Henry Land is a hot EDM-name, renowned for his remixes. He has brought new life to tunes from Calvin Harris, Ariana Grande and 2Pac, among others. Henry is now making the transfer from DJ and producer to independent artist with his first original track “Runaway”. Henry Land catches the current music trend in his new track, while skillfully maneuvering the world of electronica.
We caught up with Henry and spoke to him about his recent single, ‘Runaway’, the dance music culture in Scandinavia and plenty more! Read our chat below. :)
T.H.E – Welcome. It’s a pleasure to have you here.
Henry Land – Thanks for having me!
T.H.E – Tell us about your new single ‘Runaway’?
Henry Land – ‘Runaway’ is about hope and escaping reality. Relationship can be difficult at times, and it’s not always easy to just let go.
T.H.E – We checked out the awesome new video. Can you tell us about the treatment and shoot?
Henry Land – I met my friend Ulrik at a BBQ party this summer, and after catching up we started to talk about music and filming since he was doing a lot of filming for the national television broadcaster in Norway (NRK). After a few drinks, he said he had heard my new song Runaway on the radio, and asked if we were planning to make a music video. We didn’t have anyone in mind at the time, and when he told me about all of his ideas, i was immediately hooked! The same night i added his director friend Charlene on Facebook, and we had our first meeting together next week brainstorming in a cafe in Oslo. I have always been a huge fan of the nature here in Norway, and i love to go hiking, so it was perfect to film here. A lot of Norwegian acts have been filming out abroad, so we thought it was a great idea.
After a lot of planning i was in a meeting with my label boss Larry at the MTG HQ. He said: “Henrik, i heard you guys where planning to film in 2 days? I know time is really short, and the project can either turn out bad or really good, so if you really want to do this video, you have my approval”. “That’s a lot of pressure” was my first thought. Fuck it, let’s do it . So we had to find actors, costumes and rent equipment in 2 days, and we were only 3 persons.
The moment when we had packed the car to the limit, picked up everything/everyone and was ready to drive, was such a relief. We used Ulrik’s Cabin as our base camp, and drove over hundreds of km to get to the locations we wanted to shoot. If we found an awesome spot while driving, we jumped out and started to shoot right there. It was a real adventure. Never had so much fun working 18 hour days.
T.H.E – Can we expect more new original music from you in 2017?
Henry Land – There’s going to be a lot more releases in 2017. One of them is almost finished, and I’m going in the studio next week to work on my third!
T.H.E – What do you think to the state of dance music culture in Scandinavia right now?
Henry Land – I think it’s really hot at the moment, with big acts as Galantis, Alan Walker and Kygo among others touring all over the USA. It’s definitely in the air right now. I also think the dance music culture in Norway is pretty different from the rest of europe. People are drinking ALOT before their hitting the clubs. I think it’s because of the high alcohol prices.
T.H.E – Your top 3 essential tunes?
Henry Land –
1. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
2. Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling
3. Flume – Say it
The first two do not count as EDM, but i like to listen to a lot of different genres.
T.H.E – What has been the highlight of 2016 so far?
Henry Land – Definitely releasing my first single and filming the music video, but also being able to travel different places, do cool gigs and meet new people. I really hope i can continue to do that!
T.H.E – Do you enjoy taking time out to interact with your ever-growing fan base?
Henry Land – Yeah, i love to talk to them on Facebook, sending them merchandise stuff that they want and sending previews to them on Snapchat for feedback. It’s amazing how music can connect people together!
T.H.E – What is your dream musical collaboration?
Henry Land – A duet between Ariana Grande and Sam smith with me behind the production. That could turn out interesting!
T.H.E – What have you been up to outside of the studio and away from music?
Henry Land – Hanging out with friends, cycling, gym, watching HBO and doing stuff that keeps me inspired.
Check out ‘Runaway’ here.
Follow Henry on his socials.
Q&A by Ray Vonn
