New Politics’ Søren Hansen chats with Atwood Magazine about his new solo project and debut single “Dream That I Die” – a breathtaking reintroduction channeling anxiety into a cathartic, impassioned, and emotionally charged alt-rock release.
Stream: “Dream That I Die” – Søren Hansen
Sometimes you just want to hear a sad song, sometimes you want to hear an uplifting song, but in the end, you just want to feel something.
Fans of New Politics already know Søren Hansen as a big blonde ball of nonstop energy.
For over ten years now, the multi-instrumentalist and occasional lead singer has rocketed around stages with enviable zeal and raw fervor, channeling his passion into breathtaking alternative rock music that energizes and inspires. Together with his bandmates David Boyd and Louis Vecchio, Hansen built New Politics into a juggernaut – releasing five celebrated studio albums over the past decade and cultivating a live performance that, for all those in attendance, was truly singular and unmatched.
And now, the process starts all over again – only this time, Hansen is going it alone… ish. While the Danish indie rocker’s solo project sees him stepping into the spotlight in a new way, the music itself is still a labor of love and connection, collaboration, and camaraderie. Written with Paul DeVincenzo and Femke Weidema, Hansen’s solo debut “Dream That I Die” is electric, explosive, and impassioned: A breathtaking reintroduction channeling anxiety and existential dread into a cathartic, all-consuming release of raw, shiver-inducing feeling. It’s an emotionally charged upheaval of the self: One that sees Hansen exposed like never before, aching in real time as he wrings his soul out with cinematic strength.
Head on my pillow
Cause it’s soft in the sunlight
I close the window
Cause I’m scared of the moonlight
Oh my oh my oh my
I see the dust on the mirror
Can’t see my self
But the darkness is familiar
“I have always had anxiety,” Hansen tells Atwood Magazine. “To be honest, I’ve always been my own worst enemy. The ironic thing about that is that you have a lot of emotion to pull from right there, so a lot of times you can write something meaningful and empathetic with those feelings, but the obstacles can feel immense. I wanted this record to be about being ok with all of that and to just put myself out there. Be proud of who I am.”
Look at me, I’m falling in silence
I’m barely holding on
If I leave in the middle night
Will I be moving on
Am I supposed to forget
Am I in over my head?
I don’t remember why
I always dream that I die
Released on February 8, 2024 via ENCI Records, “Dream That I Die” is the lead single off Søren Hansen’s forthcoming self-titled debut album, Soren Hansen (out this summer). A candid and unflinching alt-rock record, Soren Hansen is unapologetically up-close and personal, while still retaining much of the high-energy volatility and charm that have made New Politics such an internationally celebrated band for so many years.
The record is a long time coming for Hansen, who moved from Brooklyn to Nashville in 2020 and put his own artistry to the side over these past few years, working for and alongside Butch Walker and as a songwriter and producer for other artists.
“I never thought I would be on stage ever again,” Hansen shares. “Suddenly, I started getting the urge. I created some songs I really loved, and I was proud enough of this music to want to play it live. That was the whole reason for getting into this project – to process all of those thoughts. There were things I was sorry about and things I was happy about. Finally, there was a place I could put them. Even if it was merely a folder on my desktop, that was enough for me. It was incredible to go back and be an artist again.”
Hansen had been pursuing a solo career way back in the late 2000s when he and longtime friend David Boyd decided to turn their respective solo efforts into a band, eventually signing a record deal with RCA and moving from Denmark to New York City. The music industry of 2024 is incredibly different from that of the early 2010s, where downloads still dominated and iTunes was the platform du jour for most music consumers. Hansen himself has grown in leaps and bounds over the past 15 years, having toured the world with two of his best mates and honed his skills both in front of the microphone and behind the scenes.
What am I doing
Am I fading to nothing
I thought I knew it
Thought that I could be something
I keep my toes in the water
When the tide comes
And I keep sinking deeper
Til I’m no one
I just wanted to make a record that I personally was proud of. That it all came from a real place to me.
“I’ve come to a point where I’m proud of the person I’ve become,” he smiles. “I’m able to tap into who Soren is. Nothing else really matters. A lot of the music comes from a real place and a lot of it hurts. I didn’t give up, no matter what though. I always get back on my feet and keep moving. That’s who I am today.”
Atwood Magazine caught up with Søren Hansen to chat about his new solo artistry, debut single “Dream That I Die,” and all that’s to come in the year ahead. Catch up with Hansen in our interview below, and get lost in the feverish drama of “Dream That I Die,” out now via ENCI Records!
“There is a lot of hope in the song,” Hansen says. “Hope to dare to put yourself out there in front of people and say, ‘This is me.’ I hope people can hear that, relate, and that they will love the record.”
Look at me, I’m falling in silence
I’m barely holding on
If I leave in the middle night
Will I be moving on
Am I supposed to forget
Am I in over my head
I don’t remember why
I always dream that I die
why can’t it be that I’m flying
Without always dying
When I’m letting go
Look at me now…
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:: stream/purchase Dream That I Die here ::
:: connect with Søren Hansen here ::
Stream: “Dream That I Die” – Søren Hansen
A CONVERSATION WITH SØREN HANSEN
Atwood Magazine: Søren, it’s great to hear from you after all this time! For starters, what inspired you to pursue a solo career?
Søren Hansen: Thank you so much for having me! And I appreciate the welcome back!
I never stopped writing songs, if anything I think I write even more than before. Last year I played some of the solo songs for a friend and she said ‘Hey you should make a record, I know of a really cool label in California. Let me send them over’. She did and I got in touch with Pat Magnarella and Enci Records. The rest happened very quickly on its own. It was an amazing feeling.
Does you going solo mean it’s curtains for New Politics, or is this something you feel you would want to do no matter what was going on with the band?
Søren Hansen: This is definitely something I would do regardless of the hiatus. Some of the New Politics songs we wrote were ‘David songs’ and some were ‘Soren songs,’ most were a melting pot of those two. We always had the mindset of just letting them be that. I think it’s important to stay creative and to have an outlet. To me, it is just music and I love that songs are finding their own way into the world. It’s healthy to stay open-minded and excited.
I understand you left New York for Nashville during the pandemic - what has your time been like since moving down there? Do you have any highlights from your songwriting and production work with other artists?
Søren Hansen: I am so happy I made the move. I met some wonderful people and made some very dear friends. Working in Nashville is extremely inspiring because everyone is so talented so it keeps you on your toes. In 2021 I started working for Butch Walker and that has been incredible. Not only is he an amazing human being, but he is probably also the most talented musician I know. It’s been really cool to see how things are done and I’ve learned a ton.
Another highlight is when Paul Devincenzo and I produced Sam Palladio’s record we went to Sunset Sound in LA to record drums with Matt Chamberlain and finish the record with Dave Sardy – who, funny enough, produced and mixed New Politics’ first record, so that felt like a full circle moment.
You and I go a ways back, having met a few times in New York at New Politics gigs, but for those who are meeting you for the first time, who is Søren Hansen? What do you want listeners to know about you and your music?
Søren Hansen: Yes! It is a beautiful, small world. ‘Søren Hansen’ is probably a bit more confident and self-aware. I think my songs come from the heart and I hope people can hear that. I was always the awkward kid, and now I am the awkward grownup who’s totally ok with being awkward.
How has making music as a solo artist been different, for you, than making it with the band? Do you miss the camaraderie of it all, or is there something special about owning every part of a song?
Søren Hansen: Since 2020 I have been producing a lot of records and writing a lot of songs with other people. I had to learn not to be the artist but instead how to make the artist’s vision come through in the song. For a few years that is all I did and it was humbling and a great life lesson. More than half of the songs on the record are written with other people so I feel I never lost the camaraderie. I love working with other musicians. It is inspiring and the best idea should always win. To me, nothing is better than building on each other’s ideas and watching a song take shape in front of you.
I was always the awkward kid, and now I am the awkward grownup who’s totally ok with being awkward.
Tell me about your debut single, “Dream That I Die.” What’s the story behind this song, and why did you choose to reintroduce yourself through this track?
Søren Hansen: The song is about anxiety. I have always had anxiety. To be honest, I’ve always been my own worst enemy. The ironic thing about that is that you have a lot of emotion to pull from right there, so a lot of times you can write something meaningful and empathetic with those feelings, but the obstacles can feel immense. I wanted this record to be about being ok with all of that and to just put myself out there. Be proud of who I am.
I was coming up with the piano riff in the studio when Paul DeVincenzo came over and we started building out the track. We didn’t really have a chorus yet, except for that one lyric ‘Dream that I die’ and a few days later Femke Weidema and I had a write. She heard the song and loved it, so we finished up the melody and lyrics together.
“Can’t see myself, but the darkness is familiar.” Oof. Phenomenal emo lyric. Can you tell me about your mindset while writing this song, and what you were going for in that first verse?
Søren Hansen: Thank you! That lyric is about the feeling of retreating to someplace that feels safe. If you don’t put yourself out there you have nothing to fear because then you can’t fail. The only downside is that you always keep wishing you would have done it because you have nothing to win, either. I think that is a concept that is very familiar to a lot of us.
I really love your chorus: “Look at me, I’m fighting in silence, I’m barely holding on… in all in over my head, i don’t remember why I always dream that I die.” I’d love to talk about this concept, of dreaming that you’re dying. What does it mean for you?
Søren Hansen: Ironically I came up with the lyric ‘Why is it I always dream that I die’ on an airplane but it isn’t really about physically dying. The lyrical concept is about being swallowed and sucked into this dark spiral where, no matter what you do, you can barely stay afloat. Anxiety feels like that to me. We try so hard to fit in, to do the right things, and to say the right things. I know that is heavy. I am a pretty happy person generally but it does feel good to fight back and to acknowledge that ‘Hey – I feel like this sometimes and that’s OK.’
The lyrical concept is about being swallowed and sucked into this dark spiral where, no matter what you do, you can barely stay afloat. Anxiety feels like that to me.
How do you feel this song introduces you?
Søren Hansen: I hope it says “Søren is a pop-rock guy who writes catchy and meaningful songs,” but in the end, I just wanted to make a record that I personally was proud of. That it all came from a real place to me.
What do you hope listeners take away from this song, and what have you taken away from creating it and putting it out?
Søren Hansen: I think sometimes you just want to hear a sad song, sometimes you want to hear an uplifting song, but in the end, you just want to feel something. I would love it if listeners did just that. There is a lot of hope in the song. Hope to dare to put yourself out there in front of people and say, ‘This is me.’ I hope people can hear that, relate, and that they will love the record.
What are you most excited for as we get deeper into 2024? Can you share anything about your own plans for the year to come?
Søren Hansen: I am really excited about putting out this record and playing shows again. I’d love to travel around the country and the world again and feel the electricity you feel at a live show. 2024 is all about building up a base around this and I can’t wait!
In the interest of paying it forward, who are you listening to these days that you would recommend to our readers?
Søren Hansen: I’ve been listening to Jake Wesley Rogers, The Pixies, The Killers, The Beatles, Coldplay, Cassadee Pope, Sam Cooke, Dua Lipa, Amy Winehouse, King Princess, Panic!, Billie Eilish, Glass Animals, and soooo many more, and all over the place. I would recommend a deep dive into Sam Cooke any day of the week. What an incredible voice. I get overwhelmed in the best possible ways listening to his records.
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:: stream/purchase Dream That I Die here ::
:: connect with Søren Hansen here ::
Stream: “Dream That I Die” – Søren Hansen
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