Kent Tonning—a.k.a. MRD of the it-collective Live From Earth—hops on our Zoom call a little late and a little apologetically. “Sorry! I’m not that great with technology. I know, it’s surprising.” he explains, before wryly adding: “I guess my brain is full of Ableton.”
My first experience of this Norwegian DJ’s music was during a wine-fueled set at Montreal’s 2024 Igloofest and now, less than a year later, his latest electropunk EP MISLED YOUTH has been in rotation for weeks. Connecting with me while home for the holidays, Kent confesses he’s on a different wavelength than usual, having spent the past few days rediscovering the art of doing nothing—an understandable undertaking when your year has included globe-trotting tours, an official remix of the chart-topping Artemas single “i like the way you kiss me,” and the late-fall release of a fast-and-loose, genre-bending project.
Marrying electronic beats with disparate genres—and, specifically, punk music—isn’t necessarily new to Kent. His discography shows that elements of MISLED YOUTH’s experimental sound have always been at play, dormant in the DNA of acclaimed albums Løvehjerte and FLOWERS OF FLESH AND BLOOD. Yet, insomuch as these early releases may have alluded to MRD’s foundational influences, MISLED YOUTH embraces them with abandon, centering the hooky melodies and instrumentation of what this multi-talented artist calls “high school punk” in his signature industrial electronic sound. In his words, the album attempts to answer the question “What if Blink-182 made trance?”.
In this exclusive interview, MRD gives Nexus Radio a look into his creative process, shares his hopes for 2025, and talks us through the many inspirations behind MISLED YOUTH.
NEXUS RADIO: It’s great to connect with you, Kent! Where are you currently?
MRD: I’m in Oslo right now. I’ve been living here for eight years. I’m on vacation, actually. It’s my first proper vacation in almost three years. I’ve been constantly touring, so it was time to take some time off and… don’t do shit.
NR: Is that the plan? Don’t do shit?
MRD: Yeah! It’s so hard to do nothing, but now I’m getting into it—sleeping on the couch, watching weird cult documentaries… I love it.
NR: Sounds like a good vibe! I imagine it’s cold in Norway right now.
MRD: It’s getting there, though I guess Montreal right now is crazy cold, right?
NR: It’s pretty frigid. But you probably got to experience that for yourself when you played Igloofest last year!
MRD: Yeah, that was…why do you guys have it outside?! (laughs) People were going mental, I remember. I guess you’ve got to move around and get smashed to stay warm.
NR: It’s a unique energy—everyone wrapped in parkas and roasting marshmallows. But if I remember correctly, you got injured shortly before making the trip over, right?
MRD: Yeah, the day before I went to Canada. I chopped off a slice of my thumb with a mandolin.
NR: Shit.
MRD: Yeah… I looked at my thumb and saw bone. I remember I tried to look for the other piece, but I couldn’t find it because I was bleeding a ton. Luckily, I was 500 meters from the hospital so I ran down there with my hand in the air, but they couldn’t stitch me back up because I didn’t bring the other piece. I ended up having to change the bandage every day…
NR: Ouch!
MRD: Yeah, I was in a lot of pain. I think I had almost two bottles of wine before I went on stage. I was like, “Either I’m gonna throw up or I’m gonna pass out or I’m gonna get happy drunk.” And mid-set the pain started to go away. It was an intense moment for me—I was nervous and in pain and shaking. Narciss was behind me, making sure I could do my job.
NR: I’m impressed you got through it. Did you get to see much of the city while you were here?
MRD: I did but there was so much snow everywhere. I came back this summer and could barely recognize it. But I love Montreal, it’s a cool crowd.
NR: Thank you! We like to think we’re pretty cool. But I have to ask about your new project, MISLEAD YOUTH. I remember I first heard it a few weeks ago and fell in love with it.
MRD: Thanks so much, that means a lot to me.
NR: Of course. How are you feeling now that it’s out in the world?
MRD: The response has been great. I’m super proud of this record. I wanted to put together an EP that was inspired by the music I listened to from when I was 15 to now. It’s supposed to sound like it’s recorded in a bedroom. That was the idea behind it.
NR: It feels very nostalgic. I know that you have a punk background, so I’m curious to know what made you decide to go in this direction since it’s so different from your earlier projects.
MRD: I wanted to break out of the ‘classic MRD sound’. I’ve always loved experimenting with and blending genres. I think two years ago I started to study and really listen to Blink-182. I realized how great they are—good composition, great production. Really well made.
I recorded the opening riff and added vocals for this record when I got home from tour, and then I was like “What if this was blended with trance? What if Blink-182 made trance?” And it just worked.
It’s interesting because I was never really into the high school punk stuff. I was more interested in rough political punk music—Discharge, Black Flag, stuff like that. But I love the high school punk melodies.
NR: Are you interested in further exploring this sound?
MRD: I am. I feel like when I’m making music, I’m walking on this path where I have my tools to create the ‘MRD sound’. Sometimes, I go off the path to find new tools. And that was what MISLED YOUTH was about: going off, going wild, having fun. Since working on this record, I’m not interested in looking at my music as exclusively club music. I want to write more songs—that’s more the direction I want to go.
NR: I read that you’d dropped off the map for two years while you learned Ableton. And I found myself wondering: what’s your relationship to independence and privacy, specifically in the context of music-making? Do you like being alone when you’re being creative?
MRD: Yes, though I worked a lot on this EP with my friend Marcus [Gunther]. He’s a producer and recording engineer, and I went to Berlin three times to work with him. He would help guide the process. It was cool because I’m usually by myself in the studio, as you were saying.
NR: I’m sure it’s helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of.
MRD: It’s so fun, but I’m quite picky about the person. It has to be a good match. With Marcus, I felt like he was just enhancing me. It made me stronger—he showed me a new perspective on producing music, so it was a beautiful experience.
NR: And how has it been incorporating some of the album’s live elements into your sets?
MRD: It feels natural. People were asking for it too! And then promoters started asking, and when promoters started asking then I was like “I should definitely do this.” Next year, I’m going to be doing a club live set with my friend which will include bass, some guitars, vocals, a synth… I’m excited.
NR: That sounds sick. I hope you’re able to bring that to Canada! Can you tell me a little about your remix for Artemas’ “i like the way you kiss me”? How did that project come about?
MRD: I knew about the song early on. And then my manager texted me asking if I’d like to remix the track, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I finished in two days! I’m a huge fan, both of him as a person and as an artist. A couple of months later we went to the studio and worked on a tune together. It’s supposed to come out soon.
NR: I’m excited to hear it. Going back to your background—do you feel like your Scandinavian roots have influenced your music?
MRD: That’s a good question… I think it has. I think it’s one of the reasons why my music is melancholic and nostalgic. The melancholy comes from the weather and the darkness. It does something to you. It’s like you’re always longing for something. The nostalgia comes from growing up in the mountains—I always wanted to be a part of something, but everything was so far away from me. It felt like a different planet.
NR: Yeah, it’s almost like an element of isolation works its way into your music.
MRD: Exactly. You guys must feel it too!
NR: Definitely. These people who live on the beach their whole lives don’t get it.
MRD: (laughs) Yeah, they’re like “How do you survive up there?”. Uh, we just stay inside.
NR: Exactly. (laughs) MISLED YOUTH was released through Live From Earth, which you’ve been working with for a while now. Has your experience working with this label and collective influenced the way you make music?
MRD: It hasn’t changed my music so much, but it’s made me feel grateful to be a part of something, to feel like I belong somewhere. I’m proud to be a part of Live From Earth. They’ve given me a lot more confidence in making music.
NR: That confidence piece is huge. You know, I was watching the concept film for this EP, and I got the vibe that you’re a bit of a party legend. What’s your ideal night out?
MRD: It sounds boring, but usually I hang out at home with friends. We’ll drink some wine and throw some darts. We listen to a lot of Italo-Disco and punk music. I guess it’s not that exciting to party in Norway. But when I party in Europe, it’s different. If I’m in Berlin I’ll usually hit up a wine bar, go to karaoke, and then go straight to…maybe Berghain. F*ck shit up.
NR: I get the staying home thing—sometimes going to clubs takes too much energy.
MRD: Going to clubs is different for me now. It’s become a workspace. And sometimes you get recognized and people want to talk to you about synthesizers while you’re f*cked up in the middle of the dance floor.
NR: Not the time or place for an interview.
MRD: Exactly. I tend to get lost too, when I go out. I like to wander off on side quests.
NR: What’s your most memorable side quest?
MRD: I remember a funny one from when I was in Berlin. I was at the Michelberger, this hotel with a nice bar. I was tired from the studio and having a couple of cocktails, and this beautiful big dog came up to me. And it jumped up on the couch and laid over me! Its owner came over and we started talking, and she told me she was homeless. I bought her some drinks and we hung out and I got really drunk.
The day after, I woke up in bed with the dog. And I remembered asking the woman if the dog could stay with me, and that I’d taken it home and showered it…
NR: (laughs) That’s so funny.
MRD: Yeah, the dog was having the time of its life. We ate some pizza together, too, I think. But I remember waking up like, “What the f*ck have I done?”.
NR: You gave the dog a spa day! All right, last question: what are you looking forward to in 2025?
MRD: So much. Tour with the band, growing more into this artist side of me, getting more comfortable on stage. I love being on stage but when it’s just you and a microphone, and no table in front of you…it’s different. But I’m super excited to go down that route.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. Check out MRD’s latest EP, MISLED YOUTH, here.
