Iceage’s guide to Copenhagen
As the Copenhagen band’s new album arrives just in time for a long summer in the city, drummer Dan Kjær Nielsen shares the local music spaces and hidden corners that continue to inspire them.
Iceage‘s new album, For Love of Grace & the Hereafter, captures the band’s intensity in its most urgent and immediate form.
Created in a sleepless blur of energy after their label, Mexican Summer, proposed finishing the record in little more than two weeks for a summer release, the result is a taut, combustible collection of songs that linger around the three-minute mark. “Some elements of cabin fever presented themselves,” frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt recently told Crack. “But it also created this supercompressed space and time where everything was just about the record. There wasn’t room for dwelling or letting things breathe. And so there was an intensity that came with that.”
For all the roads Iceage have travelled since their ferocious debut, New Brigade, 15 years ago, Copenhagen’s underground remains their creative anchor, with the city’s DIY venues, artists, and close-knit community continuing to shape the band’s identity. “We’re deeply rooted in this city,” Rønnenfelt said. “It’s filled with people that really know us, and a real sense of community, both in relation to art and on a personal level. There’s been times in my life where I’ve been screaming to get the fuck away from Copenhagen, but we’ve got real loved ones here and a very strong chosen family. That’s fucking valuable.”
Here, Dan Kjær Nielsen tells us where to go to find that community, get creative, or disappear in the city.
What’s Copenhagen’s best venue for live music?
Mayhem. It’s a former auto repair shop that’s been used as a volunteer-run venue since around 2009. It has a practice space, which we’ve used for years, and a venue space that is used for a very wide range of different kinds of shows.
It’s the kind of place that you can use for almost any kind of expression, as it’s not about making money. It’s a space where music is played for the joy of it. The weirdest of niche underground stuff is welcome.
Who is booking the most exciting rising bands right now?
Perhaps I’m heavily biased, but I think Escho – who also put out our records – are very good at keeping their ears open, and helps bring attention to interesting sounds from the city with genuine curiosity.
Is there a legacy venue people should visit at least once?
Ungdomshuset is a great place with a lot of history – mostly around its old house, which was sadly torn down after being sold by greedy politicians. But the newer one holds a space for DIY life and shows, and fosters community among bands.
"Mayhem It's a space where music is played for the joy of it. The weirdest of niche underground stuff is welcome"
Where do you go to watch a film?
Either my local cinema, Empire, or for older or less mainstream movies, Cinemateket.
Can you recommend a gallery or museum?
Glyptoteket is a beautiful place with lots of marble, columns and palm trees. I’ve also been going to Copenhagen Contemporary for contemporary art. The Natural History Museum used to be my favourite but it’s been closed for years, so I’m excited for the new one to open.
What’s the best bar in the city?
I’d say Diligencen – a very old-school, cowboy and fishing-themed bar that has pool tables and lots of cigarette smoke. Or Sorte René, which is not cowboy or fishing-themed, but also great and open late.
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What’s your favourite place to get food?
Ranee’s Thai restaurant. They have a dish called kanom chin nam jaa, which is fish and fishcakes in a curry with herbs and rice noodles. It’s one of the greatest things you can eat.
Where do you go to disappear for an afternoon?
Can’t share!
How about on a rainy day?
Assistens Cemetery gets really green and beautiful during or after rain. The kind of green that makes you marvel at the world around you.
What album feels intrinsically tied to Copenhagen for you?
Sods’ Minutes to Go, or the København I Ruiner compilation.
What Copenhagen-based musicians are you listening to?
In no particular order: Haloplus+, Cuirass, CTM, Pleaser, Mantis, Junta, Slim0, Smaragd, Scimitar, Selvhenter, Fine, Soli City, TLF Trio, Vanessa Amara.
Which other creatives you collaborate with are doing particularly exciting work?
Eliyah Mesayer and her ILLIYEEN project. I have worked quite a bit with the project and am currently composing for the Illiyeen Orchestra Volume I, which will be performed as part of an art installation in an old barn.
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What’s the city’s best outdoor space?
The botanical gardens, or local streets and backyards.
The place to go when you need perspective or to reset?
Jump in the water somewhere.
Where can we find the best view?
From the top of the church, Vor Frelser Kirke.
Is there a place that feels frozen in time?
Eiffel Bar is a bar with no windows, a winding staircase that’s said to lead to secret dwelling quarters, and a clientele that seems to completely disregard time.
"Assistens Cemetery gets really green and beautiful during or after rain. The kind of green that makes you marvel at the world around you"
What’s one thing in Copenhagen you’d hate to see disappear?
Amager Fælled, which is the city’s only ‘commons’ – an untouched piece of nature that’s being threatened by profit projects.
What do you already miss?
The aforementioned Ungdomshuset. Affordable apartments. Creative spaces. Green.
Where feels most tied to your history as a band?
Again, Mayhem. It’s where we played and organised many of our first shows, and it still feels very much like some kind of home.
Finally, where should we end the night?
In bed!
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