Biography
Emerging in 2004 on the Scandinavian dance circuit, Terje Olsen—performing as Todd Terje—rapidly rose to prominence alongside early backer Prins Thomas and Hans-Peter Lindstrøm. He funneled an expansive taste for dub, disco, synth pop, house, and techno into warmly embraced reworkings of material by the Bee Gees, Michael Jackson, and Santana. In 2005 he issued his own production “Eurodans” on Thomas’s Full Pupp label. By 2006 his remix output had grown so extensive that certain contributions stood out in selective DJ sets, among them his versions of Lindstrøm’s “Another Station,” Studio’s “Life’s a Beach!,” Kaoru Inoue’s “The Secret Field,” and Dølle Jølle’s “Balearic Incarnation.” Permanent Vacation released the continuous DJ mix Remaster of the Universe in 2010, gathering many of those edits and remixes.
Gerd Janson’s Running Back label followed with the 2011 Ragysh EP, which featured the widely played “Snooze 4 Love.” The 2012 EP It’s the Arps appeared on Smalltown Supersound and included the club staple “Inspector Norse.” Broader attention arrived when Terje co-wrote Robbie Williams’s chart-topping single “Candy” in 2012 and produced several tracks for Franz Ferdinand’s Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action the next year. He also produced and mixed Lindstrøm’s 2012 album Smalhans while readying his own debut full-length. Early 2014 saw the arrival of It’s Album Time on his Olsen imprint, a richly progressive and colorful set that drew particular praise for its cover of Robert Palmer’s “Johnny and Mary” featuring Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music. Terje assembled the Olsens—incorporating musicians from Jaga Jazzist and the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra—to present the material live. In 2016 he and the Olsens released The Big Cover-Up, which offered interpretations of songs by Yellow Magic Orchestra, Boney M., and Vangelis together with remixes by Prins Thomas and Daniel Maloso.
Gerd Janson’s Running Back label followed with the 2011 Ragysh EP, which featured the widely played “Snooze 4 Love.” The 2012 EP It’s the Arps appeared on Smalltown Supersound and included the club staple “Inspector Norse.” Broader attention arrived when Terje co-wrote Robbie Williams’s chart-topping single “Candy” in 2012 and produced several tracks for Franz Ferdinand’s Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action the next year. He also produced and mixed Lindstrøm’s 2012 album Smalhans while readying his own debut full-length. Early 2014 saw the arrival of It’s Album Time on his Olsen imprint, a richly progressive and colorful set that drew particular praise for its cover of Robert Palmer’s “Johnny and Mary” featuring Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music. Terje assembled the Olsens—incorporating musicians from Jaga Jazzist and the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra—to present the material live. In 2016 he and the Olsens released The Big Cover-Up, which offered interpretations of songs by Yellow Magic Orchestra, Boney M., and Vangelis together with remixes by Prins Thomas and Daniel Maloso.
Albums
