‘WHEN WE ARE ON tour the schedule is usually a lot shorter and you rarely get to explore the city let alone the neighbourhood around the venue’.
Although Jay Boland loves his career as the bass player in Kodaline, it’s not often that a busy touring schedule leaves much time for ‘touring’ a city. He’s been to Copenhagen a few times, it was only during his most recent trip that he had a chance to see it properly.
Fresh from the Danish capital, Jay is one of four Irish personalities who took part in The Danish Experiment.
The web series created by Carlsberg sees Jay, artist Maser, chef Kevin Powell and stylist Jo Linehan discover what they can learn from Copenhagen to take to their creative careers back home. It follows the group as they explore the Danish way of living, learning what makes them so different to their European counterparts.
Here’s what Jay learned during his trip to the colourful Danish city, and what living #TheDanishWay could bring to our own lives here.
So, how does a chart-topping musician decide where to go in a new city? Ideally, you want to find a local but when that’s not possible, he says take it to the ‘Gram for inspiration:
“This is one of the first times I’ve actually gotten to spend time with locals and get to know the city from their perspective. I always use Instagram to find some inspiration when I get to a new city so meeting Danish visual artist @bobbyanwar couldn’t have worked out any better.”
Jay has been a producer since the age of 16 so collaboration has always been a really important part of his work. Luckily, music is something that is universal across languages and cultures:
“A huge part of my job is to morph into whatever the project needs so the collaboration with strangers part is essentially a key part of my skill set. I always find it really refreshing working with new people as music is so open and everyone has a different opinion on what could make it great.”
During his time in Danish capital, Jay found that the Danes are quite like the Irish in their generosity and the way that they work together:
“The Danish way of living seems very similar to the Irish way – they are very relaxed and know how to get the job done with no fuss. I found each of the Danes we met to be very laid back and humble and generous with their time.”
Throughout the series, we’ve heard that eating together and the high levels of social interaction in Denmark are some of the many reasons that the Danes always register highly on world happiness rankings. It’s something Jay thinks we should embrace here:
“After the last few weeks of beautiful sunshine in Dublin, I would love to see some of the large eateries like in the ones in the meatpacking district open up here. There is a great communal and relaxed atmosphere, everyone just chills outside and chats until the wee hours of the morning.”
To make the most of the times when Jay does have downtime on tour, he has taken up a few hobbies to enjoy in the different cities he travels to:
“On the past few tours we have made a conscious effort to get out and see as much as we can. We even bring electric scooters so we can get a bit further from the gig. I took up photography and videography just to have a reason to get out and it really makes a difference. You get a bit of headspace and feel for the vibe of the city you are playing in.”
Although Jay didn’t get a chance to catch a gig during his time in Copenhagen (he was busy producing his own music based on the sounds around the city, as seen in the episode above), he did get a chance to visit a very cool area of the city:
“The record stores and venues I did get to see were very cool. The Christiania Complex has flourished from being a hippy commune into a real cultural hub with several venues going all day and night with live music.”
Not only was Jay inspired by the sounds of the city in the music he created there, he was also hugely intrigued by the bustling Danish music scene:
“I’m a huge fan of Trentmoller – he makes really interesting electronic music with an ambient edge. The one that keeps coming up is MØ, she is really pushing the boundaries of pop with her collaborations with Diplo.”
Want to find out what makes Denmark one of the happiest places in the world? Keep an eye out for the next episode of The Danish Experiment, which will be unveiled on DailyEdge. Follow Carlsberg Ireland on Facebook and Instagram to tune in to the series and for behind-the-scenes edits . Enjoy Carlsberg sensibly, visit drinkaware.ie.
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