´Expansion of the underground scene in Stockholm also takes away a certain degree of familiarity for the people that have been able to call this scene a home for years.´
Stockholm-born Ernsthaft? gives us an insight into his first encounters with electronic music as a teenager, and the tension of seeing the ‘scene’ back home evolving and changing. He also shares how moving to Berlin has provided more opportunities to develop as an artist - from a new-found love affair with vinyl, to the “inspiring environment” of the city.
NCOUNTERS: Where did you grow up? How did you form your early musical aesthetics?
Ernsthaft?: I am from Stockholm, Sweden. I discovered the “underground” electronic music scene when I was around sixteen/seventeen. It was a friend that took me to an open air and at that point I hadn’t yet experienced anything quite like that. I never really got my footing back home in Stockholm, I’ve never played at a rave or an open air back home - it was only since moving to Berlin that I’ve been playing outside more. It was here where I first learned to play with records, and where I’ve been growing my musical palette.
Taken by Nazli Deniz Akgun for NCOUNTERS, 2019
´The amount of record stores in Berlin is quite astonishing and my new-found love is vinyl.
This medium allows a different appreciation for the music and there is something special behind physically holding a piece of music´
Can you point to any changes regarding the evolution of the music scene back home? What were the challenges for emerging artists?
I feel that the scene back home has been expanding quite a lot recently and that raves/open airs are commonplace nowadays, which is both a good and bad thing in my opinion. It results in more people getting exposed to it [the scene], which is good, but it also takes away a certain degree of familiarity for the people that have been able to call this scene a home for years.
When did you move to the new city? How is your experience with the music scene so far, as emerging artists and migrants?
I moved to Berlin just over two years ago. The music scene here is unlike any place on Earth. It is an open and wild place where just about anyone can do anything. I moved without much gear but I ended up shipping my mixer and bought a new turntable. Lately my music production has taken a pause and been temporarily replaced solely by mixing. The amount of record stores in Berlin is quite astonishing and my new-found love is vinyl. This medium allows a different appreciation for the music and there is something special behind physically holding a piece of music. One major challenge of Berlin is just the sheer amount of people who produce/mix, which makes it really hard to stand out in a crowd. On the flip side of this, it creates an inspiring environment where you have a lot of possibilities for gigs and a multitude of places/people to get to know.
Taken by Nazli Deniz Akgun for NCOUNTERS, 2019
´Berlin is an open and wild place where just about anyone can do anything.´
When did you move to the new city? How is your experience with the music scene so far, as emerging artists and migrants?
To play - really just to get more practice outside and discover new places and people. I would also like to invest in some more hardware to experiment both in the mixing and production side of things. I have now recently started studying Graphic Design as well. I would love to merge these two worlds into one going forward.
Photos: Nazli Deniz Akgun
Editor: Charlotte Collins
Graphic Layout: Can Hatunoglu
NCOUNTERS, Berlin (2019)