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Slow Club

The Lakes, 2011

December in Scandinavia can be tough, not only for the long darkness but also for the freezing temperatures. Nevertheless the Sheffield-based Slow Club are brave enough to go for an outdoor acoustic session the morning after their show in Copenhagen. We meet Rebecca and Charles in their hotel in Vesterbro and take them for a short walk through the neighbourhood towards The Lakes, a popular recreational area close to the city center, that is filled with people in summer and more calm and idyllic in winter. Looking for a wind-protected spot the two sit down right at the waterfront with the southernmost of the lakes in their back. Charles starts strumming his semi-acoustic guitar and heads into a beautiful version of “Never Look Back“ from their new album “Paradise“. Then Rebecca takes over the guitar for the unreleased “Only If You’re Certain“, a quiet and fragile song with haunting vocal harmonies that makes us forget the cold for a while.

Camera
Michael Luger
Sound Recording
Bence Kováts
Post production
Michael Luger
Photography
Tom Spray
Artist
Slow Club

The Lakes

Once the sun comes out and the temperatures are getting bearable The Lakes (Danish: Søerne) is a place to go! The central location makes the five lakes on the western edge of the inner city a prime recreation area where Copenhageners go for a walk, run the 6,4 km loop or just sit down and watch the ducks and swans in the water. Originally the area of The Lakes was covered by a stream around the city. In the 16th century the first dams were built in order to use the water for watermills and improve the fortification of Copenhagen. Some of the lakes also served as a water reservoir until 1959. The Lakes as a recreational area were severely threatened by plans to built a four-lane motorway ring in the same place in the 1960s, but the idea was finally dropped and The Lakes became a protected area in 1966.