Kristoffer Ljungberg is half of the duo managing the Swedish progressive house music label, Nellie Recordings. Alongside with Alaa El-Bechlaoui, Kris is the Artist & Repertoire person on the label, making him the person responsible in making sure that producers release quality material as well as making sure that the artists themselves maintain good ties with their fans. With those being said, I present to you the Soundscapes-exclusive interview with the Head Honcho of Nellie Recordings:
- Hey Kris, how has 2010 been for you so far as the Head Honcho of Nellie Recordings?
Hey Miguel! It's been all right. Lots of new music and lots of new artists. I'm excited!
- Can you name us one artist whom you would like to
work with, or be on Nellie Recordings? What’s the reason behind this?
Matti & Erkka, the guys behind Michael Cassette. I think they are outstanding and the music they give out under Michael Cassette is just incredible. Melodies to die for! Very inspiring music. It would be a dream come true to work with them.
- When you’re off the studios, what are the things you would usually do?
Lots of movies and tv-shows like Dexter, House M.D. etc. I spend way too much time watching them I think. But hey, I love it!
- What had/ have gotten you to the progressive house circuit? Influences? Circumstances?
No matter what genre I'm listening to, melodies or a couple of nice chord changes have been the only thing I care about. I used to listen to a lot of hiphop back in the day and I didn't even care about the lyrics, I was all about the melodics. Anyway, this brought me to the progressive and guys like Claes Rosen, Paul Keeley, Michael Cassette, Dinka and so on.
- Aside from
Worldwide brother! There's always room for Nellie. All jokes aside, I don't really know. Music is such a universal language and taste is individual so, I can't really say a specific country!
- With all the exciting stuff on Nellie Recordings, how do you see your record label in the next three to five years?
I don't even dare to think three to five years ahead, haha! I'm getting anxious already. I know the dream is to have a steady income obviously and live fully from it. But it takes a lot of hard work and good connections to make it and there's a lot of good competition out there for a relatively narrow style as "melodic prog music" or what we should call it. There's only a few who's really into it and I haven't even been into it as much as I've wanted. I don't know if that answers your question? Hehe
- Let’s talk about globe-trotting: If you were given the chance to visit a country you haven’t visited before, what would it be? Why?
- Aside from progressive house music, what other genres do you enjoy listening to?
To be honest, I barely listen to anything these days. Since I got into the house music scene I've been so focused and especially on progressive house. It's a shame really. A few weeks ago I got a little emotional because I realized I've missed out on so much music. I had no idea what was going on in the music world outside house.
However, I used to listen to a lot of hiphop but not that gangster rap shit, bling bling bullshit. I grew up listening to EPMD, Gang Starr and Das EFX. That's the stuff! I also had a period where I was very down in Nirvana and I still enjoy it. Another favourite is Katie Melua. She might be my dream girl as well! So I have to say my taste is (at least was) widely spread.
- Any tips for new producers on getting signed on Nellie Recordings?
Be prepared, show a lot of energy and enthusiasm and be happy. Motivated and enthusiastic people are very inspiring to me. So, well, I guess that's what I want.
- What do artists on the label have in common?
Except being good producers I think I've managed to gather a bunch of really nice, humble and grateful people. Even though I might be an asshole sometimes it's important for me to have nice and respectful people on the team. I will not tolerate a bad attitude and especially not towards fans. Manners! So, if you feel you've been treated wrong by any of my boys - rat them out! I will punish them. ;)
- Favorite gadget in the studio:
I don't have a studio since I'm not a producer per say. But my new Yamaha HS80M is very nice. Though I think my neighbors beg to differ! Other than that it must be my headphones because I have them on me like 15 hours a day, even if I'm not listening to music. Very strange. I'm so used to having them on me it feels weird to take them off when I sit in front of my computer. Feels like I'm about to go somewhere.
- Favorite alcoholic beverage (if any):
Beer! Oh gosh, now you got me thinking about beer. My favourite one is
- What can we expect from Nellie Recordings soon? Releases? Events? Promotions?
Well, a lot of new music obviously. I got stuff coming up with Alandanat, Invisible Sounds, Playton and a lot more. EDU just finished a new EP for me as well + a remix actually on a new Magnetic Brothers single. This is just a little bit. More nice tracks coming up!
In terms of events and stuff, nothing special really. But if you live in
I, Miguel Hizon Libre, would like to thank you for your time and patience in answering my questions. I hope this would be an efficient tool for spreading the name of your music. Best regards and cheers!
Well thank you for always writing such nice reviews on our tracks. We appreciate it very much, trust me mate! Also I would like to thank everyone who listens to our music!
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I highly recommend that you check out the following links about Kris and the rest of the Nellie Crew:
http://www.nellierecordings.com
http://forum.nellierecordings.com
http://www.beatport.com/label/nellie+recordings
http://www.myspace.com/nellierecordings
http://www.youtube.com/user/nellierecordings
http://www.twitter.com/nellierecording
http://www.soundcloud.com/nellierecordings
http://www.facebook.com/nellierecordings
Also check out a review on Alaa & Kristoffer Ljungberg's EP "Soleil/ Lune" here.
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