I have always used a lot of aliases when making music. I have remixed under the name SuperTroels, made house as Mockin’ Bird and released a record called “I Know That You Know” entirely without an artist name. Maybe it’s time to just be myself?
Aliases and pseudonyms can be very useful when you want to wipe the slate clean and start a new direction in your music. It can help you better define the music you make (before you make it) to have certain rules or dogmas that you have to follow. I have separated my aliases in to different genres or styles of music. SuperTroels is – as mentioned before – primarily remixes. Mockin’ Bird is where I play with house and tech without any vocals. “I Know That You Know” was sort of a compilation of songs I had written over a long period of time. I didn’t feel that it fitted in any of my “boxes”, and therefore the release had no artist name but only a title.
The problem with these “boxes” is that I tend to create them, to try and redefine myself completely, every time I want to change my direction in music the slightest. As an example I didn’t feel that my Mockin’ Bird tracks fitted in a release to follow up “I Know That You Know”. A “solo album” was for me defined by myself singing on top of my own productions. As a result of this I push some of the songs in the direction, that I have decided they should go on beforehand, instead of just making the music and letting it go where it needs to go. Who says I can’t have three or four instrumental house tracks alongside a few more vocal-based tracks.
The albums I love are the albums that vary in sound and expression instead of being confined inside the walls of genre. The artists I love are the ones that are always experimental and curious. Not the ones who has defined themselves once and every sound from them since has been derived from that origin.
After thinking about this for some time, I have decided to try not to use the aliases and go by my own name from now on. It’s important for me to stress that this is not about having a cool name or appear in a specific way – that is not the point of these writings. This is merely an attempt to get rid of all the masks and do what I want to do, and not be so eager to be defined from the get go. I need to allow myself to change and still be myself.
her går det godt. troels er et flot navn.
Comment by james braun — June 13, 2008 @ 13:39
God video du har uploaded (Staplefahrer Klaus). Echt klasse!
Comment by Cea Arf Aval — June 13, 2008 @ 13:46
Jep James Braun!:).. vil du blive ved med at lave musik?
Comment by SebastianC — June 13, 2008 @ 16:06
whooo, det er sgu lige ud af posen, og lige fra hjertet ord. Men sandt er det, at mange artister bruger aliaser, og lader sig fange af dem genremæsigt, stilmæsigt, enda hele vejen igennem, fra tøj, til tale og væremåde (Dawid Bowie) f.eks. og hans Ziggy Stardust.
Men nu hhar du jo ikke ligefrem været kendt for at flyde med strømmen, og gøre det som flertallet diktere, så hvorfor besvære dig med, et for mig at se, mindre hurtigt overstået dilemma??
Det er jo i første omgang, kun dig og din musik det handler om, altsÃ¥ du kan jo som kunstner gøre lige hvad der passer dig, uden at tænke ret meget længere end” hey, syntes jeg det her lyder fedt?, okæy, sÃ¥dan skal det være sÃ¥” altsÃ¥ du sætter jo selv remmerne for din frihed, gør som du gør bedst, Let it flow..
Forresten, sÃ¥ er det billed du her har brugt ret godt, det minder mig om mit eget ” Party alias” -Robotten-, eller gamle stive møgrobot,.. kært barn har mange navne.. og jeg har faktisk en robothjelm, bare meget bedre, og hjemmelavet og med et rødt rotorblink pÃ¥ toppen, og en gammel metal radioantenne pÃ¥, og ej at forglemme, en robotarm med en flaske snaps med kommen smag! gaffatapet for enden.. ssåå køre det.
keep up the good work..
Comment by Ole P — June 14, 2008 @ 09:59
True true, Troels.
But as for me (and probably a lot of us reading your blog) we knew that it was you all the time, so it doesn’t really make any difference.
I love the fact your spectre of music is that big, and I believe that you as an artist hits even more different groups of people, by doing so.
‘Nuf said.
Comment by Nicolaj S — June 14, 2008 @ 12:43
As I see it your alias are just a natural way of distinguish between your styles/projects and I think actually that it your image (let’s just call it a Brand!) as SuperTroels, or whatever your name will be, would be a little “ruined” when making or producing something soft-whatever-taking-out-of-the-ass music that does not relate to the hard beat remixes that the same SuperTroels are producing.
But – that’s just my own opinion. I like what SuperTroels are doing, love the “I Know That You Know” album and the sounds of Mockin’ Bird are simply sweeeet…
Comment by Lc — June 16, 2008 @ 08:22
Sounds like a healthy change. If you feel that this will help you move on, then this is it.
Hope everything works out for ya’.
Comment by Nikolai — June 20, 2008 @ 09:37
I WISH YOU WERE MY DAD.. .
Comment by CARL MATHIAS KOBEL — July 8, 2008 @ 20:27
ESPRESS YOURSELF or die
Comment by CARL MATHIAS KOBEL — July 8, 2008 @ 20:28