QUICKIE OF THE WEEK: A short interview with Mikkel Borbjerg Jakobsen (The Foreign Resort) February 2020


written by Marko Jakob

Pix666: Hello Mikkel, thank you for taking the time for a short interview. Your band The Foreign Resort exists for more than 10 years now. Have you played in other bands before and when did you generally start singing or playing an instrument?

Mikkel: I have played in a couple of bands, but that was all before The Foreign Resort started taking all my time and attention. One was a death metal band where I played drums, then I played keyboard and percussion in an instrumental surf/soundtrack band and finally I was the add-on musician in a rock band, playing guitar and keyboard. Fun times! I have played drums since I was 10 years old, guitar since I was about 12 where I also started singing around the camp fire and piano, well I can’t really say I can play the piano…


Pix 666: You have a very distinctive, extraordinary voice. Do you ever noticed it yourself, or have friends or relatives said to you: Mikkel, your voice is cool!?

Mikkel: My friends don’t give compliments to anyone. We always talk shit instead. Tough life but at least no one gets too many rock star thoughts about themselves.


Pix666: Last year your fourth album ‘Outnumbered’ was released – how satisfied are you with the result, the success with it and the encouragement of the fans at the concerts?

Mikkel: I am very happy with the result! In fact, ‘Outnumbered’ is the first album that sounds like I wanted it to. The response from our fans has been absolutely amazing! Despite getting the sound I wanted I always feel insecure when releasing new music. For some stupid reason I always remember the haters best. Fortunately there hasn’t been too many of them with this release. Instead we see more and more people at our shows, which I am really grateful for. Thank you!


Pix666: Let’s stick to the topic of concerts – it feels like you’ve been on the road continuously, for several years now. The fans feel that this is your life, but where do you get the strength and endurance to be on tour all the time?

Mikkel: What can I say. Its just there. Knowing that we are lucky enough to be able to tour and meet so many people and see all these different place (if only very briefly), it gives me the drive to get things done. And I love driving too, so that’s not really work.


Pix666: Do you have other hobbies as a balance to music? Or is there no time for other things as a professional musician?

Mikkel: I guess we are close to being professional musicians. But everyone in The Foreign Resort has a day job. I teach Danish to foreigners for a living. And I love it. It is the most rewarding job I have had so far, so I’m planning on keeping that job and then doing music the other half of the time.



Pix666: Next month you will play in Canada and the USA. How much do the atmosphere and the audience there differ from Europe? Do you make the long journey just for the concerts or do you have time for a little vacation?

Mikkel: The German and American audience actually has a lot in common. Both are very talkative and are easy to hang out with. That means a lot. The Canadians are a little more reluctant but not as reluctant as the Scandinavian crowd. It’s all good and we enjoy playing for the different crowds.

We don’t have time for vacation. Once we hit the road with the band we play as much as possible, which is at least one show per day, also in North America. On the upcoming trip we might end up playing 3 shows in one day during the festival South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.


Pix666 wishes you and your band a successful year 2020

Mikkel: Thanks! As bonus info I can reveal that we will tour Germany with Empathy Test for four weekends in September. You can find more info and tickets at https://theforeignresort.com/site/shows/


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theforeignresort/

TFR @ Amazon

On Tour:
12.03.2020 Montreal
13.03.2020 Quebec
20.03.2020 Austin
27.03.2020 Prag
28.03.2020 Witten
15.05.2020 Karlsruhe
16.05.2020 Nürnberg
25.07.2020 Köln
04.09.2020 Rüsselsheim
05.09.2020 Munich
11.09.2020 Bremen
12.09.2020 Hamburg
17.09.2020 Hannover
18.09.2020 Berlin
19.09.2020 Leipzig
25.09.2020 Bielefeld
26.09.2020 Oberhausen