Lydmor Does Not Bore Me.

I've previously spoken about Lydmor, the musical project of multimedia artist and producer Jenny Rossander. Earlier in the year, I discussed her lockdown live-streams, and later I reviewed her first single of 2020, 'Someone We Used To Love'. Now, Lydmor is back with a new single entitled 'If You Want Capacity'.

To say 2020 has been a busy year for Lydmor is an understatement, even in the past few months there have been a number of developments. Beginning with the musical activity of Lydmor, Jenny hosted a series of live-streams on her facebook page. These involved co-creating 'The Isolation Song' with her fans, who contributed to the lyrics and instrumental parts. There was also a stream dedicated to signing and personalising a batch of posters and writing lyrics and secrets about her songs. Some streams even included intimate readings of her unpublished book, an artistic depiction of her life which I personally would love to see published last week. Whilst these lockdown live-streams have ceased, this has progressed to fans being allowed to contribute to the creation of a music video for 'The Gadget Song', a process which is still ongoing. If you want to contribute, find the details here.

Outside of Lydmor, Jenny engaged in a television debate in Denmark, presenting an argument for feminism in the industry. The broadcast was in June, and her debate was with a notoriously sexist journalist, a great source of anger amongst many in the industry for some time. Some have clearly not read the memo that the year is 2020 and not 1952.

Jenny has also teamed up with Louise Lolle for the Danish radio station P6 Beat and a programme that airs every Sunday called 'Mon Ami Complexe', translating to 'My Complex Friend'. This programme focuses on how inspiration can be complex, coming and going all the time. This month over social media, Jenny revealed she is composing the score for director Anna Emma Haudal's feature film debut, though of course information regarding this collaboration is sparse at the moment. How a single individual has time for all of this plus already publicised ongoing theatre work is beyond me, certainly as we're not even discussing any of this, rather, Lydmor's newest single.

If You Want Capacity is co-written and co-produced by Christian Schousboe Vium who also did both for Lydmor's previous single, Someone We Used To Love. The track begins with a light beat, a tight and not so low bass drum, with percussion elements backing it. 'You want attention, not advice, no peace of mind. A minute longer in this room and I'll die.' This song is all about expanding your capacity - freeing your mind and becoming educated at the same time. Variations of the phrase 'do I bore you?' over a melodic bassline are utterly addictive, this is the most dance Lydmor has ever been. Though this is without the psychological onslaught that is the coda to her 2018 track 'Claudia', a moment of madness, but highly recommended listening from this artist. If You Want Capacity conjures up images of losing oneself in a club, which is just as well because the music video features Lydmor performing the track in an empty club. She can be seen applying her trademark neon paint prior to the performance, then completely taking ownership of the stage as is her wont to do. Not standing still, she dives into the open audience space, dancing like everybody is watching. Strangely, this is a superb example of what to expect at a Lydmor live performance. My favourite part of the song is the repeated vocoder phrase 'if you want capacity, gotta lean into the love you breathe' invoking some of the Daft Punk of old. The ending of the song takes no prisoners, I only wish it lasted longer. If this had been released 35 years ago, there would've been a 12 inch mix. Perhaps fans can expect an extended edition in some of Lydmor's upcoming European dates?

1. You worked with Christian Schousboe Vium again on 'If You Want Capacity', how did this particular song come together?

I love working with Christian! Absolutely love it. We've just been doing some sessions where we meet up, completely from scratch and just create together. I had a pretty solid idea when I came, what I thematically wanted to catch, and the whole process was just a lot of fun. I think both of us kinda felt a bit of guilty pleasure in some of the sounds and synth lines we went with.

2. I love the vocoder part! Is that you or Christian? 

That's me! If you want capacity, gotta lean into the love you breeeeeath

3. The music video for 'If You Want Capacity' is perfect! Where was it shot?

It was shot in the venue Train in Aarhus! I am playing there in the spring on my small tour. I thought it would be funny to play a "show" in a completely empty venue, and sorta pretend there was a lot of people there.

4. The artwork is from the same universe as the cover for your previous single, 'Someone We Used To Love' - is there more to come in the series?

Everything I am doing right now is leading up to one big collected thing. It's a maze, it's a story, it's a philosophy. The string piece, the singles, the old men in the LSD Heart video. It's all connected.

5. Where do I start with your activity outside of Lydmor? You've been working on a theatre show, film soundtrack, you've engaged in a television debate and now you're doing a radio show! Will you still make time for Lydmor and the touring that comes with that once the world becomes a safer place?

Will I still make time for Lydmor? Hehe. Well I AM Lydmor, so I sorta gotta do that. I see my practice as very connected, when I do theatre projects, I also do it as Lydmor, it is a part of what I am doing, like an album or a tour would be. These days I am expanding - a lot! - and what I am realizing is that I have the capacity to be in a lot of different worlds artistically. The real fun starts when I merge the different languages I am learning - taking the theatre stuff with me for concerts, acting like my radio is a performance, etc etc. I feel like that is going to be the main theme for me creatively the next few years. I have conquered some new grounds, as an artist, some new genres (acting, radio-hosting, directing) now it's time to mix them with each other and see what comes out of it - like a chemist almost!

6. Your fans really want a re-release of your first album, 'A Pile of Empty Tapes'. Is that at all possible or are there legal obstacles preventing that from happening?

It belongs to a record label I don't really talk to anymore. But, most importantly, I am just making Sooooooo muuuuuuuch, these days, that I would rather release first. Releases are time consuming things that should be planned, cared for, and coordinated (if you want them to be listened to, at least!), so I have to prioritize a little bit and there's SO MUCH I wanna create and put out. Like; an acoustic album (fans have been asking for it almost since I started), a crowd sourced remix album with remixes from my cool folllowers, a collection of the best tracks I've done in the soundtrack work, an ambient album?? As I said - so many ideas, so little time.

7. You've been working on a new album, is there anything you can tell us about that? 

It's the best thing I've ever made. I am so fucking proud of it. I can't wait for you to hear it.

Buy Lydmor's latest single 'If You Want Capacity' here.

Lydmor can be found on facebook @lydmor and on twitter and instagram @jennylydmor.