Jens L. Thomsen – The Monday Is OK Mixtape

Please introduce yourself…
Who are you:
Jens L. Thomsen

Where are you:
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

What are you:
Composer, producer and one half of ORKA.

Tell us about the Monday mixtape you’ve put together for us.
It’s a selection of ambient tracks that I’ve been listening to lately.

If it were to be drawn what would it look like?
A rainy autumn afternoon.

If it were a food what would it be?
Ceviche.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?
In your living room under a blanket with a cup of tea while it’s raining outside.

What should we be wearing
Comfy, loose-fitting clothes.

Where was it recorded?
In my studio in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.

Who got you hooked on electronic music?
When I was a kid, I had Escape from New York on VHS. The soundtrack by John Carpenter as well as a bunch of other movie soundtracks laid the foundation for my love for ambient music. Since then, I have gone through many phases and have had epiphanies by different albums and artists. It’s hard to say who got me hooked, perhaps John Carpenter and Vangelis, but some artists that made me stay hooked during different periods of my life have been Kraftwerk, DJ Rashad, Burial.

Who would you say are your biggest influences and what are you hoping to achieve with your music?
David Bowie has been a big influence. Not necessarily only the music, but his ability to not stagnate but constantly be changing has always fascinated and inspired me. I wish this for my music. To always be looking ahead. I want to believe that change is possible, and I want this manifested in my music.

What were your original aspirations as musicians and how do you think you’re shaping up?
I used to do both art and play in bands. I found that my life as an artist was quite lonely while when I was in bands I would be with other people. I therefore abandoned my artist career although I later merged music and art when I started to do sound art and soundscapes. I think my aspirations have always been to stay true to my inner voice. Sometimes I might forget to listen but I generally feel content with my journey so far.

Some self help questions for a Monday:

How do you feel about Mondays in general, excited…or?
I love Mondays. It’s the beginning of a new week full of new experiences.

Am I excited to dive into the challenges that i have lined up for the week?
Yes! New week. New adventures.

Am I looking forward to engaging with the people i am meeting or working with?
Yes! Finishing a brilliant album with local rapper Trygvi Danielsen aka Silvurdrongur who is also one third of Aggrasoppar. I, Trygvi and the producer Eyðfinn always have a good time in the studio.

Am I going to my dream job?
Of course. When I’m not gigging, I’m sitting in my studio creating music. It is literally the job I as a teenager dreamt that I would have.

Am I being compensated fairly for the value i bring to my job?
Yes. I make a living.

Do I feel energised, rested, and confident?
My partner and I are in the middle of renovating our house. I spend every spare moment I have in the house trying to finish it so that we can move in. Therefore, energised, and confident? Yes. Rested? No, not until we move in.

If you were trapped on a desert island with one other person, who would you choose?
My partner. Sounds like fun!

How long would it be before you eat them?
Uhm. I wouldn’t eat her.

Your doctor says you need more exercise….what do you take up for exercise?
When I go to the gym I like to use the rowing machine.

If you could travel in time…where in time would you go? Why?
I would travel to the year 8 billion and watch our sun die. I would like to see how it all ends and they always make it look pretty in space documentaries.

What was the first electronic record you heard and how did it make you feel?
One of the first electronic records I remember buying was Kraftwerk’s Trans-Europe Express. From the moment I put it on a whole new world opened itself to me. It made me feel curious.

How does your brain work when making music? How does it work when you aren’t?
I always have a feeling in mind that I want to achieve and then I just go through a number of tools and techniques in order to reach that feeling. While I’m doing this, I tend to not do active thinking and instead try to be impulsive which often means that after I have made a piece of music or mixed a track, I forget how I did it. I do this intentionally because I don’t want to get too attached to something if it prevents me from producing other and better solutions. Because we’re renovating our house my brain is constantly thinking about how to solve house projects when I’m not working on music.

What were the first and last records you bought?
One of the first albums I remember buying was Nirvana’s Nevermind. I loved that album. While doing this mix, I bought some of the tracks on Bandcamp and went ahead and got a couple of them on vinyl. “Ecstatic Computation” by Caterina Barbieri and “Timeless” by Nico Niquo. I am a huge fan of both of them. Can’t wait to hear the albums on vinyl.

What are you obsessed with at the moment?
At the moment it’s construction and carpentry. I get great pleasure from building with wood.

What’s your answer to everything?
How hard can it be.

Anything else we need to discuss.
I’ve just released an ambient record “Æðr” on Kervið Records. It’s a vinyl only release. The music is part of a permanent soundscape installation in the Eysturoyartunnil subsea tunnel on the Faroe Islands. There it is transmitted via FM signals and travellers can hear it through their car stereos.

Jens L Thomsen’s Aedr is out now. Buy and Stream here