There is a great novel that came out in 2017, by Czech author Jaroslav Kalfař, that goes like this: a cloud of “intergalactic dust” turns Earth’s skies purple at night and only the Czech Republic is willing to send an astronaut into space on this dangerous mission to collect samples and determine its origins, putting the country in the center of the global stage. The story is quite philosophical and dreamy as the reader follows the point of view of cosmonaut Jakub, the Spaceman of Bohemia, on his eight month solo-mission to Venus.
Listening to the new album Nebula by Danish mastermind Jens here, better known as Rumpistol, almost feels like going on a solo-mission into space too. He has been making and composing music for more than two decades and his latest work beautifully combines his talents from jazz and electronic music into a vast soundtrack that feels at times like the score to an eerie Netflix crime show and then again like pre 808s Kanye banging on his drums. It’s a wonderful listen through ten tracks and 44 mins. Find the accessible Pale Blue Dots, right here.
His accolades include various solo works as well as the atmospheric Rumpistol Ensemble and a solid Poule d’Or favorite in the genre-bending Kalaha. From later this week, he will take the stage with the Ensemble, across a few cities in Denmark: Kolding on Aug 28 and 29, Vejle Aug 30 and Rødding Aug 31, before heading into Copenhagen Sept 3, Aarhus, Sept 4 and Aalborg Sept 5.
Now, all this was reason enough to sit down with the man himself and hear his thinking behind the beautiful new album Nebula, out now to stream and on a limited edition vinyl print, on New York’s The Rust Music.
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How did you come up with the idea that Nebula should be a “space journey” or about the universe?
During the winter of 2024 I was invited to participate in a guided ceremony, where my album Going Inside was being used as part of the music program. The experience brought me a strong feeling of connection with the universe. One moment I was looking up at the night stars and experiencing a strange friendly glow, where the stars seemed to be smiling at me. Next I had this thought: would it be possible to take people on an audio-visual journey out into space, to share this feeling of awe and wonder with them?
What do you think we can learn from studying the universe?
Honestly, studying the universe just shows us that we’re not the center of anything—we’re basically little specks on a rock, spinning around one star out of who knows how many. And the wild part is, Earth just happened to have the right setup for life. Tiny microbes popped up, evolution did its crazy long thing, and somehow humans showed up. Out of all that chaos, our ancestors somehow didn’t get eaten, starve, or trip over a cliff—and that’s literally why we exist today. When you realize how unlikely it all is, your daily problems start to feel pretty insignificant. Just being alive is pretty much the ultimate cosmic lottery win!
Is there a political message to the record?
Yeah, I think the album does have a political edge—it’s kind of pointing at all the mess we see in the world right now. Wars, polarization, the climate crisis… it’s just too much to bear sometimes… but if you really think about it, so much of it comes down to entitlement. Like, why do some people feel more deserving than others? Why do we act like our opinion is the only valid one? Or like the planet’s resources are just there for us to use up without limits? That mindset runs so deep man… For me, the record is also a reminder that we’ve kind of lost sight of humility. We forget to just be grateful for what we have, to give back when we take something, and to actually love and forgive each other. Going into space helps us to zoom out a bit – like, to see how far evolution has brought us – and perhaps find our way back to being a bit more humble again.
Were there any particular things – music, art, film – that inspired you in the process?
I’ve always loved the story of Earthrise—that photograph of our planet taken during the Apollo mission in 1969. The astronauts traveled all the way to the Moon, chasing hard scientific facts, yet the most profound thing they brought back was a simple image of Earth. Seeing Earth rising above the lunar horizon, floating alone in the vast space, somehow gave us a whole new perspective: it reminded us of our shared home, our shared fragility, and the fact that we exist at all.
Besides that, I read books like Carl Sagan’s Contact, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Michael Ende’s Momo & Viggo Bjerring’s Verdenshjertet (At It’s Heart). I also read and re-watched: Space Odyssey 2001 – what an absolute masterpiece that is! Plus I watched “empathetic” sci-fi movies like Proxima, Interstellar, Contact & Arrival. I can really recommend all of them, books and movies.
A lot of what’s been happening in the U.S. definitely also influenced me. The fact that space travel has become both a hunt for new resources and, at the same time, a playground for the world’s wealthiest as a kind of luxury tourism – I honestly find that totally offensive.
Music that inspires me during the process was: Beth Gibbons Lives Outgrown, old prog-rock like Camel’s Moonmadness and King Crimson, Bowie’s Blackstar, Air’s Moon Safari and their soundtrack for The Virgin Suicides, Meddle & Obscured By Clouds by Pink Floyd, Brian Eno’s Apollo album and a lot of other stuff.
How do you feel this record connects with your previous works?
It totally builds on some of the ideas on Going Inside which was made for psychedelic therapy and inner journeys. It uses a lot of the same musicians from the piano trilogy but with the addition of Sven Dam Meinild on woodwinds and brass. At the same time “Nebula” is a return to the electronic music I did before my piano trilogy, with tracks like Above The Horizon & Stargazer as two examples of that. The title track also traces some of my earlier D’n’B inspired tracks like Vuggelise, Kocmoc & Atacama.
Can you share some more about the collaboration with Vertigo?
I started working with Vertigo back in 2014 when we did the KUBE A/V show that followed my AWAY album. We had a lot of fun doing that – and we toured Denmark and Sweden with people like Ceephax Acid Crew, Smerz, Bjørn Svin and Anders Dixen from AVAVAV. One of the craziest shows we did took place inside a public swimming pool at night during the Distortion festival here in Copenhagen. We had 1000+ drunk ravers splashing around the KUBE which was located inside the swimming pool. So we were actually in the water while playing electronic music, with cables floating all around us, which was a little bit frightening!
Later Vertigo helped make the music video for Eyes Open Wide and now we’re finally reuniting for these Nebula shows in September.
Finally, the Fan question: Tell us one simple thing that inspires you to sit and write music?
Boredom! I always get inspired to do music when I’m bored. Listening to other music also helps. Like “I wonder how they wrote or produced that? Could I do something similar?” Or “that chord progression is interesting, maybe I can write something similar and shuffle the chords to make it my own.”
Actually I have no problem borrowing ideas from other artists and gradually turn them into my own. It can be a nice driver to begin with and I think it’s only natural for humans to get inspired by each other. As long as you add your own touch so to speak, your own emotions, your own sounds or grooves. I’ve often started being inspired by a certain track but in the end it always ends up sounding completely different.
Jens, thanks for taking the time!
You’re welcome!
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There you have it – the mind and ways of Rumpistol. Go see him work his magic, alongside his Rumpistol Ensemble, pictured above, this week:
Kolding on Aug 28 and 29, Vejle Aug 30 and Rødding Aug 31, before heading into Copenhagen Sept 3, Aarhus, Sept 4 and Aalborg Sept 5. Get your tickets here.
If you are now thinking, damn I wish I knew about this record sooner, do not worry but follow the official Poule d’Or playlist over on Spotify. It is updated regularly, for more info, click here.
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Title photo and Ensemble shot by Mads Fisker, Nebula photo by the one and only Jakob Andersen.
