Mr. Tophat: "could have gone to hell for hell"

Photo: Anders Wiklund / TT

Rudolf "Mr. Tophat" Nordström publishes the third part of his first album, "Dusk to dawn part III".

Grown on porridge, then directly in the cultural circles of Stockholm.

Rudolf "Mr Tophat" Nordström is the son of artists Karin Mamma Andersson and Jockum Nordström. He has been part of the Stockholm club scene since the age of 16. He produced two songs on Robyn's latest album "Honey" and in 2017, they directed the epic "Trust Me" together.

It all started in Högdalen, a suburb of Stockholm, in the 90s. Rudolf Nordström describes the area at the time as a mess – addicts in the subway, Systembolaget just below the apartment and two parents who had to borrow to pay the rent. "Boiled and stupid", but with love, he says.

"Today, I can not neglect to belong to one of Sweden's most important cultural families, but if you know the history of the time when it was Is hardly prevalent, so I think you understand that she could have gone straight to hell, "says Rudolf Nordström.

At home, the music came from his father's studio, he played the piano in his youth, but ended in adolescence.

– I was stolen several times in Högdalen when I was 13 years old, it left me quite deep marks. I thought it was less fun to take my rollerblades and attend piano lessons. I started using my computer at home.

Rudolf Nordström became what he calls himself "a great hacker" – on the computer, he downloaded a solid music library and sorted his favorites. When parents discovered the interest of their son, they paired him with his friend the musician and disc jockey Christian Falk, who became a model for Rudolf Nordström.

– Because my parents are visual artists, it was natural to become one too. But Christian, his whole life was music. He said "if you go into this, you can also live on it, you do not have to be a hobby."

Now Mr. Tophat launches "Dusk to dawn part III". In total, the first album lasts more than three hours and has taken more than 4,000 hours in the studio. From dusk to dawn – at night, the time when the club music is the hottest. The night also reminds Rudolf Nordström how something dies and solidifies.

Towards the end of 2015, a lasting relationship ended, in the autumn, after which he was in Ibiza with Robyn. There the theme took shape. For a moment, it was five degrees and thunder, the second time it was 30 degrees and the sun.

– This drama has reminded me a lot of my ex-relationship. How can this suddenly storm and lightning, he is calm four hours later, he said.

On the album, Rudolf Nordström mix edm with classical music. He took friend Per-Erik Adamsson to the studio and started mixing flute with techno. First of all, Bach's "Passion Matthew" is heard.

– It's actually a coral that Per-Erik plays, seven different pieces to the flute. There is only one sample on the entire album, and that is also what took a long time. Previously, I worked with loops and samples. This time, I wanted to try to do it from scratch.

For him, history is an important part of musical creation, and this does not apply only to 18th century genres such as Johann Sebastian Bach.

– Many young people today forget about history. They do not even know who Jeff Mills or Felix Da Housecat are, but they listen to Swedish House Maffia. For me, the story has been interesting to understand how to go further, he says.