Focus on Denmark: Kenton Slash Demon

Focus on Denmark: Kenton Slash Demon

26 January, 2011 | 6.07AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: denmark, focus on, kenton slash demon, tartelet

What kind of name is Kenton Slash Demon? Unlike so many monikers out there, it doesn’t immediately suggest any particular sound or style, and the members of the Copenhagen duo probably chose it for just that reason. Since 2006, they’ve been developing an idiosyncratic take on house music; you can hear a relation to artists like Soundstream (in the clipped funk) or John Talabot (in the tempo and colors), but Kenton Slash Demon are clearly in command of a unique sound, one that seems to evolve leaps and bounds with every new release—just witness their recent single “Matter” for their Tartelet Records, as well as their gorgeous remix of Jatoma’s “Little Houseboat” for Kompakt.

With their debut album, Daemon, dropping soon, we knew we had to include them in our roundup of Danish artists making waves.

What’s your own history with electronic music—how did you discover it, and how did you come to start making it?

We started in elementary school, just messing around with different music software. Jonas and I were in the same class and met over our mutual passion for electronic music. At that time it was a Danish artist called Bjorn Svin who really got us excited about the genre. We later moved on to more psychedelic kind of stuff and later we got into the house and Detroit scenes.

When we started out we were pretty limited; it was before the whole plug-in boom. We created our first track in Cubase 1.2. It was in black and white and the only sounds we had were a GM standard MIDI rack. We spent hours on getting a string sound to sound like a synthesizer, and we didn’t have any idea what we were doing. When we listen back to our first work it sounds pretty unique, but not in a good way.

Is there a “Danish sound”? Anything that typically distinguishes Danish electronic music from music elsewhere?

There is not a Danish sound yet, but hopefully with all the talent that’s coming out right now I think we could develop one soon. Bjørn Svin, Trentemøller and Thomas Knak are all pioneers in their own way, and in our opinion the Danish scene has never been in better shape.

Is there an underground/warehouse/afterhours scene in Denmark, or are parties mostly limited to nightclubs?

A few years back there was a really good underground scene, but the government has been turning all the good buildings into fancy apartments. There are a lot of promoters and ravers who are really dedicated to keeping the culture alive, so hopefully we’ll see a new rave culture bloom soon. The best nightclub in Copenhagen is Dunkel—it’s absolutely a travel-worthy club, with amazing bookings every week.

Which artists and labels from your country should people be looking out for?

Taraga Pyjarama: A filter house sounding duo, very catchy songs.
League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Undiscovered hip-hop masterminds.
C U In Heaven: Downbeat emotional rave.
Chimes & Bells: Beautiful songs.
Ice Age: No compromise punk.
Quadron: Modern soul.

Are there any Danish festivals that visitors from other countries should be coming to check out?

The summer in Copenhagen is pretty packed with great electronic festivals. Distortion Festival is our equivalent of Sonar; it has been around for years now and it’s just getting bigger and bigger. It’s a perfect combination of local parties, street raves and big venue madness. We should also mention Strøm Festival, Trailerpark Festival, Stella Polaris, and of course Roskilde Festival, but people probably already know that one.

Enough about music: what food should visitors to Denmark seek out?

We have this thing where we put a lot of different toppings on rye bread. It could be different types of meat or pate with different kinds of gravy on top. We call it Smørebrød and it’s perfect for lunch. People should also try take-away at Gyrhs & Niller. They have a new dish every day and it never disappoints.

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