DIRTY LOOPS interview: Henrik Linder shares details on his bass lines

Dirty Loops played London's Elextric Brixton on Nov 27th 2023 where I was able to grab some time to chat to bassist Henrik Linder about the band's incredible musicianship, song writing choices, and how they've improved live over the years.
0:00 Coming Up
0:37 Context
0:59 Start of Interview
1:19 Balancing simple songs with technical play
2:15 How Dirty Loops songs are written
3:08 Writing slap bass parts
4:45 The "Follow The Light" bass solo
5:34 Henrik's bassist influences
6:31 Why bass?
7:58 Next To You song discussion
10:48 When to solo in a song?
12:29 Has playing live changed song approach?
12:46 Sounding bad live
15:06 How do you keep improving skills?
18:23 Collaborations outside Dirty Loops
20:52 What's next for Dirty Loops?
21:36 What makes a song 'suck'?
23:06 Outro
Be sure to checkout ‪@dirtyloops‬ on tour by checking their dates here: www.songkick.com/artists/4527...
And as mentioned in the interview, some recent work that Henrik has been playing on outside of Dirty Loops are:
- Icelandic singer Stina Agustsdottir: open.spotify.com/album/436YOQ...
- Icelandic guitarist Mikael Mani: open.spotify.com/album/0sKGZ3...
- David Sunnerfors: open.spotify.com/album/6xKFpJ...
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[@fuzzydark1395]

Henrik truly be so underrated dude. I can't believe I never see his mention on top 50 bassists every year. He should be at the very least top 15.

[@mikaneumann7791]

to be fair, the top 50 bassists of the year are almost never new talents but mostly still the popular guys from the 70s to 90s

[@bryanpettet1659]

I've watched all of the Dirty Loops interviews and this one had unique questions and different angles than most of the others. Thanks for posting! It's always interesting to hear Henrik's humility and down to earth nature for being such an amazing talent.

[@SteveOGRock]

Thank you very much!

[@mauricioferreira8344]

Thanks Steve for the interview! Great questions and interesting points you have discussed. Henrik is such a humble person for a master…

[@lafemmedevastation]

This is so eye-opening, but simultaneously not surprising, that Aron is so involved in the actual writing as well. I'm still flabbergasted tho.. Just to let you know Steve, this should get some decent traction because it's such a well-executed interview. Kudos friend😁

[@SteveOGRock]

Thank you!

[@garysearby9478]

Love watching your reaction videos and I particularly enjoyed your interview with Henrik. Great questions and insight into the creation of Dirty Loops tunes and performances. I thought you did a great job of extracting music details from Henrik.

[@SteveOGRock]

Thank you so much!

[@nickpruett8022]

I was not expecting such a humble approach from somebody who I put up on a pedestal. Thank you for the interview.

[@mjcny5696]

Wow, good for you on the interview. Must have been awesome to hear from the source himself. I am so relieved that Henrik mentioned they sucked live at the beginning because I bought tickets this week to see them in March. I wanted to do some recon by watching some live videos of them and the 1st one I came upon was in 2014 and let's just say I was shocked, in a negative way. However, I watched the Rock You video from Jam Jam and I feel a lot better now and really look forward to March now. I was always planning to see them, I was just caught off guard by what I heard in the 2014 video. Great great band, they blow away some of the shit that is popular today by a country mile.

[@spunky221]

What did you think when you saw them? I just saw them last night in Chicago and was blown away. In a good way haha.

[@andreat.]

Henrik is a beast! ❤‍🔥 And Aron is genious as well. I saw them twice in Germany - it was always a great evening! Love Dirty Loops so much!

[@MotelsonMars]

I disagree with Henrik that they sounded bad playing live at the beginning. I saw them live in 2014 and they blew my face off!

[@deadewok02]

musicians are all like that, though. always their harshest critics. every friend of mine that's in a band is the exact same way lol.

[@dbcanada]

Thanks, Steve. What a big surprise to see you with Henrik! Well done.

[@chrisfrancisbass8991]

Henrik always comes across as such a genuine, introspective person. No ego, despite being one of the greatest bassists that ever lived 😂

[@Silvervinge72]

Brilliant work, man, a very relaxed and interesting talk! - and pretty cool, I always viewed Henrik Linder as the most "shy" of the dudes, but he is the one that takes most of the media work. Met him and Aron after their gig in my town in Sweden and was struck then by how surprised and shocked they seemed to be of having fans and people that loved what they do. It seems you are indeed the swiss army knife of a person! :-) You should make more of this stuff, its great to feel your passion for music and musicianship!

[@SteveOGRock]

They are incredibly humble guys indeed. Very cool. Thank you! So glad you enjoyed this ❤️

[@svetespo]

Oh great.... you look very relaxed, and the result of the interview is great!

[@fiddlestix3025]

Henrik Linder interview!! Thanks for that, Steve, I’m stoked you got those twenty minutes with Henrik in. And as usual, he’s so disarmingly honest about everything, especially where he sucks and what he’s horrible and really bad at…. 😉 Totally interesting though, how he explains the way Dirty Loops works. I’ll have to listen to that bit again, 3 minutes into ‘Next To You’… What stood out for me: “…if something is impossible, we have to solve it.” That philosophy, together with his way of thinking about weak spots, and how working on them can lift the rest of your game -I loved those. Loved the whole interview. Thanks again for it, Steve, and I hope you and the Loops enjoyed the concert that night 🔥🔥🔥

[@SteveOGRock]

Concert was such fun indeed!

[@fiddlestix3025]

@@SteveOGRock good to hear 🤘🤟✌️

[@peterburman5419]

They were all Beasts live in Stockholm this autumn and I'm ridicoulusly proud of my young Swedish Brothers 😎💪🤘🏻

[@spunky221]

It's so comforting to hear that one of the greatest bass players I've ever seen had a tough time getting really good at slap bass. I have the same exact issue, the E (and B) string is easy to slap but the ones above that, my aim sucks!

[@ctrlkey0921]

I'm so happy you two talked about GEM a little! I would love to see those three partner up again to make some crazy shit, they're godly when they get together!

[@Aurora-cv5to]

Love him, love Dirty Loops. Googled Henrik & Matt Garska and listened to Gem's Vertigo, and HOLY CRAP. Then listened to a reaction from Key of Geebz, and he called Henrik "a sniper," alluding to the precision of his playing... incredibly intense. No words. Great interview, thanks so much!

[@SteveOGRock]

Mind boggling indeed!

[@fiddlestix3025]

Yeah, Aurora, ‘Henrik the sniper’, spot on - also an interesting reaction, that one…. ☺️

[@petraljungberg]

What a nice surprise! 😃 Long time since your channel popped up and then with an interview with Henrik! Happy for you that you got to talk to him and glad you shared it with us 😊 Hope also you had a good concert experience with them! I saw them in a smaller setting this summer. Very good & upliftning!

[@Lyris99]

Wow, that was a great interview! Great questions. #lottalove

[@SteveOGRock]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mattrixx_audio]

Henrik is the most understated champion ever!! Amazing!!

[@themadcentrist9396]

LOVE Dirty Loops! Great interview. Henrik, you are awesome. Cant wait for the new album. How about releasing a teaser track?!!!

[@fiddlestix3025]

Yes!!!

[@jurgenlinder7881]

Thank you both for this interview. It made me feel proud!

[@ingmarxhoftovningsr6144]

It's nice that Henrik is so straightforward with shortcomings and room for improvement. Nice interview, thanks to both of you! Also, really nice hearing Henrik's praise for Aron!

[@ExclusivelyReclusive1]

Awesome.

[@Ansis99]

Thanks' for interview with Henrik! +++++!

[@ellenstergaardgravesen1011]

Great interview. Very relaxed and informative. I saw them live back in 2014. They were amazing - Henrik: "Yeah back in 2014-2015 we sounded pretty shitty..." 😂

[@SteveOGRock]

Haha yeah I suspect they were still rather brilliant back then.

[@sweper]

Congratulations Steve, on a very good and relaxed interview with Henrik. You had some interesting questions and it seemed like Henrik had a good time too.

[@SteveOGRock]

Thanks! As soon as I managed to make him laugh I knew it’d be a great chat 😄

[@Thunnus916]

So humble in his excellence

[@Tassilago]

Yay Steve, well done! This was a blast to watch. Big thanks 👍

[@SteveOGRock]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mike4769]

I learned alot. Great questions. 👏

[@SteveOGRock]

Glad to hear it! Thanks for commenting ❤️

[@AmBaCaDaFa]

Excellent interview Steve! Henrik is really down to earth and you two were on the same wavelength. Keep Up the Good Work!

[@chrisrudling9795]

Love your stuff! Especially your old shitty songs! They have a special place in my heart

[@fiddlestix3025]

Yeah! 💛😂👍

[@talldutchguyk8247]

Yo Steve nice interview, great questions! loved it

[@noyourewrong599]

yayyyy

[@anthonycamacho5544]

Wowwwwww Que gran Privilegio mi hermanoooo!!!🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@SteveOGRock]

A privilege indeed! 🤘🏻

[@tparmenter]

Very cool interview!

[@JamilaGomez82]

I love this interview so much. The technical stuff goes over my head, of course, as I am not musical. But this felt very laid back and comfortable. The Islandic singer he spoke of is Stina Agustsdottir. They've made some pretty nice music together.

[@SteveOGRock]

Thanks Jamila! It felt like a really cool full circle moment having been making videos reacting to their music for the last couple of years. They were all lovely in person too.

[@ingmarxhoftovningsr6144]

Good you mentioned Stina, she certainly deserves it!

[@JamilaGomez82]

@@ingmarxhoftovningsr6144 I love Stina's music. She's very authentic and relatable.

[@allieandbo]

Look at you getting an interview with Henrik freakin Linder. Wowww. Ok...I'm impressed. Was stoked to hear they have new music coming out next year too. Soooooo how were they live?

[@SteveOGRock]

Yeah it was an honour to meet him. Also had an off camera chat with Aron who was super nice. Live they sounded damn perfect. They’re just so skilled. It was joyful.

[@fiddlestix3025]

@@SteveOGRockgood to hear… 👍☺️✌️

[@andersgunnarsson9241]

Great interview! Different questions and well balanced nerdiness, well done!

[@michaellust]

Very good and interesting questions. You are made out for this. Very entertaining. 💯👍

[@SteveOGRock]

Thanks Michael, much appreciated!

[@DoktorAGD]

Great talk❣️👍🥰

[@youngspianoservice9238]

Great interview...thank you.

[@davidgoode7416]

Great interview, thanks...

[@lottawiklund8606]

Great interview! I always find it interesting to hear about their working process and how they think about music, and you posed a lot of questions I've never heard in interviews with any of them before. Thanks a lot for doing this! 💚

[@SteveOGRock]

Glad you enjoyed it! ❤️

[@connorbrowndrumming]

The Brixton show was incredible, I met you there Steve! Was great to meet you and am super jealous you got a chat with them 😂

[@SteveOGRock]

Connor!! It was a real treat chatting to you after the show. I’m guessing you didn’t head back in then and went to get the car instead eh?

[@connorbrowndrumming]

@@SteveOGRock haha long story but i did go back but by the time i nearly got to them they had to leave but i managed to snag a quick signature from Aron and Henrik then got lost finding my car on the way home with a dead phone and no coat or money 😂

[@SteveOGRock]

@@connorbrowndrumming oh my goodness! That sounds like quite the adventure haha 😅 Glad you got to briefly get signatures!

[@connorbrowndrumming]

@@SteveOGRock it certainly was, so was I after all that 😅. Please do more videos on them when they release!

[@lukekent9687]

Thankyou for doing this! Fantastic interview. Love how humble these guys are!

[@ulflundh5813]

🙏🏼👌

[@DougRawady]

Awesome interview, Steve!

[@Bimbo_MN]

What a great interview. Thanks for sharing man!

[@SteveOGRock]

Cheers! Glad you enjoyed it. It was a real honour to chat to the man in person.

[@Bimbo_MN]

@@SteveOGRock that’s amazing man. I really hope they come to the states next year for a tour

[@Bimbo_MN]

@@SteveOGRockyoo im finally gonna see them for the first time in April! They’re coming to the states!!!!

[@SteveOGRock]

@@Bimbo_MN nice!!

[@thop1984]

Great interview. Did you record any of the set? Can't wait for the new DL music. Thanks

[@SteveOGRock]

I have a couple of short videos I took on my phone but not in a releasable way really. Was a fun show!

[@B-rad37]

The fact that he doesn’t know how to use a pick makes me really happy as a bassist.

[@fiddlestix3025]

Haha 🤣👍

[@SteveOGRock]

😅

[@erb34]

How awesome. Great work Steve! How the hell did you make that happen?

[@SteveOGRock]

Thanks! Sent a request to the official band email address and arranged from there ✅

[@esthergarcia7154]

How did you make this interview happen? Great interview, please share your thoughts about their show.

[@RobertWrightOneManCovers]

The hit coming into the synth solo on Next To You is one 16th triplet BEFORE the actual downbeat. Aron fools us a bar earlier by playing a big sextuplet fill that sounds like its first note (snare flam) is on that bar's downbeat, but it isn't -- the SECOND note of the fill is the downbeat with that snare flam being a pickup to the bar. Aron does this after a big long pause in the beat so that we're a little disoriented when he starts wailing on that big fill. This is completely on purpose -- musicians call it "losing 'em around the corner", like a car that's being chased attempting to throw the cops off his trail. If worse comes to worst and you just can't hear it correctly as played, throw the song into a DAW like ProTools and set up a click to follow the song as precisely as possible, and you'll think Aron rushed the fill leading to the solo until you start to hear the actual placement of the first note of the fill as a pickup to the downbeat.

[@SteveOGRock]

Thanks for this super detailed piece of info! Hugely appreciated ❤️

[@fiddlestix3025]

Super interesting, Robert, thanks for that! I feel that DLoops are doing this on a regular basis -losing me around the corner, that is 😂

[@fiddlestix3025]

Oh and by the way, on their track ‘Where’s the Beat’, have you figured out that missing beat? I reckon they just drop one quarter beat in the midsection… 😱

[@RobertWrightOneManCovers]

@@fiddlestix3025 They definitely enjoy the musical pranks on us for sure! I'm actually not familiar with Where's The Beat?, but I'll bet it's full of such silliness. Can you link me?

[@captainshiner42]

Apparently, I have the exact same early bass influences as Henrik Linder. Not a bad place to start. The fact that he's like 5 years younger than me is pretty damn depressing tho.

[@gmosc]

September 24 2014 I saw them in Assens Denmark. I made a Facebook post about how terrible the sound was and most people were in disagreement with me because they were so blinded by the musicality of the guys. I'm a bass player/sax player with PA sound experience and moved throughout the hall to find a place I could hear the complexity of the bass lines. It was impossible to hear him over the boominess of the bass frequencies and bass drum. I thought the soundmen were wrong for the style of music. Granted, the hall could have been hard to work in, but NEVER should bass frequencies sound so boosted like they did especially for such technically complex music. I stood next to the sound mixer (sometimes they are placed in a bass trap) and went up front and went up to the balcony. The balcony had the best sound but if I remember correctly nobody was allowed to sit up there. I feel glad that he acknowledges the bad sound. I think people saying "he's wrong they sounded great" is a disservice to his ears. He was at all of their concerts so he experienced all of the situations including the politics of maybe trying to get that soundman or soundcrew changed out.

[@fiddlestix3025]

Yeah, getting the acoustics and the sound right -an eternal nightmare.

[@oscarmeyer7979]

Look to pretty much every hit song we know, there are three options: 1- there is a great drummer, 2- drummer wrote it 3- the producer is a drummer. I'm not a drummer btw

[@fiddlestix3025]

Haha 😉

[@KingNStheMighty]

Henrik sitting there making sure to downplay himself and eleveate the other dl members. you cant fool me dude

[@joannalewis5279]

Hendrick thinks his weakness is rhythm 😅

[@WyattLite-n-inn]

Hoodie look is so 2018….

[@Yadeehoo]

Interviewer talks more than the interviewee and louder. Hard watch

[@ciaronsmith4995]

Not even that good. His notes don't ever click and his light tone is annoying.