{"id":177336,"date":"2025-05-26T11:11:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T09:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/vi-maend-er-vildt-daarlige-til-at-tale-om-svaere-ting\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T12:29:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T10:29:11","slug":"poetry-slam-champ-from-ucph-if-one-guy-relates-its-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/poetry-slam-champ-from-ucph-if-one-guy-relates-its-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Poetry slam champ from UCPH: \u00bbIf one guy relates, it\u2019s worth it\u00ab"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k<\/p>\n

Is 28 years old and completed his bachelor’s degree in Classical Archaeology in December 2024.<\/p>\n

Won the Danish national championship in poetry slam in 2025.<\/p>\n

Released his debut album K\u00f8terdage<\/em> under the stage name Valgtemig<\/em> in May 2025.<\/p>\n

The album was produced in collaboration with Thomas Christiansen and Jonas Johansson and is available on all streaming platforms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The sun is shining from a cloudless May sky and is bringing on a sweat.<\/p>\n

Fitting for what the University Post has come out to talk to 28-year-old Valdemar Brob\u00e6k about. As Valgtemig<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 his stage name \u2014 he has just released his debut album K\u00f8terdage<\/em>, a Danish rendering of ‘dog days’ \u2014 meaning the hottest days of summer when everyone is irritable and acts unpredictably. It is a metaphor that matches the theme of the album.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI was so nervous about releasing the songs. They\u2019re not the coolest things to write about. But now I\u2019m really looking forward to it.\u00ab<\/p>\n

With his ‘dog days’ debut album, Valdemar Brob\u00e6k puts into words a time marked by his own loneliness and mental distress \u2014 in the hope that his honest lyrics will inspire others to open up.<\/p>\n

Bolt from the blue<\/h3>\n

Many of Valdemar Brob\u00e6k\u2019s lyrics come to him while he\u2019s out on the bike, like his stage name Valgtemig, <\/em>meaning ‘chose me’, which in Danish rhymes with his first name. The pun struck him like a bolt from the blue. He had to get off his bike to write it down. It just felt right.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI wanted a stage name that reflects the fact that I take on a persona when I perform, while also keeping it real \u2014 it\u2019s still Valdemar who\u2019s behind the lyrics.\u00ab<\/p>\n

‘Valgtemig’, pronounced ‘Val-tuh-my’, was the perfect compromise. The name makes space for the artistic persona that Valdemar Brob\u00e6k steps into on stage, while also reflecting the honesty in his music. It gives him the distance he needs when performing, but still resembles his real name enough so he doesn\u2019t become someone completely different.<\/p>\n

\u00bbA concert is always a performance. The premise is that people have bought a ticket to see you. So you have to deliver something as an artist. I’m still practising how to relax and be more outgoing on stage, so I can give something back.\u00ab<\/p>\n

The path to poetry<\/h3>\n

His path into poetry began at a young age. He lived in the US for the first nine years of his life, and at the school he attended, students could go once a week to a creative school and be taught different disciplines. In first grade, he was given a poetry course, and the experience stuck with him.<\/p>\n

Making the album was the first step towards becoming aware of how I was feeling<\/p>\n

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00bbI think it makes a huge difference to get some creative instruction from an early age. Even though it took a long time before I really understood how great poetry is, that class in first grade still stayed with me.\u00ab<\/p>\n

In fact, it wasn\u2019t until 2019 that Valdemar really picked up poetry again. He wrote a few texts, found a beat on YouTube that matched, and uploaded it to Soundcloud.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI was a bit self-absorbed back then. I thought everything I made was amazing. When I listen to it now, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s very impressive. But I guess it was that self-important attitude that kept me writing poetry.\u00ab<\/p>\n

A lot has changed since Valdemar Brob\u00e6k sat in his room uploading demos to Soundcloud. He\u2019s gained two good friends and collaborators, Thomas Christiansen and Jonas Johansson, who help with the music and have produced all the instrumentals on the album. He\u2019s become better at writing lyrics. And he now performs his poetry both through music and on the poetry slam stage.<\/p>\n

Danish champion in poetry slam<\/h3>\n

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k prefers to describe himself as a poet who makes music. Much of his creativity also finds expression through poetry slam.<\/p>\n

He ended up on a poetry slam stage somewhat by accident. He had previously attended various open mic nights to read out his poems and was looking for more events like that, when a Google search led him to a poetry slam in the Copenhagen suburb of Valby. He had no idea what the concept was, but showed up with his poems and got drawn into the scene.<\/p>\n

Poetry slam is mostly a competition, says Valdemar Brob\u00e6k. ‘Slammers’ \u2014 the people who perform the poems \u2014 need to be good at engaging the audience, because it\u2019s up to them to vote for the evening\u2019s winner. Everyone sits with a scorecard, which they hold up at the end of the three minutes a slammer performs a poem. If you\u2019ve pleased the audience, you move on to the next round, until a winner is crowned.<\/p>\n

\u00bbBecause it\u2019s a competition, there\u2019s also a big entertainment element to it. The poems become a bit more accessible and a little less introspective,\u00ab says Valdemar Brob\u00e6k, explaining that some slammers become very theatrical in their performance. They memorise their poems and perform them with gestures and acting.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI have a lot of respect for those who put that extra effort in. I usually just stand and read my poem.\u00ab<\/p>\n

But despite Valdemar Brob\u00e6k\u2019s perhaps more understated approach to poetry slam, he still managed to go all the way when the Danish championships were held in 2025. He will be heading to both Paris and Germany over the summer to compete for the title of world champion. But first, the debut album has to come out.<\/p>\n

Dog days<\/h3>\n

\u00bbWe didn\u2019t agree on any themes beforehand. I just wrote songs about how I\u2019ve been feeling over the past few years. And so the album ended up being about mood swings and being in a bad mental space, because that was a big part of my life.\u00ab<\/p>\n

I’ve become much more aware of both sharing more about myself and asking more specific questions.<\/p>\n

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The album grew out of Valdemar Brob\u00e6k\u2019s head and reflects how he has been feeling over the past four years. Just as dog days are hot, uncomfortable days with fluctuating moods, K\u00f8terdage<\/em> explores periods in Valdemar Brob\u00e6k\u2019s life where his mood has been up and down, and where his mind hasn\u2019t always been the most pleasant place to be.<\/p>\n

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k describes his poetry as introspective. He draws on emotions, experiences, thoughts, and conversations he\u2019s had with others. He boils this down into lyrics sprinkled with both classical and pop culture references.<\/p>\n

\u00bbThe lyrics are very personal. When I listen to them now, I actually think it\u2019s a fairly immature album. I\u2019m not particularly reflective. But making the album was the first step towards becoming aware of how I was feeling, trying to put words to it, and being honest about it.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k can feel that he\u2019s grown older since he started writing the album. He\u2019s more reflective and in a better mental place.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI don\u2019t know if it was writing the album that helped me. But when I listen to some of the early tracks, I can definitely see that there\u2019s been personal development.\u00ab
\n<\/p>\n

\u00bbIt shouldn\u2019t be women\u2019s responsibility\u00ab<\/h3>\n

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k is working on becoming better at opening up. He wants to take the initiative in starting difficult conversations by talking about how he\u2019s doing. For him, this is the first step towards feeling better. His hope is that over time it becomes easier \u2014 and a bit more acceptable \u2014 to be the one who starts the conversation.<\/p>\n

The musician credits his sisters for helping him become better at talking about the hard things in life. They were always good at sharing how they felt with each other and with him, and slowly Valdemar Brob\u00e6k also began opening up with them. But he finds it unfortunate that it was the women in his life who had to teach him how to talk about his feelings.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWe men are really bad at talking about difficult things. But it shouldn\u2019t be women\u2019s problem that we don\u2019t know how to talk about how we feel.\u00ab<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s just some guy out there listening who can find some meaning in it, then it will all have been worth it for me<\/p>\n

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s why Valdemar Brob\u00e6k is working on having deeper conversations with his male friends. He tries to open up himself and is more conscious about starting conversations where he asks his friends how they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWith some of my friends, it just bounces off. It can feel strange to talk about yourself, so the conversation quickly dies out. But with others, we\u2019ve had some really beautiful conversations and become much closer.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Simple questions \u2014 whether his friends are happy in their jobs, what they do in their free time, or how they\u2019re doing in general \u2014 are things Valdemar Brob\u00e6k never used to ask his friends about. When they met up, it would be over a game of dice at a bar, and the conversation would lack substance.<\/p>\n

\u00bbThere were a lot of things I didn\u2019t know about my friends. I realised I could see people quite often and still only know them on a superficial level. I\u2019ve become much more aware of both sharing more about myself and asking more specific questions. And just being curious.\u00ab<\/p>\n

The difficult second album<\/h3>\n

The album is out, the debut concert is done, and Valdemar Brob\u00e6k can now finally wrap up a four-year-long project.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI\u2019m really looking forward to making new music again. The past year has been filled with all the practical stuff around the album, so it\u2019ll be great to begin a new project from scratch.\u00ab<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean Valdemar Brob\u00e6k plans to become a full-time musician. He enjoys being creative, but sees the music industry as a tough world where a lot of compromises have to be made. For him, his music project is a space where he can express himself \u2014 and hopefully let others know that it\u2019s okay to struggle.<\/p>\n

\u00bbIf there\u2019s just some guy out there listening who can find some meaning in it, then it will all have been worth it for me.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Valgtemig<\/em> is an introspective project, and so the difficult second album will probably address similar issues as the debut, says Valdemar Brob\u00e6k. But he hopes the new lyrics will reflect that he\u2019s grown older and is in a different place in life:<\/p>\n

\u00bbBack then I felt like the lyrics for K\u00f8terdage<\/em> were a big deal. When I listen to them now, it doesn’t seem like there is much depth in them. This has given me the drive to try and outdo myself.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Neither in his music nor in his choice of studies has career been a big focus for Valdemar Brob\u00e6k. The most important thing has always been doing something he enjoyed.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWhen I was choosing a degree programme, I just went through the list looking for something that sounded fun \u2014 and I didn\u2019t get very far before stumbling on archaeology.\u00ab<\/p>\n

He didn’t choose the education programme with a career in mind, but purely on the basis of what seemed enjoyable.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI\u2019ve loved it. I often draw on my studies when I write poems \u2014 it gives me a lot of inspiration.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k handed in his bachelor\u2019s thesis in the winter, and has since taken a gap semester to focus on finishing the K\u00f8terdage<\/em> album. This summer, he\u2019ll be starting a master\u2019s in information science \u2014 partly because it\u2019s interesting, and partly to just secure his future a little bit.<\/p>\n

\u00bbCareer stuff is damned tricky. But I\u2019m up for doing it on my own terms. I want to make sure there\u2019s space for music and art in the future.\u00ab
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valdemar Brob\u00e6k won the 2025 Danish poetry slam championship. 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He believes men need to get better at talking about the hard stuff \u2014 with each other."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Debut","text":"Valdemar Brob\u00e6k won the 2025 Danish poetry slam championship. With a bachelor\u2019s in Classical Archaeology and a debut album on the way, he hopes his music will get more men talking about their feelings \u2014 something he\u2019s struggled with himself.","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<div class=\"factbox\">\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">Valdemar Brob\u00e6k<\/p>\n<p>Is 28 years old and completed his bachelor’s degree in Classical Archaeology in December 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Won the Danish national championship in poetry slam in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Released his debut album <em>K\u00f8terdage<\/em> under the stage name <em>Valgtemig<\/em> in May 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The album was produced in collaboration with Thomas Christiansen and Jonas Johansson and is available on all streaming platforms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The sun is shining from a cloudless May sky and is bringing on a sweat.<\/p>\n<p>Fitting for what the University Post has come out to talk to 28-year-old Valdemar Brob\u00e6k about. As <em>Valgtemig<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 his stage name \u2014 he has just released his debut album <em>K\u00f8terdage<\/em>, a Danish rendering of ‘dog days’ \u2014 meaning the hottest days of summer when everyone is irritable and acts unpredictably. It is a metaphor that matches the theme of the album.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI was so nervous about releasing the songs. They\u2019re not the coolest things to write about. But now I\u2019m really looking forward to it.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>With his ‘dog days’ debut album, Valdemar Brob\u00e6k puts into words a time marked by his own loneliness and mental distress \u2014 in the hope that his honest lyrics will inspire others to open up.<\/p>\n<h3>Bolt from the blue<\/h3>\n<p>Many of Valdemar Brob\u00e6k\u2019s lyrics come to him while he\u2019s out on the bike, like his stage name <em>Valgtemig, <\/em>meaning ‘chose me’, which in Danish rhymes with his first name. The pun struck him like a bolt from the blue. He had to get off his bike to write it down. It just felt right.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI wanted a stage name that reflects the fact that I take on a persona when I perform, while also keeping it real \u2014 it\u2019s still Valdemar who\u2019s behind the lyrics.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>‘Valgtemig’, pronounced ‘Val-tuh-my’, was the perfect compromise. The name makes space for the artistic persona that Valdemar Brob\u00e6k steps into on stage, while also reflecting the honesty in his music. It gives him the distance he needs when performing, but still resembles his real name enough so he doesn\u2019t become someone completely different.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbA concert is always a performance. The premise is that people have bought a ticket to see you. So you have to deliver something as an artist. I’m still practising how to relax and be more outgoing on stage, so I can give something back.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>The path to poetry<\/h3>\n<p>His path into poetry began at a young age. He lived in the US for the first nine years of his life, and at the school he attended, students could go once a week to a creative school and be taught different disciplines. In first grade, he was given a poetry course, and the experience stuck with him.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Making the album was the first step towards becoming aware of how I was feeling<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Valdemar Brob\u00e6k<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbI think it makes a huge difference to get some creative instruction from an early age. Even though it took a long time before I really understood how great poetry is, that class in first grade still stayed with me.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>In fact, it wasn\u2019t until 2019 that Valdemar really picked up poetry again. He wrote a few texts, found a beat on YouTube that matched, and uploaded it to Soundcloud.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI was a bit self-absorbed back then. I thought everything I made was amazing. When I listen to it now, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s very impressive. But I guess it was that self-important attitude that kept me writing poetry.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>A lot has changed since Valdemar Brob\u00e6k sat in his room uploading demos to Soundcloud. He\u2019s gained two good friends and collaborators, Thomas Christiansen and Jonas Johansson, who help with the music and have produced all the instrumentals on the album. He\u2019s become better at writing lyrics. And he now performs his poetry both through music and on the poetry slam stage.<\/p>\n<h3>Danish champion in poetry slam<\/h3>\n<p>Valdemar Brob\u00e6k prefers to describe himself as a poet who makes music. Much of his creativity also finds expression through poetry slam.<\/p>\n<p>He ended up on a poetry slam stage somewhat by accident. He had previously attended various open mic nights to read out his poems and was looking for more events like that, when a Google search led him to a poetry slam in the Copenhagen suburb of Valby. He had no idea what the concept was, but showed up with his poems and got drawn into the scene.<\/p>\n<p>Poetry slam is mostly a competition, says Valdemar Brob\u00e6k. ‘Slammers’ \u2014 the people who perform the poems \u2014 need to be good at engaging the audience, because it\u2019s up to them to vote for the evening\u2019s winner. Everyone sits with a scorecard, which they hold up at the end of the three minutes a slammer performs a poem. If you\u2019ve pleased the audience, you move on to the next round, until a winner is crowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBecause it\u2019s a competition, there\u2019s also a big entertainment element to it. The poems become a bit more accessible and a little less introspective,\u00ab says Valdemar Brob\u00e6k, explaining that some slammers become very theatrical in their performance. They memorise their poems and perform them with gestures and acting.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI have a lot of respect for those who put that extra effort in. I usually just stand and read my poem.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>But despite Valdemar Brob\u00e6k\u2019s perhaps more understated approach to poetry slam, he still managed to go all the way when the Danish championships were held in 2025. He will be heading to both Paris and Germany over the summer to compete for the title of world champion. But first, the debut album has to come out.<\/p>\n<h3>Dog days<\/h3>\n<p>\u00bbWe didn\u2019t agree on any themes beforehand. I just wrote songs about how I\u2019ve been feeling over the past few years. And so the album ended up being about mood swings and being in a bad mental space, because that was a big part of my life.\u00ab<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I’ve become much more aware of both sharing more about myself and asking more specific questions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Valdemar Brob\u00e6k<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The album grew out of Valdemar Brob\u00e6k\u2019s head and reflects how he has been feeling over the past four years. Just as dog days are hot, uncomfortable days with fluctuating moods, <em>K\u00f8terdage<\/em> explores periods in Valdemar Brob\u00e6k\u2019s life where his mood has been up and down, and where his mind hasn\u2019t always been the most pleasant place to be.<\/p>\n<p>Valdemar Brob\u00e6k describes his poetry as introspective. He draws on emotions, experiences, thoughts, and conversations he\u2019s had with others. He boils this down into lyrics sprinkled with both classical and pop culture references.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe lyrics are very personal. When I listen to them now, I actually think it\u2019s a fairly immature album. I\u2019m not particularly reflective. But making the album was the first step towards becoming aware of how I was feeling, trying to put words to it, and being honest about it.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Valdemar Brob\u00e6k can feel that he\u2019s grown older since he started writing the album. He\u2019s more reflective and in a better mental place.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI don\u2019t know if it was writing the album that helped me. But when I listen to some of the early tracks, I can definitely see that there\u2019s been personal development.\u00ab<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":177292,"id":177292,"title":"Valgtemig pfoto 1_@Christoffer Stjernholm","filename":"valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-scaled.jpg","filesize":369770,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/vi-maend-er-vildt-daarlige-til-at-tale-om-svaere-ting\/valgtemig-pfoto-1_christoffer-stjernholm\/","alt":"","author":"107","description":"","caption":"K\u00f8terdage er en fordanskning af udtrykket 'dog days', som beskriver de varmeste dage om sommeren.","name":"valgtemig-pfoto-1_christoffer-stjernholm","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":177288,"date":"2025-05-26 08:25:49","modified":"2025-05-26 09:13:23","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1710,"height":2560,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-480x719.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":719,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-768x1150.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1150,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-1280x1916.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":1916,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-1026x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1026,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-1368x2048.jpg","2048x2048-width":1368,"2048x2048-height":2048,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-290x434.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":434,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-700x1048.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":1048,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/valgtemigpfoto1_christofferstjernholm-990x1482.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":1482}},"style":"narrow","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"K\u00f8terdage is a Danish twist on the phrase \u2018dog days\u2019, which refers to the hottest days of summer."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<h3>\u00bbIt shouldn\u2019t be women\u2019s responsibility\u00ab<\/h3>\n<p>Valdemar Brob\u00e6k is working on becoming better at opening up. He wants to take the initiative in starting difficult conversations by talking about how he\u2019s doing. For him, this is the first step towards feeling better. His hope is that over time it becomes easier \u2014 and a bit more acceptable \u2014 to be the one who starts the conversation.<\/p>\n<p>The musician credits his sisters for helping him become better at talking about the hard things in life. They were always good at sharing how they felt with each other and with him, and slowly Valdemar Brob\u00e6k also began opening up with them. But he finds it unfortunate that it was the women in his life who had to teach him how to talk about his feelings.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe men are really bad at talking about difficult things. But it shouldn\u2019t be women\u2019s problem that we don\u2019t know how to talk about how we feel.\u00ab<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>If there\u2019s just some guy out there listening who can find some meaning in it, then it will all have been worth it for me<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Valdemar Brob\u00e6k<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That\u2019s why Valdemar Brob\u00e6k is working on having deeper conversations with his male friends. He tries to open up himself and is more conscious about starting conversations where he asks his friends how they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWith some of my friends, it just bounces off. It can feel strange to talk about yourself, so the conversation quickly dies out. But with others, we\u2019ve had some really beautiful conversations and become much closer.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Simple questions \u2014 whether his friends are happy in their jobs, what they do in their free time, or how they\u2019re doing in general \u2014 are things Valdemar Brob\u00e6k never used to ask his friends about. When they met up, it would be over a game of dice at a bar, and the conversation would lack substance.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThere were a lot of things I didn\u2019t know about my friends. I realised I could see people quite often and still only know them on a superficial level. I\u2019ve become much more aware of both sharing more about myself and asking more specific questions. And just being curious.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>The difficult second album<\/h3>\n<p>The album is out, the debut concert is done, and Valdemar Brob\u00e6k can now finally wrap up a four-year-long project.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI\u2019m really looking forward to making new music again. The past year has been filled with all the practical stuff around the album, so it\u2019ll be great to begin a new project from scratch.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean Valdemar Brob\u00e6k plans to become a full-time musician. He enjoys being creative, but sees the music industry as a tough world where a lot of compromises have to be made. For him, his music project is a space where he can express himself \u2014 and hopefully let others know that it\u2019s okay to struggle.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf there\u2019s just some guy out there listening who can find some meaning in it, then it will all have been worth it for me.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p><em>Valgtemig<\/em> is an introspective project, and so the difficult second album will probably address similar issues as the debut, says Valdemar Brob\u00e6k. But he hopes the new lyrics will reflect that he\u2019s grown older and is in a different place in life:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBack then I felt like the lyrics for <em>K\u00f8terdage<\/em> were a big deal. When I listen to them now, it doesn’t seem like there is much depth in them. This has given me the drive to try and outdo myself.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Neither in his music nor in his choice of studies has career been a big focus for Valdemar Brob\u00e6k. The most important thing has always been doing something he enjoyed.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWhen I was choosing a degree programme, I just went through the list looking for something that sounded fun \u2014 and I didn\u2019t get very far before stumbling on archaeology.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>He didn’t choose the education programme with a career in mind, but purely on the basis of what seemed enjoyable.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI\u2019ve loved it. I often draw on my studies when I write poems \u2014 it gives me a lot of inspiration.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Valdemar Brob\u00e6k handed in his bachelor\u2019s thesis in the winter, and has since taken a gap semester to focus on finishing the <em>K\u00f8terdage<\/em> album. This summer, he\u2019ll be starting a master\u2019s in information science \u2014 partly because it\u2019s interesting, and partly to just secure his future a little bit.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbCareer stuff is damned tricky. But I\u2019m up for doing it on my own terms. I want to make sure there\u2019s space for music and art in the future.\u00ab<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with upcoming events and top University of Copenhagen stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":3792,"name":"Student life","slug":"student-life","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3792,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":160,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":14,"name":"Portrait Article","slug":"portrait_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":14,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":796,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[{"term_id":5468,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5468,"taxonomy":"translation_priority","description":"","parent":0,"count":672,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/dsc_0628-1280x853.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177336"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177565,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177336\/revisions\/177565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}