Literally. I had helped design a new octaphonic sound system at the Roskilde Festival’s D-Day area, capable of delivering massive, loud and crisp ear candy and suddenly we couldn’t use it. Five thousand people in one tent and no sound? Well, sure we had plenty of music, but in the aftermath of the Scandinavian E-craze, the police had ordered us to have a one-hour break every four hours to avoid the crowd overheating. And while they had our best interest in mind, it certainly went against the D-Day concept of a non-stop aural experience. So Niels Træden from Roskilde asked me if I had something unobtrusive to fill the gaps. And thus the foundation for this album was made: a one-hour sonic journey that would keep the listener in a state of relaxed anticipation.

The experience was such a succes that I expanded the concept and my “secret” career as an ambient artist was born.

Gringo Locomotion is a blend of music, sounds and location recordings from the last ten years since that first Roskilde intermission. The album contains some of the best moments of my sparkling working relationship with half-inuit singer, Aviaja Lumholdt (Scarborough Unfair) and the inspired guitar piece I did in the Krishna temple with Yadunandan das (Sunshy). It also features my own recordings of Tokyo sidestreets, the Australian rainforest and even one of my old agent on the phone from San Francisco!

A lot of the material presented here is pure ambient music in the strict tradition of the old masters - but with my own touch. It’s a blend of moods generated over time, all mixed with great care to deliver you the same exitement that I had when I built the first piece at Roskilde. Unlike my dance stuff, this music is meant to fill your room almost unnoticed, creep under your skin and provide you with a one-hour intermission from the movie of your life.

Ian Ion, Copenhagen 2007