I had the pleasure of interviewing country musician CS Nielsen (one of my favorite finds from last year) for my first article featured on The Llano Idea. Here is an excerpt from the interview which you can read in its entirety here:
Copenhagen, Denmark, seems an unlikely place to come across good ol’ fashioned country western tunes. However, this past July I stumbled across a Danish artist that cured my West Texas homesickness with just a strum of his guitar. In a region better known for its electronic acts, CS Nielsen has been able to make a name for himself with powerful singing and intelligent songwriting reminiscent of past Americana greats such as Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. I caught up with CS recently to ask him a few questions concerning his unlikely choice of sound and whether he had any plans of making a pilgrimage stateside.
Do you remember that first album that got you intrigued with country music — the one that made you think you wanted to do something like this?
I think my first introduction to hardcore country music was some old reel-to-reel tapes of my father’s that I got exposed to at a very early age. It was mainly Johnny Horton, Buck Owens, Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash. As a small kid I didn’t understand a word of English, but I was totally captured by the drama and fatalism of it all. Marty Robbins’ gunfighter ballads, for example – that was frightening stuff! It wasn’t too long after that that I discovered Hank Williams, and I still remember the first time I heard “Alone and Forsaken” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”.
Do you see the popularity of country music expanding in Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia — kind of like the emergence of “cool jazz” in the 50s and 60s?
Well, as far as country music I actually don’t see much going on in Denmark. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough! In the pop field, there’s a certain trendiness about ‘going country’ these days, but I don’t pay any attention to that whatsoever. Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to where country music is going in the States either. It’s extremely rare that I feel myself being moved by a new popular country act. In the left fields of alt. country something is happening though from time to time. Gillian Welch may be the most important artist to write and record in Nashville in many years, she’s fabulous. And of course we still have Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, and Hank III, bless his hell-billy heart!
Tags: CS Nielsen, International