📣 LAZY INTERVIEW #30 — MARIUS

21-year-old Norwegian producer Marius swoops by to take part in this laziest interview series of all time. It's Friday and it's just about a week since the musicmaker had his debut EP Existence Problems released via Pelican Fly, the independent Belgian label responsible for introducing Cashmere Cat and Lido to the world, while also playing host to various other electronic entities like French producer Canblaster. Marius is in good company. And he deserves to be there: influenced by producers such as these as well as the psychedelics of Tame Impala and an earlier interest in progressive metal, his music is a crazy collage of ricochets and refractions, ideas echoed and warped.

Previously known as Melf, this year's moniker change kicked off with inaugural track 'Easy', which unfortunately didn't make it onto the EP—it's filled with maddened energy, a charge of breakbeats and popping percussion that gradually gives way to a coda that djents with distorted metal guitar satisfaction, showing a brilliance in the combination of disparate musical styles and elements. The EP's title track shows a softer side with a plinky rockpool of cute quirky sounds that also rains down a bullet hell of percussion in waves of delicious incoherency; latest track 'Lame' mixes up kaleidoscope psychedlia with slow voidsome beats. So far it's a triumph of originality that sees Marius slotting together jigsaw pieces that don't fit together, making new dishes from the buffet of influencers that have come before.

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w h o   a r e   y o u ?   w h e r e   a r e   y o u   f r o m ?   w h a t   d o   y o u   d o ?

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My name is Marius and i am from Eidsvoll in Norway. I like to make music that I’ve never heard before.

h o w   d i d   y o u   s t a r t   c r e a t i n g   m u s i c ?

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I started creating music when I started playing the guitar. I played progressive metal and wanted to record my riffs. I had Garageband on my Mac, so I started programming drums and recorded my 7 string guitar.

h o w   w o u l d   y o u   d e s c r i b e   y o u r   s o u n d ?

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All over the place.

i s   t h e r e   a   p e r f e c t   t i m e   a n d   p l a c e   f o r   l i s t e n i n g   t o   y o u r   m u s i c ?

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I hope so! „
I like to make music that I've never heard before
” w h a t   i n s p i r e s   y o u   m o s t   w h e n   m a k i n g   a   t r a c k ?

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This is such a tough question. To be honest, I don’t know the answer. I think it’s a bit personal, and not something I can really put words to.

w h a t   i s   y o u r   m o s t   m e m o r a b l e   m u s i c a l   e x p e r i e n c e ?

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w h a t   a r e   y o u r   f a v o u r i t e   t h r e e   s o n g s   a t   t h e   m o m e n t ?

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Selmer – Surfin With U

Mindtrix – Moon Pigeons

Tame Impala – Reality in Motion

w h o   d o   y o u   m o s t   a d m i r e   i n   t h e   m u s i c   w o r l d ?

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This is another tough question. I admire a lot of people I think, but I think I subconsciously draw on a lot of influences when I write music. Everyone from guys like Flume to Lido, to bands like Tame Impala. My track on Pelican Fly, called 'Lame', is actually really heavily inspired by Tame Impala.

i n   y o u r   o p i n i o n ,   w h a t   i s   t h e   f u t u r e   o f   m u s i c ?

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w h a t ' s   t h e   f u t u r e   o f   y o u r   m u s i c   –   w h a t   d o   y o u   h o p e   t o   d o   n e x t ?

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I think these two questions I can answer together – as an artist I do dream that the future of music somehow involves something that I can contribute to. I think that’s a natural internal want for any artist – for your art to connect with people in new ways.

w h a t   i s   m o s t   i m p o r t a n t   t o   y o u ?

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• 🔔 Marius' debut Existence Problem EP is out now on Belgian label Pelican Fly.

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☟ Marius Internet Presence ☟
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L  A  Z  Y    I N T E R V I E W    S E R I E S

← #29: WALTER EGO #31: TOUCH SENSITIVE →

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🐣 MARIUS — EXISTENCE PROBLEM

The energy! The incredible energy of this dense dynamo, the fizzling vibrating kineticism of it, the warped vortex devouring you as you listen, compressing your carbon self and in the immensity of it you become a tiny, tiny diamond. Some music feels like it washes you clean, others like this one have a great intensity about them that simply engulfs with its energy, which has appeared at this present moment as a voracious appetite for human souls. Aptly enough this track bears the title 'Existence Problem', and in the different elements swirling around – the plinking toybox keys, the dissonant collage of clacking percussive sounds, the warm slow-attack hoovering synth staccato – the problems of existence indeed are defined by their confounding multiplicity.

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☞ PREVIOUS MARIUS TRACK 'EASY' FEATURED ON YES/NO (June/2017) ☜

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Norwegian producer Marius Elfsted, simply Marius, ushers us into this multicoloured existential crisis, at first with these light chords, cute and childlike plinking, easing us in like a sparkly surfaced warm rockpool of sound with its mini starfish and anemones and little scuttly crabs, popcorn beats bubbling along and foaming fizzy—and then in an exploded abstraction of future bass formula we get this drop like a tidal wave, a low ghost-in-the-machine voice like an inner monologue humming a carefree tune to distract from the bullet hell of percussion raining down, the squeak of hi-pitch shoes-on-basketball-court adding a startle of electricity alongside the muffled warmth of that gruff digitised vox, splendid incoherency in its Dadaist collage of cartoon sound effects. This wave of intricacy crashes crashes crashes and in it is the glory of motion and sound and the hundred-thoughts-a-second madness of the mind.

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• 🔔 'Existence Problem' is out now via Brussels-based Pelican Fly Records (the people who brought you Cashmere Cat, Lido and other well known electronic artists). It's taken from a debut EP that will be arriving on 15th September.

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☟ Marius Internet Presence ☟
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🐣 ANNA OF THE NORTH — SOMEONE

In a hypnotising swirl of '80s flavours, a wash of mind-cleansing synth that spreads like nocturnal mist or faux fog from a smoke machine at a retro disco, Norwegian-New Zealand duo Anna of the North spin an expansive track in the form of 'Someone', exuding a sense of hopefulness, a filmic reverie whose soft focus scenes of neon-pink-and-green-on-black flash in your mind, a balance of feel-good fun and melancholy romance swinging to the rhythm of the thumping electro drums. "It’s about how easy it is to break your promises when you’ve had a couple of drinks," the band explains in a press release.

"Going deeper," it continues, "the song is about accepting that you’re only human and to learn how to forgive yourself for your own mistakes and accepting that sometimes we need someone to save us from repeating any old habits." You can definitely, definitely feel the drama of that explanation imbued in the track, something highly emotive at work as Anna literally sings asking for someone to come and save her. The wide, vast synths of this track suggest a newness, a discovery, a revelation, the feeling of having been closed up now cast aside in light of new acceptance, something about the cold light of day blaring bright as the glistening sheen of synth sparkles atop the juddering electro bass, sobriety and honesty set sail in a vessel of retro pop.

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• 🔔 'Someone' is taken from Anna of the North's debut album Lovers, which is getting released on 8th September via, for some reason, three labels (Different Recordings / Honeymoon / +1 Records). You can pre-order it variously via this link.

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🐣 MARIUS — EASY

This one tumbles and crashes and thuds and explodes with organicity, a track that jostles with maddening energy, a multi-limbed cartwheel, a staircase of descending rhythmic rigid boxing gloves pugilising each step, a combination haymaker of a track—and this is all courtesy, mainly, of the gorgeous drums that essentially define this morsel of music. You hear them at the beginning, they stop, and then gradually here they are again, popping out with dusty vitality, muscly forearm ferocity, the raw hi-hats sheafing and swishing, everything breathing, even the underpinning bass sound is like a windpipe of superhuman exhalation, a robust didgeridoo drone that packs a punch as much as those grass-growing living cliff mental mountain drums.

Named 'Easy', this track by Norwegian producer Marius trundles along with flesh-and-bone breakbeats till its tectonic titanic end, when the cymbals rush out and smash like storms in the swaying doses of the new rhythmic 2-step-flavoured beat, feeling closer to metal with its juddering electronics like palm muted distorted guitars. It's a heavy finale. This in contrast to a soft beginning, those chords that fluttered slowly, a fragile innocence exuding from the thin resounding synth; in contrast to the far-off like a distant memory sample that sounds as though it's been lifted from a museum audio guide. The shattering shuffle of this track, its wicked rhythm, its full-blown tree-sap felled-logs life, is a joy of sound, and made even more sweltering in the wake of the shred of quiet that gleams faintly throughout.

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• 🔔 You can download 'Easy' by Marius, real name Marius Elfstedt, from ToneDen.

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☟ Marius Internet Presence ☟
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CRAIG DAVID – FILL ME IN (GOOD DISH REMIX) [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Wow. Well. Here's a damn good remix of a song that was damn good anyway; Craig David's 'Fill Me In' was like the popular garage song when it came out – a strong and immortalising debut solo single for Mr David, and another garage song in a year that was big for garage in the UK's mainstream: 2000 (which saw hits such as 'Flowers' by Sweet Female Attitude, 'Movin' Too Fast' by Artful Dodger, and 'Bound 4 Da Reload (Casualty)' by Oxide & Neutrino, to name a few).

In any case, the remix by Norwegian producer Good dish revitalises this track with some next level euphoria – not Balearic euphoria, but pogo-sticking, happy-happy euphoria. Listen.

Starting with the original, it's soon interrupted with dancehall-esque kicks and the original sounds are cut and looped into stuttering rhythm. And if there was ever a song to include those cheeky little bed-spring sounds, it's in this remix of a song about a guy trying to "romance" the girl next door. They feature heavily, as do a whole host of heavenly-triumphant snare rolls, which provide a sonic red carpet for the soft synth sounds and muted marimba chords that fit perfectly with Craig David's vocals. The end section marks a final 2-step to the finish; I picture people sneaking round their next-door neighbours' houses only to start dancing with them in their bedrooms, not creepin' for romance as was the original track's story.

Whew, I mean, it's just a heavily heavily addictive sound, one that is as delicious to the ears as pear-drops or unadon or I dunno pizza, burgers— basically, it's something mad tasty, but for your ears. Lol and I totally forgot this guy was called Good Dish: makes sense that his music is as nice as nice food, right?

Quite fittingly, the producer who's remixed this old classic is grounded in a particular style not all dissimilar to garage; not in that the genres themselves are similar, but more that Good Dish is part of Rytmeklubben ("Rhythm Club" in Norwegian) collective – a group of producers who produce a kind of footwork, to be extremely generalist about it. Garage has a specific sound; so too, kind of, does this breed of footwork. It could be a Norwegian phenomenon (songs are tagged #NorClub), one that seems (SEEMS) to have started with Cashmere Cat and which shows no sign of stopping – and I'm v glad about that.

THAT SAID: futuristic R&B-inflected juke-flavoured bass-simmering stuff like this is popping up everywhere. To say it's a particular country's speciality in this connected digital age is reductionist and a bit sensationalist, so I'm sorry about what I said. But I kind of still mean it lol. Either way, if this is NorClub then I need to get myself to a NorClub.

• And, to make this even more of a treat, it's a motherflippin' free download.
• Also fyi: this track was presented (onlinely released?) by Malmö-(Sweden)-based blog/digital label Discobelle & Raw Juice Records\, a Norwegian label & club-night-runners.

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CASHMERE CAT – RICE RAIN

Hi it's Monday and urgh it's Monday but at least the sun's shining, at least the sky is pure blue, at least we're alive – here we are again. Another week. The cycle is a terrible one if you observe weekends, but perhaps I should stop observing weekends and then I wouldn't feel like I've just re-entered the Earth's atmosphere every damn Monday morning. Then every day could just be a nnormal day. But on the other hand wtf am I talking about?

Look, I heard this yesterday. Cashmere Cat – some of u reading this might already be like "whoa late to the party there yes/no where u been under a rock or some shit???" whereas others might be like "who's that" so I'm gonna side with the latter and just say whatever to the former. He's a producer from Norway whose real name is Magnus August Høiberg and he's basically a pretty big deal. Aside from that, check this song, the kinda latest one of his, taken from his Wedding Bells EP, released mid-Feb.

This type of music has undeniable appeal, it's overridden with happiness and sunny vibes – and I love that Cashmere Cat is already so popular, it's like a sigh of relief, because other types of what is essentially dance music are so much more serious and in-your-face and despite sounding as if they are made for a time and place are consistently blasted into your ears at all hours of the day by braindead radio stations.

On the other hand, 'Rice Rain' exudes the atmosphere of innocence and the fun of happy occasions in fluid instrumental surroundings; a regular dripping sound lends its inane glory to the track as it zooms into multiple drops, filled always with a tumbling cloud of percussion from 80s-style toms, trappish snares and claps and some metallic clacking too. Vox works its melody alongside cutesy synth and pizzicato strings, an officious yet carefree flight-of-fancy sound against the cleanly juke-flavoured backdrop.

And that's 'Rice Rain' I guess, I dunno if Wedding Bells is a concept EP or something but rice rain, well, you throw rice (at the couple?) after the actual marriage in a church don't u? It's out now on supernice Glasgow-based label LuckyMe, anyway (go here to see all places u can get it clickety-click). Do yourself a favour and listen to Cashmere Cat today, a lot of it.

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LOW TEE HEY YOU (AND FOREVER) (TAPE TRANSPORT REMIX)

Back in September I wrote about a release from a man called Anders Obel, aka Tape Transport, from Norway. The release was Panoply and it was dripping with retro dancefloor appeal, ambient atmospheres and glitchy ornamentation. That came from an email he sent me, so I do really appreciate getting emails (I might take ages to reply but I DO TRY to reply to everyone). This song right here right now also came from something TT sent me. Rather than an original, however, it's a remix, which is fine. I love a remix. I've gotten very into remixes over the time I have been living and breathing; from not understanding them at all whilst I was an adolescent, scorning and avoiding them in late teen years, and now accepting them as legitimate pieces of music in themselves, my view on remixes has changed a lot. It's a good idea to change your mind often. Sticking with one thing, well, it's gonna get a bit stale innit.

Anyway this remix is of a track by a guy called Low Tee, a producer from NYC and someone who I've seen round and about on Twitter but I've never really checked his music out. It took this remix to make me check it out. Tape Transport's version of 'Hey You (And Forever)' is a far cry from Low Tee's original – a blissful house number dominated with percussive organ caresses and flute synth – but that's a good thing. As long as the result is good, does it matter how far or near a remix lies to the original? Not particularly.

Beginning with a super-slowed-down sample from the original, which is then pushed into the stratosphere in terms of tempo, before being scratched and flipped on its head, the track sheds the house rhythm of the original, but doesn't leave behind the dancefloor completely. Collections of synth chords in zippy syncopation give a lovely electronic house appeal, creating the atmosphere of a nocturnal pre-night mood-upper with the heavy heft of a hip hop beat. Skittering hi-hats – which go mental towards the end – smatter the track with frenetic energy-driving vibes whilst smoke machine synths create lo-fi ambience across the board.

It's a smart, urbane track that whilst retaining the sheen of newness, contains somewhere within a leftfield appeal with its jungle of noises, tiny and almost undiscernible vocal samples abound in the fabric of the song, as well as those white-noise-aping synth chords. Arriving at the tale-end of this year's set of warm days for the Northern Hemisphere, Tape Transport's remix of Low Tee's 'Hey You (And Forever)' lights a little fire in your heart and tells you that it's still ok to go outside and party, despite the weather.

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TAPE TRANSPORT PANOPLY EP

I received an email the other day and it was from a person called Anders Obel (you can call him Andrew, btw) - he was introducing me to the music that he had created under the name Tape Transport. I am very glad that he sent me the email because I've had a very nice time listening to this EP on repeat just now. He is from Norway, and I don't think I've ever written about someone from Norway before - there is a first time for everything.

Anyway, I was going to write about just one song but now I think I'll just write about the whole EP, called Panoply (coming from Greek meaning "a full suit of armour"), which Mr Tape Transport has self-released on Bandcamp for purchase on a name-yo-price basis. Not only is the whole EP worthy of praise, but there's a difficulty in picking a song that best represents his style, because it's as varied as it pleasant to the eardrums. To sum it up on a general level, I suppose you'd call it electro-pop but it's not as straightforward as that - there are dance elements in there, as well as a large chunk of experimentalism chucked in.

The song that stuck out most, on first listen, was 'You Are Mine', whose skiffly beat jitters away in the summoning up of dance energy and the steering of organically modulating synth bass and chords that rise up and down. Rapidly chopped-up vocal samples give extra oomph to the energy here, almost an R&B vibe - and it's very well done. Likewise, 'Flick The Switch' creates a dancey vibe, but with a more laid-back half-time rhythm thanks to an understated beat - here synth chords stab intergalactically and create glorious walls of noise alternately. That rhythmic, house-like twinging of chords occurs on pretty much every song on Panoply, which ain't a bad thing; nope, it adds retro dancefloor appeal to all five quite-differing tracks.

That said dance-hearted rhythm commands the chords in opener 'Crushing Waves', sending them from muffled depths to exalted heights of ear-piercing treble, adding synth horns for a triumphant atmosphere - kinda perfect for a first song. The beatwork at the beginning was certainly a promising sign when I first listened to it, intricate sounds coming together and layering for maximum excitement. There's REAL electric guitar here, too, sounding like the perfect accompaniment to the song - it's not easy to make real instruments and synth get along sometimes, but Tape Transport's got it down.

But it's a more chilled out affair for 'Look At The Stars (And The Stars Look Back)', which utilises a chiptune-style arpeggio and that twinging chord rhythm again against a lo-fi beat. Again, there's real guitar here: single, muted, reverbing notes that resonate beautifully. Towards the end of the song vocal samples pop up and the arpeggio plays in reverse - it grows ever ambient, with gentle bells, before fading away entirely. A similar ambience imbues closer 'Bedtime Story 夢は現実のもの', with a fizzing, glitched-out, up-tempo beat that upholds delicate glockenspiel sounds and soft synths; at about 1:42 a gently crashing cymbal adds to the urgency of the beat. Little things like this make the whole song quite a joy to listen to, like a genuine journey into dreams, the purpose of bedtime stories (the Japanese btw means 'dreams into reality' or similar). Muffled marimba provides a lullaby-esque outro.

With a good ear for creating dynamic soundscapes, and skilled switching between pretty, ambient atmospheres and upbeat, dancey vibes, Tape Transport's Panoply is more than just a "chill" journey: it's a deeper side of intelligent, glitchy dance music, multi-faceted enough so that it's an original voyage with each listen.

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