Trentemøller Instagram Q&A about OBVERSE

Anders Trentemøller did a fan Q&A about OBVERSE on Instagram stories on Sunday, 17th of November. In case you missed it, here are some of the Questions and Answers: 

Which bands inspired you the most?
I’m inspired by different artists but while working on OBVERSE I never really listened to anything. I feel it somehow confuses me when I’m in the working process listening to other music, so I tried to focus very much on my own music, keeping everything else out of sight to be honest

How many songs did you finish that didn’t make the album?
Actually all I worked on made it into the album, but a lot of ideas and sketches were dropped, especially in the first many months as I had a bit of a writers block. But slowly the music began to flow… that was a bit of a hard and often frustrating time for me

Obverse - any story behind the album title?
I was actually thinking about calling it „observe“ but then I stumbled upon the word „obverse“ which has different meanings. One of the meanings is the possibility to see the same thing from different angles, different views on the same thing… and I liked that, because it’s exactly what I was working on with OBVERSE, twisting and manipulating a simple melody in many different ways, both melodic and sonically.

How do you write your melodies? Do you start with just playing with your synth?
Most of the time I start at my upright piano in the studio. I like to focus on the chord progression and melodies not the sound. Then later when I’m happy with something I transfer it to a synth, guitar or maybe just keep it on the piano. If you listen closely you can hear the piano in tracks like Sleeper and Church Of Trees

Did you mix this album by yourself or hired a mix engineer? Could you describe the whole process?
Yes, I mixed it all by myself. I prefer that because I then get exactly the sound that I want. I simply just turns knobs until I think it sounds great (-: I mix all ITB but use a lot of outboard gear to sculp the instruments. Both lofi junk and high end stuff. It’s all about what sounds cool.

You said Lisbet came up with Blue September. How much does she inspire you in your music?
We inspire each other I think, but regarding Blue September she just wrote this magical melody and I instantly got inspired to work on the chords and the whole sound of it. She did a demo with just her voice and her guitar. I took it from there and created the music around that

You are asking when I know when a song is done and that’s a great question!!
It’s a feeling. If you still hear and feel that spontaneous vibe you had when you started on the track it’s done. I think I learned not to over-do a production. If I work too long on a song I might kill the whole intention with it… hope it makes sense?

What is your favourite song of the album?
I think it’s Cold Comfort (-:

How long did you produce Sleeper?
It took me only a day or two. It was the first song I worked on for the OBVERSE album. It just came quite easily to me. It’s a very simple melody / chord-progression that somehow, to me, had a dreamy magical vibe to it and it somehow made the direction for the rest of the album

I love your reverb use to create interesting ambiances. Which hardware/software do you use?
Thanks (-: Hardware: surfy bear reverb, the reverb in the Roland re 201/ 501 space echo, Vermona DSR3 reverb, alesis midiverb 2, Yamaha SPX90, Yamaha FX500, Anasounds Element spring reverb (all 3 tanks)
Plugin: Valhalla vintageverb, UAD AMS RMX16, UAD ENT 140 plate

What’s your creative process for putting together a new album?
Try, try, try, try, try… until there is something that really turns you on in the music. A lot of hard work… and fun work. But a lot of playing around with ideas, chord progressions, melodies, sounds… and a lot of mindfuck ;)

 

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