Maybe you won’t be able to write or pronounce Esben Nørskov Andersen and Pernille Smith-Sivertsen’s names right, but just know this: electropop duo Rangleklods is going to be Denmark’s best export since Legos.

Esben and Pernille met as university students in Aarhus; numerous tours and festival performances later, the Rangleklods are finally ready to make their American debut at this year’s SXSW. Their latest single from their upcoming sophomore set straightjacket, "Lost U," was officially selected as a SXSW "Track of the Week" in January.

Hometown:
Esben: Rønde, Denmark
Pernille: Esbjerg, Denmark

Current Residence: Copenhagen

What were your first instruments?

Esben: An older kid in my neighbourhood played guitar and I thought he was the coolest ever, playing hair metal solos and shit—I also wanted to do that. Since then I’ve also played a lot of drums, bass and the piano, but today I consider the computer my main instrument. I began playing in bands and writing songs when I was about 10 I guess.

Pernille: I played piano and saxophone as a kid, and later I started singing in a classical choir. I discovered music through my two older brothers really. I borrowed their CDs and cassette tapes—one was into '60s rock and the other was into gangster hip hop—and soon I became a total music geek borrowing tons of CDs from the library each week.

Why are you called Rangleklods?

It’s a made up nonsense word. We like the sound of it and the fact that it doesn’t mean anything, really.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

David Bowie, Portishead, Burial, Caribou, Blawan, Beak.

Why is your latest set called straitjacket? What inspired the album?

It’s the title of one of the songs on the album, and we chose it as album title as well because it reflects the lyrical themes very well. It’s a word that immediately brings pictures to your head and it’s about control and the struggle of power. We put ourselves in a straitjacket early on in the process, and it wasn’t until we escaped it and just made songs that the album was made.

Who would you love to collaborate with?

Caribou, James Blake, Beach House, Oneohtrix Point Never, Clark.

What's the best thing about living in Copenhagen?

We love the communion between Copenhagen based bands. We know a lot of Danish bands that are good friends and also there’s a healthy competition going on. We find ourselves in a time where so many interesting and good bands are benefiting from each other by working together in new constellations and inspiring one another to do even better.

Are you excited to come to the United States?We really hope that SXSW can be a stepping stone to playing a lot of concerts in the US. We would love to tour there. We were on a road trip in America some six years ago and we loved it. It’s the birthplace of so many of the genres of music and artists that we love.