Basshunter on naked men, cross dressing and his love of Durham

The Swedish DJ and noughties icon Basshunter, also known as Jonas Altberg, returned to Durham last night to perform his celebrated tunes at Loveshack.

With hits “Now You’re Gone” and “All I Ever Wanted”, he’s undeniably made his mark on the world of techno pop music, as well as in the hearts of many a dedicated fan.

We spoke to him to find out a little more about the man, the myth, the legend that is Basshunter.

What inspired you to get into music? 

I was going to rave parties as a kid and just thought that I wanted to be the one DJing at these parties one day.

Is there a big rave scene in Sweden?

No…we just made rave parties in people’s barns that we didn’t know. Sometimes the police came and shut us down, but if we were lucky they could go on for a whole weekend.

Luxurious setting

You’ve been to Durham a few times before – what keeps bringing you back?

Ask your fellow readers…I must obviously do something right to please them.

I love the city. It’s a very pretty city, and it has the highest number of listed buildings in the UK.

Does that mean you’ve visited our Cathedral?

Yes, but I haven’t been inside. I get a weird tingling feeling in my body when I go inside a church and I hear this voice saying “get the hell out”.

I think I might be that smart guy in the wheelchair – Stephen Hawking.

What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever done?

I had a really fat guy running up on stage naked in the middle of my set. I kept going but I had to stop for a second because I was like “look it’s a penis but smaller! Ewww.”

It almost looked like it was growing backwards – that was too much.

His last visit brought all the vibes

What’s the best place you’ve ever visited?

I did a long tour in New Zealand which is the furthest from home I’ve ever been.

We did a lot of cool stuff….went in helicopters, saw them shooting one of the scenes from Lord of the Rings. That was pretty amazing.

So you went on Big Brother; what do you feel about the increasing forms of surveillance present in Western society?

I think it’s good. If you have a problem with it in these troubled times that we live in now, then you’re hiding something.

I’m an official person, and I’m not scared if someone reads my texts or emails, or if they have a movie of me buying milk. If you’re a law abiding citizen who just has fun and live life, I’d say it’s a good thing, I feel safer.

All I’ve ever wanted

As something that’s becoming increasingly permeable in recent times, what do you think defines gender?

Girls have a vagina and boys have a penis. You have transsexuals, and then you have transvestites, and then you have cross dressers, but cross dressers are just weird…but they’re fun.

If you saw some of these transsexuals, I mean seriously, you wouldn’t care, if you know that they were actually a guy, you wouldn’t care.

Physical appearance is one thing but what’s inside is more important. If a person goes through all that trouble to look like a girl, who can question that.

What is your advice to find ultimate happiness?

The old famous expression “all you need is love” is utter bullshit. Love doesn’t pay bills, love doesn’t pay rent, and love doesn’t take you to Magaluf on a holiday.

If you can earn money and pay a living, and also have fun at the side doing something that you love, then only then will you be happy with yourself. When you’re happy with yourself you can make a relationship work.

However, if you’re version  of happiness is being strapped up in a dungeon and spanked then you’re going to have to look pretty hard to fine the person to bring you that happiness.

What a babe