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Danish experimental rock trio Poptones have just released their latest album, ‘Pure’, and guitarist Simon Hiemstra was on hand to give us the background on the band and the album.
What are the origins of Poptones? How long have you been playing together?
We have played together for what feels like forever, shaping our musical (and somewhat personal) identities throughout the years. Anders and I (Simon) met in elementary school, where we started playing together at the age of 10. In high school, we met Mads, with whom we quickly started a band, which then later became Poptones. At that time, the band had another name and two more members. The music was different, but we still like to count it in as a part of our journey as Poptones.
We came from this small town where there were a lot of bands (especially indie-rock bands) that really inspired us to aim big and prioritise music. Both Mads’ and Anders’ brothers were in the older bands in the city, which naturally opened some recording and gig options, we might not have gotten otherwise. At the same time, we were in our teenage years a part of this local venue (URT), which was only run by young volunteers. We worked with booking concerts, fixing things that broke, and stuff like that. Very DIY.
In the band, we are Mads (Vocals, Bass), Anders (Drums), and Simon (Guitar). Live and in the studio, we have included Oscar Sejr on saxophone.
What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe Poptones?
We are an alt-rock band from Copenhagen. Expect tension-driven songwriting and a feeling of not knowing what to expect. You’ll be introduced to both soft and melodic singer/songwriting as well as aggressive metal screams.
How did you feel performing your first gig as a band, and how was it?!
As said earlier, we have played together for a very long time. We played a lot of concerts around Denmark with the former “Poptones” band, but I think our first concert as Poptones was this Showcase mini-festival in 2020 for our then booking team. It was at this huge venue, where we have also had the pleasure to play in 2024, I think. It was a huge stage, with lots of audience and good technicians and such. I remember feeling extremely good about the concert and how it was received by the audience. It really sparked some expectations and ambitions for us as a band.
The new album “Pure” has just landed. What was the gestation period of the album like? How long had the songs been brewing for before going into the studio?
A lot of the songs were quite fresh and new when we went into the studio. But a few were older. We wanted to record the whole thing during one week as an attempt to bring the songs closer together in terms of the sound. And we managed to record the main parts of all the songs within the week. Afterwards, we put on layers like saxophone, vibraphone, certain guitar parts, and such. It was a pleasant way for us to work because it gave us a simple overview of what all the songs needed in order to be done. We could plan the whole thing quite easily.
Did any particular song prove to be tricky to come together?
We brought some songs to the studio, which we recorded, but then ended up ditching them, because we couldn’t make them as we wanted or hoped for. So they must have been the trickiest ones. Of the songs that made it to the album, I think ‘O of Life’ must have been the most difficult one, with 7 different mixes and structure changes in post-recording. It’s strange that it was so tricky since it’s the shortest “song” on the album. I guess everything has to be more clear when it’s that condensed.
The pictures of the vinyl version of ‘Pure’ look stunning; have you held a finished copy in your hands yet?
Haha thanks! No, we actually haven’t had it in our hands yet! Still waiting for the vinyls to arrive, but we are also very excited about it! To us, it somehow shows something a bit scary and disturbing, while being very close to a person, which somehow creates this kind of connectedness to the person in the picture. At the same time, it has different expressions in the face, one eye being very open, aware, and almost alien-like, ready to face anything that might come. The other eye shows calmness and peace. Those contrasts actually reflect our songs pretty well, in our opinion.
Were you able to roadtest the songs live before recording them?
Some of the songs are pretty old. We already played the songs ‘Mirror World’ and ‘Hypnagogic State’ when we toured with our first album. So those songs have been tested a lot. They have changed through the years, though.
With regards to a similar audience, which band at the moment would Poptones be best suited to open for?
These kinds of questions are always so hard to answer, because our music doesn’t take inspiration from one genre or artist. With that being said, if Slint were to ever do a comeback tour, it would be a dream to open for them. But to keep it a bit more on today’s scene, we are really interested in the noise rock and hardcore scene, and it would be really cool to open up for bands like Chat Pile, Agriculture, Couch Slut, or Deftones. I almost forgot, but Swans would definitely also be a good fit!
What is the grassroots music scene like in Copenhagen?
The scene is in a really good place at the moment. There’s a lot going on in the alt-pop scene with artists from the local label, Escho. A lot of that music is also rooted in the RMC (Rhythmic Music Conservatory) in Copenhagen, where Mads and I have also been studying. The hardcore scene is doing pretty good as well, with bands like Eyes, New Money, and LLNN doing really good music, which seems to get attention around.
Excluding yourself, which new band would you like to see break out and become a success?
There are some projects that are very close to us on a personal level. Bands such as Blood Child, Quiet Sonia, and Ondskyld are respectively family and friends we wish to succeed. Very talented and, most importantly, good people. We would also like to mention the bands Taxidermy and Loose Ends. Very cool projects, with references we can agree on big time!
What frustrates you about the music business?
It’s incredibly difficult to reach out to an audience. There’s so much good music around (which is obviously great!!), that it makes it difficult to be noticed. In connection with that, it seems like there’s so much gatekeeping in the business, with a few people deciding what should get attention and what is cool. But I guess that’s just one of the consequences of having so much music available at all times. It makes it difficult to find new stuff by yourself. In Denmark, the alt-rock audience is pretty small. Perhaps it’s good for a country of Denmark’s size, but it’s definitely difficult to fill the venues in other cities than Copenhagen and Aarhus, which is a shame. But the fans in Denmark are loyal, which is great! We have to aim more internationally with this release and focus on the UK and the USA.
What are your first musical memories? And what was your lightbulb moment that made you say, “I want to do that”?
We all come from childhoods, surrounded by music and musicians. Mads’s oldest brother (Mathias Bertelsen from ‘The Entrepreneurs’) was playing guitar, which made Mads start playing as well. Anders’ older brother was playing drums, which Anders also started doing then. Anders actually mostly played piano in his childhood and teenage years. I grew up with my mom singing, always having a piano and a guitar in the house. Anders and I went to this specific primary school where there was a lot of focus on creativity and especially music, which definitely made music and playing music a more natural part of our everyday.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
I recently went to this extreme hardcore concert at New Cross Inn in London. Damn, the crowd was acting extreme, in a way I honestly didn’t feel completely comfortable with. But it was a wild experience, and those bands were great. It was Torture and Splitknuckle and two other bands I don’t remember the names of.
What current social issues are you particularly passionate about?
Lately, we’ve talked about that as long as I can remember, there have been fucked up things going on in the world. But these days, it really seems to peak, in a way I don’t remember having witnessed before. The starvation, bombing of homes, and endless killing of civilians are still going on in Palestine, and most of the world leaders just seem to accept the genocide. It’s devastating how small an influence you can have as a society, because people in general are definitely not okay with it.
Obviously, we’re scared of the climate changes, how the rising water and higher temperatures are gonna affect the future lives of all people (including us and our kids). It feels so abstract and mostly symbolic when we’re sorting our trash and eating more climate-friendly, when the few people who are really to blame seem to be in denial of the consequences.
The changes will happen through political decisions, but of course, these decisions will affect lots of lives (to the worse) immediately, when the climate is gonna have a clearer effect on us in the future. And politics seems to be too much about personal success as a politician in the small amount of time that you’re active, rather than it’s about the security of our future. It just makes this bad habit of constantly turning off the fire, without actually stopping it from lighting up again.
Everybody is a fan of something. Who or what are you a fan of?
Mads and I are huge football fans, following respectively Manchester United and Chelsea. Sometimes the rehearsals or tours can be a bit tense if there’s a game going on, or if one of the clubs are struggling (life as a United fan nowadays). Anders and his wife are very much into Biathlon! But once hitting the stage, only music exists.
What does 2026 hold for Poptones?
In 2026, we are focusing on playing concerts. In the spring, we do a Scandinavian tour, and in the fall, we are coming to England to play a bunch of shows. We are looking so much forward to both things, but coming to England has been something we have wanted for a long time. And now it makes sense! Other than that, we want to start working on new material.
Pure is available digitally and on vinyl via Happy Metal Records. More information, HERE
Photo credit – Rune Gro-Nielsen
Pure album artwork by Marikka Højen
