"Although I didn't write this song, it spoke to me in a way that made me feel as if it was my own story,” Brandon said. “I found myself playing it over and over again in my bedroom, remembering situations that I've been through.”
Check out the video for yourself below.
I’m walking as quickly as I can from Spring street over to Canal in a tourist's rain poncho from Duane Reade; anything to protect my notebook and recorder from the torrential downpour. I’m meeting up with four-piece Danish rock band Iceage to discuss their latest studio album Beyondless.
It’s been a couple of years since I last saw the band play in Brooklyn and I’m eager to hear what members Johan Wieth, Dan Nielsen, Elias Rønnenfelt, and Jakob Pless have to share about their expanded sound and forthcoming tour. Talking over coffees and tea, the band dishes on touring the United States, working with Sky Ferreria, and the creative process behind the album’s production.
So, I love Beyondless which dropped earlier this month. I’ve played it all through at least three or four times at this point. My favorite track right now is Catch It; that’s total makeout music. Perfect for the summer.
That’s the first time we’ve heard that probably. That’s nice!
It’s the first thing that popped into my head as I was listening to it; like I would definitely put this song on and makeout with my boyfriend to it.
That’s what we want. That’s cool.
I also love Painkiller; [speaking to lead singer Elias Rønnenfelt] you and Sky Ferreira performing vocals together sounds incredible. Tell us a bit about the process of creating that song. I recall you guys don’t usually have vocal features on your albums.
It’s our first non-instrumental feature! It was great. Sky was the first person we had in mind for that song and she agreed to work together on it. She just went in with her full presence and really added a lot of soul that elevated the track.
Are there any other musicians you guys would ideally collaborate with; either on vocals or production?
We make most of our music ourselves but we’ll see in the future. We’re not closed off to the idea. Maybe Shirley Bassey!
Are there any songs that crowds have reacted to differently on different nights?
It feels like there’s more dancing going on than we’ve seen before.
You guys are touring the U.S. right now. Even outside of the current events, America is a pretty unique and oftentimes bizzare country. Have you had any “essentially American” experiences while on tour here?
A lot of them! Like every day. In terms of the current climate of the country; we played with another band in a few border towns in Texas and there you really see the immediate effects of politics because people are fearing for their families. In terms of the American experience in general; we went to a baseball game for the first time the other day. We had beers and peanuts and really enjoyed it actually. There’s a lot of different American experiences from town to town; different parts of the country or even neighborhood to neighborhood. We always find it funny here because we’ve grown up with American movies and we have this very ‘clear’ idea of what the culture is like. When America meets those certain stereotypes - we love it.
Like cheeseburgers.
It’s not that simple! [Dan:] Also, New York City is never disappointing.
Is there anything that Americans could learn from Danish culture that would improve us?
No, not at the moment [all laugh] Healthcare is a start though you know? In terms of immigration policy we’re just as bad as you guys, perhaps even worse.
The fact that our healthcare system is a business is very bonkers and weird.
Yeah it’s like big business— the way it’s risen has sort of damaged the initial idea of what this country’s supposed to be about. But that doesn't just go for America, it goes for everywhere else too.
Is there anything the Danes could learn from Americans?
Perhaps a bit of hospitality and... [pauses] It’s kind of looked down upon in Denmark to think bigger or be bold. In America it’s like; bold to a fault.
Do you think that music could ease some of the conflicts that the world’s currently facing?
On an individual level but not on a grander scale. Some music can help people realize things that can help them work towards something they need. Maybe a band like Cress could enlighten on ideologies or themes on a political scale but we’re not really that kind of band. It’s more about feeling. If you hear something that resonates with you it can have many effects but bettering the world’s situation is a bit of a stretch.
Is there anything you guys bring on tour with you to make it more fun?
Books! [Elias:] For the first time ever I brought a pillow.
Nice, so everybody’s reading on tour?
Pretty much yeah. And we finally brought sunscreen.
Are there any specific references or emotions that you focused on while creating Beyondless?
...It’s a lot of conflicting emotions; ones that are fighting each other. It also varies from song to song. This album is a cathartic one.
Are there any tracks on Beyondless that were especially challenging to complete?
There’s one that isn’t on the record that we had a tough time with a certain beat; getting it consistent all the way through. But it’s not on the record... Sometimes you run into a wall with a song and you have to search for the right element that will make the whole thing open up and transform into what it’s supposed to be... In the studio we don’t give ourselves time to second guess or doubt. It’s just a matter of execution really.
You just put it out there and once it’s time to arrange things you go from there?
Exactly. We want to keep a sort of immediate, creative flow in the the studio. We usually put songs down within three to five takes and that’ll be it. We don’t book enough time in the studio to stress ourselves out and dwell on the decision making. You have to sort of just go with it.
Were there any tracks on the record that were your favorite to create?
No. We love it as an entity; it’s it’s own body of work. The songs belong together. It’s also kind of interesting; even though you play the songs before recording them they really come to life in the studio. You really get to know the songs. Sometimes they present themselves in a way you hadn’t expected. All of them were equally interesting to create.
Tell me about the album art.
We found a woman whose grandfather did this marbling work. He mixed pigments with oil and created prints that were used to wrap books. He was a professional marbling artist and she does it as well. He’s dead now but she has an archive of all his stuff - we got to go to her house and search through all this work. We spent the next month at each other’s throats arguing about images until we found that one and everybody was into it. We knew it was the one. It’s fascinating that it was an image originally intended to cover a single book but is now widely-produced for our album cover.
He followed the foray into the frontlines of the music industry with a surprise appearance on SNL, alongside the show's headliner Nicki Minaj— performing a track from his own album which Minaj had been featured on, along with stars suh as Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert.
But between tall artist’s undeniably major moments, he graciously made time to drop by our office office, and offer us insight on girls, his musical influences, how Mickey Mouse has been a major inspiration, and what he did for Mothers Day. Oh, and he helped furnish our office space with its first eviction notice— which, naturally, we framed.
Despite the fact that our landlord was neither satisfied with the smell of weed spilling into the building’s hall, nor that our third floor neighbors’ walls were shaking with the sound of Carti’s call-to-action, “Bad bitch, poke it out, poke it out, poke it out (bitch)”— we wouldn’t take back the few hours we spent, sitting with Playboi Carti in cheap rolling chairs, peering out the window at Canal Street traffic.
Carti is clearly a current icon in the industry, and I can't deny I listen to his latest album on repeat— but given the fact that I have only recently become well-acquited with popular music, and his prominent role in the arena, I felt obligated to take one of my colleagues along with me to meet him, one who I knew was a huge fan, to supplement the background information on our conversation. I called him at 9:30 that morning, woke him up, which is always a risk. But this time, I could literally hear the excitement through the phone:
“I’ve listened to Carti since the time when you could only find his music on Soundcloud and YouTube. My friends and I would blast Carti and Uzi out of my friends beat up car. Next to Uzi, Carti is legit a Soundcloud legend blasting his way into popular culture. But I didn’t really know what to expect this time, having put on Carti’s album which was in my normal rotation of music and tried to come up with questions, which didn’t really work.”
...And honestly neither of us knew what would really come out of it— but, the day of, despite the intimidatingly well-dressed entourage Carti arrived alongside, the artist evoked an easiness, an openness, that immediately transgressed any of that sweating, stuttering state that takes over when talking to celebrities.Talking to Carti was like talking one of our friends— and from the start he had us cracking up, letting us know in his soft-spoken tone that he’d left all ego at the door.
What do you think people get wrong about you?
I just want people to know that I care, like genuinely care.
How long did it take you to make this project?
Two months - actually one month….We did the whole thing in Miami. Miami was crazy as fuck. But, somehow we made a whole album? Also, I got tattoos while in the booth making music. Had to drag a tattoo artist into the actual booth, it was lit.
Why the name Die Lit?
I actually didn’t even think about that. It was just about what was going on in Miami, the environment in which the album was made.
Favorite song from the album?
Loved the whole thing. Really, man.
I do remember listening to your music on on Soundcloud, around 2015, those songs like Don't Tell Nobody and Broke Boy. Is making music the same?
Somewhat, before I was rapping about shit that I have now. Times change, but I don't really care.
What about Social Media? It's pretty recently you've been regularly present on Instagram.
I just post what I want. And talk to girls. If I have a cool picture, or want to share something I actually like, I will. It’s not about PR.
That’s impressive, it feels like it would last longer than what others are doing, given that they’re relying on an element of technology that will likely get adapted and replaced by something else!
Wow, yeah. I mean, I just don’t care, I want to make my music. And talk to girls. Ha.
So, email was your first then. What was your first email?
Wow. Your opinions on Kanye?
I fuck with Kanye. But I don’t give a fuck about what people are saying, I don’t need to get into it.
So the name Playboi Carti? Where did that come from?
Also girls! Ha. You know, it explains itself.
Amazing. I feel stupid now even having asked. What inspires you?
Movies, I really like Danny Darko and Gummo, I watch those every week. Also Mickey Mouse.
Yeah I notice your tattoos, you have a bunch that feature him. Very trendy, he’s everywhere. And has been, I guess. Just did a collab with OC, ha.
Oh shit, that’s good. He’s my idol, really. Timeless artist.
Weirdly, that’s so true.Your favorite musician?
Young Nudy, he’s amazing. Doing real things.
How did you get into music?
Choir. But I only was into it for the girls, until the very end. Then I actually got into it, and it inspired me. It’s cool, now, doing SNL is something I’d dream to do before it all. But I’m also doing it for me, and that’s not changed. And my people. And my mom, she’s the best. Nothing really changes, I just keep up doing what I love and what makes it work.
What’d you do for Mother’s Day?
Gave her a shitload of Gucci.
What’s next?
Living and chilling. Really, I just need to live. But with music, I want to be doing everything now, too. I want to go full on, do it all. Now it’s time.
And it is, apparently. You’re killing Billboard. Go for it.
Describe what the creative process was like when recording "Domino."
Recording "Domino" was a journey. I think I recorded it six times in three different studios before this version. It took me a while to define the moment I was trying to capture. I think I reached my goal after I stopped trying to make it something it wasn’t.
Tell us about the significance of the title of the EP, NineNights.
The title actually comes from a funerary tradition also known as Dead Yard, where the life of an individual is celebrated for 9 nights and 9 days. On the ninth night the spirit of the deceased passes through. The EP is about my experiences as a passenger who has yet to reach his destination.
If you ran for president, what would be your campaign slogan?
“Wisdom To Know The Difference.”
What’s a song you have on repeat right now?
"The Modern Things" By Bjork.
What is one thing you would change about the music industry?
I think there's a general mold of what creates a “successful artist.” I’d like see more freedom outside of format of what leads to success.
If Kanye West was in front of you right now, what you say to him?
How are you?
Do you have a lucky number? If so, what is it and why?
9, it’s something that defines my character.
