DAS ELITE is the personal, electronic outfit of renowned Swedish producer and mixer Andreas Ahlenius. Working with many international gold- and platinum selling artists over the years, Andreas sees DAS ELITE as a getaway, a creative output and a project maneuvering in its own emotional soundscape, allowing electronic melancholy to set the tone. The landscape is influenced by life, Scandinavia, vagabondism and a feeling of not really belonging anywhere but everywhere. The musical landscape is influenced by bands like Depeche Mode, Massive Attack and other electronic outfits. Although a vagabond working around the world, Andreas lives in his home town of Gävle on the Swedish east coast where he works from his studio The Blue Room.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey DAS ELITE, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Oh, i've been into music since i was a child. I started playing the piano and guitar when i was like 7 or 8...my mother and grandfather taught me how to play simple stuff and i really enjoyed it. Then i was in bands when i was a teenager and after i finished school i got into production and studio work, and that's what i've been doing ever since.
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
I work a lot in the studio producing other artists and also mixing records, but i always make sure i have periods when i travel, hang out with friends and family...these are usually the times when i make my own music as well since i get inspired by people, impressions and the world around me.
Your latest release is 'Torment EP'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
Yeah, the making of 'Torment' came about when i had some weeks off and went to the north of Sweden this summer. I wrote a few songs up there in the midnight sun that i ment to make an EP of.
When i got home i started with the recording/production and wanted to write a bonus track for the first single of the EP, which became the song 'Torment'...so the bonus track went to be the single. It was unusually warm for Sweden, and raining hard that night, so all my windows were open and the song was written in an hour. In some places in the vocal track you can hear traffic and rain through the open windows. It just had the vibe.
Where did you get the inspiration for this EP?
My inspiration is life around me as i see it. I like people and i'm sensitive to emotions, so i kind of write about how people, myself included, feel and see life. Basically i'm trying to get an emotion across.
How long did you work on the 'Torment EP'? Was it an easy process for you?
This EP is really just a single with a bonus track, 'Boy In The Cloud', but i wanted to ask some great and interesting artists to make remixes of the track. So i spent a few weeks recording the two songs, then sending files to the remixers and wait to see what they would come up with. So yeah, it was quite easy actually, but many people contributed with their time and skills to make their remix-versions of my track. It was great and i feel honoured that they wanted to make their own versions of my song.
How do you know when a work is finished?
That's actually easy since i work as a producer. At some point you just know it's finished. You give the song the best you can and that's it. If you think about it too much it would never be finished.
Can you write what was your best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
Oh, i think it was when my sister got married...i played the piano and my younger brother sang in public for the first time. It was terrifying for both of us, but we made it ha ha:)
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
Since i work as a producer i have a lot to do with the music business. When i started out i had no idea how complicated the business is...i just wanted to make great music...and that hasn't changed. Recording and releasing music as DAS ELITE takes me back to the feeling i had when i started out...no pressure, no expectations, just making music that i like for the sake of the music itself.
Who is your favourite musician?
There's so many great musicians so i can't say, but my favourite songwriter is Martin Gore of Depeche Mode...which will probably not be a surprise to anyone :)
What are your plans for the future?
There's a new single in January. It comes with a bonus track and a couple of remixes as well, then the actual EP will be released in March containing six songs.
Nice chatting with you! :)