Interview With Dr. Space of the Space Rock Band Øresund Space Collective
- Samuel Stevens
- Jun 21
- 5 min read
How would you describe your music to any person who may have never heard it before?
Dr Space: Improvised Space rock (Øresund Space Collective), Improvised electronica (Doctors of Space), and synthesizer music from another universe (Dr Space). What's the significance of your musical moniker?
Dr Space: My name is Scott Heller (I do have a PhD). My friend Doug Walker (RIP) was Dr Synth, and I thought, since I mostly made space sounds (when I first started playing Synth), Dr Space sounded good.
What's the significance of your band's name?
Dr Space: Øresund Space Collective, pretty much summed up our ethos and are we were from when the band started 20 years ago. We are a musical collective (one hundred thirteen different people have played in the collective). We play space rock, and the band started.
What are your musical influences?
Dr Space: That is always a tough question as I love so many kinds of music, but Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Black Sabbath, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schultze, Alien Planetscapes, Fela Kuti, Allman Brothers...
What are your musical inspirations?
Dr Space: To just keep progressing musically and make music that makes people smile and takes them on a bit of a journey when they listen to it. I also dream of playing in Japan one day.
If given the chance, what musician(s) would you like to collaborate with? Rather, this is to either write a song or be featured on a track.
Dr Space: There are a lot of them, and I keep trying with some, but to be realistic, White Hills, Richard Pinhas, Zack Oakley, Ed Mundell… We will see…
What's the album about?
Dr Space: The new ØSC album (came out April 24th) is called Alotta Hella down in Estrela. It is a double LP and double CD (two bonus tracks not on the LP). It is all instrumental music recorded in 2022 in my studio in the Serra da Estrela mountains in Portugal. The first track is forty-nine minutes and takes you on a funky, spaced-out ride to another universe… It is about going to new musical places and seeking the unknown. Doctors of Space, our new CD, is called Fusing Your Synapses. It is a long 70min track with many parts from MOOG synth freakouts to intense heavy doom and space rock. A pretty trippy record. Quasars of Destiny also just came out and is an album I made with my cousin Craig Wall (multi-instrumentalist) in the summer of 2023, and it is a very Pink Floyd-inspired three-track album. Classic space rock.
What's something you hope people take away from the new songs on the album?
Dr Space: just listen closely and open your mind, and set yourself free and disappear into the music. Put your phone in the other room, get a drink, relax and listen. You will be rewarded.
Which songs on the album were the most fun to write and which were the most challenging to write?
Dr Space: All this music is improvised (except Quasars, which was made in Layers, but the basic tracks were jams), so we do not write any music, so to speak. Just get in the studio and create. It is not always amazing, but when it is, that is really rewarding.
What did you allow yourself to do creatively for this song that you haven’t in the past?
Dr Space: For the Doctors of Space album, this was our second CD, where it was a long musical collage, and it was decided to try to do this again, and we are happy with the results. Quasars were different because Craig and I had never made music together before, so that was great. The reviews of the CD have been very positive.
Do you have any favourite song(s) off the new album?
Dr Space: On Quasars, I like the long middle track, "Colossus Consumes" best. It has so many cool parts. On Doctors of Space, I guess "Doomstar" is my fave. I just love this space doom track. We have a video on you tube for it as well. On the new ØSC, Weiberian Bass, it is hypnotic and just goes from one place to the next with such easy and is very interesting musically. When you find yourself in a creative rut, what do you usually turn to? Any habits, environments or even non- musical sources that help you reconnect with your creativity?
Dr Space: I pull all the cables out of the modular synth and try to set it up in a different way, or get the manual out for one of my synths and try to do something with it I have not done before.. Going for a long walk on the mountainside is also good to clear the head! Listening to music can also be very inspiring and help me to reset and try new ideas.
Do you have any favourite songs to perform live? Could be your own music or even a cover. Any reason why?
Dr Space: Almost all the music I perform is totally improvised, so I do not play songs really, but I used to play in the Norwegian band, Black Moon Circle, and we had songs with a lot of improvisation, and one of my faves was "Warp Speed." Amazing song and really fun to play.
If you could perform a show this very second anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Dr Space: JAPAN… for sure Japan.. I have been there once and love a lot of Japanese bands (Rovo, Church of Misery, Acid Mothers Temple, Damo Suzuki, etc), and it would be a dream to play there.
Is there any particular venue(s) or city/cities that come to mind?
I have never played in Spain or Italy either, so Rome or Madrid, wow. That would be awesome.
What do you currently have planned for the remainder of the year?
Dr Space: Øresund Space Collective are celebrating our 20th anniversary and will play gigs in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands this summer. We are also working on mixing the next studio material, bandcamp subscriber release, and a possible live release from the 20th anniversary shows in Copenhagen this past April. I hope to have another solo album out later this year, and so will Doctors of Space. If your music were a type of food, what would it be and why?
Dr Space: It would have to be Japanese food as it is so interesting looking and you never know what it will taste like!
What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you while performing?
Dr Space: Once in Sweden, I was taking a picture of the audience as they were so wild, and the barrier collapsed right as I took the picture. That was crazy.
Thanks for the time today. Is there anything else you may want to add that I didn't cover before you go?
Dr Space: Thanks for the chat and the support. Have a great year. Peace, love and music!
Follow Øresund Space Collective on their socials: http://oresundspacecollective.com
Comments