Hammershus, Bornholm, Denmark, July 2009

On Friday the 17th of July we met up with Safri Duo backstage at the Fair Trade festival on Bornholm.  They told us what they have been up to, what they are planning and answered some questions from their fanclub members.

Touring
After the show in Latvia, there will be no further touring in Denmark and abroad this year. Safri is not done with the planning of a new tour set-up, they want to further explore the possibilities of having Michael Parsberg with them on tour and in future projects. The reason why no songs were played live from the "Origins" CD is due to the fact, that the-y did not have time to incorporate the tracks into the live show.

The Danish singer Bobo Moreno has agreed to join Safri on stage for the 3 live shows in July, but who will join them on stage on future tours is still unknown.


Bobo Moreno

Uffe and Morten were really excited about being live on stage again with the new set-up, because you never know how the audience will respond to it.
Uffe said it is important never to let fear get in the way of your creativity, because then you are not able to evolve and reach new musical peaks.
It was a great experience having Michael Parsberg with them on stage, because of him being a good friend and their producer on Episode 2. Uffe commented on it being funky having the mixing desk on stage instead of back in the studio. It was Michael's idea and the first time they tried playing live this way.

Safri Duo ensured us, that even though it has been a bit quiet around them for some time, they have no intentions of calling it quits...this is simply "the calm before the storm, that is the new tour."
To comment on Safri Duo being absent on the tour scene, Uffe said that it is normal for artists to have periods of time where they "disappear" a bit form the public, during times of musical growth and new projects.

Origins
"Origins" presented a new path for Safri Duo, moving further away from the dance/techno scene and introducing a more alternative, dreamy sound, with violins and opera.
5 years had gone between 3.0 and Origins, but Uffe and Morten had worked very hard on finding a new direction for themselves. It took them a long time shaking off the success of the previous CD´s and didn´t want to make a CD like the previous two "dance/percussion" CD´s.
They wanted something new, and Uffe and Morten spent a lot of time recording sounds and experimenting. When they finally found the right direction, it took them about a year making "Origins"..
The plan with the vocals on "Origins" was, that it had to be sort of abstract and in order to do so, they decided to have vocals in foreign languages.
It was a joy making "Origins" because Safri experienced a new side to themselves but also new worlds. They had a fantastic collaboration with Youssou N´Dour, which took them to his studio in Senegal. The journey alone proved to be quite the experience but simply added to the great experience of working so differently than they were used to.

Youssou N´Dour     
Rolando Villazón

Safri Duo got in contact with the Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón, through their management from the classical days, and Villazón would gladly participate, luckily...since his management had initially said no to Safri Duo.

The recording and collaboration with Rolando Villazón took place in Copenhagen, where Safri had prepared the music notes and Morten suddenly found himself conducting the Mexican tenor through the recording!

"Origins" is only released in Denmark and online in few countries and Safri Duo is well-aware that it was a bit risky, releasing an album which musical style differs so much from the previous releases. But Uffe and Morten had an urge to make this kind of album and release it at this time, hoping that their fans would appreciate it and join them on their journey.
It´s not for certain that this is the path for the future albums; the genre becomes clear when they start exploring and experimenting with sound and rhythm.

Apart from being a part of Safri Duo, Uffe has been involved in a music project called "Mix two Worlds" (for info click here ) and he is also on the board of Pumpehuset a small Danish concert venue, trying to up its popularity once again. He is also in a committee working on raising more funds for rhythmic education students.