Q: Timeout Beijing                         JH: Joakim Haugland

Q: The Notch festival is billed as cultural exchange of sorts. Beyond a paycheck, why come to China? What do you/your label hope to give and receive here?

JH: A paycheck does not mean a thing to us, the most important for us is actually to come and visit your beautiful country. This is the first time we play in China and it is always exciting to play new places and for new people. We also look forward meeting people and experience the Chinese culture.

Q: This year, the Notch festival will include a handful of great Scandinavian musicians as well as Chinese artists. Who are you most excited to see perform? Anyone you'd like to work with in the future?

JH: I don`t know the Chinese artists, but this is one of the things I look forward to experiencing. Maybe we`ll end up collaborating with some of the artists in the future. Who knows.

Q: Ambient, electronica, and noise are popular genres in Beijing. Are you familiar with the electronic scene here? Any particular artists other than those performing at Notch who stand-out to you? 

JH: No unfortunately I don't know the scene in Beijing. I feel bad about that but it's not easy to get hold of Chinese music in Norway so this is something I will definitely check out for sure.

Q: What can fans expect from the Smalltown Supersound performances?

JH: They can expect Kim Hiorthøy's unpredictable electronic music that sounds harder and more danceable live than on his records. He likes people to move when he plays live so his live sets are quite intense. Micro rave he calls it himself. Also Mental Overdrive's melancholic and melodic electronic music has its roots in both dance and headphone music. Mental Overdrive has been around since the early nineties and is something of a legend, and I think you'll notice that his roots are deep and his music is clever. I myself will spin records from my label, from other Norwegian artists as well as other favorites from the European underground. Hopefully our night will be eclectic and fascinating and something you can both listen and dance to.

Q: Anything else you'd like to say to Beijing music fans?

JH: I hope that many will come. We have traveled far and we hope to see you there! We will do our best to give you the best from the Norwegian electronic underground.