A “Chilling” Conversation with The Coldest Man Alive Himself, Peder (The Witzard Interview)

Peder photographed in black-and-white (CREDIT: Petra Kleis)

Peder started out as a scratch DJ and D.I.Y. remixer for the Beastie Boys. Now, he’s a singer that makes dusty 50’s prom music from your sweet nightmares and a film composer with music featured in Breaking Bad, as well as a director featured at Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors Showcase. He has won a GRAMMY Award, Danish Music Award (D.M.A.,) and a Steppeulv (the critics’ award) amongst others. Peder (the Danish equivalent of “Peter” in English) Thomas Pedersen over the years, has also frequently/infrequently been known as P.T. Pedersen, Vicious DJ Peder, Peder from Denmark, peder with a sore throat, Peder, 1/3 of The Artists Always Known As THE PRUNES and has either been a member of and/or recorded music with THE PRUNES, DJ KRUSH Feat. The Roots, Pelding AKA The Project, Xtra Naan, Asger Baden & Peder, Gramsespektrum, Cours Lapin, The Crooked Spoke, NNYY, and Lightworks. Peder has made a sh*tload of records over the years. His first release was an International Beastie Boys remix of “Sure Shot” in 1994, followed by four more remixes for them while he released tracks with iconic Trip-Hop labels like Mo’ Wax Records, Ninja Tune, and Jazz Fudge. Alongside these trippy and gloomy releases, he managed to win a GRAMMY Award for a comedy album in 1999 and work as a photographer, DJ, radio presenter for D.R. (Denmark’s National Broadcasting Corp.,) and actor.

In 2006, Peder became a father and decided to cut back on his Renaissance man-like activities to focus primarily on music and raising his growing family. His debut solo album, And He Just Pointed to The Sky, was released by Ubiquity Records in 2007 to great reviews. It was voted “The Saddest Record In Denmark Ever” (we’re not sure that’s an accomplishment, though,) and was showcased within Breaking Bad, Season 3. Since then, he has released four more solo albums, worked as an actor in Denmark and internationally (Netflix, D.R., Z.D.F., S.K.Y., etc.,) as well as a director and film composer. He has also released three award-winning music videos. The Coldest Man Alive is Peder’s sixth record. It’s still in the vein of Trip-Hop, but, as usual, is filled with Disney-like choirs, celestial sprinkles, and played with real instruments by Denmark’s finest Jazzcats. I recently got a chance to chat with Peder about his latest album, The Coldest Man Alive, THE PRUNES, how remixing the Beastie Boys helped kick-start his career, his passion for boxing, and what he has in store for the incredibly unsuspecting world next. Our conversation was conducted in late November of 2024, via email, and can now be read and enjoyed below. It was lightly edited for general clarity. Peder’s The Coldest Man Alive is now available to stream online through his own quasi-record label imprint, Lizardshakedown.

I. How and when did you(rself and THE PRUNES) initially get in contact with and start working with the Beastie Boys?

Peder: Well, THE PRUNES, which was [myself], Christian [Buksti,] and Simon [Bonde. We] started making beats just after elementary school… We found a sound pretty fast and we got a manager, the late Jeppe “Jay-B” Bisgaard. Jeppe worked for B.M.G. [Denmark] and thought we had something, but in order to get us a publishing deal with his company, he had to play our [music] with vocals for his bosses. Jeppe knew someone at B.M.G. in L.A. and he had some Beastie Boys acapellas, as they were making remixes for the single, “Sure Shot.” He got the [digital audio tape] (D.A.T.) sent and we got to work using a 4-track cassette tape recorder that we borrowed. Well, before we finished the mixes, Jay-B’s contact in the States asked to hear what we came up with and, suddenly, it got exciting. The Beastie Boys picked one of the mixes and our first release was an International Beastie Remix, which was totally insane for us.

II. Are there any unreleased remixes and/or collaborations you did with/for the Beastie Boys? Do you think they'll ever end up seeing a wide release?

Peder: Four remixes [were] released, but we did five in total (“[The Negotiation Limerick] File” was the one that never came out) and a lot of different ones of each remix... So, yes, there’s additional material, but I don’t have the b*lls to just release them and I don’t really know who to ask, since [the Beastie Boys’ label,] Grand Royal [Records] has closed for business.

III. How did you go about typically writing, recording, creating, producing, etc. the tracks that ultimately made the final cut of The Coldest Man Alive?

Peder: I work in different ways… Sometimes, I write the song first; mostly with other people and, then, lyrics with Rasmus Elk Olsen and, [then,] I go in to an external studio and record four musicians at [the same] time in one room… Other times, I stack a bunch of instruments... Some of the tracks on the album are, originally, very old. Like, [“The Coldest Man Alive” (T.C.M.A.) and “Shadow Boxer” are more than 15 years old, but, then, I brushed them off and added lyrics and instruments and, suddenly, they felt fresh to me. It’s not particularly interesting to talk about, but a lot of fun for me. I love making my solo albums... They’re like my hobby and, now, they’re getting more and more momentum, which is equally exciting.

IV. How would you attempt to go about describing your musical output for new readers/listeners? I believe I've seen you describe yourself as "a singer that makes dusty 50's prom music from your sweet [nightmares]..." Would you say that's still an accurate assessment?

Peder: The term "music from your sweet nightmare” comes from a review of my third record, [Ghost of A Smile,] made by legendary keyboard player and song-writer Al Kopper (Bob Dylan, [The Rolling Stones, Blood, Sweat & Tears]) and I just kept using it, as I think it suits my sound well… Another label I have used a lot is “Lynchian,” as I am very very inspired by the late great David Lynch (who also used a lot of prom music and darkness,) but it’s difficult putting a label on what you do... That’s for others to do, really. My (or Al’s) attempt, I guess, is a [post-rationalization].

V. What is the intended significance or meaning behind the album title The Coldest Man Alive and how does it tie into the songs and themes heard within?

Peder: I’m not really sure I have an answer for this... I write all lyrics with Rasmus Elk Olsen and we very often end up using a lot of opposites and synonyms, if that makes sense… You know, like, “the fun we had last night was sad” and, also, “fire and ice” and all these things... and, often, we like to set up a story for an example of a man that just wishes to be cold enough to be frozen with her, even though it obviously sounds horrible. So, like stories of usually men (or couples) in delusion... “Just give me the shot, so I can lean back [into] the soft velvet” is a story we always come back to, but I think Rasmus needs to be asked for a deeper meaning than that.

Rasmus Elk Olsen: To me, the title also has some self-irony because it is always a bit uncool claiming to be very cool—especially, when claiming to be “the coldest man alive.” We are also aware that when saying “cold” instead of “cool,” it could at the same time mean that this man is in desperate need of warmth and care. We often end up laughing when we are writing these songs/lyrics because the tragic situation is so over-the-top. Like, the man who is begging the woman (who is breaking up him) to at least let him be an ornament in her wallpaper behind the picture of her lover—just to keep staying in her life in some way; here, [referring] to the song “Wallflower.” In Peder’s answer to the question (which I think pretty much nails it,) it could sound as if we have a technical approach to writing lyrics—like, “let’s see what happens if we combine opposites in a sentence,” but it is very much the other way around. We are always inspired by a certain feeling when we write and that becomes the center of the lyric. My personal approach to song-writing is to always let the feeling come first and, then, struggle with the words until they describe the feeling as it is asking for. As Peder has already said, we almost always end up trying to describe a hopeless feeling of keeping a dream alive that is obviously and practically impossible.

VI. Who or what would you cite as some of your greatest sources of inspiration and influence while creating The Coldest Man Alive?

Peder: I guess it’s the same as always… Nina Simone, Tom Waits, Mobb Deep, Portishead, Bob Azzam, Cleo Sol, Danger Mouse [MF DOOM Gnarls Barkley,] [Johann Sebastian] Bach, Radiohead, Bobby Darrin, Leon Michels [El Michels Affair, Black Thought,] Andrew Bird, Shahram Nazeri, Galt MacDermot, Mulatu, [and] Jay-Jay Johanson, etc.

VII. How would you say you overall sound, style, approach, etc. has changed and evolved since your last studio effort, 2023's Between The Ocean & The Snow (Volume 01)?

Peder: Hmm. I would say that I started as a Hip-Hop producer and my first solo album, [And He Just Pointed to The Sky,] was a clean-cut departure from that and, then, I went towards song-writing and Jazz (and ultra-sad/dark stuff) for a while and, now, I am finally kinda getting some sort of Hip-Hop vibe into my own solo records… And, actually, many of the new songs I’m working on are heavily inspired by some of my favorite 90’s Hip-Hop beats. So, I am looking forward to that next.

VIII. Do you have any current intentions to record and release guest, instrumental, and/or vinyl versions of The Coldest Man Alive, like you did with your 2016 album, Come with Me?

Peder: The guest thing idea was a [one-off]... It was fun, but that was it… Vinyl and instrumental [versions] are [both] out now.

IX. I'm interested to learn more about both the source material and aesthetic behind the album artwork for The Coldest Man Alive, as well as the single artwork for "The Coldest Man Alive," "On Fire," "Shadow Boxer," "The Shiny Kind of You," and "Wallflower." Would you care to explain?

Peder: Not sure this is very interesting, but the graphic designer, [Marco Pedrollo / Ironflag,] and I wanted to make little themes with A.I. and, then, culminate the ideas for the album with analog raw material... However, it didn’t turn out that way or in other words: the album photo we took didn't look the way we wanted. So, we decided to use a version of the initial cover... which is a man, a boxer, broken down... (The only analog version is, actually, the “Shadow Boxer” photo, which is a proper photo of [a] porcelain figure of a boxer...) I’m contemplating on having a porcelain figure of myself made wearing boxing gloves and having “given up” for the next album. We’ll [see], but that was the initial idea... me as an old boxer (I box,) who has “given up” and made in porcelain.

Peder’s The Coldest Man Alive album cover and L-R: “The Coldest Man Alive,” “On Fire,” “Shadow Boxer,” “The Shiny Kind of You,” and “Wallflower” single covers (SOURCE: Bandcamp)

X. Here's the million-dollar question I'm sure you often get asked: what is the current status of your long-standing group, THE PRUNES with Simon Bonde and Christian Buksti?

Peder: Well, THE PRUNES have been [on] hiatus since 2003 and I don’t see us [producing] any new music in the future... even though I have tried to invite Simon [Bonde] to come by the studio and make something with me... We’re still very close and godfathers to each other’s children, but he’s not interested in making music with me… However, after a lot of interest from a Danish vinyl distributor called Jacob / Rekords, I have gone back in to the vaults and we’re now working on one (maybe, two) new Tracks from The Darkside compilations [and] a vinyl release of a Rap album we did in 1994 with Danish rapper, Y.B. [and] a 12-inch release of some Rap songs we did in 1998 with Danish rapper, K-Dub... Without tooting my own horn too much, I must say it has been a pleasure digging after these old songs and I have been surprised about the quality of what I have found... Looking forward to sharing these with people that still dig that sound.

XI. What can you tell us about the making-of you latest post-The Coldest Man Alive single, "Oak" with Skjold? *

Peder: Something happened to me before I turned 50 (last year.) I didn’t get booked for many new music (commercial) gigs, but I moved into my dream apartment with my lovely girlfriend and, I guess, found some sort of peace... So, suddenly, I had the time and, also, courage to reach out to a lot of people I wanted to work with. Luckily, most said “yes” and, now, I have a lot of projects on my hands… Skjold & Peder is one of those projects. Like with everyone, else me and Alexander [Skjold Henriksen/Shield] (@shield_beats on Instagram,) we just met up and started doing something… playing instruments, recording. And already, the first time we met, a sound emerged. Skjold’s dry wonky beats, my dubby Jazzy baselines and the melancholic piano sound of Scandinavia… So, we went with it and, now, we have an album coming out early next year.

* EDITOR’s NOTE: Since initially conducting this interview late last year, Peder & Skjold have released two additional singles to streaming services, “Résine” and “Bambou.” Go check out all three Peder & Skjold/Shield singles on your streaming service of choice

XII. What's planned next for Peder?

Peder: I have a lot of records planned and besides my next solo album, which will be two volumes and my first attempt at making very sad (sort of) Classical music, the biggest thing coming up is that I’ll be launching a small boutique library label centering around my sound late [this] year... Looking forward to that... and, then, just continue to enjoy life with my loved ones, release music as long as someone will pay me to do so, and not look back too much, I guess... Thanks, Matt!