Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.04.2019, Side 39

Time To Emerge
Janus Rasmussen opens up about going it alone
Words: Rex Beckett Photo: Art Bicnick
Album
Janus Rasmussen’s debut album
‘Vín’ came out March 29th. He is
currently on tour in Europe
It can take time to step out on one’s
own. For Janus Rasmussen, it took
years as a member of Kiasmos and
Bloodgroup before finding his legs
to go solo. The Faroese-born musi-
cian and producer
recently found the
footing to emerge
with his first al-
bum, ‘Vín.’
After building
his dream studio
in Reykjavík’s old
harbour, Rasmus
felt he owed it to
himself to finally
embark on a solo
effort. “There were
no more excuses to
come up with,” he says. “It’s kind of
scary because I’ve always been in
bands or been in the background.
I think it was just a matter of time
and having the courage.”
Everything together
Written over a year and a half, the
album reflects the dream environ-
ment he created for himself with
sweeping, evocative, naturalistic
melodies and tones over crisp,
soothing beats. “I’ve produced a
lot of different kinds of music over
time, everything from electronic
to folk to rock, so I just wanted to
bring everything into this project,”
he says. “I just want to be really true
to myself and I guess that’s easier
when you’re doing it completely on
your own, because it’s the only thing
you can be.”
Finding the sonic queues was
an exploratory process
that went into the per-
sonal as it went for-
ward, but Janus main-
ly allowed himself to
follow the ideas as they
went. “I don’t sit down
and think I’m gonna
write a song about the
moon or anything like
that,” he laughs. “But it
becomes really person-
al. It becomes a big part
of your life so you have
a lot of doubts and ups and downs.”
Not overthinking
He did not go through the process
entirely alone, calling upon sup-
portive people to act as sounding
boards in the studio. “I would some-
times have a friend over and some-
one to work with in the studio just
to push me along when I was stuck,”
he says.
“I sometimes forget what I’m
doing. I start a song and I kind of
get bored of it before it even takes
off. If someone’s in the room with
me they will encourage me to keep
going, when I probably would have
stopped after ten minutes.”
This transition from being a
band member and feeding off the
back and forth to putting his own
name on something was both scary
and empowering. “It surprised me
how much easier it got towards the
end of the process,” he says. “I feel
like the last few songs of the album
are always the most fun. You’re just
working quicker, using less, not
overthinking things too much.”
The songs on the album impart this
seemingly effortless energy and ul-
timately feel transporting.
Sad because ideas
Janus is now touring the album
through Europe, although having
just put out his first album he is
already itching to write a second.
“At the end of an album you’re so
inspired,” he says. “I’m kind of sad
right now because I have so many
ideas and I just want to write more
music.” Now that he has found his
own feet, there is sure to be more.
Janus is branching out from Bloodgroup and Kiasmos
“I just want to
be really true
to myself and
I guess that’s
easier when
you’re doing it
completely on
your own.”
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31The Reykjavík Grapevine
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