The young gentleman from Copenhagen – Steffen Johs – is not only a charming guy (yeah, we’re sucking up a bit, but it’s our honest opinion ;) ), but also a very talented DJ and producer, working under the name POSTKRT (previously – Postkort).
After releasing the great debut EP “Artcore”, POSTKRT decided to give us a special treat for autumn time: he will be releasing a series of bootlegs, that will all together create a Bootlegs Mixtape. And guess what? The mixtape will be released in collaboration with Good because Danish! During autumn and winter we will get the single tracks and the full mixtape will be released at the beginning of 2015.
We are really happy to present the awesome electronic music of POSTKRT exclusively on our blog – before anyone else! Just because we know quite well how good a nice piece of relaxing and soothing electronic music can do during long, cold, windy and rainy autumn days and nights. So, it’s exactly that kind of great music that POSTKRT will deliver for you!
The track we premiere today is POSTKRT’s remix of “End It Starts” by Asta Fall. The composition has a great vibe, just as the video to the remix made by Lukas Kohrtz Kaldan and Aki Shiraishi Bech. You can watch the clip below and stream the song on SoundCloud!
We had a little chat with Steffen and asked him a few questions about the Bootlegs series. Read the interview below and don’t forget to check our blog regularly for news about POSTKRT’s Bootlegs Mixtape!
Good because Danish: Autumn can be a tough time for people. Is that the reason behind the idea of making it easier for them by delivering some nice music with the Bootlegs Mixtape? Can you explain the idea a bit?
POSTKRT: I definitely think autumn has a lot to do with this project in the sense that my music moves in a melancholic and glooming universe, which for me is pushed during the fall of the year. I produced my last EP last fall and then I almost came to a complete stop during the summer – that period of the year just doesn’t inspire the kind of music I do, I think. So the tracks are definitely a product of the vibes, colors and sensations flowing in these cold and dark times.
Is there any theme of the Bootlegs series or is it more about going with the flow?
The bootleg series is very much about going with the flow. I’m releasing tracks as soon as they are done, simply because I’m too impatient to go through the ‘proper process’ of releasing tracks. I don’t start producing the next track before the one before is finished, which keeps the tracks in the front of my mind, because they are still fresh and new to me, as I publish them. In some way the tracks become an image of my state of mind in that period, which I like a lot.
POSTKRT charmed us with the debut EP “Artcore”, which was a collection of original tracks – now we can enjoy your remixes, too. What’s the biggest difference in making your “own” music and remix somebody else’s work?
The biggest difference between my EP and this series of bootlegs is that I’ve definitely come closer to my ‘sound’. There is more of a red line between the tracks, I think, and what I want to achieve comes more easily. Working with this remix has been completely different from working with the original songs – first of all Mikkel (Asta Fall) has made an insane track, with so many inspiring layers, so I was really easy for me to let the inspiration flow and the track almost made itself. I think that’s the biggest difference between remixing and doing original stuff – that you have an amazing base to work from that can lead you anywhere.
Autumn will bring POSTKRT’s series of bootlegs. What’s next? What are your plans with the project, can you share some of them with us?
I’m planning to release a few more tracks in the course of this year – as long as they create themselves I’m going to keep going. I’m then going to collect all the tracks in a mixtape that I really want to press on vinyl. So I’m planning a crowdfunding to be able to get the whole thing on vinyl with a lot of additional stuff for the ones who contribute! And then… liveshows!
What is your way to deal with Autumn melancholia, which probably strikes even harder in Copenhagen than anywhere else?
There is really no easy way to deal with the Danish autumn, I think. The transition from summer to fall is really abrupt, so the whole mood changes in a few days. You get used to it eventually and just sort of suck it up. Winter’s coming too, so you can’t be too down already, haha. But I use this time of year to get in the mood for producing, and it’s really inspiring when you do the kind of stuff I do. When you get home from a party in the worst weather, freezing your ass off and then sit down by your computer with only a little light on, there is a very particular vibe. Late at night, too tired to do anything and with a busy city at a complete stand still. That’s when the magic happens.