Prins Thomas is finally here! After a long time of persuading the Norwegian Disco regent, Ivaylo gets him to the Jaeger Mix where he makes his debut in a spectacular 2h journey through some of his record collection. Picking records he “hadn’t played in a while”, with rare and familiar gems coming together in what he calls a “rustic” sonic atmosphere.
Glimmers of what the kind of thing you might hear during the early part of a set at Jaeger, Prins Thomas demonstrates yet again why he is such a sought-out selector. Nobody sounds like him, and while a few might try to intimate his versatility, fewer still have the DJ’s knack for decontextualising records for the dance floor. Who else could end a set with a Cure track like it was always meant to be there?
There’s no boundaries to his musical purview both in the booth and the studio. A central figure in establishing Norway’s Space Disco sound, Prins Thomas’ prowess is well documented, and we find the artist shortly after releasing his tenth studio LP and myriad of other projects cooking in the background.
For the last few years, he’s been a resident at Jaeger, and lately most of his efforts have gone into establishing he and Isoebel’s Double Trouble nights. The DJ duet has morphed into a studio duo, with the pair releasing a cover of Cranberries’ linger last year amongst an onslaught of releases from his Full Pupp label and its subsidiaries. To say Prins Thomas is busy is an understatement.
It’s a rare moment to get him on record and ask him some questions these day and it’s been a while since our last interview, so we’re overdue for a little catch-up. We talk about the mix, Double Trouble and the future with Prins Thomas.
Hey Thomas. Thank you for joining us at the Jaeger Mix. It seems well overdue. Was this just perfect timing or something else that influenced your decision to take it on. (I know Ivaylo has been insisting for a while.)
I think the fact that Ivaylo kept bringing it up was the main force… hah hah hah… and looking at my schedule with long hours in the studio day in day out meant it could be a nice planned break from routine.
What went into the preparation for this one?
I spend most of my day in the studio and when I take a break there I often find other tasks in need of doing…I recently started(again) organizing my record collection and I decided a couple of days before the gig to just pick a bunch of records that I hadn’t played in a while, some overplayed and known to many and hopefully something few have heard… then put the slower records in the front and the faster ones in the back.
You bring a summer vibe in the midst of winter with this mix. Was there any particular mood or feeling that you wanted to convey from the outset?
Any red thread going through this mix must be the exceptional quality of my picks, other than that the concept or lack of one for that matter must be in the ears of the beholder.
It’s never easy talking about genre or styles when it comes to a Prins Thomas mix, because it’s always so eclectic. So how would you describe this mix for the uninitiated?
I’d say it’s good music, parts mixed, parts not mixed…. presented the way I felt like that day. I don’t really think in terms of genres, more overall vibes and of course the fact that I played early in the night…. There’s something you can groove to, dance to or listen to while enjoying the company of others or a sole beer…
You mentioned the red thread, but besides your picks, is there anything in terms of sonics that is carried through all the tracks in the mix?
Sonically it’s slightly rustic as it’s mostly uncleaned records from the dusty shelves in my studio.
There’s some similarities to what we might hear at one of your Double Trouble nights with Isoebel. Was there an inclination to relay something of that sound?
I think that the sound, or rather “all the sounds” you can hear on our “Double Trouble” night picks a lot of inspiration from those same shelves.
Tell us a bit more about Double Trouble; what was the initial idea behind the night and project?
When I first met Isoebel in July 2022 one of the things we really bonded over was a broad love of music. We started sharing music with each other in private playlists and have been doing that for almost four years now. That was basically the blueprint for what would become the idea of doing a night together. It felt like a solid foundation musically even before we started doing the nights together.
How has it evolved musically?
I think so, but not on a grand scale, it’s still the same ethos. And any evolution is certainly based more on our personal taste rather than trends and whatever’s seen as cool at the moment. There aren’t really any firm rules for what we play but we do operate with some guidelines, but they’re our secret sauce…
Has Isoebel pulled your own tastes or habits into new directions?
Yes, I’d say there’s quite a few musical discoveries I can thank her for. Part of the fun here is turning each other on to both new discoveries and older finds. One track especially comes to mind, “Mutual Attraction” by Change, which is now a sort of staple of our night besides sometimes seeping into my own solo sets. That was one Isoebel played first, and that’s a track I would have missed otherwise as I never bothered checking their releases that came out after 1983. Maybe more than pulling me in a new direction she has inspired me to use the night as an outlet for a lot of the music I played more of early in my dj-career, a lot of 80’s boogie, soul, cool pop music from my teens, disco(which was sort of my lifeblood from the mid 90’s until 2005…
Besides DJing together, you’ve also been making music together, including a cover of Cranberries Linger. How did you go from DJing to making music?
I think it was a natural progression to try our new found identity in a new creative setting, and actually starting with a cover version of one of our “Double Trouble- night staples, Indeep’s “Slow Down”.
What are the central ideas to the music you create together, and how is it different from your solo records?
Once again, we do have some sort of secret guidelines to keep us on track of what we’re doing but they’re less needed by this point. The ideas and inspirations come from the same canon where we find the songs we wanna play on our nights. Whether it is from 80’s boogie, proto house, 90’s r’n’b or midtempo disco grooves…
On that subject, Thomas Moen Hermansen, came out in December. That’s your tenth LP. Was there something in the music that commemorates the milestone?
I usually prefer to just release the music and move on to whatever I’m working on at the moment, ideally with as little fuzz as possible, I’m usually fed up with the music by the time I check the masters before pressing… the actual milestone for me was managing to finally wrap up a new album. Since the last album release (“8” and “9”)in 2022, for personal reasons it took me a long time to get back in the groove of things. The second milestone was probably even throwing a little get together for the actual release, realizing once in a while it’s actually good to sit back and celebrate the occasion… blow one’s own trumpet…
Much like the mix, it’s blissfully upbeat with a lot of melodies at the forefront. Is there something in your current disposition that is informing your creative pursuits of late?
Creatively speaking I’ve got not just a wind but a storm in my sail at the moment! It reminds me slightly of back in the early 2000’s when my international career started with slightly too many things going on at the same time leaving me wishing the week had 14 days… but I do also realize that this is the environment I thrive best in…
Like all your other albums, you fold in a lot of different styles of music, but you channel it into your singular sound. Was there a musical theme that was consistent throughout these tracks?
I started out with 14 tracks and picked the 6 which I thought fit best together (which originally was 5, “1000 ML Del 1 & Del 2” was originally one long jam that turned into 2 separate tracks). I’ve started trusting more and more lately that for both good and bad, whatever I make will sound like me. I believe the singular sound comes more from the fact it comes from the same hands, with my sonic “fingerprint” rather than me succeeding in finding what really fits best together.
What else is on the horizon for Prins Thomas?
Currently I’m busy working on the album with “Prins Thomas & Isoebel” besides rehearsing for our live shows. I’m also working on a project with Marita Sørli which you’ll hear more about soon, a collab with Nora (The Molecule) Scheldrup (or maybe that’s secret?) and one with my friend Kristin Frogner…. I hope to bring Bjørn Torske back in the studio soon so we can get going with what might turn into “Square Two”, I know Sotofett has recently finished a collab track we did together, then there’s another PT album (or 3), remixes coming shortly for FSQ on Soul Clap, Boogie Rookie for Music For Dreams, something something with a finish guy for a british label, the possible re-re-release of an 80’s afro track I edited that is very much sought after… that’s just some of it.
Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions Thomas.
Thanks for having me and for letting me yap on ;)