DJ Encore: Denmark's No 1 Big Brother Looks Abroad
Author: Benedetta Ferraro
Saturday, August 10, 2002
Snapped up by Judge Jules' label Serious for the UK, the record's also been receiving major radio support in the States. "I'd say we're bigger pop stars in the States than back home," Encore told Skrufff's Benedetta Ferraro this week. ""Right from the start America picked up on our music quicker than Europe."
Skrufff (Benedetta Ferraro): "How surprised are you by the huge interest in 'I See Right Through To You'-
DJ Encore (Andreas Hemmeth): "It's terrific. We're number one here in Denmark both in the singles and the albums charts and I think we're number 7 in the UK singles charts, which for us is very big news, since we know how hard it is to penetrate the UK market."
Skrufff: Did you ever feel this song was going to make you rich at the time when you wrote it-
DJ Encore (Andreas Hemmeth): "Uhm, I'm not rich yet. I wrote it with Engelina two years ago, and for six months it was lying in my drawer, then my publisher decided to send it to the "Big Brother" chief programmers here in Denmark, and they chose it as their official tune. Engelina and I then went back into the studio and quickly recorded the vocals, never thinking it would have gone any further, but because the song was such a big success, it went double platinum in one month, so we started working on the album right away."
Skrufff: Do you find it difficult to cope with stardom, do kids, for example, mob you in the streets-
DJ Encore (Andreas Hemmeth): "Denmark is a small country and in Copenhagen virtually everybody knows each other, plus people here are not in awe of celebrities like they are in the US, for example. I must say, people are starting to glamorise our lives and we're starting to hear more and more rumours about what we do, where we go and who we do what with, though nothing has gone out of control just yet."
Skrufff: How popular has "Big Brother" been in your country-
DJ Encore (Andreas Hemmeth): "The first series was hugely popular, the one we wrote the theme tune for. People just got very excited about seeing these individuals running naked in a house. The whole media machine went crazy."
Skrufff: How did you and Engelina meet-
DJ Encore (Andreas Hemmeth): "We met when I was still a trance producer and DJ and she was a jazz singer, so for us the combination was perfect: the computer nerd and the organic vocalist and lyricist. We became friends straight away, and started working together with producers Darren Tate, Matti Schartz and Kevin Malpass in England. We got signed to Universal, Serious Records and Mca in the US."
Skrufff: Have you worked with Judge Jules yet-
DJ Encore (Andreas Hemmeth): "Not yet, but we met briefly in NY. We were all playing at this huge venue with 10,000 capacity… he was friendly. I really like him as a DJ and he came to spin here in Copenhagen at my club and it was a big success."
Skrufff: Engelina, as a jazz singer your vocal range must feel somehow restricted singing just pop tunes…
Engelina: "I've always been singing, since I was little, because also my parents were jazz musicians, but what I really appreciate with what I'm doing right now is writing my own melodies and lyrics. I feel privileged because I can sing jazz, pop and ultimately my own songs."
Skrufff: Your lyrics are mostly about love. How do you keep the subject fresh-
Engelina: "Love as they say makes the world go 'round and when you talk about love it's not necessarily just among two people, or lovers, I mean the subject of love is the only subject t Tags