Noir - Noir

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A1. Black feat. Caitlin
This is about the hurt you fell when you can't connect with the person you love. Originally Caitlin sang this song to a different backing track. I loved the words and the way she sang it, but didn't feel the music and vocals were the perfect match. So I started making new music around the vocals and the whole feel and melody changed completely. I had two ideas for this song. The first was a soulful vibe I came up with by playing the rhodes and the other was quite different, with the old-school low-fi arp running. So rather than pick up one I decided to put them together and use the arp idea as a surprise element in the song. I spent a lot of time over-producing the song to make it sound under-produced. I wanted it to sound gritty and old-school which can be hard with the "clean" equipment producers have today. The lyrics and feel of this song made it the perfect opener for a Noir album.

A2. Around feat. Hayze
This is about karma and being betrayed by the ones that you loved the most. The instrumental of this was made in 2010 and it was released as a single in 2011, so this is the oldest song on the album. It has been revisited a couple of times to make it flow and sound better that the 2011 version, but I wanted to kepp the original feel of it, so I tried to not change too much.
It took me forever to hunt down Hayze for this one, I knew he would be perfect for it and we had a phone conversation (he is from Malaysia) in 2010 about the song just to agree what kinda song we wanted to end up with. This is one of the few vocals on the album which worked straight away and didn't change from the first demo. Hayze nailed it first time around. I think he is generally a one take singer.

A3. Let It Go feat. Caitlin
This is about the letting go of the person you love because it's the right thing to do.
This song is really special to me. Once again Caitlin sang the lyrics to a different backing track and I changed the music completely afterwards. It was originally 4/4 track, but I felt the music needed to be more emotional and slower to better suit the fragile vocals. This was one of those ping-pong songs, with us sending it back and forth between Aalborg and Berlin to get it completely right.
I asked Caitlin to change the rhythm of her singing on the new version and she totally understood my ideas: I couldn't have asked for a better vocal. This song made me realize that Caitlin and I have a rare chemistry. We inspire each other to go that extra mile to make it perfect. I guess that's why I ended up changing the music completely on both the songs we created together.

B1. Real Feat. Symbol
This is about living in a dream state until life throws you a curveball and snaps you back to reality.
This song came together rather quickly. It's one of those that just sounded great being simple and true to the 4/4 beat and bassline. I contacted Symbol as I felt he was perfect suited to a straight groove and he did not disappoint. Another one of those songs that needed a lot of ping-pong between us until it was 100% there. Luckily Symbol just kept going until we both felt it was perfect and I love him for it. For reasons I can't really explain I always knew this would be track #4 on the album. It reminds me of track #4s on various albums I have loved and listened to a lot over the years. It's hard to explain, but to me it makes perfect sense. For that reason this song is very special to me.

B2. Found Out Feat. Richard Davis
This is about alienation in a world with no boundaries of personal space. Every year when the fall marches in and it gets dark early in Denmark I start listening and making darker and deeper music. And that's exactly what happened in the fall 2011 when I made the backing track for this song. Once again I knew exactly who I wanted to sing on the track. As with Hayze it took me a long time to track down Richard Davis. But I am so happy I found him, got in touch and started working with him. I love everything about his tone, harmonies and song writing and just as I predicted he made "Found Out" the dark song I had hoped for. The song has been revisited since 2011 but the original feel has been kept 100% intact.

B3. Time Feat. HRRSN
This is about not giving in to the system and the maintream and about being yourself and resisting the people who want to change you.
When I had finished the backing track for this I knew it would be hard for someone else to write on it, so I was very impressed when I heard the first ideas from HRRSN. He understood the dynamic and swing of the track and after sending ideas back and forth between us I realized we had something pretty special. It almost feels like an R&B song, with heavy hip hop beats and inspiration from my R&B and hip hop days. I hear everything I loved from the dark and different R&B I fell in love with back then and I am still amazed that HRRSN and I unintentionally managed to capture that spirit.

C1. Explode Feat. Chris James
This is about digging deep and finding that inner strength to make this happen when the pressure is so intense it feels like your head is about to explode. When the backing track for this song was finished I felt it would be great to have someone writing not just a song but a hook that you would remember. I had heard some of Chris James's work from different releases and got in touch as I felt he could be interesting to work with. Once again I was lucky finding the right person straight away. He quickly sent me some ideas once we decided to do the song together and I fell in love with it from the beginning. The hardest part of this one was to get the arrangement right and make room for both melodies and Chris's lovely vocal hooks. In the end I think I managed to get the balance just right.

C2. In A Vacuum Feat. Richard Davis
This is about someone's self-obsession and their lack of understanding of how it can affect the ones who love them. On this song you can really hear my love for obscure 80s music. When the backing track for this one was finished I had no doubts that Richard Davis would be perfect for it and luckily he loved the track. Richard took this one to the next level. He made it even more 80s and this is one of those songs and vocals that was just right from the beginning. I love that he managed to write a catchy hook on top of that weird bassline. His harmonies and my melodies remind me of all the music from the 80s that I have fallen in love with. I don't know how we managed to create this peace but every tome I listen to it it puts a smile on my face.

C3. My Fault Feat. HRRSN
This is about feeling detached from the world, about pushing loved ones away even though you don't want to and about knowing you should be happy with what you have but still looking for true happiness. This song started with an idea HRRSN sent to me. This was the first track we worked on together, but we already knew each other, so it felt kinda natural. I love when HRRSN sings, with his heart almost popping out of the body but he must have hated me at some point in the process of making this song cause I kept pushing him to sing better and write more. I just knew he had this in him and the vocal on this song is now very special to both of us. I love the contrast between the very fragile, emotional lyrics and way of singing up against the no bullshit, in-your-face aggressive groove. I'm sure some people might suggest I should have used a slight auto-tune on some parts of the vocals here and there, but that would take away the charm and honesty of this man pouring his heart out. It's perfect as it is.

D1. Angel Feat. Hayze
This is about crying out for a guardian angel to protect and watch over you. After "Around" became such a big success Hayze and I didn't work together again for a couple of years. We were both busy and living on opposite sides of the world, but we slowly started talking about making music together again. With "Angel" the dynamic had changed. This time Hayze send me the vocal idea and I started making music around it. When he send me the "Angel" accapella I immediately heard that it could be 'follow-up' to around and I must have spent six or seven months getting the music right. How I ended up with the disco-feel this one had I can't explain, but when I played that bassline I immediately knew that it was right and everything progressed around that. I treasure the relationship I have with Hayze. We have great respect for each other and when we do music together there's definitely strong chemistry.

D2. Glass Feat. Symbol
This is about trying to mask your transparency before finally giving up and accepting your flaws. I sent this backing track to symbol as a challenge. I had a feel he could write on any music but to be honest I didn't think he would nail this one. It also took me a couple of listens to his ideas before they really caught me and I understood his flow. It ended up inspiring me to change the music a little and build all the tensions you hear in this song today. It's a record you probably wouldn't expect me to produce a couple of years ago, but that's what's lovely about making music when you start from scratch. Symbol needs credit for making this one work though: if it wasn't for his brilliant vocal I don't think I would ever have finished the music.

D3. Out Of Control Feat. Cari Golden
This is about inner chaos.
Once this was done I knew it would be the closing track of the album. It sounds like lullaby to me and listening back now I have no idea how I came up with the melody on this one. I chose Cari Golden to sing on this because for some strange reason I knew she could nail this one and she did. Another one of those first takes on the album, there was no ping-pong between us. It actually doesn't work on a steady beat. I had an idea to put 4/4 under the vocals but quickly realized that wasn't going to work. So rather than changing Cari's rhythm and the special vocals she had delivered I adapted the music and arrangement around her story.
I feel this song is the perfect way to close the album.

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