Manuel Gottsching / Nick Drake / Tim Hardin / Brian Eno / Yann Tiersen / Van Morrison / Gustavo Santaolalla / Ennio Morricone / Andrea Morricone / Kraftwerk / Wim Mertens / Rene Aubry / Arthur Russell / Ry Cooder / Michael Nyman / Chic / Sparks & Pink Floyd
Video for the 1. single "directed by: Ellen Von Unwerth
DENMARK’S ORIGINAL SPACE CADET
PETE TONG (RADIO 1) – “Legendary Danish DJ and producer Kenneth Bager continues to innovate and turn heads with his latest incarnation of ‘Fragments From A Space Cadet’.”
Welcome to The Kenneth Bager Experience. A weird and wonderful happy place where Balearic electronica soundtracks scenes of decadence, beautiful women frolic in lacy underwear, white rabbits are regarded as equals and the man conducting the party is dressed as Mozart with his iconic glasses. Don’t be scared, everyone’s welcome…
For those who’ve come across Kenneth in the past, which will be many, none of this will surprise you. Mr. Bager is a man who likes to stand out from the crowd, a man with a vivid imagination and a leader of a whole generation of dancers and music lovers.
Kenneth first appeared in the public eye in the late 80s in his home city of Copenhagen as the organizer of the now legendary ‘Coma’ acid house parties (The Danish equivalent of London’s ‘Shroom’ and ‘Spectrum’ parties). Having grown up with music from an early age and been fascinated with the electronic sounds that had developed throughout the 80s, it felt natural for Kenneth to become a DJ and surround his life in dance culture; his life would never be the same again. Regarded not only as a musical tastemaker but also as a cultural trendsetter, Kenneth quickly became a go-to guy for his thoughts and ideas as well as his musical knowledge.
With the dawn of the 90s and the whole world now tuning into the repetitive rhythms of house music, Kenneth took his next step and launched his own band ‘Dr. Baker’. Discovering his natural ability as a producer and musician, he had his first pan European hit with ‘Kaos’, a true anthem in 90/91 and later sampled by the likes of MAW, FSOL, The Shamen and David Morales, with Carl Cox listing it in his all time top 10. Many more productions and remixes followed (as well as some mad music videos with him lying under an elephant and eating living worms) and as Kenneth’s tastemaker status developed so did the size of his post bag, with more and more demos arriving each day. Kenneth’s next career-defining decision was to launch his label (also called Coma) and become A&R to a new age of talented producers coming through in the early-mid 90s.
He signed The KLF, The Shamen, Moby and Dance to Trance for the territory of Scandinavia and had a huge run of chart success, helping to shape and influence the careers of all the artists he worked with. He also signed local act Mental Generations who released the chill out classic “Café Del Mar”. Whilst his life had progressed in different directions he always stayed true to his love of partying and DJing. Promoting wilder and more outlandish ‘Coma’ parties, Kenneth was responsible for bringing the likes of Sven Vath, Metro Area, Paul Oakenfold, Norman Jay, Coldcut and The Orb, to name but a few, to Denmark for the first time. His influence on Danish and European club music/culture can never be underestimated.
Fast-forward to this decade and Kenneth continues to influence many. Although his hugely popular radio show for Denmark’s P3 Radio Station (the equivalent of Radio 1 in the UK) is no longer on the airwaves its worth noting that many of Kenneth’s fans come via the radio. He’s worked on national radio in Denmark since the 80s, throughout the 90’s and into the new millennium (again drawing comparisons with Pete Tong and Rob Da Bank). His main focuses now are producing music, promoting the Coma parties (they’re still as wild and debauched as they were 20 years ago!) and running his ‘Music For Dreams’ label, which is where he originally released the critically acclaimed ‘Fragments From A Space Cadet’ LP in ‘07. Not only was the release rewarded with global praise and a Grammy nomination in Denmark (with Kenneth performing at the show wearing a mask to make him look 90 years old and accompanied by 200 kids on stage dressed-up as him) but it also showed a natural progression for Kenneth Bager. In 1987 he pushed boundaries making and playing electronic music inspired by funk, pop and disco, in 1997 he made and released music inspired by house and techno but with original personality and in 2007 he created an album not designed for the dancefloor, an album of songs, re-inventing chill-out and maturing his sound in tandem with his own personal life. It wouldn’t be right for Kenneth to still be making fast, dancefloor music 30 years after he first made his name doing just that.
Across the 15-tracks of “Fragments from a Space Cadet” album experience there are numerous highlights, although being a true album that is best served from start to finish, ‘Fragment One’, the first single, is a real standout combining Tricky-esque downbeat vocals with a beautiful timeless summer melody. Is it the catchiest tune of of the year? Probably. You will have heard either Giles Peterson, Rob Da Bank or Pete Tong playing it on their Radio 1 shows, but check out the video by the world famous fashion photographer Ellen Von Unwerth who’s previously shot videos and photos for the likes of Madonna, Bjork, David Bowie and Britney. The second single ‘I Can’t Wait’ will be released at the end of January 2010 featuring vocals from Kenneth’s long time collaborator and friend Thomas Troelsen who sung on Junior Senior’s top 5 UK single ‘Move Your Feet’. The Rob Da Bank favourite Eberg features on ‘Time Is Up’ and ‘Fragment Two’ displays the wonderful vocal talent of Julee Cruise, who joins various vocalists on the album that also includes Camilla Munck, Gisli, Nikolaj Grandjean, Jazz legend Jean Luc Ponty, The Hellerup Cool School Choir and French Canadian singer/songwriter Syd Matters. In fact each and every track plays its part, like ingredients to a gourmet recipe, it just wouldn’t the same if they weren’t all in place.
Kenneth Bager have done various compilations:
Latest: Louisiana 1 ( incl. Portico Quartet, Arthur Russell, Yann Tiersen, Wim Mertens, Penguin Café Orchestra & Richard Hawley)
Luftkastellet 1 ( incl Bliss , Flunk, Manuel Goettching,Rework, Hess Is More & Kevin Johansen)
Luftkastellet 2 ( incl. Laidback, Joe Dukie & dj Fitchie, Flevans, Hawke, Shantel & Khan feat. Julee Cruise)
Luftkastellet 4 ( incl. Nightmares on Wax, Dj Disse, The Nomas, Small World, the Knife, Quentin Harris & Jose Gonzalez)
Luftkastellet 5 ( incl. Coldplay, Delia Gonzales, Wild Rumpus, lulu Rouge, Roisin Murphy, Deep Dive Corp. and Badly Drawn Boy)
Luftkastellet 6 ( incl. Yoav, Grace Jones, Mari Boine, Osunlade, Aura, Henrik Schwarz and Amanpondo, Shantel Edwyn Collins and Moby)
Folk but Not Folk 1 ( incl. Jose Gonzalez,Kings Of Convenience, Josh Rouse, Thomas Dybdahl, Cocosuma, Sebastian Tellier, The Weepies, Polo, Tuung and Grand National)
Folk but Not Folk 2 ( incl. Holger Czukay, The Weepies, Wim Mertens, Eros, Bird, Bliss feat Ane Brun and Arthur Russell)
World Dub Pastry 1 ( incl. Djek, Banzai Republic, Joe Dukie,2Raumwohnung, Super Glue, Manuela Krause And Pole)
World Dub Pastry 2 ( incl. Allez Allez, Filur, Deadbeat, Bjørn Torske, Sandoz, Eva Be feat Joe Dukie & Sideshow)
Balearic Biscuits 1 ( incl. Parov Stelar, Bang Bang, Dino, Max Berlin, Blaze, The Knife, Espen Horne, Frontera and Ralph Myerz and The Jack Herren Band)
Balearic Biscuits 2 ( incl. Jazzbox, Johnny Harris, Peter , Bjørn And John, Roy Ayers, Ferrer and Sydenham inc, The Dub Pistols, Antena, and Gabriel Ananda)
Balearic Biscuits 3 ( incl.Jack Penathe, Michael Cleis, Dennis Ferrer, Fagget Fairys, Tony Allen, Simple Minds and The Steve Miller Band)
Music For Dreams Book ( 2 cd) released 2001 ( incl Royksopp, St Germain, Moby, Natacha Atlas)
Music For Dreams ( 2 cd) released 1995 ( incl. Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Michael Nyman, Woob, Deep Forrest, Jhelisa, Kama Sutra, Ennio Morricone, Korgis, Coldcut, Stina Nordenstam, Dub Tractor, Orbital and Enigma)
Jeg håber det går godt for dig :) Jeg har endelig fået indspillet ny sang. Det ville være mig en stor glæde, hvis du ville komme forbi min profil og høre den. Også meget gerne smide en kommentar...
Hey og tak for sidst.. Det var en sand fornøjelse at dele så mange weekender med dig ;) -Tænk vi var venner her først ha ha.. Anyway håber at se dig igen og om ikke andet, så holder Nynne fest i KBH d. 17 og du er meget velkommen :) Take care og håber vi får fornøjelsen igen. Kærligst Monja
Online Now!
..
Your music is sso goooddd!!! I love it, you are one of my best friends now :)
Thanks for the friendship!!! and welcome on my page if u want to listen my crazy new songs :)