In conversation with A&R Factory, Y is Nature unpacks the mechanics behind Evasion!, a cinematic concept album rooted in spy fiction aesthetics and laced with ironic self-awareness. From John le Carré to D’Angelo, the inspirations are as eclectic as the execution is sharp. The Oslo-based producer discusses how spontaneity and collaboration shaped the album’s character, how Portishead’s influence informed his preference for female vocalists, and how themes of disinformation and emotional ambiguity creep through the tracks. This isn’t about pastiche or homage—it’s about refracting big emotions through playful motifs and sonic espionage.
Welcome to A&R Factory, Y is Nature – it’s a pleasure to have you with us to discuss your latest mission, Evasion!
Evasion! strikes a fascinating tonal balance between the melodramatic flair of classic espionage tales and subtle personal introspection—how did you shape the emotional undercurrent of the album without tipping into parody or pastiche?
Hehe, good question. I guess it is kind of tricky. But one thing is that I never set out to do a straight-up imitation of espionage film music. I’ve been approaching the theme, let’s say, through more of an alternative/indie rock/pop lens. The other thing is that we’re all fully aware this experiment dances on a fine line between cliché and stylized expression, and that it’s very much subject to scrutiny. That’s why we try to embrace the universe and concept with a sense of humor — like in our first music video Transition, where two adult spies play hide and seek in the forest with toy pistols. It is meant to be fun and at the same time heartfelt.
The project feels meticulously composed, yet there’s a sense of looseness in the arrangements that allows each track to breathe. What role does improvisation or spontaneity play in your creative process, especially within the context of a genre as stylised as spy pop?
Another very good question. And you’re right – It’s definitely composed, but at its core, it all starts with some kind of improvisation. I tend to begin from scratch, usually with a guitar, piano, or a beat, and then build from there. On Evasion, there’s one track in particular, Take Care of Me, where the starting point was the ascending five-note motif from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Op. 20, before it veers off in quite another direction. Beyond the composed chords and melodies, the background soundscapes — often made up of synth arpeggios, LFOs, and other ornamentation — are pretty improvised. That, along with field recordings and samples, adds an unpredictable texture to the whole thing.
I think the looseness you’re picking up on might come from the need to make quick decisions — especially when working with a group of musicians and vocalists, many of whom I didn’t know that well before heading into the studio. There’s also the practical reality that this project was tied to a hard deadline. We risked losing some funding from the Norwegian FLB, so we had to push through and finish. That urgency can create a kind of raw energy. So you could say that, on the other hand, it hasn’t been all that spontaneous, hehe. I really felt like I had to carve out something really personal and meaningful—fast.
Your studio on Christian Kroghs Gate in Oslo has become the command centre for this release—how does your environment influence your sonic decisions and the atmosphere of your recordings?
Well, I think my studio has been more of a technical command center — the place where all the ideas come together, if that makes sense? It’s where I shape the pieces and bring everything into form. But in terms of inspiration, I’d say it’s more about cultural impressions, personal taste, and life in a broader sense that really influence the ideas. The studio is where I refine them, not necessarily where they begin. With Evasion, I’ve been in many different spaces along the way. But again, good question! I have to think more about that one…
You’ve enlisted a range of musicians and cultural contributors to build out this sonic espionage world. What were you looking for in your collaborators, and how did their input shape the final cut of the album?
I wanted the project to become a platform for me as a producer to collaborate with many different creative people — partly because of my immense need for socialization, but also to experience, learn, and expand my network. Over time, music has become something I need to do in collaboration. I can come up with ideas on my own, sure, but I don’t want to walk that long and dusty road entirely alone.
I also have to say that I was specifically looking for female vocalists. It’s a bit hard to explain exactly why, but Portishead has been a source of inspiration for this project — so maybe that says it. More broadly though, I wasn’t searching for any one type of person. I just wanted to work with people who felt drawn to the idea and wanted to step into this universe. And Im so grateful and happy to have found both Martin, Tuva, Ronja, Sindre, Einar and many more talented creators and artists who all have been a major part of the shaping of Evasion.
Was it important for you to build a conceptual framework around the project first, or did the sonic identity of Evasion! emerge more organically as you wrote and produced the tracks?
The whole spy thing came from the start. I wanted the project to have something cinematic and conceptual. In my case, it made the whole affair of making new music and crafting an album a bit more intelligible — both from an internal and external perspective. It’s just easier to explain what you’re doing when you have something clear to hang it on. But it took a while for me to settle into an even more direct understanding of the concept. Namely, the concept of spy pop.
Themes of surveillance, deception, and emotional ambiguity run deep in the album—do you see Evasion! more as social commentary, a personal reflection, or a calculated mix of both?
I think it’s a little of both — and a kind of cinematic imitation. As far as social commentary goes, it’s maybe mostly about trust or distrust in information. Nowadays, with so much disinformation, misinformation, and general noise circulating online, you can easily get disoriented and lose your ability to distinguish truth from fiction. And I like to believe that there are certain truths out there. And that these truths are important and have real value.
On the personal side of things, there are definitely some aspects of the spy figure that I identify with. That’s also part of the story I’m telling — but I’ll leave that for another conversation.
With your background in indie and neo-psychedelia, what drew you towards the cinema of spy fiction and its soundtracks? Was there a particular moment or influence that pushed you in that direction?
Well, I had read some John le Carré and had “Really Love” by D’Angelo stuck in my head for more than a year. That intro — the chord, the Spanish guitar vibe, the swingy rhythm — was all something I was really into at the time. I thought it had a real “spy feel” to it, so that became the seed of the idea: Spanish guitar, swing beats, and a very sneaky vibe. The project turned out quite different, but I think you can still hear traces of that D’Angelo inspiration in there.
There’s a tongue-in-cheek charm to some of the motifs in Evasion!, despite the gravity of the themes. How do you maintain that delicate tonal friction without undermining the tension you’ve built into the narratives?
Well thank you! I am trying to strike a balance between seriousness, playfulness, and humor. I have a tendency to write soft, romantic tunes, so leaning into more humor and upbeat, rocky material is actually a bit of a challenge for me. I love irony though and maybe this album just says something about me as a person. The Y is Nature project can in that sense be a gateway or a symbolic venture into the mind of a true Danish-Norwegian musical agent — someone who tries not to get completely overwhelmed by big emotions, but still loves to dig just a little deeper.
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Evasion! Is out NOW! Stream the LP on Bandcamp.
Interview by Amelia Vandergast
