A sit down with Gustaf Ljunggren, one of the creaters of the NAKED project which shows a side of artists you’re normally not familiar with. Pernille Rosendahl, Frederik Vedersø (Eclectic Moniker), Mads Damsgaard Kristensen (Reptile Youth) and Lucy Love will participate in this years NAKED. We met up with Gustaf just a few hours before the first concert at Musikhuset.
Naked will this year be organized for the fourth time, it is a project that peels off all the artists layers and presents the tracks in a cut-to-the-bone version. It is executed with established singers well known in the Danish music world, who are put in a context wherein they are only being accompanied by a piano. The concerning singers are chosen because they are usually not associated with a context such like. The main importance for this project is not only to find good artist but they have to be interesting as well, explains Gustaf. “There are a lot of fantastic singers and artist but they may not be appropriate or already have done something like this. The artists we choose for this project are mainly people you normally wouldn´t have chosen in this kind of setting”
There are four singers who will all sing four of their own songs. Therefore it is very important that the singers match each other. “The main reason for choosing these artists is that they are really good at what they do. We aim at finding some diversity in the artistical expression off each singer from time to time, next to this they are also a good match as they will work together a lot during this project” tells Gustaf.
Why does NAKED fit so well into the SPOT formula?
– It fits in very well because it is a break from the rest of the festival, next to this is it a very exclusive situation in many aspects, for one you enter a concert where no one wants to promote themselves or aims at getting a record deal. Naked is just about some singers who sing their songs in the most sensitive way possible. For a lot of the visitors is it very intriguing because they know these artists very well, these are all established names in the Danish music scene, but haven’t seen them in a setting like this before. It is a very unique situation.
Naked has been organized 3 times before and there has always been a very relaxed vibe in the room, even if it’s a festival and people walk out of the room.
“and then they hear that song, the big rock song, as a ballad”
Because of the accompanying of the piano it takes a way off how these artist should sound or how they usually sound. Naked is about stripping everything down to the most simple essence off the songs. We just start playing each of their own songs and I don’t take in account how they usually sound, we just start playing the songs in the most sensitive way possible accompanied by only the piano. That is very inspiring for me and also for the artist as they now can hear the material bounc back from a totally different angle.
What can the visitors expect when they visit Naked tonight?
– We talked about this with the participating artist and we think that the audience should be prepared to recognize things but also to be suprised, be a bit dissappointed at the end, be exited about the new thing and also be intrigued by this new angle because there are no drums, no guitars, no electronics, the songs are only accompanied by a piano. A lot of people visit Naked to hear the artist’s big hit, and then they hear that song, the big rock song, as a ballad. And that might not be as pleasing in the beginning but after a while they can see what a good song it really is. The song can be played in any form, on a piano, with a symphony orchestra or even in a rock band. The artist’s songs are really put to the test by this project.
You can visit Naked on:
Friday May 2, 20.00 – 21.30
Musikhuset – Rytmisk Sal
Saturday May 3, 20.00 – 21.30
Musikhuset – Rytmisk Sal
