HEDEGAARD’s (@hedegaarddk) KIN arrives as part of a larger creative campaign built around Western China’s Melody, a documentary project tracing his work across 10 provinces in Western China. The rollout begins May 8 with “Say My Name,” a new single with Arash, followed by two additional release waves on June 5 and June 19. The full project brings together field recordings, traditional Chinese instrumentation, regional influence, and collaborators including Karen Harding, MOGUAI, Waka Flocka Flame, and others.
The idea behind KIN is tied to process as much as output.
HEDEGAARD traveled through China to meet local musicians, record source material, and build songs around specific places, with each documentary episode connected to a corresponding track. For an artist already known for his Car Music sound and prior success in China through records like “NYC BABY” and “BEIJING BABY,” this album places that relationship into a wider creative format.
In the conversation below, HEDEGAARD talks about streaming, taste, platforms, and the pressure artists face when online trends move faster than the music itself. His answers keep circling back to identity, originality, and the need to create from personal taste instead of designing records around viral potential.
That mindset lines up with KIN, a project built around travel, cultural exchange, and a slower creative process than most digital release cycles allow.
Interview With HEDEGAARD
Has streaming expanded your taste in unexpected ways, or clarified what you were already drawn to?
I think streaming has mainly made access to music much bigger and faster, although fundamentally it has not changed my own creative direction very much. If anything, it has made originality and identity even more important than before.
I have always tried to stay true to my own sound and artistic vision instead of chasing what is popular in the moment.
In your view, are platforms shaping global taste, or surfacing patterns that were already forming?
I think it is probably a mix of the two. Platforms definitely influence what people are exposed to, and at the same time, they also reveal patterns and trends that were already growing naturally among listeners around the globe.
How do you stay intentional about your selections when trends move so quickly online?
I try to avoid focusing too much on trends. Trends move extremely fast today, especially online, and I think it is very easy to lose your identity as an artist if you constantly chase what is working in the moment.
For me, it is much more important to create something that feels honest and authentic than trying to engineer a viral moment.
Have you reviewed your crates and noticed how closely they reflected the current moment? What did that tell you?
I think every artist is influenced by the time they live in, consciously or subconsciously. I also think it is important to filter that inspiration through your own personality and taste, otherwise everything starts sounding the same.
What practices help you stay connected to your own sense of taste beyond algorithmic recommendations?
Honestly, I do not feel that much has fundamentally changed for me. Streaming has obviously created a much larger supply of music, and that also means uniqueness matters even more than before.
It has not really changed the way I work creatively. I always try to stay true to my own style and sound. A massive streaming result is not the most important thing to me. What matters is if people genuinely connect with the music, support it, and want to come experience it live.
My dream of becoming a musician was never about creating background music for playlists or “elevator music.” It has always been about creating something people can truly feel connected to.
Do you see a generational change in how younger DJs develop their ear in a streaming-first era?
I think social media has had a huge impact in recent years. A lot of younger DJs and producers are now designing music specifically to work on platforms like TikTok. I completely understand the intention behind it, because everyone wants their music to spread and reach people.
At the same time, I do think some artistic authenticity can get lost when music is created primarily around algorithms or viral potential. The reality is that nobody truly knows what will work on social media anyway.
Personally, I believe musicians and creative people should start from their own taste and identity rather than trying to hit a trend. That is usually where the most timeless music comes from.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
