Lemaitre, the Norwegian duo made up of Ulrik Denizou Lund and Ketil Jansen, just released the dates for their upcoming headlining tour in the US. In addition to a list shows and festivals in Europe, the group is set to play Austin City Limits before kicking off their US tour. The Knockturnal had the chance to talk with Ulrik Deniou Lund about all the exciting plans in the works for Lemaitre.
The Knockturnal: Your song “Rocket Girl” is such a great summer song. What was the process like recording that song and working with Betty Who?
Ulrik Denizou Lund: We had written it with another really talented artist called Dagny from Norway. And we talked about doing a song with Betty Who for a while so we sent her the song and she really loved it. We were really stoked that she came onto the song in the end.
The Knockturnal: What was it like going back to Norway to open the 2018 X Games?
Ulrik Denizou Lund: It was fun. We both are big fans of the X Games and Ketil, the other guy in the band, also used to be semi-pro. It was really cool being able to play the X Games and meet the athletes and play for a big audience and have a televised performance.
The Knockturnal: Tickets just went on sale for your headlining US tour. What are you guys most looking forward to about performing in the US again?
Ulrik Denizou Lund: I’m really looking forward to going back to those cities we’ve played before. We’re doing some really cool venues too, so we’re really excited. It’s always fun going back and trying something new, playing a new, bigger, better venue. Getting back to those places, it’s always really fun playing the East Coast and West Coast, and the Canadian dates have always been really good.
The Knockturnal: What can we expect from your upcoming shows?
Ulrik Denizou Lund: We’re going to do production in the fall, so then we’re going to have a completely new live setup. I think we’re going to remake some of the songs for a live updated version, so people will hear something completely new when they come to the shows. We haven’t set anything in stone yet, we’re still developing it. But we’re going to bring more and better lights and performance, and a redevelopment of the whole show song-wise and work on the music too.
The Knockturnal: You guys are recording new music in Norway right now, what has the process been like getting back into the recording studio?
Ulrik Denizou Lund: We kind of off and on record all the time between shows. We just came back from the US where we recorded quite a bit in the last month. And now we just came back to Norway and we’re setting up studio here and just recording as we go along. We’re going to do a lot of shows and tour festivals around Europe and Norway in the next two months and just work on music in between shows and have a base here until the fall when we get back to the US to do pre-production for the tour. And we’ll continue working on music because that’s something we kind of always do.
The Knockturnal: When can we expect new music from you guys?
Ulrik Denizou Lund: We are releasing a song in, I think, in the start of July with this other Norwegian artist and hopefully release something in August, if not September. We have a lot of music now so we really want to get it out. We’re just figuring out the best way to get it out, either as a two track or just a single because not all the songs are completely finished. We just want to release songs quickly as they’re finished and just get them out there and not sit on them too long like we’ve done a few times before.
2018 Festival Dates (New dates listed below)
8/4 – Roermond, Netherlands @ Solar Weekend Festival
8/9 – Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal @ Meo Sudoeste Festival
8/11 – Budapest, Hungary @ Sziget Festival
8/16 – Parnu, Estonia @ Weekend Festival
8/17 – Helsinki, Finland @ Weekend Festival
8/18 – Bodø, Norway @ Parkenfestivalen
10/7 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits
10/14 – Austin, Texas @ Austin City Limits
Newly Announced Headlining Dates – on sale Friday 6/22 at www.lemaitremusic.com/tour
11/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
11/30 – San Diego CA @ Irenic
12/1 – Santa Barbara CA @ Velvet Jones
12/4 – Seattle WA @ The Crocodile
12/5 – Portland OR @ Wonder Ballroom
12/7 – San Francisco CA @ August Hall
12/13 – Boston MA @ Brighton Music Hall
12/15 – New York NY @ Gramercy Theatre
