Copied from Halcyonline.
Featured Artist | Par Grindvik: Techno Storyteller
Submitted by Bianca Von Baum
Techno Storyteller Par Grindvik, is a techno storyteller – there is a lot more to his beats than steely kick-drum patterns and gurgling bleeps. At the heart is his label, Stockholm LTD, which fosters sparks between word and sound by pairing each release with an eloquent poem or short vignette. Meaningful Techno?!.. perhaps.
Last weekend Par kicked off his short spin through the US with the Oktave crew for a cosmic techno treat at Underground, the latest dingy LES basement of choice for the Techno elite of NYC. On his downtime here in NYC, Grindvik kindly let us pick his mind about telling techno tales, his latest release, When Falls, and why there’s no magic recipe to success.
Halcyon: What are some recent memories and music that have inspired your creativity and what you are producing?
Par Grindvik: I would be lying if I said that I was filled up with inspiration. In fact I’ve been searching, trying really hard to find out what I want and where I want to go. Right now my biggest source of inspiration is my family and close ones, they bring me strength to go on with my ideas.
H: I am very interested when you write in the “about” part of Stockholm LTD that “each release tells its own story”. What is the story told by your latest release with Staffan Linzatti, When Falls?
P: I’m happy that you ask me this, nowadays it’s really hard to connect the listener with your thoughts and visions. I always get so happy when people find our small messages and actually take some time to reflect over its meaning. It’s not that important to me that they get the true meaning really, I want the listeners to frame their own pictures. But, as you are asking specifically about “When Falls” I will try to explain. When Falls is one of those places where time’s been still for ages, where everything and every day comes and goes as they do. Suddenly the present arrives and nothing will ever be the same again. The “When Fall” words that you ask about are told by this old citizen who never thought things would change or that he would ever leave. I believe that you can find ‘”When Falls” somewhere in Canada but who knows.
H: What do you look for in the artists that sign on to Stockholm Limited? What do they have in common?
P: There’s an idea behind what I want to do, and anyone I bring into that idea must fit into it I guess. They all turn out being my best friends.
H: I enjoy how you put every effort into all the other elements of the music – elaborating on the aesthetics as well as the overall audible quality. Do you pursue other artistic paths beyond music production and DJing?
P: No, seriously, I wish I did. I have a lot of untouched projects and ideas. For instance, me and my [girlfriend] (who is a tailor) have been designing some clothes, which always end up on me. I’ve been sketching on some lithographies as well, but nothing too serious.
H: Do you agree that a DJ is as much as any other artist, whether we’re talking about a painter or musician? How would you explain the art of a DJ to someone who doesn’t really understand the intensity and extent of this contemporary culture?
P: I agree in that there are DJs who just press play and there are painters that let their pet monkeys paint. I guess it’s more up to the people who are listening [or] watching to explain what it is that they are actually looking at [or] listening to and wherein the art exists, in the effort or the product. I’m happy as long as I can keep doing what I love to do, and I hope the amount of work I put in comes across as something worth experiencing, over and over again.
H: How do you keep your music fresh, progressive and innovative amidst the fast paced world of dance music?
P: I’m glad you feel that way about my music. I don’t think I have a “recipe.”
H: What are some of your goals for 2010 and how has this musical vision or direction evolved since you first started DJing and producing seriously?
Keep having as much fun as I’m having right now. Sitting in NYC it’s easy to like my job. I get to meet some great people. Our upcoming releases are basically a “best of” of the last decades of music in our genre.
On the down low… Par Grindvik will be appearing with John Selway and PJay at Stay (244 E. Houston) this Thursday June 17th, 2010 for FREE
http://halcyonline.com/2010/06/featured-artist-par-grindvik-techno-storyteller

















