‘Hey Dreams is the new single from Honey Hideout . And look out!! ‘Cause it is THE 3 minute escape we all need from that busy everyday life… ‘Hey Dreams’ is a psychedelic pop dream, wavy and calm yet warm like spring and if it sounds nice. ‘Hey Dreams’ drops on May 17th
1. For someone who is yet to discover Honey Hideout, how would you describe yourself?
Honey Hideout is my musical sanctuary. The project came out of years of working as a producer and songwriter for other artists and projects and a growing need to release my own songs. The core of the project is hand-played, analog, and free, inspired by the psychedelic pop heroes of the 60s and 70s with notes of indie, pop, and jazz resonating a warm sound of emotion and nostalgia.
2. What inspired you as an artist?
A lot of things inspire me! Friends, family, experiences and art. But mostly I think I get Inspired by “just showing up” in the studio everyday. I think I have a quite rational approach to inspiration. I don’t really wait around for it. I usually start out the day playing piano, and then I try to get to work writing or making something. Then, inspiration usually follows.
3. You’re currently working as part of a big theatre setup in Copenhagen. What is your process for preparing to perform live?
Yes, I wrote the songs and score for a new version of The Little Mermaid playing at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen until June 8th. I’m also playing live in the show and music directing the band. For this project, I wrote sheets for all the music and made some pretty extensive pre-production demos before going into the rehearsal space with the band to communicate the vibe and my vision for the songs to the other musicians. And of course, I rehearsed a lot by myself before going into the actual rehearsals.
On show days, I arrive a couple of hours beforehand. I work out in the theater’s gym for about 30-40 minutes and do a short vocal warm-up routine. Then I have dinner, play the piano, and get warmed up and comfortable during the hour leading up to show start.
4. Where do you feel Honey Hideout fits into the music landscape?
Musically, Honey Hideout resides within the indie pop and alternative scene. The production style intertwines lush instrumentation with vintage tones, creating a nostalgic yet forward-thinking vibe.
In terms of landscape, envision a warm summer night along the coast, perhaps embarked on a road trip in a vintage car.
5. What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?
When I’m not working on music, I listen to a lot of jazz, indie pop/rock/country, ambient, and classical music. I grew up on classical music, jazz, and the Beatles, so that’s a big part of my core. But honestly, I listen to all kinds of music. These days a lot of instrumental music. I don’t think I dislike any genres. I don’t really listen to hard rock and metal, but I used to when I was younger. But I guess the anger/aggressive emotions don’t really resonate with me at this stage of my life. I’m a pretty calm person.
6. Where did the name come from?
I knew I wanted to find a project name for these songs. I work on a lot of different projects and in several genres, so it was important for me to somehow distinguish this from the rest of my work and for myself to have a universe around the project to write and think into. One night, some months before I planned to release “Goodbyes,” my first single, we were drinking a glass of wine at a bar called Bottega Barlie in inner Copenhagen. Me, my wife, and my wife’s best friend, who’s an art curator. We were brainstorming about a name for the project, and she told me about an exhibition she made some time ago called “Honey Hideout.” We all liked it immediately, and I thought it was fitting for the project. The hideout for my own songs and musical fantasies.
7. What would you say is your greatest strength as an artist and musician?
On a human level, I think I’m quite good at getting stuff done, following a plan through, and working with discipline. Most of the time anyway, hehe. As a musician, I think I’m quite versatile and self-sufficient in the sense that I’m used to filling a lot of the roles myself as a writer, singer, producer.
8. What would you say is your greatest weakness?
Right now, in terms of this project and on a quite practical level, my biggest weakness is having too much work to do with other projects for me to do all the stuff I want to do with Honey Hideout. Which is, of course, a pretty privileged kind of weakness. On a more personal level, I think it took me some time to believe that I could be an artist myself. I guess some form of imposter syndrome. That I didn’t have the “artist factor” in me or something. But I haven’t met many creatives that didn’t suffer from that to some degree.
9. What can fans expect from your new single, ‘Hey Dreams’?
A personal reflection on life and growing, embedded in a playful indie psych pop universe. I think it’s quite catchy. A warm sound of emotion and nostalgia.
10. What music or artist would you say has influenced your work the most?
I’m influenced by a lot of different artists! I frequently get quite obsessive and inspired by specific songs, albums, or artists. In my “Spotify 2023 wrap up,” I think I was among the 0.05% most listening (or something like that) to Sam Evian – an American songwriter, producer, and artist based in New York. I’ve been listening A LOT to his Time To Melt album and also his recent releases. I’ve also been very inspired by bands like The Marias, Men I Trust, and Khruangbin. And just a big melting pot of Brazilian jazz & psych things, obscure indie projects, lo-fi RnB, among other things. A lot of guitar-driven music in general, which is sort of an obstacle, since I’m really not a great guitarist. Luckily my little brother, Jacob, is.
11. Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?
Anyone of the above-mentioned would be a dream! There are also a lot of amazing Danish artists emerging in these “genres” that I would love to work with.
12. What was your worst performance?
I don’t think I ever had any disasters happen on stage. Hmm. Two years ago, I played a bunch of songs I wrote for a theatre piece with some singing actors on a big stage in Copenhagen. One of the actors was a bit insecure about singing already, and when we played the last song, that she was singing, I had a blackout and couldn’t remember the chords for the bridge at all and just improvised some chords in the moment, which of course threw her off. I felt bad about that for a while.
I also used to struggle a lot with nerves when I was a teenager. I played drums in the high school big band, and I remember my left foot was shaking so hard I couldn’t control the hi-hat, which of course didn’t come out as the most musical playing. But I don’t really get nervous anymore. At least not in an unhealthy way.
13. What was the most difficult obstacle you have ever faced, and how did you overcome it?
In general, I don’t feel like I’ve struggled for real in my life, compared to many other people. So I won’t complain! But I definitely had a hard time trying to find my place in my early/mid-twenties. I went to art school, and even though I was around a lot of inspiring people, I somehow felt like I was in the wrong place and just a general sense of confusion and lack of drive. I had that feeling for a while, but then somehow things just started falling into place. Probably because of some quite radical decision-making and chances I took and got away with!
14. What is your creative process when making music? Do you work with others, or is it just you?
It depends a lot on the project and specific song. I love working with others, but I would say that 70-80% of the work I do in the studio is by myself. Connection with someone musically is the best feeling. I’ve been a part of band projects before. It’s been some of the most fun times of my life, but also, co-working processes are just so vulnerable, and those projects easily become stagnated. I want Honey Hideout to feel like a band, which is why I try to invite as many of my musician and writer friends to come and be part of the process.
15. Where do you see your musical career in 10 years?
Thinking of what has happened for me in the last 10 years, I feel like that’s a pretty hard question to answer. But I want to spend more time with my own project! In 10 years, I think I have released a bunch of different albums and played a lot of shows with my projects. That’s my biggest ambition. I would love to keep on doing some music theatre projects. Maybe scale down a bit on the number of projects, but dedicate myself to fewer bigger ones. Also, I’d love to use my experience in writing for theatre plays to write scores for movies and series. In 10 years, I have definitely built my dream studio. When I get a bit older, I think I would want to do more studio work and writing in a combined home and studio situation somewhere nice and peaceful.
