Todd Terje
What do Guns ‘N’ Roses, Wham and Herbie Hancock have in common? Yes, George Michael did coke with all of them and fell asleep in the car when driving them home. Well, that’s probably true, but to cover our own backs we have to say that’s not the right answer. Another guess? No really, George Michael NEVER did that. The correct answer is that they have all had their tracks re-imagined by Norwegian Terje Olsen (not to be confused with the other Norwegian Terje Olsen who will become the first Norwegian man in space). However, you will know him as Todd Terje.
His back catalogue goes on longer than Fat Joe’s shopping list, producing edits and remixes for Alicia Keys, Chic, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Bee Gee’s, Diana Ross and many more. He also produces his own stuff y’know. I only need to use the word ‘Ragysh’ to tell you how his own creations are nothing short of brilliant.
The 80’s produced a few things that should probably be forgotten, mainly the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher and Screech Powers (who would later star in a low budget porno delightfully called ‘Saved By The Smell’…you don’t want to know). However that era is partly responsible for moulding Todd Terje as an artist today (along with many, many other influences), so to let things like Screech ruin your view of the 80’s would be ridiculous.
We sat down for a chat with Terje after his set for Homoelectric at Legends (a place that sadly may not be there for much longer) to talk about his remixes, why it took him 5 years to release Ragysh and why he wouldn’t want to be around in the 80’s. Oh, and I also made a complete fool out of myself when asking him who his favourite inspector was. I really thought a light hearted Inspector Norse joke at the end would work.
Photo’s taken at Todd Terje’s set for Homoelectric by Malc Stone Photography.
Give him a ‘like’: Malc Stone Photography
Oh, and visit his site: www.malcstone.com
HuWho: So, you played a very disco-ey set…
Todd Terje: Yeah it was quite disco-ey yeah.
Do you enjoy having those opportunities to do that? Ragysh was massive for a lot of people who are into techno, they love that track but judging by the remixes you’ve done you’re very disco orientated. Do you like gigs like this where you can play a whole disco set?
Obviously I can play a lot…techier, but in a room like today [Homoelectric] I can get away with playing all different stuff. I think Ragysh opened a few doors for me. It was an accident, but it’s given me a lot more house gigs. And the house gigs pay more, but I always try to mix it up a little bit. I always try to do stuff that i’m not booked to do instead of just doing what they expect of me. Like if i’ve been booked to play a guitar music festival or a techno festival, I will play a lot techier but I also like to throw in things they won’t expect, some disco stuff. I think it just makes it better. On the other hand if you’re booked to play a disco gig you’re expected to play 100% disco but that can also be quite boring. I think if you mix in something that sounds a little bit weird it actually makes the disco thing much better.
Yeah, I mean i’ve seen that you’ve been added to the Benicassim line up, did you see yourself playing those sort of festivals where it’s primarily guitar music?
Well DJ’s aren’t very interesting to watch, we just stare down at the desk and stuff. But it’s not really about that, it’s about creating a vibe. And that means we don’t really belong in festivals like that I think personally. I mean i’m not going to argue if they invite me along where there’s going to be thousands of people watching you. I believe though that DJ’s belong more in clubs than on a big stage. I would never pay to see a DJ on a stage.
So why do you think people do?
I don’t know really, I don’t think there’s a trend that DJ’s are coming back into these places. It is quite rare, personally I don’t really play that many festivals. I don’t think that will change, I still don’t think in 5 years that it will be completely different. Unless of course it’s electronic festivals. I mean you have The Big Chill and Bestival that are quite DJ minded but I don’t think it will change drastically.
Before Ragysh it was about 5 years since your last EP ’Eurodans’. What made you change that?
It was just an accident really. I did make a lot of productions for a short demo, but I never bothered to finish them. So Ragysh was one of the first things that I actually finished. I just don’t see the need to do it. I think i’ve become more realistic about music in the last year. In the beginning I felt the urge to release music to promote myself. I don’t really see that need any more and I think there’s so much more I can do in music. However Ragysh was a demo that I also wasn’t supposed to finish but Gard Janson from the label ‘Running Back’ heard it and he just kept asking and asking and asking. So if he hadn’t have give a shit then I wouldn’t have finished it. So, it’s weird how some people highlighted that track [Ragysh] but actually all my tracks have potential. Sometimes you can put a bit too much effort into the wrong project. I’ll probably learn, maybe in a while but i’m not there yet. I still put a lot of effort into the wrong projects.
I’m assuming from your answer that you didn’t really expect it to be as big as it was?
No. I mean I knew it was going to work. That’s the only thing that track does, it just works. It’s not really interesting, it’s just a connection of tricks. It’s just a demonstration on how to hide the kick drum. A minimalistic exercise.
I did a bit of Twitter stalking earlier and Piccadilly Records said you were in there buying records, was that just for tonight at Homoelectric or just for hobbies sake?
I don’t play vinyl in clubs anymore just because of the distance I travel. So the stuff I buy is just for ripping, or music that I can listen to while cooking. If I can’t cook to it then I don’t buy it.
Some of the remixes you’ve done, i’m talking along the lines of the Stevie Wonder ‘Superstition’ remix you did, have got a very live feel to it and it sounds like it’s been done with live instruments. Do you try to keep that live element in the stuff you produce?
Well that was a live track, I didn’t add anything I just took the parts of it that were already there. That’s how I prefer to do an edit. For instance if you had the multi-tracks for a great track like Talking Heads ‘Once in a Lifetime’ you don’t want to add a big donk to it. It doesn’t need anything else. You could of course straighten it up in places and that’s what I did with the Stevie Wonder thing. For the first part the intros are straight, it’s a combination of DJ friendly beat intros and beat outros, but obviously it sounds very nice.
You’ve done loads of remixes, but when you set out on a remix for say, Giorgio Moroder, Wham or Michael Jackson, do you ever feel any pressure because they’re such big names?
If I get contacted to do a remix then it’s a different thing because they’ve got an expectation for you to change it and make it a thousand times better. If you just have an edit nothing is really expected from you. You can get away with doing less.
What’s been the favourite remix that you’ve done or the one you’ve been most pleased with?
I think my favourite edit is the Paul Simon ‘Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes’ because it just made itself really. Personally I am quite happy with the remixes that might not be very popular, like Bombay Bicycle Club ‘Lights Out, Words Gone’. I didn’t make in a way that was natural to me so I knew it wouldn’t be successful because it doesn’t have a 4/4 beat, so that’s probably one of my favourites. I don’t think i’ll play that ever.
You’re obviously very influenced by the 80’s, if you were around in that era do you think you would you be doing what you do now?
Well if I had been around in the 80’s I wouldn’t have had the money to buy the equipment to make music. I mean if I was born in the 70’s and I was growing up in the 80’s I would be unable to make music, so it’s obviously better for me being here now.
And finally, who’s your favourite inspector, Inspector Norse, Inspector Gadget or Inspector Poirot (I have now learned he’s a detective)?
[Laughs] You know that Norse doesn’t exist right? Did you mean Morse?
….Erm, yeah I meant Morse.
Errrrrr……sorry, was it Gadget, Morse or Poirot? He’s not really an inspector is he? He’s not an inspector. [HuWho: [Sheepishly] Yeah…y’know, ‘Inspector Poirot’…] Seeing as Inspector Norse doesn’t exist I guess I am going to have to go with Inspector Gadget…
Photo’s taken at Todd Terje’s set for Homoelectric by Malc Stone Photography.
Give him a ‘like’: Malc Stone Photography
Tumblr: malcstone.tumblr.com
By Jack Needham
