Doctors of Space Interview 12/07/2025
MM: Tell us about your band .. your influences and what took you down this genre of music
Dr Space- I play in several groups and have many small music projects as well. My
longest running group is called Øresund Space Collective and we have been going for 20
years and have released over 40 records. We play totally improvised Space rock. In
Portugal, I have a duo called Doctors of Space (we both have PhD degrees) and this is
more electronic music based. I also have a more experimental project called Aural
Hallucinations with my friend Matt (Ex-elder drummer, KIND). I release my solo music
under the name Dr Space and have a serious collaboration albums called Dr Space´s
Alien Planet Trip. As for how I ended up playing space rock and instrumental electronic
music, it was thru my love of Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Tangerine Dream. Alien
Planetscapes… Also, having musician friends with lots of synthesizers helped. I have
always been into music since I was quite young and discovering prog, space rock in the
late 70s and 80s, really set my course.
MM:Are there any themes or messages you aim to convey through your music?
Dr Space- Well, all the band and projects at the moment are instrumental music, so we do
not have any lyrics and are free to make up crazy song titles. Musically, the music is all
about creating a soundscape for people to have a long trip in sound and be taken to
another place. There are a lot of layers in the music and a lot of discover with each listen.
A lot of time is spent on the mixing..
MM: What can fans expect from you in the near future—new music, tours,
collaborations?
Dr Space- Well, ØSC has had two studio albums and one DVD already in 2025 and we
hope to get another studio album out at the end of the year and maybe one of our old
records that was only on CD, out in vinyl.- Doctors of space, we will have a bunch of digital
releases of our studio sessions put up on line this year and the 7th edition of the Astral
Sessions CD series. I will have at least one more solo album and one Dr Spaces Alien
Planet Trip CDs this year. Aural Hallucinations will have a new CD later this year as well.
As for touring, ØSC has 3 gigs in Europe in Sept and one in August in Sweden and that is
it for the year. Doctors of Space, may play some shows and I am likely to do at least one
more solo concert this year.
MM: Are there any dream venues or festivals you’d love to play?
Dr Space- I would love to play the Roundhouse in London but I can not see that would ever happen. I think
playing Freak Valley Festival again would be really amazing, if they invite us.. I also want to play Sonic Blast
in Portugal with ØSC, as I think we would go down great..
MM: What’s been your most memorable live performance so far, and why?
Dr Space-I had a lot of 25 years of playing live. I used to play with this Danish Stoner rock
band, Gas Giant and they were incredible live and we played in Leipzig back in 2002 and
this is still a highlight for me. With ØSC, playing Roadburn Festival in 2010, we an
amazing experience and I used to play with the Norwegian band, Black Moon Circle and
we played Pstereo Festival in Trondheim for like 1000 people with this amazing light show.
That was special….
MM: How do you prepare for a show, both mentally and physically?
Dr Space- I try to make sure I have had enough sleep, enough to eat and never drink too
much and free my mind. Since, all the concerts are improvised music and not rehearsed,
we just try to make sure we have the best sound we can on stage so everyone can hear
each other well. Every concert and every audience is different and this influences how you
play as well..
MM:What emotions do you hope to evoke in fans when they watch your band live
Dr Space- We try to make people happy and take them on a long musical journey. Hope they start to dance
and disappear into the groove and music and have a spacey trip to forget about the crazy world out there. IT is
great when we have some nice visuals as well.
MM: Do you have any favourite pre-show rituals?
Dr Space- Not really. Just try to relax and be in a good mood and try to come up with some
interesting new musical ideas..
MM: How do you handle criticism or comparisons to other bands in the scene?
Dr Space- I have been doing musical journalism for 40 years and been releasing music
for 25 and all music is subjective and one person my hate the album or the song and the
next person it might be the coolest piece they have ever heard, so if you keep that in mind,
you are true to your music and keep progressing as a musician and band, then, what other
people think is less important.
MM: What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a band, and how did you
overcome it?
DR Space- Covid… this really fucked everything up. We were really on a roll and had done
3 small Europe tours in 2018, 19 and 20 and then covid.. I do not think we will overcome
it. Since then, it has become harder to book gigs, to pay the expenses to even break even,
to sell music as prices of everything has gone up and people are buying less physical
music and we earn nothing from streaming (stealing).. So we will never overcome it, sadly
but we will not stop making music..
MM: Where do you see the band in five years, and what’s the ultimate goal for your
music?
Dr Space- Five years time, I guess I will have 30 more albums out with lots of different
projects, I will have recorded a lot in my studio in Portugal, continue to play some concerts
each year. As for ulitmate goal, just to keep progressing as a musician and making new
and interesing music. If I am lucky, maybe earn a bit of money but that is less important
than artistic progression. ØSC, we are a huge collective and have had 114 musicians play
in the group and I see more being added over the years to keep the sound and ideas
fresh.
MM: Last song you listened to?
Dr Space- Neil Young. Rocking in the Free World. I was listening to one of his shows from his recent Europe
tour and it was great. He was in good form. Wow…..
MM:Tell us why we should check out your band
Dr Space- If you like long tracks of instrumental music that you can get lost in and want to hear something new
and fresh, check out the links below..
MM:Final Words for your fans our readers’
Dr Space- thanks for metagods meltdown for this opportunity to chat… Check us out and take care..
Please add your social media links!!
http://oresundspacecollective.com
http://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com
http://drspace1.bandcamp.com
http://doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com
http://www.spacerockproductions.com
http://auralhallucinations.bandcamp.com
https://estudioparaisonasn.wixsite.com/my-site
