album

Kasper Bjørke / After Forever

After Forever Kasper Bjørke

" Kasper Bjørke definitely makes art. Each production feels assured with the Scandinavian impacting a genuine sense of the cerebral into his music. " - Clash Music

Kasper Bjørke released his fourth studio album ‘After Forever’, in September 2014 - the Danish producer’s boldest and most elegant statement to date.

The scene has been set by two lead singles: ‘Rush’ featuring Tobias Buch - and ‘Sylvia’ featuring CTM. Moving away from previous 70s disco inspired sound, Kasper explores new terrain in contemporary, melancholic synth pop; his productions merging themselves into a multi coloured soundscape with echoes from Post Disco/Punk, Kraut and New Wave.

"After Forever is good for dark, sad dancing - or a headphone journey inwards" says Kasper "I feel like I really went somewhere else on this album, to a place where I haven’t been before. Out of my safety zone and into a darker space".

The third single ‘TNR‘ sees a collaboration with recent Domino Records signing (and a new EP out on Beats In Space) Finnish multi instrumentalist Jaakko Eino Kalevi. Chiming with effervescent synths, melodic flourishes and crisp yet rough-hewn beats, Jaakko’s vocals are austere, yet ultimately touching and restrained.

The stunning lo-fi hand animated video from Netherland based Alpaca Animations is a perfect visualization of the feeling experienced from listening to the short and simple lyric hook: ‘Times New Roman, times of love, I want to go into the deeper shadows’

The  fourth single ‘Apart’, featuring Icelandic pop trio Sísý Ey, comes across as a 90s pop song dressed in a 80s spacesuit. It is by far the most commercially friendly track on the album and clearly shows Kasper´s love for a strong melody is still intact. Kasper coincidentally ended up working with Sísy Ey after hearing two of the band members singing along to his DJ set in a club in Reykjavik, some drunken morning in spring:

"I was actually done recording for the album but still felt like somehow a song was missing... after making "Apart“ with Sísý Ey, I knew that the album was complete“. (Watch out for the video and remix package that will include a mix by Kompakt Records head honcho Michael Mayer and producer luminary Ewan Pearson).

Elsewhere on the album, the Danish producer demonstrates his flair for beautifully nuanced collaborations. "Lies" features the talents of New York’s Nomi Ruiz (previously of Hercules and Love Affair), and "Marbled Blood" is a bubbling deep slow motion drive straight down into the void, where Danish artist Soho Rezanejad (from the blog phenomenon Gold Lip) provides the narrative acid trip.

Kasper Bjørke also worked with his close friend and Depeche Mode co-writer Kurt Uenala in New York on the instrumental tracks on the album ("Into Smithereens", "Forever" and "Grit").

"I've worked on demos and ideas in New York many times before - but this time I brought these instrumental demos from Copenhagen to New York and basically finished the tracks there with Kurt. Obviously working with him and being in that studio was a special experience... and I think you can sense that in the music as well."

The album exhibits an equally strong and special visual presentation of the musical experience within. Taken from Kasper’s private collection, the album takes its name from the stunning piece ‘After Forever’ by the American, Brooklyn based visual artist John Copeland. A detail of the work makes up the hypnotizing front cover and is only revealed as the whole work, on the inner-sleeve of the marble grey coloured vinyl.

"I had the pleasure of meeting John shortly after I acquired this particular piece and also had the opportunity to visit him in his studio in Brooklyn. He is by far my favourite painter, so it was a really big experience for me. We talked about his work in progress for his next exhibition and I realized that while I was making my album, I was maybe brought to a similar creative space as John Copeland uses in his painting techniques; adding layers after layers and deconstructing the obvious, exploring new ways of creating what you do - instead of taking the same, safe roads as before."

more music

hfn166lp

Kasper Bjørke Puzzles

read

hfn165

Kasper Bjørke So Much

read

hfn162

Kasper Bjørke Tears We Haven’t Cried

read

hfn159

Kasper Bjørke Conversations feat. Sísý Ey / Systur

read

hfn136

Kasper Bjørke Sprinkles Nite Mixes

read

hfn135

Kasper Bjørke Biarritz (Phunkadelica Mixes)

read

hfn128lp

Kasper Bjørke Sprinkles

read

hfn132-rmx

Kasper Bjørke Baybi (Roman Flügel Remix)

read

hfn132

Kasper Bjørke Baybi

read

hfn127-rmx

Kasper Bjørke Glassy (1-800 Girls Remix)

read

hfn126

Kasper Bjørke Running

read

hfn127

Kasper Bjørke Glassy

read

hfn124

Kasper Bjørke Kites

read

hfn116

Kasper Bjørke Nothing Gold Can Stay Remixes (Part B)

read

hfn114

Kasper Bjørke Nothing Gold Can Stay Remixes (Part A)

read

hfn113

Kasper Bjørke Seabird (feat. Christian d'Or & Toby Ernest) Tensnake Remix

read

hfn98lp

Kasper Bjørke Nothing Gold Can Stay

read

hfn97

Kasper Bjørke Nothing Gold Can Stay (Part B)

read

hfn95

Kasper Bjørke Nothing Gold Can Stay (Part A)

read

hfn95-s2

Kasper Bjørke Water (feat. Toby Ernest)

read

hfn81

Null + Void / Dave Gahan Null + Void - Where I Wait Remixes Pt. 2 - Kasper Bjørke

read

hfn57lp

Kasper Bjørke Fountain Of Youth

read

hfn56

Kasper Bjørke Cloud 9

read

hfn44

Kasper Bjørke After Forever Revisited

read

hfn37cd

Kasper Bjørke After Forever

read

hfn36

Kasper Bjørke TNR feat. Jaakko Eino Kalevi

read

hfn35

Kasper Bjørke Sylvia

read

hfn32

Kasper Bjørke Rush

read

hfn25

Kasper Bjørke Remix Crusades (2007-2013)

read

hfn24

Kasper Bjørke Sunrise (with Jacob Bellens)

read

hfn21

Kasper Bjørke Bohemian Soul

read

hfn18

Kasper Bjørke Deep is the Breath

read

hfn14cd

Kasper Bjørke Fool

read

hfn12

Kasper Bjørke Lose Yourself To Jenny (with Jacob Bellens)

read

hfn07

Kasper Bjørke Symptoms EP

read

hfn05

Kasper Bjørke Heaven

read

hfn04cd

Kasper Bjørke Standing On Top Of Utopia

read

hfn03

Kasper Bjørke Alcatraz Remixes

read

hfn02

Kasper Bjørke Young Again

read