And what may be next?
Introduction
Vinyl Floor is a Danish progressive/alternative rock duo from Copenhagen, formed in 2007 by brothers Daniel and Thomas Charlie Pedersen. Having now released 6 albums, their latest, Balancing Act, was released last month, February 27, 2026. The 13 songs on their latest album were written by the brothers, who also share lead vocal duties.
Balancing Act was recorded at Studio Möllan in Malmö, Sweden, by Emil Isaksson and features musical guests such as Bebe Risenfors (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) on wind instruments, Christian Ellegaard (Danish Symphony Orchestra) on strings, and more.
They like to describe themselves as “melodic rock” but with touches of symphonic, alternative, and progressive rock intertwined.
I was able to do this interview with Thomas to chat about the band’s beginnings, their interests, and what fans can expect as we head further into 2026.
Interview
Chris: OK, first, thanks for this opportunity to interview you, Thomas. I’m not Danish, but I am planning on visiting soon!
From your press release, “Balancing Act is an album about trying to balance life and searching for beauty and meaning in a world full of chaos, treason, insecurity, and false promises. A world which itself currently seems out of balance.”
When you mention “out of balance”, were you thinking of anything particularly? Probably a cheeky question to start with!!
Thomas: It’s my pleasure, Chris! I guess we were thinking…more like, universally speaking. All the crazy stuff going on in the world right now certainly is nothing new, history-wise. It’s driven by dubious virtues such as profit, power, and everything in between. It just seems like things have become extremely polarized, and I think a lot of people are feeling the weight and powerlessness of not being able to control much anymore.
It seems like the world is heading for the finish line, and we’re reduced to bystanders, watching it happen. Heavy stuff, indeed. That said, this album is very much about inner progress – the need of having to find some kind of personal balance to be able to exist in this turmoil. We’re all suffering to some extent. Love, hope, and faith will keep us somewhat sane. We mainly concentrate on writing about that. We all need it.
Chris: I guess my next question is, and I don’t know if you get this a lot, I apologize, but why “Vinyl Floor” as your name? Your first album was from 2009, and you have been going under the same moniker since.
Thomas: Well, I guess you need to call a group something, and we didn´t exactly spend a lot of time trying to come up with a name. It might not be the greatest name, but it was the best we could come up with around that time! It’s definitely a nod to our love of vinyl records, and then there’s the boring floor type association, haha.
But to be honest, it doesn’t really mean anything.
Chris: How did you each become interested in music?
Thomas: Born and raised in a home with a father who played us music from a very young age. He played the guitar, still does, and there was quite a nice setup in the living room. Guitars, drums, and a Hammond organ as well. Friends came by to jam, so we listened.
Dad also played great records on the turntable, everything from Dylan to Dire Straits. Daniel and I both started jamming for fun, starting out on drums and later progressing to guitar and piano. Our childhood was just a field of creativity. We each recorded many made-up-on-the-spot songs on tape. It was always an outpouring of stuff. We recorded a multitude of ideas. We haven’t been able to match that level of creativity ever since, ha!
When Nirvana happened, that was when music became something else for me, something deeper. Something important that felt like it was only for me, and which spoke to my soul and made me want to play the guitar and learn real chords. I think Daniel felt much the same way even though he was younger than me.
Chris: What would you each say are your biggest musical influences – coming from Denmark – and how have they shaped your style?
Thomas: We adore the music of Dylan, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Cohen, Bowie, and so on, but our favourite bands, and the ones we probably draw the most inspiration from, are The Beatles, The Kinks, Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Who, and Procol Harum. All the great British stuff, yeah.
Or, wait a minute, you mean Danish acts? We dig Gasolin, Sort Sol, Kashmir, CV Jørgensen. But the main inspiration comes from the aforementioned bands.
Chris: Well, I’d say we have a lot in common when it comes to British music!
How would you describe your band’s musical style to someone who has never heard you before?
Thomas: Melodic rock with a touch of power pop infused with alternative, symphonic, and slightly progressive elements. Our foundation is clearly rock. But we love a fine pop tune as well!
Chris: Can you talk about your songwriting process? How collaborative is it?
Thomas: Not as collaborative as you might think.
I mean, it certainly gets collaborative later in the process when we work on all the arrangements together, but the basic writing is mostly done alone.
We have tried several times to cook something up, sitting across from each other with guitars in hand, and to jam our way into some form and structure. But we always end up just staring at each other! It just doesn’t work that way for us.
When we each bring in a song, it’s always a full song or close to being finished. And then we start trading off ideas, and it evolves from there.
Chris: OK, so what’s next for the band? Any upcoming projects or tours?
Thomas: We’ve been asked to play a few shows at the IPO Festival in Liverpool in May which we hope to do and then maybe some pop-up shows here and there in the Copenhagen area. It’s only currently the two of us, so we play songs acoustically – songs which work in that setting. Regarding new material, I’ve been writing new songs recently and when Daniel has a well, we might get together and do something. When the time is right.
Chris: That’s fantastic to hear.
This may sound silly, but I’m a big fan of the Danish national football team, especially when they qualified for the 1986 World Cup – the fans were so great. Preben Elkjær is still a player I remember in the second-round vs Uruguay, and I wish they could have moved on more!!! Are you football fans? Or any other sport? Or does Vinyl Floor keep you too busy?
Thomas: Really? That´s awesome! I remember that era well. Danish dynamite! I’m the oldest, so I do actually remember watching those games live as a kid and it was a time when our efforts seemed a bit innocent and, perhaps, a bit unprofessional but in a cute way! The team definitely had an irresistible charm and I’m glad it was noticed, internationally. We used to play football ourselves in our youth and we still like to watch a game on TV, once in a while.
Closing
Thomas, it has been great to interview someone from a band I hardly knew about, and whose new album I do really love.
Many thanks to Thomas for this opportunity, and I do wish Vinyl Floor all the best – you guys are ones to watch.
My review of Balancing Act can be found here: https://commfailure.com/vinyl-floors-balancing-act-2026-album-review/
And here: https://substack.com/@commfailure/p-189811571
