Trentemøller

Anders Trentemøller (Danish: [ˈɑnɐs ˈtsʰʁɑntəˌmøˀlɐ]; born 16 October 1972) is a Danish indie artist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

History

Trentemøller started music in the late 1990s with different indie rock projects. In 2006, following a line of more electronic-orientated 12-inch EPs, Trentemøller released his debut album, The Last Resort. In 2007 he assembled his first full live band, with Henrik Vibskov on drums and Mikael Simpson on guitar. Complete with visuals from director Karim Ghahwagi, the ensuing ‘Trentemøller: Live In Concert’ tour brought him to the United States for the first time as well as to festivals including Glastonbury (UK), Roskilde (Denmark) and Melt! (Germany).

In 2009, The Trentemøller Chronicles, a double compilation of unreleased songs, non-album tracks and remixes for acts including Röyksopp, Moby and The Knife, was released. He also headlined the Orange Stage at Roskilde Festival, playing for 60,000 people, with a set design created by Vibskov.

After starting up his own record label, In My Room, Trentemøller's second album Into the Great Wide Yonder was released in 2010. It was a move into a more analogue sound influenced by indie and post-punk, and incorporating more live instrumentation and vocals. Expanding his live band to seven people, he continued to tour around the world for two years. His appearance at 2011's Coachella Festival was described by NME as “one of the biggest breakouts of Coachella,” saying he “stunned all onlookers and became the toast of the fest.” Trentemøller toured widely across the US and appeared on Carson Daly. The world tour ended with two shows in Christiania, Copenhagen, released as the live album Live In Copenhagen.

Following his second album, Reworked/Remixed was released, a compilation of Trentemøller's remixes for other artists and other musicians' reworking of his music including Modeselektor, UNKLE, Franz Ferdinand, Andrew Weatherall, Efterklang and Depeche Mode. Trentemøller's music has also been used by film directors, including Oliver Stone (Savages), Pedro Almodóvar (The Skin I Live In), and Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone).

In September 2013, Trentemøller released his third full-length album Lost, including collaborations with Low, Jonny Pierce from The Drums, Marie Fisker, Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, Jana Hunter of Lower Dens, Ghost Society and Sune Wagner of The Raveonettes. That year, Trentemøller also supported Depeche Mode on their Delta Machine world tour and appeared at Melt!, Dour, Pitch and Zurich Open Air. In 2014, Trentemøller composed the theme for the AMC series Halt and Catch Fire. In 2014, Lost was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe.

Trentemøller's fourth album, Fixion, was released on 16 September 2016. It featured vocals by Marie Fisker, Lisbet Fritze and Jehnny Beth.

A fifth album, Obverse, was released in 2019. It was nominated for IMPALA's European Independent Album of the Year Award 2019, but did not win.

Trentemøller has frequently collaborated with Swedish artist Andreas Emenius, who directed music videos for the songs Come Undone (2014), Deceive (2014), Complicated (2016), and Redefine (2016).

On 13 September 2024, Trentemøller released his sixth album, Dreamweaver, written, produced and mixed by Trentemøller and featuring vocals performed by Dísa Jakobs.

Style and influences

Trentemøller's later music has been described as synthwave and pop. His early tracks (especially those on The Last Resort) show influences drawing from early downtempo and trip hop, minimal, glitch, and darkwave, often incorporating a cinematic feel. He cited amongst his influences Siouxsie and the Banshees, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Joy Division, The Cure, Low, Depeche Mode, Cocteau Twins and OMD.