Norwegian Producer Bjorn Torske Kicks Off Debut India Tour This Week

Norwegian producer Bjorn Torske. Photo: Embla Karidotter Dahleng

Around the same time that black metal was picking up in Norway in the early Nineties, producer and DJ Bjorn Torske was messing around with tapes, drum machines and synthesizers. But it’s probably flatfooted to think that metal influences everyone in Norway.

Torske says over email that most Norwegians still prefer “chart music,” but he adds that black metal shares a similarity with the country’s electronic music ”“ that most of the diehard fans are from other countries. He explains, “There is a healthy local scene of artists, DJs and performers – but the main audience is in other countries.”

Torske ”“ who started off as a radio DJ in 1987 and went on to become one of Norway’s key figures in the growth of electronic music ”“ is in India on a four-city tour arranged by booking and artist agency Mixtape’s monthly series Soul City, which kicks off on April 19th in New Delhi. Says Torske about visiting India for the first time, “I spoke briefly with (UK DJ and veteran journalist) Bill Brewster who did the same round in November last year, and he certainly had a great time playing – and eating, as he said the food was really great. Other than that, I have very little knowledge of the club scene in India – except from what I heard from friends travelling to Goa in the early 1990s.”

For his India tour, Torske isn’t really pre-planning a set. He says, “I bring an arsenal of music and try my best to select the best tracks for whatever club or situation I’m in. But house music is my fundament – even if I play music of other genres (which I do quite a lot) it is played to fit into the house aesthetic – be it disco, funk, dub, techno, jazzy stuff and rock.”

Soul City ft Bjorn Torske

April 19th ”“ Boxout Wednesdays at Summer House Cafe, New Delhi (w/Moniker)

April 21st – Koramangala Social, Bangalore (w/Robby Banner)

April 22nd ”“ Record Store Day special at Bonobo, Mumbai (w/Chhabb, M.Mat)

April 23rd – High Spirits, Pune (w/Spacejams)