Friday sees the welcome return of Adam Freeland’s Kaleidoscope residency, arguably the perfect balance between ambient, thoughtful and intelligent electronic music and a banging atmosphere that keeps crowds locked to the floor. This week he welcomes his first guest, Todd Terje, to join him on the seven hour dance master class. Think skilfully crafted disco edits meeting melody driven, deep aquatics and you might just be half way there

What follows is a literary meeting of the minds as the two artists scope out the secrets behind their clubbing and production success. And after Night Slug boss Bok Bok made a mockery of the generic interview questions asked to DJs today by replacing the word music with food (“When did you first discover you were interested in food?”, “Who would you argue is making the best food in the UK right now?” etc.), it’s certainly refreshing to discover exactly what electronic artists would like to ask and be asked. Funnily enough, one of Freeland’s ultimate questions concerns food so get your reading glasses on if you want to know what would be on the menu at a Todd Terje dinner party. Also, please feel free to indulge in the musical nuggets peppering the interview along the way…

Adam Freeland and Todd Terje hit The Nest this Friday, finishing the night with an exclusive b2b set. Tickets for Kaleidoscope are available here

Adam Freeland: I really like your Re-master of the Universe album. Your mix of “Balearic Incarnation” is one of my favourite tracks in the past year or so; I play it almost every set, it’s very Kaleidoscopic! You obviously have extensive musical knowledge and depth, what are the main resources you use for digging for music?

Todd Terje: Thank you! I´m lucky enough to have a mother who pushed me into piano lessons when I was young, so I approach music a little differently than DJs without any music theory. Often I pick tunes that focus more on harmonies and melodies rather than a 4/4 beat. Sometimes a 4/4 beat is exactly what the audience likes, but I guess the fact that they don´t always get what they want is what makes my sound. For instance, I ALWAYS carry a few Wally Badarou tunes in my bag, even if they´re not very danceable.

AF: I feel like I could write a book about the bizzare questions people have asked me while DJing over the years.  How do you handle hecklers who come up to you and ask you to play records you don’t want to play or where the toilet is (or am I alone here…)?!

TT: Ha, the last time I played in London there was this crazy woman that kept handing me empty bottles over the mixer. I guess she thought I was the clean up guy. When people ask for shit music I usually just smile broadly and say I “forgot it at home” or something like that.

AF: I find a lot of DJ/producers make amazing music, but when it comes to playing out they feel pressure to ‘bang it out’ to please the crowd. How do you approach it when you come on and the DJ before you has been playing really hard, or you may be booked in a space that doesn’t appreciate your depth?

TT: Well, I actually see a tendency in my own sets these days, I´ve grown to like banging it out a bit. I think we all understand at one point that “good music” (= slow, alternative, weird, whatever) tastes better when you have the audience eating out of your hands. If that takes a few bangers to get them in the mood, then why not? You wouldn´t play Neil Young after the warmup DJ before you played Groove La Chord, but perhaps it would go well after the Rub´n´Tug remix of Zero 7? My rule of thumb is that you should always carry enough music with you to handle any crowd (and warmup DJ). Doesn´t always work that way, but it´s a good rule anyway.

AF: I checked your Myspace and it seems we have a lot of similar influences. If it were offered to you, would you jump at the chance to work in the studio with the likes of Holgar Tzukay or Manuel Göttsching? Do you feel that you talent lies best in editing past masters?

TT: Not these days I think. When I wrote that Myspace influences list, I felt the world of music/internet was a bit different. NOBODY knew who Holger Czukay was and not fucking Arthur Russell either. I love his work, but it´s so annoying when all the hipsters got it all on their iPhone, like they´re James Murphy in Losing My Edge. I love the fact that Paul Murphy from Claremont 56 did two excellent collaborations though, namely Mr. Czukay and Ahmed Fakroun.

AF: It seems you have agood posse in Norway with Prins Thomas and Lindstrom. It’s rare to have such a talented trio all doing well independently.  Does the Oslo scene appreciate what a good thing it has in you guys?

TT: Today I think we gain on it, but it´s only because foreign journalists wrote about us first. I´ve been DJing in Oslo for 11 years anyway, and I noticed a big difference after I released a couple of records. I still remember my first proper DJ gig and the fee; a bottle of cheap wine, hehe. That was actually together with Hans-Peter when I think of it…

AF: I have a theory that great DJs are great cooks, it’s the same skill set. Knowing what’s good/having good taste, sourcing good ingredients and timing.  If we were to host a cooking with Todd show what would be your show off dish?

TT: My standard dish is not very exciting; sausages, sauerkraut, potato mash and pickles… I don´t know what that says about my DJing skills… Let´s not find out. If I were to show off, I´d probably make my 2 day Peking duck OR just a coriander kebab. Which is completely super-awesome btw!

AF: The Nest has a cosy vibe and great sound, I set up Kaleidoscope there so I could play exactly what I wanted and book people I want to be playing with, I start really deep and mellow and self-indulgent with Ambient , Manuel Göttsching or David Sylvian kind of vibes and build it layer by layer from there.  What’s your dream gig line up or scenario?

TT: I´ve always fantasized about playing music under water. I don´t know why… Don´t you think Message From The Shaman by David Sylvian would sound amazing carried to your ears by waterwaves? I also really enjoy playing daytime sets when there´s no connection to a dance floor. People accept much more “music” then, but as soon as one drunk punter starts to move slightly, everyone suddenly thinks your beardy pseudofreudo folk rock selection sounds weird…

AF: The girls are asking how we could convince you to DJ in the leopard skin pants from your Myspace image…

TT: There’s one song that triggers that animal in me, but you don’t know which one, and you’ll never know! Thank god!