Here Today Online Music Magazine

“Here Today, gone tomorrow. Is that the idea?” I ask, feeling very pleased with myself. Here Today CEO Tom Spray looks bemused for a moment then laughs. “I knew that would be what people thought when we came up with the name!”

Actually, the online music magazine is named for the Beach Boys song off their classic album Pet Sounds. And definitely not, I am advised, the Beatles song of the same name. So, my bad.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, it’s on to the good stuff. Here Today is the first English-language online music magazine based in Copenhagen. It’s something, says Tom, of which the city was badly in need.

“With such a great music scene, it was a shame that the access for non-Danes wasn’t there,” he explains. English is also the common language of all the staff, who are from everywhere from Iceland and Denmark to Italy and the USA.

When I ask what the Here Today music profile looks like, Tom considers. “Really, the basis is what’s in our iTunes libraries. That’s where we started. But I’d say we cover anything from indie to rap to electronic to punk. It’s whatever we like.”

Cut Copy, Lille Vega, Copenhagen, 13.12.2013 (Photo by Tom Spray)

Here Today began in 2012 with an aim to record live sessions of bands from and/or touring Copenhagen. In the summer of 2013, they underwent a relaunch and now encompass not only live sessions but performance reviews and interviews.

“We’re not really looking to review albums in the traditional sense,” Tom tells me.

“We’re really interested in performance; what’s happening in an immediate way. So even though we love albums, the content of the magazine itself isn’t going in that direction. There are enough websites that provide that, at any rate.”

He’s right – there’s more than enough on the internet and in hard copy telling us what albums and songs to listen to. It’s refreshing to find the heart of a music magazine to be the ephemeral creation of music itself.

Broke, Øresundsfestival, Malmö, 11.05.2013 (Photo by Tom Spray)

Tom Spray is originally from York, UK, and moved to Copenhagen six years ago. Trained as a photographer, Tom soon parlayed his love of live music into a career photographing concerts and musicians. He continues to work as a photographer as well as co-CEO at Here Today.

Why was Denmark’s music scene particularly compelling, I ask? “If I was in the UK I’d be writing about music in the UK. But a mixture of geography, interest, and a gap in the market is why we created Here Today. We love the Danish music scene but not over other scenes – it’s simply that we’re here!”

Tom continues, “the Danish music scene is interesting because it’s quite isolated. The artists are really nurtured in the country but don’t necessarily get exposure internationally. While we can’t exactly change that, we are looking to give artists here an internationally-accessible platform.”

Now that Here Today is settling into their new groove, they’re looking to branch even further. What that means for the magazine is under consideration. We’re excited to see what direction they take.

But for now, it’s onto the concerts. “There are always shows to go to,” Tom tells me. “Sometimes, I’ll have a concert almost every day. In terms of what’s coming up in March, I’m most excited for Sohn, Danny Brown, Darkside, Mogwai and Earl Sweatshirt.”

Tough life.

Check out what Here Today is up to, today.