On a Clear Day I Can See You Forever

“I felt totally unrestrained making this album” says Lindstrøm about his 6th solo album
On A Clear Day I Can See You Forever (a title inspired by the 1970’s musical On A Clear
Day You Can See Forever starring Barbra Streisand). “I’ve listened to Robert Wyatt’s solo
albums and his Matching Mole’s debutalbum a lot lately. It so effortless, fearless and free.
And not insisting. I was very inspired by this”

In the autumn of 2018, Lindstrøm composed a commissioned piece for Norway’s
premiere art centre Henie Onstad Kunstsenter. Sketches from the three sold-out
performances became the foundation for the new tracks. “I decided to keep some of the
initial ideas and develop them further. All the songs are based on long one-take
recordings”, says Lindstrøm “Also I’ve been very conscious about the music on the album
not exceeding the length of the physical limitations of the vinyl-format, finding that 2 long
tracks on each side were the perfect balance for this album”

This is also the first time ever Lindstrøm has made an album entirely with hardware
instead of computer-plugins. He utilised thirty plus synthesizers and drum-machines
during his performance at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter. The experience inspired him to
embrace a similar set-up when making the album. “The joy of making music on actual
physical objects and devices makes a lot of sense to me now. After working on a computer
for over 15 years, I don’t think I’ll ever look back” he says with an almost childlike
excitement.

It was the accessibility to his enviable collection of music gear – largely consisting of
sought after synthesizers – that allowed Lindstrøm to experiment so freely with ideas
and soundscapes. “The title track is a 10-minutes improvisation on the Moog Memorymoog. I
liked the loose feel so I decided to keep everything unedited. The other tracks were
written and arranged prior to the recordings. I then set up the instruments needed for my
sessions, then recorded more or less everything in a single take. I’m really happy with the
way this album came together.”

Lindstrøm has cited classical music as an inspiration the last couple of years “I used to
study classical music at school. Back then I was listening to a lot of Opera, orchestral
music and solo music on the piano. Listening to classical music again has been a revisit to
my childhood days, just like I did when I embraced the 80s in the early 2000s”
Once embracing the freedom and the joy of making music without inhibitions, immersing
himself in to the physical realm of making music with hardware, Lindstrøm learned
something new not only about music – but about himself.

“I guess I’ve been trying to re-educate myself”