Name: Øyvind Morken
Occupation: DJ, producer
Nationality: Norwegian
Recent release: Øyvind Morken's Homansbyen Express EP is out via Snick Snack January 13th 2023. His recent Giorgio More-Hoarder EP is still available from the same imprint.
Recommendations: I would like to recommend a book that is called Oslo Graffiti. A graffiti book documenting 1984 - 2008 in Oslo by the artist known as Ridder. The other would be Mr. Pikes, the story behind the Ibiza legend. My girlfriend bought it for me last Christmas, and I thought it was a fun read. I’m reading Cosey Fanni Tutti - Art, Sex And Music now. I like it. I’m listening to the new Plaid album when doing this interview. I think it’s actually made with the help of some A.I. or something. I might be wrong though.

If you enjoyed this interview with Øyvind Morken and would like to stay up to date with his activities, visit him on Instagram, and Soundcloud.

For an interview with one of his collaborators, visit our Prins Thomas interview.



Can you talk a bit about your interest in or fascination for DJing? Which DJs, clubs or experiences captured your imagination in the beginning?

I have always loved music, for as long as I remember. But I got into DJing at the early age of 11. I used to skateboard, and skateboarders hang out together and skate if they are 8, or 18 years old. So I was at the local youth club, when one of the older skaters was DJing, he told me to take over while he went for cigarettes and a make out session with a girl. I loved it, and kept asking him to take a break every week from then on so I could DJ.

When I was old enough to go out to clubs, hearing Pål Strangefruit, Prins Thomas and Bjørn Torske was also a revelation for me, as they played so freely. The same feeling came when I first found out about people like Harvey, Andrew Weatherall, Theo Parrish and Trevor Jackson.

What made it appealing to you to DJ yourself? What was it that you wanted to express and what, did you feel, did you have to add artistically?

It is strange to think that you can express yourself through music that some one else made, but I really believe you can. On a good night, the connection you feel with people on the dance floor is to me such an incredible thing. To be allowed to help these souls transcend and abandon their everyday life for a few hours of unity and togetherness.

Regarding what I bring artistically, I don’t like the word eclectic, I would rather be called adventurous.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to DJing? Do you see yourself as part of a certain tradition or lineage?

I’m part of the tradition that the music is bigger than anyone of us. I do like to play all night long, as that usually let’s me take control of the night and I get to play all sorts of music that suits the night at the right time. Don’t get me wrong, It’s fun to go in and bang out a 2 hour set as a guest DJ, but I have held down a residency for 12 years, playing most weeks, so I could be categorized as one for the resident DJ tradition.

In a perfect world, I would have a few quarterly residencies in good clubs around the planet. In cities with good record shops. You get to know the people who go out in a way, and build a relationship with them, and you get to do the same with the record shops and the people who work in them. Best of both worlds.

Clubs are still the natural home for DJing. What makes the club experience unique? Which clubs you’ve played or danced at are perfect for realising your vision – and why?

I think it’s more than one factor. They right mix of people, enough toilets, polite and helpful staff and a good sound system usually does the trick.

My vision is broad, so I enjoy playing all night nine hour sets at clubs just as much as early morning graveyard shifts at illegal raves, or bringing the sun down at nice sunset spot. I have done them all for years, and I think at this point I am good enough to give people a good if not great experience.

There is a long tradition of cross-pollination between DJing and producing. Can you talk a bit about how this manifests itself in your own work?

I approach it like a music fan, so I basically am inspired by certain records, musicians or producers over the week, and what comes out of the studio speakers usually echoes what my musical hang up is that week.

I don’t think I am one of those music makers who has his/her own sound, but I am totally fine with that. Nothing like a good surprise if you ask me.

What role does digging for music still play for your work as a DJ? Tell me a bit about what kind of music you will look for and the balance between picking material which a) excites you, b) which will please the audience and c) fulfill certain functions within your DJ set.

I go digging physically for records and CDs every week, I also spend time almost every day on the internet searching for music. I think I still would do this if the phone stops ringing and the gigs don’t come.

I have been looking for new music all my life. I think it is and should be the only reason to DJ. The lust to show people how great certain music is. I buy music based on if I like it, not what genre it is or if it will work on a dance floor. I think all music can be dance music in the right context.

As I grow older I also do not stress as much to please every single one at the party, I would rather have a half full party with people who really enjoy the music and each other's company than a full space that needs to be entertained at all cost.

I’ve always wondered: How is it possible for DJs to memorise so many tracks? How do you store tracks in your mind – traditionally as grooves + melodies + harmonies or as colours, energy levels, shapes?

A good question that I do not have an answer to. Organizing your music collection certainly helps. To me the way I play feels natural, and I also put in loads of ground work before the gig.

On how I pack my record bag, and how I organize my USB sticks: There are so many factors to take in when you are DJing, the people, the sound, size of venue, colors, etc. So I think it’s best to really know your music, and the best way to do that is to only play music you really love, and not the stuff you might think you will need to play, or that is trendy at a certain point.

Using your very latest DJ set as an example, what does your approach look like, from selecting the material and preparing for and opening a set? What were some of the transitions that really worked looking back?

Never bang it out when you are warming up for someone, or early on when you are playing all night long. Take your time. You can not plan how a night will pan out, so just do the ground work when you are packing music for the night. Try not to stress if the floor is thinning out, those people usually would leave five minutes later anyway no mater how hard you work.

It can be fun and go all Jeff Mills for 10 min with three deck mixing and all, but if I am honest, I think a transition is a way to go from one thing to another smoothly, the real talent lies in programing the night.

[Read our Jeff Mills interview]

How does the decision making process work during a gig with regards to wanting to play certain records, the next transition and where you want the set to go? How far do you tend to plan ahead during a set?

I tend to plan two, three or four records ahead, but sometimes that planing goes out the window and you throw something in at the last minute. You can tailor sets around a few records also.

Playing records without drums at peak time can acquire a lot of planing and structure. I can also be very spontaneous and not plan much at all. I know it has been said before, but at certain times it feels like the records are playing themselves.

As a DJ, you can compose a set of many short tracks or play them out in full, get involved with mixing or keep the tunes as the producer intended them, create fluent seagues or tension. Tell me about your personal preferences in this regard, please.

All of the above. Usually during the same gig.

Be creative, take chances, let the song play out if you feel it needs to, mixing is a great tool and fun, but selection and programing is most important. If you got the later two down, then mixing is an amazing bonus that can be the icing on the cake.

Pieces can sound entirely different as part of a DJ set compared to playing them on their own. How do you explain this? Which tracks from your collection don’t seem like much outside of a DJ set but are incredible effective and versatile on a gig?

It all depends on the sound system, venue/space, if it’s outdoors or indoors. Picking one or two tracks is to difficult.

I tend to play loads of music people would call leftfield or whatever, but again, I truly believe that any music can be dance music in the right context. And some of the best music to dance to, was not even made with a dance floor in mind.

In terms of the overall architecture of a DJ set, how do you work with energy levels, peaks and troughs and the experience of time?

It really depends on the length of the set.

If it's a two hour guest DJ set, I usually just try to give people a good time without too much to it. There is not much time to experiment or try out things. If it fails then it usually is a problem, as there is not much time to build it up again. If I am playing all night I start really slow and with low volume. Gradually increase in energy and volume, with short peaks through the night and periods when you let the dance floor breath a bit, or cleans it a bit.

The element of surprise or giving people a little shock is also good. I also like to end with real songs, so you have an ending. And people go home whistling or singing. I really like it if there is  room for drastic tempo changes, which is great fun, and a thing that is much needed in todays strict tempoizm in the house and techno world.

Online DJ mixes, created in the studio as a solitary event, have become ubiquitous. From your experience with the format, what changes when it comes to the way you DJ – and to the experience as a whole - when you subtract the audience?

It can be hard to do dance floor mixes at home, so I think they are experienced best when they are recordings from a party. But I usually approach mixes in a way that is natural to me. I pick music that I will like to feature, find a starting song / track / recording, and maybe two more tracks and take it from there. I usually find it works best like that, warts and all.

I don’t see it as a problem when you listen to a mix and you can hear that it is an actual human being that is playing the music. I think a mix should be created with something like a drive in a car, or cooking etc. in mind, rather than a business card type thing.

Advances in AI-supported DJing look set to transform the trade. For the future, where do you see the role of humans in DJing versus that of technology?

I don’t worry about that. A.I. can never actually interact with feelings like human beings can, which is what I think going out and dancing is about. The connection between the dance floor and the DJ will not be there, so I do not see that as a threat to my trade.

I can see businesses like Spotify and major labels using A.I. to make music, so that they will no longer need to pay artists for their music. Perfect world for them.

Let’s imagine you lost all your music for one night and all there is left at the venue is a crate of records containing a random selection of music. How would you approach this set?

Let’s hope Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4 is in there. So I can put that on as the first record, and then I have about an hour to go through the rest of the records with the other turntable and a headset and structure a set from that.

[Read our feature on Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4]

That would save me from constant panic throughout the night.