Pandreas

​The title track on his latest EP is a shimmering affair. Underpinned by skittish beats and house rhythms, what sounds like the hacked’n’chewed greeting from a chillaxing whale leads the cut. It’s smooth, tranquil dance music, evoking memories of spaced-out trance from the late ‘90s or a bliss-injected offcut from the Green Wing OST. It’s typical of Pandreas’ sound on the EP, and makes it obvious why he’s an artist that’s worth keeping an eye on.

We had a chat with Pandreas ahead of his Ja Ja Ja show May 22nd, about his new Beluga EP, summer plans, and whales.

Hi Pandreas, could you briefly introduce yourself for us please?

Hello, my name is Andreas Kleven Rasmussen, I’m from a town called Ulsteinvik in Norway, although I’m currently living in Bergen. I make and release electronic music under the moniker of Pandreas.

Could you describe your sound in three words?

Cool, nice, fun.

What’s your aim with Pandreas?

Not sure really, but I hope to release more songs in the future.

Have you always been musical?

I guess I’ve always been interested in music, especially listening to music which I have done basically my whole life. Making music is in that regard sort of a new thing, but I enjoy it quite a lot. I started about three years ago using mostly just samples which was cool, but a little limiting. Now I think I have a more traditional approach to the whole process.

What would you be doing if you weren’t making music?

I probably would have spent more time reading at the University – that’s sort of my main thing. I’m currently studying for a law degree at the University of Bergen, which is kinda weird and time consuming – but fun!

What’s the most important thing you learned from making the EP?

Hard to say, but during the making of this EP I was very busy, so I learned how to juggle a lot of things going on in my life at the same time.

Pandreas: Beluga on Nowness.com

Your new EP is titled Beluga, and the title track samples whale song (or sounds like it does!). Are we right in assuming you’re a fan?

Whales are great! Top 3 animals for sure. The sound is actually not a whale sound, just a sample of me playing around with a synthesizer, but it really reminded me of a whale, hence the name.

How did you write and record Beluga?

Just by myself and over a fairly short period of time. The lead track was already done, but I wanted to expand it to an EP. And for some reason I wanted to limit myself to releasing only three tracks. After a lot of trial and error I narrowed down a bunch of demos and decided on the final result.

There’s quite a natural element to your music, which is fairly unusual for dance/house music. Is this a conscious route you’re going down?

I don’t think I have a special relationship to nature, but I try hard to make my music sound non-electronic! Maybe that gives it a natural feel?

What non-music things inspire you?

Movies are good for inspiration!

If you could rewrite the soundtrack for any film, what would it be?

The Wolf of Wall Street had a really strange soundtrack, so maybe that one? Hopefully it would sound less weird.

Do you have any new music tips for us? Any great Norwegian bands we should be checking out?

As always, I’m sending my shout out to Njål and his Put Your Hands Up For Neo Tokyo. Njål mixes my music and has been quite helpful with making my tracks sound good.

What’s a Pandreas set like?

My goal is to present the music in a more live appropriate way, using whatever equipment I have in hand, as well as editing the arrangements and making the whole set more concert friendly.

Do you have any special plans for the Ja Ja Ja show? What are you going to do (other than perform) while in London?

Haven’t thought it through yet, hopefully there will be time for a stroll around town.

Will we see you in the UK at any other points this year? Are you doing any festivals anywhere?

I don’t know! I certainly hope so, but nothing is scheduled yet.

What can we expect from Pandreas for the rest of 2014?

A few concerts. Looking forward to the Roskilde warmup shows, and the MS Dockville festival in Hamburg. If all goes well maybe I’ll have a tiny release ready before years end. Fingers crossed.

Pandreas plays the Lexington this Thursday May 22 with Naomi Pilgrim, for the Ja Ja Ja May Club Night. Tickets available here.