Danish Forest Music
Those in the know within the world of new techno have known the name of Denmark's Trentemøller for a while, as his remixes have been burning up the dance-floors of Europe for a couple of years now. According to his biography, Trentemøller (first name Anders) worked with fellow Danish producer DJ T.O.M. under the name Trigbag in the late 90s, but dissolved the group after a few years of successful production and touring. Anders took some time off from the scene, but he started releasing music again in the early 2000s, including remixes for dozens of artists. It was last year's Physical Fraction EP, released by Audiomatique (a sub-label of Poker Flat Recordings) that really started the wild-fire-like spread of his name across dance-floors and DJ playlists.
The Poker Flat label has a lot to do with this as well - the label is run by Steve Bug, whose name is well known across the minimal techno world, and the label has a definite "sound" to it: funky, minimal techno with electro leanings. It is only fitting that Trentemøller would team up with Bug and the label, as his sound is minimal, yet funky and dark, heavy with menacing synths, and deep, deep sub-bass, yet always melodic and pretty in the same songs. Poker Flat has released four EPs by Trentemøller in the last year, and next month will see his first full-length album, The Last Resort. The album is simply beautiful, and will likely surprise many of his fans, not only because of the dominance of sweet melodies, but the loads of acoustic instruments like guitars, live drums, glockenspiel, melodica, etc. The album doesn't completely leave out the dance-floor - there are a few hypnotizing jams on the record - but it makes for a great at-home listen, something many electronic producer-albums cannot pull off.
The initial copies of The Last Resort include a second disc that features many of the dance-floor tracks from his previous Poker Flat singles, as well as a number of new tracks exclusive to the CD. You can order the album direct from the label, from our friends at Forced Exposure, or from iTunes - the album will be available October 10th here in the US and the week before in Europe.
Oh and today, the first single from the album, "Always Something Better" is available, which features the vocal talents of Richard Davis, and includes a remix by Herbert, and a tougher dance-floor version by Trentemøller himself.
Enjoy!