Daniel From Vinyl Floor Interview With Colby

Guide

“I’m on the Upside” has a warm, retro feel and celebrates doing things your own way, what inspired the message behind the song?

The melody actually came to me spontaneously while I was doing the dishes. I started humming something undefined, and suddenly a melody took shape — what later became the chorus. At the time, I just remember thinking, “what was that?” and quickly grabbed my phone to record it.

Later, I picked up the guitar to work out the chords and build the verses. That’s when the storyline began to take form — though “story” might be too strong a word. It’s more a collection of loose impressions, thoughts, and emotions rather than a linear narrative.

I’ve always been drawn to that easygoing, pop-oriented approach you hear in ’90s British rock. Especially Manic Street Preachers, who have this strong sense of sing-along melody — that definitely inspired me while writing this track.

Lyrically, I wanted to keep things open so listeners can project their own meaning onto it and fill in the blanks for themselves.

One way to sum up the message of the song is this: even if what you feel like doing — whatever that may be — seems outside the box, go ahead and do it anyway.

Drummer Daniel Pedersen takes lead vocals on this track, how did it feel to step into that role and bring your story to life?

It felt natural. The song came to me out of nowhere, and even though the lyrics only echo parts of my own life indirectly, there was still something personal in the way it all started. That made it feel right that I should be the one to sing it.

I’ve also sung lead on many of my own songs in the band over the years, so stepping into that role again wasn’t anything new — it just felt right for this particular track.

The track was recorded in Malmö and mixed in Copenhagen, how did the studios and production team influence the final sound?

“The team” is really just the band — Thomas and myself — along with producer Emil Isaksson. We’ve worked with Mr. Isaksson on several of our records, so there’s a strong mutual understanding. We know his approach, and he knows how we like to work.

His production style is very much rooted in analog recording, which plays a big part in giving the tracks their warm, vintage feel. The foundation was built using high-end vintage equipment, capturing us playing live in the room and preserving that natural energy.

At the same time, every record brings something new. We experimented with a few new ideas and adapted them to fit within that studio setup. Our guest musicians recorded their parts in other studios, while we handled overdubs — additional guitars and vocals — in our own space in Copenhagen.

The final mix was done together with Søren Vestergaard, who brought a slightly more modern finish to the album. So, while the foundation is very organic and analog, the overall sound also has a contemporary edge.

Vinyl Floor has drawn on British rock and pop from the 60s and 70s while blending classical and contemporary touches, how do you balance these influences when writing new music?

You can put labels on things, but for me it really comes down to energy and frequencies — whether they blend into something that feels coherent or not.

Of course, a lot of our inspiration comes from British rock and pop from the ’60s and ’70s, but as I mentioned earlier, we’re just as inspired by bands from the ’90s. And sometimes it goes even further back — it could be a bassline that Bach might have written in the 1700s, or a ragtime-style piano part filtered through The Beatles, who were themselves inspired by artists from the ’30s and ’50s.

In the end, it all blends together. I think people naturally listen for something they recognize — something they can connect to — so everyone tends to hear different things in our music.

Over two decades, the band has toured extensively and released multiple albums, what keeps the creative spark alive for your sixth studio album, “Balancing Act”?

The urge to create new music is always there in some form — for both of us. Thomas tends to finish his ideas more quickly, while I often have a lot of bits and pieces scattered around.

In any case, song ideas — whether fully formed or not — come together much faster than making a full record. That’s a much longer process, and at times it can be quite demanding.

So, for us to commit to that, the material has to feel strong, and there has to be a real sense of urgency driving it forward — both creatively and in terms of feeling like it actually needs to be made.

Hopefully, the record finds its place where it’s needed — filling a space where something might be missing.