Slowing down to remember what moves us
The first notes of Innocence come like a memory. Not a clear one—more like the feeling of climbing a tree as a kid, the way light filters through leaves in late summer, or the comfort of something familiar and wordless. When Amselcom approached Victor Norman to create something distinctly “him,” he found himself returning to an earlier musical language.
“It’s a bit slower, a little melancholy, but with a solid drive.
I decided to call it Innocence because the piano riff I came up with has a childish, nostalgic thing going.”
This return wasn’t about repetition. It was a re-encounter—with spaciousness, with emotion, with something less polished but more alive.
Organic, Deep, Melodic, Techno, House
Genres have always been too tight to hold Victor’s sound.
“If organicdeepmelodictechnohouse was a genre, I’d be a representative.”
Starting with drum and bass, moving into downtempo and slow house, and gradually picking up speed over the years, his journey through BPMs traces a wider arc of artistic curiosity.
“I had a long period where everything I did was at 115 so I could go down or up depending on where I was playing… I might go back to the lower bpms at some point because I really feel that slower is groovier.”
His music, like a breath taken deep into the belly, thrives in the spaces between beats.
Parenthood and Precision
Becoming a parent reframed many things, but not the drive to create.
“Parenthood shifts your perspective profoundly. It makes me more selective about where and how often I perform… intimate venues with great sound systems are now even more important because my time has become more precious.”
Balance doesn’t come easy, but it comes with practice. Studio sessions are more focused. Tools are more minimal. The intention is clear: create what matters, let go of the rest.
“It’s about maximizing efficiency without compromising creativity.”
Still, the influence of fatherhood runs deeper than time management.
“Parenthood reconnects you with a certain innocence and curiosity about the world, which absolutely seeps into my music.”
Themes of wonder, exploration, and playful depth have become more present, even if the tracks remain emotionally textured and grounded.
Where Sound Meets Sight
For Victor, music and visual art are not separate paths. They’re mirror surfaces, reflecting and feeding into each other.
“Both are about creating emotional atmospheres and storytelling… My visual sensibilities influence my music composition and vice versa.”
Some of the strongest musical ideas don’t even come from the studio.
“Musical ideas often come when I’m camping or climbing or just being in nature. Trees, moss, mycelium—these forest entities frequently inspire textures and ambient layers in my tracks.”
And sometimes, one medium leads directly to the other.
“The track Fields that I did a few years back is a really good example. The whole track is inspired from, and tells the story of, an intensely visual and emotional psychedelic experience.”
On the Dancefloor: Dreaming and Getting Down
There’s a duality in Victor’s approach to the dancefloor: the deep and the dirty, the spiritual and the sweaty.
“A good bassline and groove are essential, but it’s also about building tension and release… We’re not here to do yoga. The dancefloor should be a place to dream, and get down, in equal measures.”
In an industry increasingly focused on metrics, he holds tight to what keeps him grounded: time outside, movement, true friendships, and the original impulse that got him into music in the first place.
“I started producing music for me, because I wanted to hear those tracks. That reason isn’t going to change.”
Back to Innocence
With Innocence, Victor Norman invites us back into something elemental. The track doesn’t just echo childhood—it channels the raw wonder that makes us pause, listen, and feel. It’s a reminder that slowness can be powerful, that grooves don’t have to be loud to be deep, and that, sometimes, the best way forward is to remember where we started.
Photographers: Pablo Frisk, Jesper Jansson