Kinder Scout hike inspires first single by Danish indie rock duo Headmaster Rituals
A hike in the Peak District has inspired the debut single by a Danish duo who recorded the song 15 years after it was written.
Kinder Scout is the first release by Headmaster Rituals, an indie rock outfit comprising Jesper Odgaard, 41, and Kasper Westeraa, 45. Jesper said: “Kasper and I are both huge fans of the Smiths and being 6th form college teachers, Headmaster Rituals felt just right."
At the age of 19 Jesper arrived in England with little money in his pockets. He said: “I had just finished 6th form college and I knew I wanted to take a year or two off, before deciding what to study, what to become, and my mind was immediately set on Manchester. The music scene, or rather the whole legacy thereof, compelled me to go. I listened to a lot of bands like Oasis, Stone Roses, Smiths, The Verve, New Order, Joy Division, James, Doves, I Am Kloot, etc. I also watched Kevin Keegan's City team's games on Swedish TV, that season when they got 99 points in what we now call Championship. I became a fan. So the city had already shaped my identity beforehand. There was no other destination for me."
Jesper made his first friend, David Traynor in Manchester, less than a week into his sabbatical adventure and the pals spent time in New Mills and Disley. Jesper said: “David was larger-than-life. His numerous travels, countless hours in pubs, endless generosity and risk-taking approach to life always fascinated me. He once worked in San Diego and spontaneously took all his staff to Las Vegas for the weekend - and paid everything. He had a natural kindness, an extraordinary forgiving nature, and an unwavering loyalty to his friends. He would go from New Mills/Disley/Hayfield to Manchester almost daily. To meet friends in pubs. Sometimes to sell coins (he made a lot of money on coins).
"In 2011 I visited David and stayed in Hayfield, and one day i just ventured on my own towards Kinder Scout. David told me about the plane wrecks and I found that interesting. The melody and parts of the lyrics came to me there on the spot. I’ve tried to include some actual locations in the song. It’s just a beautiful place completely unknown to a lot of people from abroad at least. I plan to take my daughters there soon for hikes.
“Kinder Scout is also a song about a character who like David always seeks adventure but also sometimes struggles. It's about trying to settle but always having that itch or urge to do something a bit out of the norm, sometimes with consequences. David's life was a remarkable sequence of extraordinary highs and devastating lows – a captivating yet frightening duality.”
Jesper saw his friend for the last time in David’s local pub in Disley in May 2025. He said: “At that time he had been in hospital because of a blood clot in his lungs but was on meds and getting better. He struggled breathing but they said he was back at 80% and medicine would do the rest.” But the following month, David, who was 72, died from pulmonary embolism and heart failure.
A few days after David’s death, Jesper wrote a song Don't Ride the Steel Breeze (Eulogy for David).
He said: “Kasper returned to my school in December 2025 after four years studying software. So I found the courage and told him about the song and he agreed to help me record it. It was very emotional because it was for David but also because 25 years of hidden creativity finally got out. That solo project song became the kickstart to Headmaster Rituals, with Kasper not only being the one producing and mixing the track but now being part of our duo/band.”
Kinder Scout is available to listen to on https://open.spotify.com/track/3l0IrLiJXyhEbwd2pquTz1?si=0c689723ac684d02