Chopper Fills The Darkenin Heart Questionnaire

Darkenin Heart

What do you consider to be the darkest piece of music you’ve ever heard?
Uh … I don’t know … There’s a lot of dark stuff out there, and somehow it manages to stay relevant and important. I guess it's a dark and cruel world we’re living in. Maybe the song “Selvmord” by “Vond” from the album "Selvmord". Pretty sad and depressing stuff.

How would you characterize your own music?
Slightly manic, bombastic and animalistic at times, a bit freaky and frightening, a bit funny, a bit sad, and rather bleak at some points. I am obsessive about ambivalence in music and in art in general, so I am trying to implement as many layers of different emotions as the songs allow me to (without it being forced upon them). I like to think of my music as some kind of twisted cinematic melodrama, a sick soap opera, a fever-like fairytale full of wickedness and wonders, hahaha, I am gonna stop here! I am not sure if I am the right person to answer this question anyway, I’m actually just trying to make commercial pop music, but I don’t think I am there yet. Until then I just hope my music will provoke some kind of feeling in people, good, bad, as long as it leaves a mark.

What are your musical aspirations?
To be a pop star on my own terms and conditions, doing the music that I like and hopefully to make a living of it at some point. If I am getting too old for pop stardom I guess I can always become an old, grumpy and probably far more interesting artist living in somebody's basement.

What are your main musical inspirations?
I really love the early Wax Trax stuff, Underworld, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Ministry and so on. But I think one of the main reasons I started this project in the first place was my discovery of Pet Shop Boys. I did know of them way before Chopper, but it was not until about 5 years ago that I fell deeply in love with them. Growing up being this quite angry, self-destructive and slightly pretentious artsy fartsy punk-rock kid listening to things like Swans and Nick Cave, it was just like, well … Pet Shop Boys is pretty dark too, and they just seem to laugh about it, or at least not take themselves too seriously. There was a certain irony, and at times almost cynicism in their lyrics accompanied by their music that really spoke to me. I still love Swans and Cave and all that, but I enjoy a lot of stuff, a lot of film scores, and a lot of one-hit-wonders from the 00's when I was in my teens because they make me feel weird and uncomfortable in a very satisfying way.

What are your main goals in life?
To make music, films, creative stuff. Probably fall in love, and get a larger bed and a few more square meters to live on. To be a good person, to be a better person, and be better at garbage sorting, and stuff like that.

What motivates you to create?
Not being able to create, and therefore not feeling very useful or good at anything, then when it hits, it really hits! I think in those periods, when you’re not in a creative zone, you collect a lot of stuff, both in your daily life with relations to friends and people, or the lack of it, and in music, films, books or whatever you consume. And then all of the sudden you’re fed up, and need to get it all out and express yourself. I usually don’t know what I’m doing or when I’m gonna do it until it's done. I really like that because you get to explore and experience your own work kind of like an outsider and learn stuff about yourself you did not know being in the process of creating.

Are you more of an early bird or a night owl?
I am an all-time knight of the night, but I am not particularly fond of sleep. I wish I could stay up all night and get up early.

Besides music, what other art forms would you like to explore?
I have done all my own music videos so far, along with my dear friend Amalie, and I really really enjoy working with that media and will continue to do that! I also, besides lyrics, enjoy writing, but I think I need more peace of mind than I have now to really dive into that. Peace of mind and a larger bed!

Which is the very first record that had a big impact on you?
That’s a hard question. I think the first record that made an impact on me was a tape with sounds from a dripstone cave. I didn’t really care much for music as a kid. I guess Iron Maiden was the band that got me into making music. I think the first album I listened to must have been “The Setting Son”. I think it was the perfect stepping stone for a boy like me, obsessed with horror and monsters, becoming a rock-fanatic preteen. They had both the monsters and the rock.

What is the best decade for music?
I would love to say all decades, or the best has still to come, or something else clever and wise, but I am gonna stick with maybe the 80’s, though I am really fond of the 70’s and the 90’s as well. I really wouldn’t like to be without any of them or any decade at all. Haha, now it seems like I am getting clever and wise anyway. It's good to have at least three decades to draw inspirations from, I guess.

What do your future plans include?
I will be releasing a mini-album, “Shock Pop Vol I”, June 16 2023. This will be followed by a “Shock Pop Vol. II” in autumn/winter. Besides that, I am currently working on a lot of new songs for another Chopper album most likely to come out next spring/summer. I am also trying to set up a tour in France this fall, and hopefully me and my band will get the opportunity to play other places outside Denmark as well.
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Shock Pop Vol. I releases June 16th, 2023 via Pink Cotton Candy Records


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Chopper
Artist photo by Ama May
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