here and around the world? Any gig in Spain
recently or in near future? (It would be great see you here in Valencia)
- Spain is always nice. I’ve been to Mondo in Madrid and Razzamatazz in Barcelona. Performing in Japan is always nice, thanks to the great crowd and superb soundsystems. And this year, I’ve been really enjoying playing in Sweden.

You have done remixes for a lot of great bands, how do you start the process of remixing a song? Is it more difficult than the process of making an original song? Which present songs would you like to remix?
- I’m always trying to keep as many of the original elements as possible, if it benefits my my initial ideas for the remix. If it’s an electronic track, I’m usually trying to incorporate real instruments, and if it’s a rockband, I try to add some electronical and programmed parts.
For the moment I cannot think of any present songs, but there’s lots of old tracks that would be great to remix. I’d love to get my hands on the multitracks of “Machines” by Queen, or most of the tracks from the “Hot Space” –album.

In general, what do you think about the electronic scene? Do you like any Spanish musicians?
- There’s some fantastic productions which has been released recently, like the 44:33 from LCD Soundystem. But there’s still lots of boring music released, week after week. I’m a big fan of the music from Ilya Santana! He’s from the Canary Islands

We suppose that you could be working in future releases, what are your future plans?
I’m working on new music all the time. A few remixes, and maybe some more …

At the end, one last question, how do you say "A Letter For The Stars" in Norwegian?
”Et brev til stjernene” :o)

That´s the end of the interview. Thanks a lot to Hans-Peter. He has been really nice.
A Letter For The Stars highly recommends the acclaimed "It´s a Feedelity Affair". It haves a lot of gems to discover.