Swedish house DJ/producer Tiger Stripes—AKA Mikael Nordgren—is Australia-bound in preparation for a string of east coast dates, kicking off over the Easter Weekend.
First garnering international attention upon the release of 2004's "Dingo," the multi-instrumentalist has since ventured into disco, funk and garage, but remains dedicated to the sounds of Afro, disco-esque and heavy tech house. With releases on Liebe*Detail, Urbantorque and Get Physical Music, Nordgren has continued to impress house aficionados worldwide, with dozens of well-received remix credits to his name.
Notably, Nordgren is one of the driving forces behind the renowned Swedish club night Go Bang!, and has recently been nominated for Best Tech House Artist at the Beatport Awards 2009. We caught up with the DJ before his Australian gigs to chat about what fans should expect while he's down here, new material and running his own club night.Not long until we see you out here for your Australian tour—what has your prior experience with the Australian club/electronic music scene told you?
With all the festivals and radio shows, I got the feeling electronic music is a bigger part of everyday life in Australia than, say, over here in Sweden. I just had a great time on my last tour and I expect this one to be even better. I met a lot of nice people.
You're known for consistently finding time to work on the production side of things, and you've also been working on a new studio, right? Any hints as to what new material we'll hear from you in the future?
I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't go to the studio during the week. I'm not the kind of guy that spends a few days playing PlayStation to recover after the weekend gigs. Life is too short for that. I have spent a lot of time and money building my new studio, and I love being here. You don't need a fantastic studio to make fantastic music, but I felt it was time for me to take that side of things seriously. Right now I'm working on a side project that sounds something like a mixture of NEU! and Fleetwood Mac. I'm also working on new Tiger Stripes material and a remix of Martin Solveig.
Over the years you've gained notoriety, working with some pretty big production names. Any planned—or recent—collaborations you'd like to shed light on?
At the moment I'm really happy working alone. But working with other people can really open your mind and [teach] you new ways of doing things. I have learned a lot working with people like Jerome Sydenham and Kerri Chandler. So yeah, in the future I hope to do new collaborations.
You're a big part of Go Bang!, one of Sweden's premier house nights. When touring, do you take special interest in the ways that other promoters approach the organisation of their events?
Yes, I guess I do. I know how much work you have to put in to make a great club night happen. I know what makes the DJ happy so he can do a good job at the club, so when the promoter isn't serious it makes me mad! I feel when the love is there or not. I really felt the love when I was in Australia the last time.