Name: Xploding Plastix
Members: Jens Petter Nilsen, Hallvard Wennersberg
Nationality: Norwegian
Current release: Xploding Plastix' Thus EP is out via Beatservice. 
Recommendations: I would recommend the artist Erland Dahlen and his latest album: Racoons. And I would recommend the book Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius, by Ray Monk. A fascinating insight into a great mind and an important philosopher.

If you enjoyed this Xploding Plastix interview and would like to keep up to date with the duo and their music, visit their official homepage.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

Every limb's got its own opinion.

As for the eyes, it depends on the mood. My mood. I like walking in the woods listening on headphones. I get easily distracted if I just sit down and listen.

Entering new worlds and escapism through music have always exerted a very strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to listening to and creating music?

Music is like having your own private teleporter. You do not always know where you are going, but you're pretty sure it's gonna be somewhere between bizarre and brilliant.

It’s like the Unthanks song: “What can a song do to you?”



When I'm creating, it's a bit different. I am more focused, not open to outside impressions or distractions in the same way. I may get distracted, for sure, but I like to think I have a plan for where I am going.

At the same time, I reckon what draws me in is the thrill of the unknown. The chance to cook up something exiting. It's all about that journey to somewhere you didn't even know existed until the music took you there.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience?

My first steps in music were a bit like a baby hippo trying to ice skate. Lots of enthusiasm, not much grace. I'd fiddle with knobs and buttons, and every now and then, I'd accidentally create something that didn't sound like a cat walking on a piano. Days of glory ...

But, like that hippo, I kept at it. And slowly, bit by bit, the noises I was making started to sound less like a kitchen appliance in distress and more like actual music.

As for the gains from experience ... The thing is, with music, you never really stop learning. Every new track is a chance to crash land on a new planet. And that's the beauty of it. No matter how many gains you make, there's always a new galaxy out there, just waiting for your wonky little spaceship to explore.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

When you are 13-16 every tune feels like it was written just for you and the school disco was the centre of the universe. In the adolescent years, the world is quite small and everyone is a narcissist. Back then, music was a lifeline. For me, music was like this wild, untamed beast that I was both in awe of and slightly terrified by.

Fast forward to now, and well, it's a bit like I've grown up with that beast, learned its ways. The magic's still there, but it's matured, like a fine wine or a cheese that's just on the right side of funky. These days, music is more than just a lifeline; it's part of my DNA. It's how I make sense of the world, how I remember, how I forget. It's both a time machine and a spaceship, a way to revisit those wonder years and also to venture into uncharted territories.

The journey's ever ongoing, that’s the best bit. There's always a new chord to strum, a new rhythm to discover, and a new dance floor to conquer. Even if the dance floor's just your kitchen on a Tuesday night.

How would you describe your own relationship with your instrument, tools or equipment?

It's like a bizarre love triangle between me, the machines, and the ghost of electricity. You press a key, expecting a symphony, and get the sound of a dying duck instead. On those days, it feels more like a wrestling match than a dance. Me versus the machines, in a no-holds-barred cage fight. Sparks flying, fuses blowing, the lot.

These instruments, they're more than just tools; they're like extensions of my own mind, the peanut butter to my jelly. Without them, the tunes in my head would never see the light of day. It's complicated, intense, and utterly wonderful, all at the same time.

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

It's a bit like having this mischievous little gremlin living in your head. It wakes you up at 3 AM, nudging you with ideas and suggestions. Music I like is always inspirational. I think music is the only art form that makes me
want to create something.

As for films and literature, I am just consuming and enjoying the work. It’s like it triggers different parts of my brain.

Politics just makes me angry. And I feel we are standing in front of this huge turning, the fourth turning maybe? But it’s too big to be channelled into inspiration for me.

Are you acting out parts of your personality in your music which you couldn't or wouldn't in your daily life? If so, which are these? What, would you say, are of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

The technical aspect is quite like making coffee. If you are serious about making coffee. You must know how your beans are prepared, the burrs on your grinder, the speed of the grinder, the pressure of your Espresso machine. The craftmanship are quite similar.

But the emotional part is quite different. Every chord is a thread in this tapestry of sound that has the power to transport you, transform you, tell a story or paint a picture. It's alchemy, turning silence into something worthwhile.

In the mundane tasks, the everyday rituals, there's beauty, a meditative quality, a grounding in the moment. But music, it's a bridge to the sublime.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I'd love to see technology and tradition embrace like old friends. I would love to hear more combinations of acoustic and electric elements.

I like the fact that the means of production has been distributed to almost everyone. I think that may spark a plethora of new artists, creativity, and genres.

I also love the accessibility of new music and music in general and I think that may impact the generations to come.