Asger Techau from Kashmir has over the past 25 years been an entrenched part of the Danish music industry and the musical upbringing of most people in Denmark. Since 2002 he has co produced and made recordings on almost all KASHMIR releases from 1999 and onwards. Alongside the roles of producer and drummer in Kashmir, Asger Techau has written a number of songs, some of which have been with him for 11 years. April 15th 2016, PHONETICS was released.
The first single and album opener "Breathe" was released on March 4, 2016. The song heralds the themes and production virtues of the album: Clean and dry production, wrapping a love letter to the person who you can be yourself with and relax around.
The nine songs on PHONETICS, describe situations where internal demons come knocking, and when the emotional chaos almost takes over on a hectic day. As existential anchor points on the album, songs like "Breathe", "No Misgivings" and "Passing Bubbles", all point to the love and its magic.
WAVES EP 2017
A little more than a year after he embarked on a solo carreer with the debut album 'Phonetics', Asger Techau is back with an EP that displays a different and more upbeat side of the experienced musician and songwriter's talent. 'WAVES' has been made in close collaboration with producer Caspar Hesselager (Hymns from Nineveh, The Eclectic Moniker, Palace Winter), which has manifested itself in spacious and richly textured soundscapes.
TIME EP 2018
After releasing Waves, Asger and Hesselager dove straight into yet another EP. They found an effective modus operandi since the four tracks on the EP definitely demonstrate that Techau works well in creating dynamics and sonic diversity.
The musical expression contains refined drum patterns, melodic bass lines, chiming guitars and a playful use of synthesizers which all together create a universe with room for captivating energy (in the single 'Eraser') and lingering atmospheres (in the ambient closing track 'Giant').
DECSENDENCE ALBUM 2019
The album title ’Descendence’ refers to the gradual downward movement through the various mental layers. A movement which Asger experienced himself throughout the songwriting process for the album. In this process he allowed himself to sink down deep in his own thoughts, where he tried to analyze on his feelings and experiences. Afterwards he canalized these thoughts into musical ideas, which ultimately transformed into songs.
At a point during the songwriting process Asger left Copenhagen for a brief stay in a dear friend’s photo studio in Greenpoint, New York. He lend a couple of guitars from his friend Mario J. McNulty who produced and mixed ‘Phonetics’. The time in New York proved to be creatively rich. During the stay two of the album’s key songs ’Trash It’ and ’Miss Happiness’ came to life. The first one confrontationally tackles the theme of breaking out of the unhealthy social relationships one can find one self stuck in, while the other is a gentle song written for Asger’s young daughter about alle the beautiful and fragile things in life. Both songs contain subject matter, which seeps through ‘Descendence’ - the kind of thoughts that comes with maturing and (maybe) becoming wiser as time goes by.
Some thoughts from Asger on ‘Descendence’:
»The themes on ‘Descendence’ weaves in and out of thoughts about feeling life and age in a different way than before. Suddenly everything has changed. Fear, loss, love, disappointment and happiness...all of these feelings seem stronger and more specific the ever before. Now they are something you can grab a hold of, crawl into, drown in. It is really overwhelming at the age of 44 to suddenly feel like you are...kinda grown up to be an adult«
Six of the songs on the album have previously been released on the EP’s ’Waves’ og ’Time’ - here they become part of the complete picture that is ’Descendence’.
LEVELS ALBUM 2021
On October 28th, 2021, Asger Techau released his third album "LEVELS", which announced a mature and personal songwriter who was ready to cement his place as an important and strong voice on the Danish music scene.
LEVELS is a reflection of Asger Techau, as a living being who deals with life as it happens, or processes experiences or unresolved emotions.
With the creation of the album, Asger has dived into understanding who he is and what kind of person he would like to become in the future.
Through this process, he has realized how important it is to be kind, respectful, and humble, on the great journey that life is.
The nine songs represent different levels of emotion that define Asger Techau as a person.
When you listen to LEVELS, you get a clear feeling of the songwriter, as a positive, happy, fragile, self-conscious, sad, angry, loving, intense, light, curious, passive, square, stubborn, careful, flamboyant, cold, sloppy, organized , desperate, confused and completely ordinary human ... just like you and me!