Artist Spotlight ~ Øresund Space Collective

Artist Spotlight is a segment that we started to introduce our readers to some deserving up and coming artists/bands. They have made an impact on us for all of the right reasons. We think they kick ass, and we hope you do too! Today we’d like to shine the spotlight on scientist turned musician Øresund Space Collective!

The Øresund Space Collective is a super group made up of members from various Scandinavian rock groups. These include the Carpet Knights (SE), Mantric Muse (DK), Bland Bladen (SE), Gas Giant (DK), Hooffoot (SE), First band from Outer Space (SE), Siena Root (SE), My Brother the Wind (SE), Agusa (SE), Tangle Edge (NO), The Univerzals (DK), Papir (DK), Black Moon Circle (NO) and others. 2022 saw the addition of amazing multi-instrumentalists, Mattias Olsson (Ånglagård, Molesome, etc..) and Luis Simões (Saturnia). The bands leader, Dr Space, has moved to Portugal but the collective still records and tours.

The band has played numerous festivals around Europe including the Copenhagen Jazz Festival (2010,2021,2022), Kildemose Festival (many times), Roadburn Festival (Holland 2010), Space Rock Odyssey (Sweden 2008), Slotsskogen goes Progressive (Sweden 2008), Space Force 1 (Finland 2009), Psychedelic Network (Germany 2009, 2013), Occultrance Festival (2011) in Belgium, Freak Valley Festival and Burg Herzberg, DE (2014), Roskilde Festival (2015), Psycho Las Vegas (USA 2016), and Reverence Festival (Portugal 2016). By 2017, the band has played over 100 concerts in 10 different countries! 2018-19 saw the band play in Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Germany, Belgium and Holland. OSC is an exciting live band and always gets the crowd moving and dancing to the improvised progressive groove music.

The band played its first concert in Feb 2005 and their first CD was released in 2006 on the Transubstans Label in Sweden and has over the past years released many albums on several different labels but today nearly all the bands music is released on the Space Rock Productions label. In 2015, the band celebrated 10 years for playing live at Loppen in Christiania. The band has released 33 studio albums and 13 live records. The bands 32nd studio album called called Orgone Unicorn was released in the summer of 2024 on the Lasers Edge label in the USA. The band has a new DVD out in Nov 2024 and a new studio album will be out in the Spring of 2025 called Alotta hella down in Estrela.

We sat down with Dr. Space for a fun Q&A session!

Every superhero or villain has an origin and a band is no different minus the radioactive spiders and secret government experiments. What is the origin of Øresund Space Collective?

Dr Space- I have been into music since I was a small kid and I did not actually see myself performing music as I am a scientist (Endocrinologist) but in 1999, I started playing around with my friend Magnus´s synthesizer at his band, Mantric Muse, their rehearsals that I used to attend. This lead to me playing and managing a band called Gas Giant. In 2004, Gas Giant was heading in a new direction and I had no band so I started arranging jam sessions with members of Mantric Muse and the Swedish band, Bland Bladen, whom I was friends with. MM and BB had played some gigs together.

Band names can have a meaning or it can be a name pulled out of a hat. What’s the story behind Øresund Space Collective?

Dr Space- We had been jamming back and forth between Copenhagen and Malmo Sweden across the Øresund bridge and in Jan 2005 we decided to play live for the first time and needed a name and since we are not really a band but more of a collective of musicians that get together and make improvised music called Space Rock, we became the Øresund Space Collective.

What are you currently working on?

Dr Space- We just had a studio session in Stockholm, Sweden and did the soundtrack for a short 10min Animated movie, which was a challenge but also pretty fun. We are mixing that at the moment. We also recorded 14 pieces of new music as well for 2026.. We are finishing up the final artwork for our next CD and DVD as well which will be out in April 2025, just before our 20th Anniversary concerts in Copenhagen.

What was your favorite cartoon growing up?

Dr Space- I would say Woody Woodpecker as my grandfather wrote the stories for Walter Lantz for almost 100 of the cartoons!!

Are you a good cook? What’s your best dish to prepare?

Dr Space- YES… I specialise in spicy food like Indian, New Mexican and Cajan food. I have one New Mexican dish, Carne Adovada that I am very proud of my version, Usually blows people away. I also make some great Indian curries as well.

What was the first album that you bought with your own money? What was the last album that you bought?

My first album that I bought with my own money was the debut album by Aerosmith in like 1974.. The lasted album I bought would be Stöner- Hittin the Bitchin Switch 2LP.

Do you collect anything? If so, tell us what it is and your favorite piece of your collection.

Dr Space- I collect a lot of different things but the most different thing I collect is beer labels and I have been doing this since 1982 or something. I have more than 2000!!

What are your 5 favorite movies?

Dr Space- I love film so that is a really hard question… My number one is easy, Life of Brian by Monty Python. Still the best movie ever made!! Holy Mountain, The Wall by Pink Floyd, The Song Remains the Same by Led Zeppelin and Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

What are your 5 favorite albums?

Dr Space- Another very hard question… Black Sabbath- Master of Reality, Pink Floyd- Animals, Hawkwind- Warrior on the Edge of Time, Gas Giant-Pleasant Journey in Heavy Tunes, and Scorpions- Tokyo Tapes. It might be another totally different five on another day… This is very hard question.