A 12″ double pack featuring Terje-led covers of some disco classics will arrive on Olsen in June.
Glance at the illustrated Terje on the cover looking despondent in his leisure suit with a plunging neckline, fancy cocktails strewn about his piano, and it’s obvious that we are in the realm of parody. Todd Terje has always been a bit self-deprecating, placing himself willingly in the nu-disco camp (a genre-tag that many think has the same inherently negative qualities as a word like “hipster”) and agreeing wholeheartedly at Norwegian state-funded radio’s assertion that “Inspector Norse” sounds like elevator music. According to a recent interview, album opener Opener “Intro (It’s Album Time)” was chosen with “It’s Money Time” losing out as a close second.
It’s taken 10 years, but Todd Terje has finally delivered his long-promised debut album, It’s Album Time. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that he’s short on time as Matt Anniss finds out… Read more
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Todd Terje will deliver the third release for his Olsen imprint next month with the sounds of Strandbar.
Norse disco duo Todd Terje and Lindstrom have announced the release of Lanzarote, their first full collaborative release together, ahead of several planned live shows as the year progresses.
The second Mixology release from Harmless has the label digging through the archives of New York’s Sam Records.
One of this year’s most instantly recognisable tunes – “Inspector Norse” by Todd Terje – now has it own official video.
And so it lands. Todd Terje launches his new eponymously named label Olsen in fine style with the much anticipated EP It’s The Arps. Or should we say Todd Tease as the Norwegian has been dropping lead track “Inspector Norse” since the budding months of last summer (there’s an amusing video somewhere on the internet of Terje doing so at Brooklyn yard Mr Sunday Afternoon party replete with interesting shape throwing from a crowd member).
Todd Terje’s much anticipated explorations of the inner workings of the Arp 2600 on his new Olsen imprint will finally see release on January 16.
Norwegian disco producer and esteemed blogger Todd Terje will launch his Oslen imprint with an EP of his own material entitled It’s The Arps.
Those who’ve been watching Terje Olsen’s progress over the last decade may have become frustrated at the lack of original material from the Norwegian disco don. Since debuting in 2004 with the brilliant “Eurodans” – perhaps still one of the finest examples of loose-limbed, warehouse-friendly nu-disco – the tache-sporting DJ/producer has released just four more original compositions (and one of those was a live jazz remake of “Eurodans”). For a man of his talents, it’s incredibly frustrating.
Given this slow work-rate, it’s perhaps no surprise that there’s been much interest in this four-track EP for Gerd Janson’s Running Back imprint. Predictably, it’s a bit good, and arguably his best original work yet. While there’s nothing as melodically “big” as “Eurodans”, there’s clear demonstration of progression – both musically and in the quality of production.
“Ragysh” itself is the most obviously impressive of the four cuts. Like much of the best dance music, it is devilishly simple. For much of its nine-minute duration it offers little more than a rock-solid, head-nodding, house-not-house groove built around his trademark disco percussion and a nagging electronic riff. But then the breakdown comes in, introducing us to a raft of delightfully cosmic melodies that dart around excitedly, propelling the track towards a gasping climax. Orgasmo-house anyone? “Ragysh” has an alter ego in “Bonysh”, a self-consciously stripped-down drum track that ekes maximum thrills from simple switches between ever-more druggy percussive patterns.
The real highlight, though, is the more playful “Snooze4Love” – a delightfully Balearic concoction that bubbles excitedly with electronic gorgeousness. Its shuffling rhythms and minimalist approach to melody suggest that Terje has been studying German electronic music, but it still sounds much more Oslo than Berlin. The digital release also includes a sublime downtempo remake, which dubs out the glistening electronics and adds dreamy guitar phases for maximum Balearic effect. It sounds like an otherworldly jam between Pat Metheny, Steve Reich and Lindstrom, which is no bad thing.
Matt Anniss
Norwegian disco beard Todd Terje launches this epic (and unmixed) collection of some of his best reworks. Ranging from the rare to the ubiquitous, the underlying theme here is quality. There’s some killer cuts under his different aliases (Duliatten Disco Dandia, Kacic Kullmann’s Five), which includes an unashamedly awesome reworking of Ace of Base, erm, classic “All That She Wants” under the Chuck Norris moniker. A guilty pleasure perhaps, but knock this one out in a slo-mo disco set and watch ’em go wild.
Throw into that remixes of Jose Gonzalez, M, Rogue Cat, his old chum Lindstrom and of course that Shit Robot remix, and you have a compilation not to miss. Indeed, unless you have followed the Terje’s career with an incredibly hawkish eye, there’s sure to be a few gems on here that you missed the first time round. Obviously, none of Terje’s bootleg– sorry, unofficial remixes make it onto the compilation, but there is more than enough to compensate for the absence of these (even if Graeme Clark aka The Revenge listed Terje’s reworking of Paul Simon’s “Diamonds”as his favourite ever disco edit). And there’s even an hour long mix of Terje classics at the end to round it off.
Review: Aaron Coultate
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In celebration of his Remaster of the Universe album launch in room three at fabric on May 29, Norwegian disco beard Todd Terje has offered up his remix of Antena’s track “Camino Del Sol” to get you in the mood.