ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE - Danish-American-Swedish Friendship

23. January 2017

Oresund Space Collective

ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE - Danish-American-Swedish Friendship

The starting point for the establishment of ØSC, however, is Scott Heller, a US American who came to Copenhagen in the late 1990s as a scientist to conduct research on diabetes. Because Heller's passion - besides medical research - is Space Rock. Soon after his arrival on the European continent he joined bands like Mantric Muse and Gas Giant. After leaving the latter, he organised jam sessions for like-minded friends, from which the ØSC eventually emerged. Since then, Scott Heller, who from then on called himself Dr. Space as a musician, has held the collective's fortunes in his hands: He's the doer, the organizer of the band.

With "Visions Of ..." the 23rd ØSC album is now available. A work with which the musicians continue to follow their path unperturbed, which knows only one goal: immersing themselves in the infinite vastness of Space'n'Psych

eclipsed: The Øresund Space Collective is actually a more or less loose collective of musicians. How did this come about back then?

Scott Heller: At the end of 2003 I still played the keyboards in the Danish Stoner Space Jam band Gas Giant. But she didn't want a spacy sound anymore. So suddenly I couldn't find a place in the band anymore. But I still wanted to play music. So I organised jam sessions to which I invited friends from the Danish band Mantric Muse and from Bland Bladen, a group from Malmö in Sweden. We always drove over the Øresund bridge and played in the respective practice rooms of the different bands. That's how it started.

eclipsed: There were already so many musicians in the ØSC. Where did they come from? Where did they go?

Heller: So far there have been about 60 musicians who have played collectively with us. Almost all of them come from Copenhagen or Malmö. But there were also some from Stockholm. Apart from a few exceptions, all these musicians have their own bands, which are their top priority, so that the ØSC is just something like a side project for them. The decision as to who plays with the ØSC or not is ultimately made by me. But my vote is based on the input of the other musicians in the collective, who also make suggestions. For example Jonas, our keyboarder and also the keyboarder of Agusa, and our drummer Alex, who also plays for Gösta Berlings Saga, couldn't take part in our last session. So we needed another drummer. And so Alex suggested Tim, the drummer from Agusa, with whom we had only played once so far. That was at a gig in Greece.

eclipsed: Has the spirit in the band changed due to the constant personnel changes?

Heller: The spirit is still the same as in the old days, but the band is not as stoned as before. Another thing that has changed is that before the jams we make a little more arrangements about how we want to jam, what chords we play, what keyboards we use, and so on. In the old days, we just smoked a joint and got started.

eclipsed: Do you have a philosophy in the band?

Heller: Our philosophy is simply to play music that takes people on a journey. We want to create new instrumental music that lets the listener forget the normal world and make it fun. I find it exciting to bring different musicians together and see what music comes out of it. Because our music is still completely improvised. This is always new, especially because we always have new musicians with us

eclipsed: The new "Visions Of ..." is already your 23rd official album in the twelve years that the ØSC exists. Quite a lot. Do you publish everything you record?

Heller: No, certainly not. The live shows will all be recorded and published for free download. Sometimes these are just viewer recordings, sometimes they are multitrack recordings or some from the soundboard. Higher quality recordings or special concerts are available for little money on our bandcamp page or on vinyl. As for the studio recordings, there are about 30 hours of unreleased material left that hardly anyone has heard. Every now and then I listen to this and find something interesting ...

eclipsed: "Visions Of ..." is already the third album (and as announced the last one) of a session at the end of 2014. That must have been very productive at that time. Is it "just the rest" now? Or did you keep the best till the end?

Heller: The 2014 studio session was actually the best we ever had. We have now released a 3-player LP, a double LP and a normal LP. Jams 5, 6 and 18 have not yet been released. They'll stay in the archives, at least for now. Whether "Visions Of ..." is the best or only the rest is up to the listeners.

eclipsed: The 40-minute title track of the new album seems to me to be like a living creature that changes organically. What do you think of that impression? What visions do you have when you record such long tracks?

Heller: That was a really fantastic jam and a special piece of music. Similar to "20 Steps Towards The Invisible Door" from the "Different Creatures" album, a lively communication between the musicians developed. This contributed to this organic development. The artwork of the album shows about my inner pictures. I'd like someone to make a cool video about this play.

eclipsed: The new track "Above The Corner" is a reference to Miles Davis. What other influences do you have at ØSC?

Heller: At the beginning the main influence was certainly the music of the 70s. Of course, it's expanded. We like everything from Miles Davis to Fela Kuti to the Allman Brothers. With each new musician came new influences, simply from the experiences everyone had or from the bands he played in before. I myself am strongly influenced by my old friend Doug Walker, who unfortunately is no longer with us, and his band Alien Planetscapes. With his mixture of space rock from far out, jazz and experimental music he was a great inspiration for me. Also the early Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, Ozric Tentacles, Gas Giant, WE and the Allman Brothers are important artists for me.

eclipsed: How does an ØSC jam session work?

Heller: Between 2004 and 2010 we regularly held jam sessions in our practice rooms. We're not doing it the way we did then. Today they are concerts or studio sessions. At that time the following happened: We arrived, drank beer, set up our equipment, smoked joints, searched and found good places for the microphones and recording equipment, just started and had fun. I miss that because it was something other than the pressure in a concert.

eclipsed: In 2017 you will only play live at a few festivals. Why are you retreating?

Heller: We've been doing this for ten years now. I will leave Denmark next year and move to Portugal. This is a big change for me, and it will take me some time to set up there, to get to know the people and the way of life there. So I have to take a break. But in 2018 we'll be back at the starting line. Maybe with a European tour around the Spaceboat concert in Hamburg

eclipsed: What is so special about the Spaceboat in Hamburg?

Heller: This is a fantastic event. Sabine - our photographer, video artist, merchandiser, roadie and my partner at Space Rock Productions in personal union, but not my wife - organizes the Spaceboat. We rent a ship and sail with our fans all over the harbour of Hamburg. It is very intimate and great fun for all involved. The only downside is that you won't be able to get any decent video or sound recordings that adequately reproduce the whole thing. So you have to be there to experience it.

eclipsed: The ØSC has now been in existence for twelve years. Did you ever think it would last that long?

Heller: I had no expectations. It was all about bringing people together with whom I wanted to spend time and play music. This has become a great trip. I suppose the ØSC will exist as long as I organise concerts and studio sessions. Well, as long as I'm not too old, too sick or too tired.

eclipsed: The ØSC was founded in 2004. The bridge over the Øresund was completed in 2000. Would the ØSC have been possible without the bridge?

Heller: A good question. We would then have had to take the ferry or drive via Helsingør to get to the jam sessions. Maybe I would have only played with Mantric Muse and other Danish bands from Copenhagen - and it wouldn't have come to the connection with Swedish bands like Bland Bladen, The Carpet Knights, Drahk Von Trip, Agusa and others.

eclipsed: Would file sharing, as many other musicians do nowadays, have been a solution? Or is that a taboo for you?

Heller: This is a possible way of working, but not what we want. We create music from and for the moment. It's all improvised and played live. So we don't approach the music by putting it together from different parts. Maybe you could play live with someone in another country at the same time and listen to each other's music via stream and later mix everything together. But we haven't tried anything like this before.

eclipsed: You came to Denmark for professional reasons to participate in diabetes research at the Hagedorn Institute. Are you still doing that?

Heller: No, I withdrew from it in 2015. I'm retired now. But I miss my life as a scientist. I'll always be a scientific nerd, as well as a music freak. That's just what I am after spending ten years of my life studying and earning my doctorate.

eclipsed: Have you ever regretted going to Denmark?

Heller: No, never. Going to Denmark is one of the best things I've done in my life. I've spent the last 20 years in Denmark. It's a great country and I've met a lot of great people and played with so many excellent bands. Like every country, Denmark has its problems. But most important things like work-life balance, crime rate, health system, food quality or transportation are excellent.

eclipsed: If you could wish who should play in the ØSC, who would you name?

Heller: Oh, on my wish list are Frank Marino, Jimmy Herring, Dave Schools, Dave W. (from White Hills), Ed Wynne, Warren Haynes, Vemund Egan, Joie Hinton, Seaweed - just to name a few. It could work with some of them. Others will remain a dream.

*Interview: Bernd Sievers