Finnebassen might be one of the more well known house cats to come out of his home country of Norway. He is a naturally talented musician who won’t shy away from playing live guitar on his productions, always favouring a hint of nostalgia to permeate his tracks. A regular performer in his hometown since 2008, it was only from 2012 onwards when the rest of the world sat up and noticed.
Then again, how you could you not pay attention to the Norwegian’s amazing run of nu-disco and house flavoured productions. His release on Electronique Digital ‘If You Only Knew’ reached number 3 on the Beatport Nu Disco Chart, and the Noir Music-signed track ‘Touching Me‘ reached the number one spot on Beatport’s Deep House chart. Not to mention releases on labels including The House of Disco and even major players like Warner Music.
Gig-wise Romania and Belgium are all scheduled for the Finnebassen treatment later this year, alongside appearances at Berlin’s Watergate, Amsterdam ADE, and a tour of Brazil in November.
As the first Norwegian artist to do a Balance Selections podcast, Finnebassen does not disappoint. And with tracks from Minilogue, Red Axes and Trikk, this mix will soothe many ears.
Balance Selections Q+A
Name:
Finnebassen
Location:
Oslo, Norway
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/finnebassen/
Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/finnebassen
Labels affiliated with:
Noir, Culprit, Stil Vor Talent, Get Physical, Polymath
What music did you listen too as a child?
I think my earliest memory of music, must be driving in my father’s car. He has been playing in a band for 45 years (I think), so growing up there was always music in my life. At home, or driving to school. I remember listening to Donald Fagen, Delbert McClinton, George Benson, Dire Straits, The Shadows, Steely Dan etc. My father was never a serious musician, but I was encouraged to pick up the guitar, because he played as well. I wasn’t into it in the beginning, but there was always guitars lying around the house. At age 12 I think I started playing on my own, and after a couple of years I bought a looper so I could jam to my own music.
When was the first time that you realized that you liked electronic music?
I think I was around 18-19 years old. A friend of mine bought a mixing desk and cdj’s. And we started mixing. I had already started to listen to maybe more progressive house, but the tempo and the lack of dynamics was a problem for me. As you can hear in my music, I like mellow stuff. But the older I get the bolder I become I feel. I regards to what track was the turning point from progressive to deeper sides of electronic music, I think the spark for me was The Knife with Silent Shout. I had never heard anything like that before. I didn’t even know what to call that type of music. But it was a game changer for me.
When was the first time you saw a DJ in a club?
It has to be the first time I went to Sunkissed in Oslo. At the time I had only gone to certain bars and smaller venues in the western part of Oslo. I didn’t like it at all. What struck me when I came to Sunkissed, which is hosted by legendary venue Blå in Oslo, was the equality that existed in that space. It was the first time that I experienced real clubbing. It didn’t matter what you were wearing or if you had money. It was all about the music. Obviously being a music nerd I loved that. People were facing the DJs, I think it was Olanskii or G-ha playing, I can’t be certain, but it was one of those two guys.
Which producers/artists/acts inspire you?
Wow that’s to broad a question. I could write an essay about it. I find inspiration In a lot of different genres. I can make a small list of people. Charlie Cunningham, Susanne Sundfør, Jarle Bernhoft, Tingsek, Bobby Vinton, Estas Tonne, Todd Terje, Dire Straits, Melody Gardot, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Gary Moore, John Mayer, Blaue Blume, Røyksopp, Maceo Plex, Rival Consoles, Nightmares on Wax, Minilogue, Dr. Dre, George Benson, Joe Bonamassa, Prince, Oasis and Derek Trucks.
All these bands and artists have had a major influence on me musically. Some more than others of course. As a musician I try to learn as much as I can from different types of artists. They are all unique and I feel that they have been crucial to my sound and musical persona.
What was the last album that you downloaded/bought?
Susanne Sundfør’s latest album. “Music for People in Trouble” It’s a masterpiece. I follow her on social media so it was hard to miss it.
What is your current production and DJ set up like?
It’s always changing a little bit I feel. I have gone from using only VST synths to almost exclusively using outboard gear. I felt had to change the way I make music. I felt i was stagnating. And the workflow of having all my synths hooked up and synced allows me to tap into my creativity in a much bigger way. At the moment i use the Roland SH-101 alot. My track ‘Sanguine‘ features my Juno 60 synced by the 909. I also have a 808 clone, a Korg Mono/Poly, Dave Smith Prophet 08, Moog Sub 37, Korg MS-20, a couple of guitars, the Tr-8 and some fx and compressors. My favourite synth… I cant decide if it’s the Juno or the SH-101, even though the SH-101 isn’t really mine… hahaha… but yeah.. one of those two.
I DJ with cdj’s simply because I don’t feel it’s worth it dragging along a lot of vinyl only to find out that the set up is wrong or something else prevents you from having a good experience with it. I feel what I do comes across in the best way through the CDs. I used to travel with around 50 records, but I stopped. It just wasn’t worth it.
What releases do you have on the horizon?
I have a remix for Anna Of the North, a Norwegian indie artist. And a remix on Selador for Lonya
Where can we hear you perform?
My next gig is in the UK I think. At a place called Younger Hall.
Tell us more about the podcast you made for Balance?
I compiled the mix in Ableton live.I wanted to showcase different sub genres of electronic music that I like. Not trying to think too much on the how streamlined the mix is. So if you are into super streamlined techy stuff then this mix isn’t for you… hahaha. It took the better part of an evening at home putting it together. I was banging my head against the wall on some of the transitions, but i’m happy with how it came out.
My Recommendations
The top track in my DJ wallet currently is:
If I could recommend only one of my tracks for you to listen to it would be:
If I could recommend only one track for you to listen to it would be:
The last movie I watched that I really liked:
The Promise
My favourite TV show:
The Wire
Tracklist
1. Nils Fran & Olafur Arnalds – W
2. Shlømo – Twelwe Fortresses
3. Minilogue – Clouds And Water (Vinyl Edit)
4. Red Axes, Moscoman, Krikor – Subaru Pesha (Red Axes Remix)
5. Lonya – The World that disappears (Finnebassen Remix)
6. Stereocalypse – Arboria
7. Finnebassen – Sanguine
8. Rebolledo – Dicoteco Plexico (Maceo Plex Remix)
9. Trikk – Firma
10. Rival Consoles – Slow Song