Erik Kjær Larsen, of Denmark, started playing guitar at age 12. He was inspired, as so many were, by the likes of The Beatles, Led Zepplin and Neil Young. Later on he became attuned to the Punk and New Wave and, with friends, formed the band Razors Only. The band was a straight up rock n roll "analog" combo and after twelve years they broke up. Following this Larsen hit the road.

"Being astronomically ambitious at the time I went to London bringing only my guitar, a toothbrush and some clothes, " says Larsen. "Being constantly short of money I started busking in London Underground stations and found that I could make a pretty good living that way. I joined a few London-based bands but moved back to Denmark after some 15 months, following the trail of my then girlfriend."

A funny thing happened on the way to forming Larsen's new electronic powerpop group--he abandoned the guitar.

You used to play guitar but moved to all synths? Why? And tell me what guitars you used and what synths and software you use now?

When I was around 30 I’d had enough of smoky rehearsal rooms and put songwriting and my guitars aside to pursue a career as a writer / novelist. I the 90’ties I published three novels written in Danish. They were reasonably successful and I was offered a job as a journalist, reporting on culture and media in Denmark’s supposedly high-test quality daily newspaper, Information.

That’s when I thought my musician days were over for good.

But as I started writing about the emerging baby media - the internet - in the mid 90ties I became deeply and passionately engaged in music and video production on computers (a Macintosh G3 to begin with). My first DAW was Cubase 3 and I was enthused by the possibility to produce songs the way they were conceived in my head. My musical focus moved towards production which was quite a shift since I’ve always been the ‘plug in and play, turn the knobs and pray for a nice sound’ kind of punkish guitarist.

Why Ableton? What led you to Ableton software?

Some years ago a friend of mine introduced me to Ableton Live and I was sold immediately. I found the intuitive interface and the idea of a nonlinear workflow immensely inspiring - and the warping facilities made it so much easier to play around with ideas, grooves, melody etc. Inevitably my musical style changed from basic although experimental rock to a more electronic/ ambient approach. At the same time my CD purchases took a turn towards artists like NIN, Banco de Gaia, early Brian Eno and whatever ambient /electronic music I came across. Today some of my favorites in this genre are Bugge Wesseltoft (Norway) and Danish electronica composers Trentemoeller and Mike Sheridan.

When I make music today I often make sketches in Garageband and later transfer the audio files to Ableton Live 6. I run it alongside Propellerheads Reason (still using version two) and play around with some eight gigabytes of free drumloops which I have meticulously harvested from the web.

Are there any limitations to creating using synths instead of a guitar in your eyes? How do you do things differently now?

The biggest limitation when working with virtual synths and electronic music in my view is that I have to be the ‘producer’ and the musician at the same time. The only instrument I feel I really master is the guitar, and fiddling around with synths with all their parameters and technicalities can be quite a drag. I often find that my drive and motivation to finish a song is killed along the way due to too much clicking and mousing around, plus the stopping-and-playing-and-stopping-and-playing kills the flow of the music and flow I believe is really what music is all about. After a long period of really trying to get into the mechanics of pure electronic music I have gone back to the more basic songwriting methods--laying out the chords with an acoustic guitar and sketching a basic structure of a song plus writing the lyrics before I even turn on the computer (today I use a PowerMac G5 and a MacBook portable). Once I start working with a song in Ableton Live I take full advantage of all the effects, tweaking of drumloops and synths.

Recently I have started playing with a friend of mine who is a professional producer and synth wizard-- this takes quite a load off of my shoulders since I can concentrate on my guitar playing and leave the electronica part to him. We are planning to do some sessions with a female overtone singer and our preliminary etudes in this field seem really promising.

Another reason why I have ‘regressed’ to good old-fashioned songwriting techniques (using just a guitar and a notepad for chords and lyrics) is that I occasionally play in a cafe in Copenhagen (Cafe Luna) and I find it a very satisfying experience to be able to perform a song with the simplest possible measures - guitar and voice. But I want to develop this basic concept and bring my Macbook to see how far I can go in terms of adding elements of electronica to my songs.

Is there a piece of gear you don't have and want bad?

I recently tried the demo of the plug-ins Ohmicide and Frohmage from Ohm Force. I am going to have to invest in those amazing plug-ins - they add a NIN-like dimension to my guitar sound which I really like, and the NIN concept of heavily distorted guitars, industrial and techno appeals very much to me. Also I am saving up for a Gibson Les Paul.I currently own a Fender Stratocaster and have borrowed a Hagstrom Super Swede (80s model) which has the most deliciously creamy and heavy sound - but alas, I am gonna have to deliver it back and that’s why I figure a Les Paul is probably the only worthy substitute for that particular grungy and sustained sound.

Is there any software or synth you have found didn't work for you? Why?

There are a lot of virtual synths I have seen my electronica friends excel in using and which I’d love to own, but I still consider myself a newbie in the world of synths and stick to the synths available in Reason plus loads of synth samples which I apply using Apples DLSMusicDevice. Digital recording gives access to a universe of amazing possibilities but I have learned that less is more and that the endless possibilities can easily lead you astray. Currently I am going back to my roots, using synths only when they serve a purpose in the context of a song and focusing more on my guitar playing and writing lyrics.