01/11/10
Text: Nik Mercer
Photographers: Kim Hiorthøy
Our favorite Norwegian producer, Lindstrøm, is what most would call a dedicated career artist. The man doesn't just stumble upon genius like, say, five kids known as the Strokes did a decade ago. No, Hans-Peter works and works and works and works some more until genius is all that's left from his labors. The man finds it quite difficult to share the process with anyone else (that's not named Prins Thomas) for fear of losing creative autonomy, yet he finds it even more difficult to stay still and pump out the same thing over and over. So, while most may best know Lindstrøm as Oslo's cosmic disco composer and connoisseur, he would never pigeonhole himself in such a way. Case in point: Lindstrøm and Christabelle's latest LP, Real Life Is No Cool (Smalltown Supersound/Feedelity), the most exciting release of 2010 so far.
The long-player decidedly moves away from Lindstrøm's more recent kraut and new disco experiments (i.e. II, which he created with Thomas, and Where You Go I Go Too). The album can really only be described as one thing: pop! Lindstrøm successfully chopped his song arrangements down from 40 minutes to four, reverently integrated the angelic and soothing vocals of Christabelle, and threw in some dance floor-ready bass hooks, synth grooves, and bogeying beats. Not surprisingly, the whole piece flows perfectly and will instantly make your jaw drop.
Before we got into the thick of the 2009 holidays we had a chance to talk with both Lindstrøm and Christabelle about the LP and beyond. Before chomping into the meaty Q&A's, though, download two spectacular remixes of the lead single, "Baby Can't Stop"!
Lindstrøm & Christabelle - Baby Can't Stop (Aeroplane Remix) (MP3)
Lindstrøm & Christabelle - Baby Can't Stop (Idjut Boys Remix) (MP3)
Be sure to read through all of Lindstrøm's interview as it's followed by a chat with Christabelle that shouldn't be overlooked!
Let's start by talking about Real Life Is No Cool. The name itself has a unique ring to it―could you explain its origin?
It's taken from one of the tracks―"Keep It Up." Christabelle is responsible for all the lyrics, so I can't really speak for the meaning of her words, but it sounded good and it looked good in print, and that's what's most important to me. I like it because it's sort of an escape from real life or reality.
The look of the record is interesting too since it looks almost exactly like Where You Go I Go Too, except it's Christabelle and not you. What motivated you to choose that photo?
I left everything to the guy who did the photos and the artwork, Kim Hiorthøy, who's been working with Smalltown Supersound for ages. He's an artist and I really trust him. I told him he could choose whatever he wanted, the same with Where You Go. To be honest, I probably would've selected something different myself, but it's the same when it comes to mixing and mastering: I'm not the best to actually do that stuff, so I leave it to other people. Like if you asked for a remix from somebody, and when you get it back, you say, "Oh, maybe you could make it a little more like this or extend it here." I don't think that's how you handle things when you're asking for a favor.
I like how both cover portraits just... make you feel good. It's nice to see artists smiling and look happy. Too often you see frowns and serious expressions. You seem like an optimistic, lively man.
I'm not depressed or anything. I'm really happy most of the time.
That's good to hear! So, let's talk about music! Real Life is definitely poppier than previous works of yours. When you decided to make this LP, were you trying to make more of a pop record or were you trying to move away from other things you've done recently... ?
Maybe a combination. When I started working with Christabelle, because of the vocals she contributed, I wanted to do my version of pop music. Also, it was definitely great to do something different than the instrumental stuff I've been doing myself and with Thomas. I really enjoy doing different things at the same time. When I get tired or bored or one of the projects, I just jump to the other one.
I found that there was a pretty heavy sense of rhythm with all the songs. Your stuff is already rhythmic, but the Real Life material is punchier, maybe...
I mean, I don't think I'd be able to do something really heavy and punchy―like M.I.A. or Diplo―because I'm working with a lot of melodies and chords and pop song buildups. I mean, I guess since I've been in the dance/DJ world for 10 years or so now, it's very easy for me to use rhythms and electronic rhythms.
You keep talking about how a pop song sounds in your head, so now I'm curious: What does a "good" pop song sound like to you?
I really like pop music that is very "correctly" written. Written by the book, with the verse and refrain and the bridge. When everything makes sense together. I like a lot of the cheesy stuff―Kenny Rodgers and Dolly Parton and the Bee Gees. I grew up in the 80s and started to listen to the radio [then]. Some of the tracks I was listening to then got stuck in my head, and that's the blueprint for what I consider to be a "perfect pop song." In recent years, I've been interested in trying to make a pop song with disturbing elements. Like, having a melody that is really nice and mixing it with something that's not that nice-sounding... using sounds that crash together. I've been listening to a lot of Todd Rundgren and I really like how he did a few of those early 70s albums, with some really pretty singer-songwriter songs and then some really crazy, mad, synthesizer and distorted stuff.
Was "Music (In My Mind)," a track you did with Christabelle, the first thing you put out as Lindstrøm?
No, it was the second one. I put it out on my own label, Feedelity. Before that, there was an EP with four instrumental songs.
It was one of the first two things you did then. You did another thing with Christabelle (as Solale) a little later on, but you haven't worked much. What inspired you to do Real Life with her now?
We only released two songs before this album, but by then we had three or four more―almost an album. I was really happy with some of the unreleased tracks and she was really up for doing an album. Three or four years ago, though, I was trying to do something on my own or with Thomas, but now it makes more sense. To do a vocal album or a pop album.
I like to do different things all the time. The last two albums were all long, instrumental tracks. Kraut, maybe, and progressive... but this is something totally different. There's a common line, but it is very different from the other albums―and I'll probably do something different next time too.
I think by doing that you make your audience into a bunch of lifelong fans.
I really hope that some of my listeners are thinking like that. It's the same with me: If I follow a band or an artist, it's always nice to have them surprise me. If it's always the same thing, sooner or later you just won't be interested anymore.
