RtBE Interview: Crystal Shipsss, Jacob Faurholt

Last week we had a chance to review the newest disk Dirty Dancer from Crystal Shipsss, today we offer an interview with the main creative force behind the project Jacob Faurholt. Thanks to Jacob for taking the time to partake in a RtBE Interview. Enjoy:

RtBE: When did you first get into music?
Jacob Faurholt: I got into music being in my teens listening to albums like Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream, Psyched Up Janis – Beats Me, Radiohead – The Bends etc. In 1997 I went to a Sophia (Robin Prober Sheppard from God Machine) show in my hometown Aarhus in Denmark, which really inspired me to do my own stuff.

RtBE: Why not call things "The Jacob Faurholt Experience"? Or something like that, why Crystal Shipsss?

JF: I have made several albums in my own name, but the Crystal Shipsss recordings did not really fit with what I was doing solo, so I decided to do it under another name.

RtBE: You have mentioned how personal Dirty Dancer is, even calling it an Autobiographical album, what made you feel now was he right time to write in this manner?

JF: I guess all my albums are on some level autobiographical, but on Dirty Dancer the lyrics are very direct, mostly they are descriptions of specific periods, or episodes in my life. A friend of mine who records and plays live under the name Man Meets Bear had all these albums that were “hidden away”, at least they were only available at live shows on CDR with homemade artwork (they are all released on Bandcamp now). That inspired me to record an album of songs that were not meant for anyone to hear, songs that lyrically were almost perversely direct. So that’s how it started.

RtBE: "I Had A Friend" is a written about a true horrific experience of losing your best friend and his whole family to a fire on a ferry, this must have been extremely painful, was writing the song cathartic in any way?

JF: I’m not sure, probably on some level. It’s definitely a song that means a lot to me.


RtBE: One of the things that instantly caught our ear were the pop tendencies under the experimentation, who were some of your influences? "I’m Not Insane" is one of our favorites and we really hear a sweet Daniel Johnston influence on that tune in particular.

JF: Daniel Johnston is a favorite of mine, and for this album I mainly recorded when I felt instantly inspired, often by music I was listening to. So yes his music is an inspiration. But you are right I think it’s important to have a song with a melody underneath all the mess. Musicians who builds an exciting universe around their songs, such as Sparklehorse, Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, Xiu Xiu, Okay etc, have always inspired me. On this album I was even inspired by Jay Z particularly on "The Horror Of It All".

RtBE: There is both an organic and at the same time industrial sound to the disk, how and where did you record it?

JF: I recorded and mixed the album in my apartment in Berlin on my Macbook, so I basically just used what I had. Nothing fancy. In the end I took the album to my friend Jens’ (Tjaere+Fjer) studio, and he helped me wrapping the album up mix wise. He also contributed with some additional recordings. As did Soren Little Brothers (Man Meets Bear) and Daniel Crowell (The New Slave) – they also contributed to the mix / did some additional mixing. I don’t have a lot of expertise in recording and mixing, so I basically just followed my ears and my ideas.


RtBE: You are in Berlin, how much did that city affect this release? Or other work you have done?

JF: I moved to Berlin 3 ½ years ago, and I think the city / moving here has influenced / affected my music a great deal. Of course because Berlin is an inspiring city with a lot of stuff going on, but also because here I can afford doing music more or less full time, or at least having music being my main thing. There is also a good community here of people doing music and art, which is inspiring.

Thanks again to Jacob.