Photo: Press (Charlotte Bendiks)
If the term Outsider House wouldn’t be so loaded with implications and, in 2018, didn’t sound completely outdated, it would be a more than perfect description for Charlotte Bendiks’s music. With both her DJ sets and releases on labels like Cómeme and Hivern Discs, the Norwegian artist has occupied a curious spot in the world of dance music, drawing from all styles of House music as well as from pop, EBM and industrial. Her contribution to our Groove podcast is similarly transfixing and unique.
“Everything I learned is by trying and failing and basically everything I make is art by accident”, you’ve said in an interview. How does a regular writing and studio session look like for you?
I don’t have normal studio sessions. I play instruments that I never learned, like a Ukulele my mother bought as a present when she came from Hawaii, or a Djembe she gave me when she had visited South Africa. Mainly I play around with everything from acoustic instruments to analog synthesizers or ableton plug-ins and record it if I find a sound that I like.
You’ve connected with the Cómeme crew during a two-year stay in Cologne and have since released your Hidden Tracks on the label. How would you characterise the relationship with the label and the people who run it?
I have always been very inspired by Cémeme. The people behind the label are friends as well as people I work with. And the whole Cémeme crew is super hot!
The Hidden Tracks EP also draws from your experience growing up in a remote village in Norway as well as your Sami roots. How can you artistically express those themes with mostly instrumental music?
The sounds I use in my music represent the spiritual voice of the earth, so I don’t think of it as instrumental music.
You’ve occasionally labelled your music as “body music”, which seems like a fitting description for your contribution to our Groove podcast. What was the idea behind this mix?
When the sun returns and the summer is just around the corner, most people feel more awake and happy. This is because the light and heat from the sun increases testosterone and dopamine levels. This mix is a calling for the summer, where I chose tracks that I feel have a warm and sexy vibe.
Last but not least: Where can we see you behind the decks in the near future, and what are your plans as a producer?
I am working on some new stuff, like a workshop, site specific sound art in a public space, as well as hoping for a lot of happy accidents in the studio…
12.04 LIVE Vaktuba, Kristiansand
20.04 Contact, Tokyo
21.04 Fufu, Hong Kong
28.04 Intonal, Malmø
29.04 LIVE about blank, Berlin
09.05 Nuit Sonores, Lyon
12.05 Cafe Circa, Tromsø
15.05 Morning Beat, Oslo
18.05 Sameheads, Berlin
25.05 Zor Club, Istanbul
Some TBAs…
04.08 Dekmantel, Amsterdam
Stream: Charlotte Bendiks – Groove Podcast 154
01. Ana Helder – Sexe
02. What Does It Feel Like (Edit)
03. Mike Simonetti – Slave
04. Master C&J – Master of Love (Satisfaction guaranteed, J Vincent mix)
05. Skatebård – Confirmation Bias
06. Bjørn Torske – JegVil Være Søppelmann (Wow edit by Erot)
07. Eclair Fifi – Never Let Go (Strip Steve O.S. edit)
08. Plez – Can’t Stop (DMR Zone mix)
09. Dj Duke presents Freedom – Love Don’t Come Easy (Power Dub)
10. Joe Claussell – Je Ka Jo
