Melancholy is Beautiful - The Music of Anders Trentemøller

Text: Olaf Adam Pictures: SEN Promotion, HFN Music

This article originally appeared in 0dB - Das Magazin der Leidenschaft N°2

His artist name is simply his last name, his band is also named after him, and he also called his first EP simply "Trentemøller." What at first glance sounds like the typical behavior of an egomaniac actually turns out, on closer inspection, to be more of a kind of soul-baring. For Anders Trentemøller, music is a deeply personal matter, and he puts his whole personality into his own music. So, it's only logical that he doesn't hide behind any label but stands for it with his own name.

Are musicians born that way? Maybe not, but Anders can still remember exactly when he first realized that music could be something much more powerful than just background noise. "The first song I can consciously remember was Venus In Furs by Velvet Underground. I must have been about ten years old at the time, and at home, music didn't play a special role—there was always just some pop station on the radio. And suddenly this piece comes on that totally blew me away. Of course, I didn't understand the lyrics, but the music had something mystical, almost threatening, that immediately fascinated me. That was the first time I was really interested in music and wanted to learn more about the band and this kind of music."

Goosebumps Are Important

Listening to music always comes before making music, even for Anders Trentemøller. By exploring all kinds of music, from punk to techno, the young Dane developed knowledge about, understanding for, and above all, a love of music. "Good music is music that moves me. Style and genre don't matter at all—it can be anything. Music is especially good when it touches me without me being prepared for it in any way. So if, on first listen, I know nothing about the artist, band, or song, but still get goosebumps, that's a good sign."

Whether a piece of music has this effect, for Anders, is mainly due to a skill that has almost been forgotten—good songwriting. "You used to be able to discover really good music on the radio. Today, when I turn on the radio, I unfortunately rarely hear music that moves me, as popular music is dominated by a kind of commercial songwriting that doesn't have that quality—and maybe doesn't even want it. It's more about catering to current and short-lived trends, so everything somehow sounds the same. Of course, there is still good new music—you just don't find it as easily anymore."

Touching other people with his own work is Trentemøller's goal as a musician. Thanks to the unique style he has developed over the years, he often manages to do this without words. "Music usually doesn't speak to your brain but to your heart. That's especially true for instrumental music. If there are no lyrics, only the music speaks. We play a lot of instrumental tracks live, and they work the same way everywhere in the world, whether we play them in Canada, Europe, or China. Music really is a global language."

No Box

Trentemøller's music eludes the usual genre thinking in a peculiar way. Acoustic instruments are combined with elegiac electronic sounds, soothing pop vocals alternate with complex, intricate instrumental pieces. But perhaps precisely because of this individuality, Trentemøller often finds himself pigeonholed by others—most often into a box labeled Electronic Music. "That really shouldn't matter to me—if someone likes my music, it's up to them whether they think it's electronic or some other kind of music. Personally, though, I would never want to limit myself with a genre label. I started with rock music and have always evolved musically. Today, I try to use all modern possibilities so I can create the music I want to write. If I need the sound of an electric guitar in a piece, I'll record a real electric guitar in the studio. For other parts of the same track, I'll tinker with electronic instruments until I get the right sound. I then combine it all on the computer and build the song layer by layer."

As a multi-instrumentalist and detail-obsessed producer, Trentemøller has played many of his albums himself; his remixes for Yoshimoto, Röyksopp, Moby, and the Pet Shop Boys have also made him well-known. But for him, working with the band is what really matters. "Sometimes people come to one of our concerts expecting some kind of DJ set from me. Then they're surprised to see a real band on stage and that this kind of music can come across live. The music is made exactly for that!"

Never Hopeless

Since 2006, Trentemøller has released four studio albums as well as various compilations and numerous singles. If you listen through this body of work, you'll find a wide musical range, but also a hard-to-define underlying mood that runs like a thread throughout the Dane's creations. Some reviewers take the easy way out and identify this mood as "dark" or even "gloomy." An interpretation that somewhat surprises the artist himself. "I would call my music melancholic, but not gloomy. Gloomy, to me, always has something to do with hopelessness and despair, and I don't see that in myself or in my music. The mood in my tracks is certainly often thoughtful, maybe sometimes sad, but never hopeless. For me, being melancholic means allowing the thoughtful moments in life, but not forgetting that life has its good sides too. Seen that way, melancholy is something very beautiful, I think."

About Anders Trentemøller

Anders Trentemøller, born in 1974, grew up on Zealand and has lived in Copenhagen since the early 1990s. After starting out in various rock and indie bands, he began experimenting with electronic music and quickly developed his own style. The first EP "Trentemøller" (2003) was followed by several successful remix gigs (including for Moby, Röyksopp, and Pet Shop Boys), as well as the debut album "The Last Resort," which stayed in the Danish charts for 37 weeks and gained international recognition. Since 2007, Trentemøller has been touring extensively with his band and has played at numerous well-known festivals.

Further information can be found on his website.

Listening Tips – This Is What Trentemøller's Music Sounds Like

Moan (Trentemøller Remix) - 2007
Single (Poker Flat Recordings), also available on Tidal, Spotify, etc.

Trentemøller remixes Trentemøller – a perfect fit for the concept of constant experimentation that the musician pursues.

Fixion - 2016

Album (In My Room), also available on Tidal, Spotify, etc. Trentemøller's latest and perhaps most reflective album