I first met noise-pop newbies Panda Panda, after their rocket-fuelled, jet propelled set at trendy Trondheim venue Blaest(which I can confirm was the best of all the Trondheim music venues I visited!), as part of the amazing line up for the Norwegian music showcase that is the Trondheim Calling Festival. Armed with just the faded memory of a solitary track that kept beating a distant drum at the back of a fuzzed up brain, I felt compelled to forego one of the biggest gigs in town, to see this as-yet unsigned band, with their clear, confident vocals and experimental indie sound brimful of youthful daring and exuberance. My decision didn’t disappoint.
Their performance – self-assured, dynamic, & hugely entertaining – was one of the biggest crowd pleasing energisers of the festival and had the crowd whooping, whistling and generally going crazy. Afterwards, we had a beer, a chat and some laughs – they were warm, friendly, smart, funny and above all, hugely enthusiastically optimistic.
Since that gig at Trondheim Calling, several things have happened. First up, Panda x2 has been signed by independent Norwegian label, Riot Factory, whose current roster, which includes the likes of Gold Celeste and Snøskred, is a veritable who’s who of the crème de l’indie crème of Norwegian music artists.
Secondly, Panda Panda unveiled a self-made visual for their musical calling card, ‘New Friends’, receiving enthusiastic reviews from the likes of Musikknyheter and Panorama.no. If this track, with its kooky vid, provided the ideal introduction to the band and their music, then the just released second single, ‘Halcyon Years‘, which you can hear below, is the perfect follow on.
Where ‘New Friends’ has a wistful, dreamy quality, albeit one blown asunder by a blaze of insistent guitars, ‘alien’ synth sounds and bursts of energetic, adroitly nuanced percussion, ‘Halcyon Years’ is a sparky, propulsive melee, a riot of sonic opposites which the band seem to have had a lot of frenergetic fun knitting together. With this punchy, feisty and zesty track, Panda Panda are clearly embracing their rockier, edgier side. Indeed, ‘Halcyon Years’ highlights the ‘beyond their years’ musical talent of this band not to mention a clearly voracious hunger for experimenting with divergent sounds.
Curious to know even more about both band and their music, I popped them some questions about making their video, future plans and who’s currently spinning on their decks. First though, a quick intro –
Panda Panda is Ragnhild Fangel Jamtveit – vox/synth, Håkon Brunborg Kjenstad – vox/guitar, Herman Wildhagen – vox/guitar, Jonathan Fimland Kleven – bass, and Oddbjørn Sponås – drums.
D Mc Cloat
Guys, how did you get signed to Riot Factory and more importantly what did you do to celebrate? Did you have a signing party?
We started talking with Riot Factory back in 2015 after we released our first self-produced single, but only signed to them after making our EP, which we’re really excited about being released through their label. The guys at Riot are really cool, and it feels really good to be on the same roster as a lot of our fave Scandi bands.
As for celebrating, well, the plan was to go somewhere for a beer, but as it’s next to impossible to find a bar in Norway open to serve beer at 10am, we settled for some hot chocolate and ice cream at a local coffee place.
You’re only together a year! Wow. Do you feel that everything has happened rather quickly?
In a way none of us expected things to move as fast as they have. We basically started out in a basement a year ago with some noisy tunes, though in a way that feels like a really long time ago now. We’re extremely grateful for the things we’ve had the chance to do as we’ve had some truly amazing times, both in the studio and, at concerts and festivals, like Pstereo, Trondheim Calling and UKA.
Some of you guys are still in college/university. What will you do study-wise if Panda Panda takes off? Will your studies be shelved?
It’s impossible to say right now, but it would be cool if we did have to drop out of school because a world tour beckoned. 🙂
Image Trondheim Calling Official
Ha ha, I bet. When we met in Trondheim you guys told me that both your influences, and original sound, were 90s Shoegaze. How would you describe your sound today, and who are the main references the various band members bring to the PP table?
I guess we were kind of a shoegaze band in the beginning, mind you only our two guitarists actually knew what shoegaze was to be honest. The music we make these days is quite different than when we started as we’ve been consistently evolving our sound through experimenting with different elements of noise and, a lot of improvisation.
What makes the process of creating songs with Panda Panda so interesting is that we all listen to, and play, completely different music outside of the band, which means each one of us brings something different to the table.
Håkon: Nowadays I listen a lot to acts like The Flaming Lips, Sparklehorse and Grandaddy, but for some reason I always make my way back to the legendary Motorpsycho. There are also a lot of cool new bands from the US, Alex G for example, I just LOVE his new record. 2015 was packed with great Norwegian music with new albums by Jenny Hval, The Megaphonic Thrift, Bror Forsgren and Maribel*.
Ragnhild: My influences range from Beyonce to Bob Dylan lots in between.
Herman: I’ve been getting a kick out of playing free improv and have just discovered a great guitar player called Derek Bailey. I’m also into Josh Homme’s “anti-solo” approach to playing guitar solos. I listen to a lot of soul, blues and jazz music, especially Ray Charles and Etta James. Queens of the Stone Age are a favourite.
Jonathan: I grew up listening to a lot of punk and rock bands like Black Flag, Dead Kennedys and Pixies, bands I still hold very dear. I generally like artists with an uncompromising f**k you attitude and sound, bands who are true to themselves in developing their sound, with a strong ability to communicate. This includes a large variety of artists, from Charley Patton, Son House etc. in the 30’s through to bands like Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and The Replacements.
Oddbjørn: Bruce Springsteen!!!
You said before that your songs are like small stories about your lives. What story is ‘New Friends’ telling?
‘New Friends’ was written by Håkon during a transition from a quite chaotic period to a really good one. In its essence it’s about being bored and tired of routines, while waiting for something cool to happen, about observing human relationships while searching for some kind of authenticity. It’s also about good times.
Panda Panda Live at Trondheim Calling (FB)
You’ve made a video for the track. Where was it filmed and who came up with the ideas?
We spent most of our money on recording the EP, so we put on our best DIY shoes for the music video. We ended up borrowing a camera from Håkon’s mom and shot the video ourselves in a gymnasium at a local primary school.
Ragnhild came up with the initial idea for shooting the video in the gym, and then we figured out the rest together. None of us has any experience with video editing, so we asked Ranghild’s brother, who luckily was happy to help. He took some liberties in the editing process though, which resulted in some unexpected craziness.
You look as if you enjoyed making it. Was it a lot of fun?
Yeah, it was a LOT of fun. None of us had been in a primary school gym for many years, so we spent a lot of time just playing around. Synchronized dancing in burgundy tights was definitely a first, however it felt surprisingly comfortable. There were some kids outside the window that gave us the finger and then ran away. When they came back to do it again Ragnhild gave them the finger back. You should have seen their faces, haha.
Okay, so when everything has fallen into place musically, is there a timeline for going into studio and do you have any idea who you want to work with?
Hopefully we will finish an album sometime in 2017. We haven’t decided on the details yet, but we really enjoyed recording with Karl Klaseie** from Snøskred behind the mixing desk. We think it was a very constructive collaboration, so who knows, maybe we’ll ask him to work with us again. If one of us wins the lottery we’ll consider recording the album with Timbaland! 🙂
Ragnhild, you made the costumes for the Trondheim Calling gig in Blaest. Why was it important for the band to be androgynous on stage? Does it help detach your personal selves from your Panda Panda selves, or are they indistinguishable? Will you continue to make them?
I’ll probably continue making costumes for the band yeah mainly because it’s really fun. I made the costumes we have now a bit androgynous, not to detach our personal selves from the band, but simply because being gender neutral feels kind of liberating. And because it looks cool of course!
You’ve just released another single, ‘Halcyon Years’. Can you give us some insight into the background?
Sure thing. Halcyon Years has two thematic inspos. On the one hand it’s a bittersweet tune about a turbulent relationship, on the other it looks to the stories of the old testament. In the beginning we had huge issues trying to play it together because its tempo was just so fast it literally ran away from us, but once we got into the studio we slowed it down and added some piano and strings to give it more texture.
You mentioned an EP earlier. What exactly is the plan regarding future releases through Riot?
Our 4-track EP is out on the 15th of April. We’re twirling with excitement! We’re also buzzing about making another video for our next single. Right now we’re writing some new songs and when we have the material we need and it feels right, we’ll start to record an album.
Is a promotional tour on the cards in the months after the EP release!!
Yes!!! We’ll announce full details soon. What we can tell you right now is that we’ll be playing Hulen, in Bergen, on 22nd April, with the fantastic Dråpe and we’re super excited!!! Details here.
Exciting times then for Panda Panda. On the back of the two singles they’ve already put out, I have absolutely no doubt that the rest of the tracks on the upcoming EP will be firecrackers!
‘Millions’, the debut EP from Panda Panda will be released via Riot Factory on 15th April, put the date in your musical diary! Meantime, you can stream/download/through some cash at ‘Halcyon Years‘, here iTunes: http://bit.ly/236gPZL here Tidal: http://bit.ly/1X2Q2d3 and here Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1oq7PyN
*Maribel’s latest album has not yet had its international release.
**Klaseie runs Greener Studios in Trondheim. Snøskred is an indie outfit also signed to Riot whose debut album, ‘Empty House’ has received rave critical reviews from the likes of Best Fit, Clunk Mag and Norwegian mag, Gaffa.
After a pro-longed series of delays courtesy of SAS and the weather, I finally arrived in Oslo on a cold and snowy Thursday night, and, with little time to spare, flung bags and Duty Free onto the bed, grabbed my phone and hot footed it down to the hotel lobby, grabbed a map and got directions to The CrossRoad Club, where I was due within a matter of minutes for a night of ‘off:Larm’ musical mania.
Arriving at the end of a very brief but incredibly expensive taxi journey (even more expensive than the TC gin og tonic), I went through the hand stamping routine (really?), pulled up a high stool, ordered an exorbitantly priced drink, (with complimentary straw), and settled down for my evenings entertainment.
Starters on the musical bill of fare was Mats Wawa, a young 60s-70s pysch influenced band from Oslo. Having heard their debut EP, ‘Classics’, I was looking forward immensely to hearing them play live, and you know what folks, I wasn’t disappointed. The band was joined on stage by Gold Celeste‘s Petter Haugen Andersen in his newest capacity as flautist, and, when he wasn’t generally fluting around, he could be found vigorously shaking a pineapple (and probably developing very strong biceps in the process).
Mats Wawa played a 7-song set that kicked off with non-EP track, ‘Hola’, and, from the get-go the crowd were ‘on it’, cheering, whistling and being generally, good humouredly interactive. If the opener warmed up the crowd, second track in, ‘Worries’ got them nicely toasted. This country ‘fluenced tune-for-cruisin is heavy on Americana guitar juice and sing-along chorus lines, and, was the perfect track to get the partee started and the mood imbued with lurve.
Retro-psych with it’s many layers and textures is not the easiest of sounds to translate into a live performance, but Mats Wawa managed to pull the musical rabbit outta the hat with relative ease. For a band so young, their instrumental competence is not to be underestimated and the quality of their musicianship on the night, especially on the synth/keys, slide guitar and drums, was quite astonishing.
The best example of the tightness of this unit came on Lego inspired, ‘Lord Bisnis’ which saw all elements – vocal and instrumental – come together effortlessly, easily producing one of the highlights of the set. Full credit must be given to PHA who gave a pretty high class performance of what is quite a complicated flute sequence, an instrumental accompaniment that gives this track its full bells and whistles Jethro Tull vibe.
Kudos too to Jonas Rohde-Moe for producing some pretty darned tricky, finger twisting guitar sequences on ‘Planet of the Grapes’. And indeed to Metallica wannabe, Emil Kjærnli for giving it sox, when he had the full Status Quo rip-roaring guitar in the air at full throttle thang going on.
These are not easy songs to sing, and all due credit to Wang and Torkellsen whose vocals held up well on the night. The only downer came as a result of faulty or damaged cabling, which gave some intermittent gyp, particularly on the leads mic. All a bit unfortunate, but being consummate pros, Wang & Co kept going, adjusting their positions accordingly, to mitigate against the interference.
Their short but rockin’ 30min stint closed with the song ‘Dead’ of which, if anything, the band were the antithesis. Electrifying, energetic and full on, this brought their set to a dramatic and clangorous close.
Mats Wawa are as happy a unit as ever I’ve seen on a stage. Undoubtedly good friends, there is a magic to their synergy, while their effervescent enthusiasm spills over into the crowd, creating an energy that flows back and forth between band and audience. As a unit, they are in their infancy, and it will be interesting to watch their progress especially if, and most probably when, this band produce a full long player and take it out on the long and winding promotional road.
More JaJa than Wawa, this is a band with a bright future ahead of them. Giving one of the most entertaining live performances I saw during my time in Oslo, Mats Wawa is a band I would strongly recommend you check out next time you see them on a gig listing near you!
Setlist: Hola, Worries, Bed of Love, Walking with You, Lord Busines, Planet of the Grapes, Dead
Mats Wawa are Mats Wang (vocal/guitar), Terje Vea Torkellsen (vocal/keys), Mathias Sagedal (Drums) and Emil Kjærnli (bass guitar), with the addition of Jonas Rohde-Moe (guitar) and Petter HA (flute/percussion) for live performances. You can find them on Facebook, here.
Still — Open Your Eyes Video Simen Hallset // Lars Kristian Boquist
In Part One of my extensive interview with the tremendously talented and uber friendly Gold Celeste, the guys talked in detail about how they came together, their musical backgrounds and the myriad artists, bands, songwriters and genres that have inspired and helped shaped their sound. Now in the second and final part of our chat-ski, GC move onto the recording side of things, back-chat moi, talk lurve, and debate culture …
Before we start, I need to do two things:-
First a quick personnel check: Gold Celeste is Simen Hallset (lyrics/vocals/bass), Petter Haugen Andersen (percussion), and Eirik Fidjeland (vocals/synths/guitars – various /pedals/harp/cats). Touring guitar player – Torstein Kvamme Holum, was also included in the interview line-up!
Secondly, let me remind you of, or, acquaint you with, the reason we’re here in the first place – music – with one of my favourite GC tracks, ‘Time of Your Life’ (this song is what the word “uplifting” was invented for)
Ready? Coffee, cushion, all comfy?? …. Ok !
That’s a pretty eclectic range of influences you guys have name-checked. Right, now that we’ve put the inspos to bed, let’s talk about your sound and the recording side of things in a little more depth. But first up, how did you guys get signed by Riot Factory?
Not bucking the trend, lead ‘Celester’ Simen picks up the thread … “Really early on, we recorded one song that we put up on the internet. I think I knew Arne (Slomann Johannessen) from Riot Factory even before we started Angelica’s Elegy, because his brother, Conor Patrick, (of The Shooting Tsar Orchestra fame) was the guy who owned the studio we moved into right after we left the Folk High School. They’re from Trondheim (Well actually guys one of them was born in Ireland, but that’s another day’s interview!). Conor Patrick talked about creating a home label and then both he and Arne said “Why don’t we do the work for you? Let’s have a collaboration.” And that’s how it started.”
It’s been one synergetic collab for sure. Let’s talk about the GC debut album, ‘The Glow’. You said it took you two years to complete it. Why did it take so long?
[The previous iteration of GC, Angelica’s Elegy, also released an album through Riot Factory, karmically called ‘Gold Celeste’ – you can stream it here.]
” As an innocent bystander I would say that you, Simen and Eirik, spent I guess at least one year just writing a lot of songs, then making sketches, trying to get where you were going.” chips in Petter. “Just trying to find that sound. Also a lot of song writing was done in the studio; there’d be like one song, we’d record it, then make some changes, because it always changes until you get to that point where you’re satisfied with it.”
“Or you end up with something completely different as it’s sometimes just a hassle to pick up where you left off.” interjects Simen. “We had I guess at least 40 sketches recorded, you know, these 30 second bits and I think we made it kind of hard to continue …”
“You know you fall in love with those sketches.” muses the contemplative Eirik “You can never really recreate the energy and spontaneous feel.”
You know it’s funny you should say that. Did you ever hear of a British band called Talk Talk?
Unanimous – “Yeah/Yes/Yup”
Mark Hollis, the lead singer, always maintained that when he went into the studio and tried to play a sketch for the second time it had lost an energy it had the first time around, so when TT were making their later albums, everything was recorded off live takes.
Simen … “Yeah, we’ve been privileged to have been able record constantly in the studio. We’ve had the chance to record and make this perfect 30 second thing, and then, you know, (laughs) you can’t go on from there.”
“I think if you hear ‘The Glow’ with that in your mind, you might hear some instrumental parts that kind of come out of the blue”
So what do you do with all these 30 second “things”?
“You know, that’s why we like a lot of hip-hop music as well, because you know they listen to thousands of records from which they find these small bits that are pure gold, and they’ll try to create something new out of them.” enthuses the unstoppable front-man. “At least the kind of people we like to listen to, they’ve found these nuggets that are just perfect, and perhaps we’ve kind of had that mentality as well. Everything, every ten, fifteen seconds has to stand out on its own almost. But, I think that might be an ideal that you can’t live up to all the time. Luckily, I think we’ve learned to relax a little.”
“But it’s also nice to have that archive of ideas,” says an animatedPetter “because when suddenly you’re in the studio and you’re jamming, you have a new thing and suddenly it’s like “Wow” – this matches perfectly with that other thing and suddenly there’s the song you know, you can piece it together later, you just keep all the piece …” “Yeah I think if you hear ‘The Glow’with that in your mind, you might hear some instrumental parts that kind of come out of the blue” throws in Simen, with more than just a passing hint of “I double dare you” in his voice …“but it’s the perfect kind of brain wash towards the next segment of the song, and I think that’s based on having this library in your head with these instrumental parts making transitions I think you can hear them and point them out if you listen for them in ‘The Glow’ album. ” (Now there’s a challenge folks – I should have asked for a free copy of the album for the first person to come up with three examples!!)
I decide it’s time to throw the spotlight on the bands multi-instrumental wizard, Eirik and flick an unexpected random question at him … Eirik, can I ask why you sang on just one song on ‘The Glow’, and what was so special about that particular song – ‘Is This What You Could Not Do?’ – that you choose to do the vocal, as opposed to any of the others?
“I’ll sing four or five songs live tonight” he assures me before coming out with, “I don’t know, I guess I don’t like to record my voice” and off they go, bursting into a riot of laughter. Cheeky things! Huh! Right back at ya Eirik!!
So why did you do the vocal on that song then?
He laughs a good humoured “I don’t know” at me before Torstein steps in, “For me it sounds like your (Eirik’s) voice fits better to that song, than what your (points to Simen) voice would do, or maybe that’s because I’m used to it now”. They’re all getting in on the act now! “But it’s also been a song that you’ve been singing live,” says an Petter enthusiastically. “It’s a song that you’ve been doing for a while and it just sounds right. I would love for Eirik to sing more, I think his voice is really cool.” “Me too.” says Simen. “Me three” says me.
Right – so we’re all on the same page then. More vocals please Eirik (no disrespect to Simen whose vocal clarity is pretty astonishing and ability beyond question).
I switch my attention back to the frontman. So Simen, do you do all your own backing vocals or do you share backing vocal duties with Eirik?
“It depends on whether you mean live or on the record?” shoots Eirik, for once beating quickfire Siment to the draw “If you mean live,I do a lot of backing vocals, but if you mean the record, well, I do some of the backing vocals but mainly it’s Simen.”
“Yeah” nods Simen. “It’s efficient, and after spending a lot of hours recording my own voice alone making sketches, it’s a fluent process I guess, to some extent, and especially on ‘The Wonder of Love’.”
Makes sense. Is it difficult to be objective when you’re producing your own music? I ask.
“Should you be objective when you make music? I don’t know?” asks Simen looking at me intently (baulks as doesn’t know answer …moving swiftly on!)How do you assess your own work? How do you know whether yeah, that’s good or that’s not good, should be better or could be better?
“I don’t know,” he continues amiably “I think, it’s kind of soul wrenching at times, but it’s something, you know, kind of sticks and feels right, and … I can make a sketch and send it to the guys, and love it myself, and then if I don’t get a reply within an hour, I think, oh jeez, what have I done? Is this total crap? You need some kind of confirmation from your band mates.” Petter bounces in … “It’s easier being two or three than being just one person doing all the work, and I really think that the trick is not spending too much time with every iteration of a song or every part. If you’re banging your head against a wall just do something else, and forget about it and then you can go back to it with like fresh ears and try to pick out what is good or bad. It’s tiresome sometimes too. It just gets worse every time (you go back to it).”
“I think that we’re unique. We’ve been accustomed to having total control over every aspect up to the final result”
Do you feel that by playing all of the instruments yourselves it keeps the music true to the sound of Gold Celeste? Other musicians coming might give the sound a different feel, put a different spin on it?
“I think that we’re unique. We’ve been accustomed to having total control over every aspect up to the final result,” says an adamant Simen “I think a lot of music stems from introverted personalities you know, the ones that can sit down and try to come up with something personal and refreshing” Yeah but how does an introverted personality cope with being on stage? “I think we’re all balanced out as well, so we’re not you know anxious and socially alienated.
So there’s the feeling of being surrounded by a support network rather than that of standing there by yourself.
The “not the drummer, drummer”agrees … “Yeah but it’s also that the music we play isn’t that showy so we don’t have to like be this kind of I don’t know …” You mean you don’t have to do the big full lead man jumping around the place thing? “Yeah, we don’t need to be shouting .” He’s cut off by Simen proudly announcing to the amusement of the other that he’ll be jumping around later on that night (during their live show) “I can guarantee you I’ll be jumping around.”
At this point, we go completely off topic – as you do – and end up talking about star signs! The guys assure me that not less than THREE of them are Sagittarians, with Petter being the odd one out, him being a fishy Piscean. Now this actually raises quite a debate guys cos according the the majority of astrology sites 22nd December is, erm, the first day in the sign of Capricorn!! However, it’s on the “cusp” as they say, so if Mr F wants to be a Sagittarian bow slinger then we’ll have to allow him the privilege.
“We just make music and try to be honest with each other.”
How do you go about creating the songs? You’ve said that you do sketches etc. But how do you decide on the sound and how do you decide on the lyrics. How do you approach writing the lyrics and how do you approach creating the music – is it that you have a note in your head, a beat in your head, and which do you do first?
“I think that varies” responds Simen before Petter takes over. “We do a lot of recording when we practice and when we’re jamming, just bits. Simen for example, will pick something out of there and make a sketch based on the things we’ve played or else something completely fresh.” The former agrees. “We play a lot together, jam out, and then we perhaps individually process it and try to create something out of the idea and before it’s finished we try to review it together. That’s at least how ‘The Glow’ was created I think.” Back over the net to Petter “And when you’re mixing it yourself you’re not limited to what you’ve done,. You can always go in and pick something out and put something new in there, if you feel that sounds better, if it suits. It’s called a process that starts at the beginning but the song isn’t finished until you know the lyrics are finished.” Deuce. “Yeah I think me (Simen) and Eirik also often work in parallel to each other.
Some songs on the album I’ve mainly written and some songs Eirik has mainly written and some parts Eirik has written and I’ve written and then we put them together but I don’t think we have this very conscious way of how we you know … I don’t think everything has to be 50% Eirik and 50% me or anything. If one of us has an idea or a part, I think it should be separate from us as persons, as a music piece hopefully.
We haven’t talked a lot about that aspect, we just make music and try to be honest with each other. I wouldn’t cry if Eirik hated something I made, or perhaps I would, but it would be a good cry, it would be an honest cry. A good cry, “thanks for being honest”.
Catching an unsuspecting Eirik completely unawares … Have you ever hated anything that he’s done then? “No, no” (Um, nothing to do with the fact that he’s sitting beside him then!) “Hate is a strong word though! Dislike is better” rounds off Simen good naturedly.
Moving from hate, to “infinitely loving” says I, to be greeted by a burst of “Woo”
Hey, they’re your words not mine… “Haha – yeah – I know!” laughs lyricist Hallset.
Does human nature hold a fascination for you Simen? “Yeah. The last couple of years have kind of had an air of disillusion, disenchantment perhaps, I don’t know. It’s more like society is created by people but not for people, if you understand what I mean. It’s created for all types of functions but the functions are not based on, I don’t know, on the kind of warm and comforting values that I feel would make people more generous and open. It’s very mechanical. And since we created this society that’s based on economics and profits I think it’s hard to see that as a rational way of thriving together.
American culture? “Hmm … I don’t know.” he continues. “We’re so privileged, we’re from Norway. It’s easy for us to say “It’s all based on profits blah blah blah” when you see all these countries that are now finally in the stage where they can industrialise to the degree that they will reach our economic level to some extent. But we won’t allow them because of you know …Here we are interrupted by guys asking the band to move their ‘back-line’ up into the stage area – P & T go, leaving SH & E.
Simen recommences … “We have fucked up the world and they have to take the consequences. They (developing countries) can’t climb to our economic level and that kinda sucks for them. Now we’re trying to do all these efforts to reduce global warming and yeah, it’s a maelstrom of thoughts you know. And I try to make it as easily understood and open and yeah, it’s like Torstein said, it’s not condescending or it’s not that I want to teach people anything, I just want to say how … try to play on some thoughts perhaps that would resonate with people.” After this we briefly discuss Susanne Sundfor’s involvement in the Oslo climate change rally, after which Simen muses … “I’d rather share ideas and thoughts than political views. I think you shouldn’t mess too much with politics in music but more try to …” Well said – I agree.
“I think it’s global culture. I think it’s the ramification of the globalism idea of free trade and world economics in general that has created this”
That’s what I was going to ask you … you seem to be very interested in society and history but less so in politics. Is history, what’s going on the world and what’s happening socio-economically more important to you to convey an opinion about in your lyrics than getting all Bono and making political speeches?
” Yeah, for me personally, I think you can’t create change with the established institutions that we have today. I think you need to revise it all. They’re so flawed. Even the most ambitious big projects are funded and financed by people that I think have another agenda. I think it’s a consciousness change that has to happen to each person individually and by starting from the bottom and creating the change instead of trying to find these solutions that would fit for everyone that what I try to stimulate through my lyrics.”
Do you think that the world is obsessed with American culture? Simen continues …
“I don’t think it’s American anymore, I think it’s global culture. I think it’s the ramification of the globalism idea of free trade and world economics in general that has created this … It is all pretty much based on the thoughts of the PR industry. Sigmund Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays, used a lot of the psychology of human behaviour and psychotherapy thoughts to create the PR industry, the advertisements, and up until the 30’s or something, Western society started to reach a level where we had covered our needs and towards the world economy to grow further that was not enough anymore.
You had the automobile and that was kind of the primal stage of covering our needs and then for the economy to grow further you had to get the “wants” and that is the major part of the culture that you say is American culture. I don’t think it’s an American culture really, because I think when you talk about American culture you can go 200 years back and that’s what I feel is the real American culture.”
You mean the native Indians?
“Yeah, it’s all what they did back then and how things panned out is the culture. But at the same time the principles of the forming of their society and economics are based on individual freedom and I think that aspect was the front-runner for where we should go, but it kind of developed in another direction based on an economic and the “wants” you know. So now it’s all about creating jobs through something that’s not based on needs but on wants, and it has escalated to a level where we now … you know people have talked about this since its inception and it’s nothing new. It doesn’t surprise me that we have to face the consequences now you know,” he concludes.
So, Simen. Do you think that humanity is capable of change?
“Yeah, I believe so. But sad to say that for something positive to happen I think we have to be witness to shit hitting the fan and that’s what’s happening right now with the tensions.”
We continue this hugely interesting conversation in the same vein … this is one seriously well informed, articulate and intelligent guy (in fact, they all are!) … How detached is Norway from what’s happening in mainland Europe? Is Scandinavia in an enclosed “world of its own” and is it Sweden or Norway that has taken in a vast number of immigrants?
“No, we’ve felt this in Norway, absolutely. And it is Sweden. The Swedes are the most immigration critical. Sweden you know wanted Norway’s policies for many years. Norway’s policy is pretty liberal but not near as liberal as the Swedish. They just allow people in without regarding the consequences and without listening to their own indigenous people. The people who live there. How do we implement this kind of social situation? There needs to be a dialogue and there was no dialogue. Everything has to be politically correct … “ he tails off ..
But that’s what’s happened to Germany now as well, I continue. They’ve taken in a huge number and now there is nowhere for them to go, nothing to do!
” I think the German decision wasn’t based on an altruistic idea of you know the Samaritan, I think it’s more based on … I don’t know, it’s like we try to compensate for our involvement in the military way of handling things and I can see in many ways that’s it’s just a continuous war zone. Now watching how the Swedes now are reacting by … Many European countries are reacting by turning to these right wing extremists. You know, it’s like they at the same time as they are hostile towards the government, the social democratic way of thinking, they are also hostile against the people in the desperate situation coming there, so it’s like they know they have to tackle those people for the government to understand how serious they are and that is a very, very dangerous … it’s like it’s exactly what was supposed to happen, do you understand what I mean.
We could see this coming from miles away that the tension would build up and these kind of horrible events that have happened, they will escalate the numbers, it’s just a matter of time, and I think that kinda sucks. So I think all those things building up hopefully will result in some kind of counter-culture spawning you know. It’s always the bad things build up and then they get seen for what they are and hopefully we’ll manage to grow something new out of the manure. That’s what I hope for. Unfortunately bad things will have to happen before good things happen, I guess. You just try to make the best of it and hope that it’s sooner rather than later. Not all doomy and gloomy. That’s why the lyrics have a positive “glow”, ” he finishes.
(At this point P & T return and Eirik leaves)
Artwork Benedikte Olsen
How do you view the Norwegian music industry and the Norwegian music scene?
Jumping right back into the fray, Petter offers, “I see it as pretty small but all including (inclusive) scene. It’s mainly nice people who just want to play music and a lot of great bands helping each other out.” Simen interjects with “It’s pretty transparent, you can get a pretty good view of what’s going on, who’s playing in different bands. You meet people in the street. Oslo’s a small city, it has 700k inhabitants. So it’s pretty easy to get some kind of view. People collaborate and do things, but at the same time when it’s so small, it’s hard to be in this kind of niche.” Here we go again – more verbal tennnis “There are a lot of people who play a lot of different kinds of music as well” explains Petter. “People playing in hundreds of bands. I guess a lot of people who play music in Norway are “touring musicians” fluidly or seamlessly moving between bands!” “To be a professional musician in Norway you need to be in many bands I think”, adds Simen.
How can that be successful when you’re dividing your time and effort between various projects rather than putting all effort into one?
“Well” he continues “There are so few arenas in Norway so you can just play these larger shows and people will come. And they kind of tour two months with this band and two months with that band and they get the job done.” Having returned to the fold, Torstein chips in, “I guess the question is if you want to be a National success or International success. If you want to be more of an International success there will be a lot more focus on the one thing.”
“I think we could never grow in Norway before we came here” says Simen decidedly. “We needed to expand our territories and our … because in a big city like London, there are more but bigger sub-cultures, and I think in Norway the sub-cultures are too small for them to grow naturally so we need to kind of expand and if you want to make the kind of music we make.”
So is that the plan is? Are you going to try do more gigs and promote yourselves abroad?
Petter concurs … “Yeah, I think we have to. If we want to get somewhere we have to spread our wings.” with Simen continuing “It’ll be full of challenges though. You can’t expect to be an unknown band and get money for playing, so it costs a lot.”
Have you considered trying to work out reciprocal arrangements with other bands so that that you could take advantage of their following and they of yours? Is that something you’ve thought about?
“We made some friends when we were in Berlin with this LA based band called, Mild High Club,” says Torstein warming to the theme, “and that was like something we discussed and they would love to bring us over to the West Coast of the States and we thought they would be great in Oslo as well.” “You have to establish these kinds of connections if it’s going to work out, ” continues Simen “and that’s what we’re trying to do now by travelling around and trying to talk to people.”
Great, so did you get to meet many people while you were here (in London)?
Eirik answers “Yeah, we met a friend of mine called Anna Lena, she’s got a project called, EERA. We went to see her play live and it was great.” (Check her out here.) “She’s a great songwriter,” he continues, She introduced us to some of her friends and some musicians and other bands. But today, we’re just tourists,” he tails off with an infectious laugh.
“We’ve invited a lot of contacts to our shows and tried to establish some kind of collaboration with people that perhaps could help us book some shows in England and help us with promotion. Hopefully this album is the start of a good relationship with the UK and the UK scene,” rounds off frontman Simen.
Photo Benedikte Olsen
“He’s very calm, you know, always real”
I change tack again and zone in on the least talkative of the four … (though methinks he is not always so quiet!)
Eirik, how difficult is it for you to simultaneously work & tour in two bands; to simultaneously create two different styles of music, which although they are not radically different, are different nonetheless? (Eirik is also a member of the group, Dråpe)
“I’d say it’s not difficult, it feels quite natural. In Gold Celeste I make music with Simen and Petter and then inDråpeI make sounds with Ketil. It’s just a different group, different people.” How do you disassociate yourself from the Dråpe methodologies when you’re creating and playing with Gold Celeste? “To be honest, it’s not something I have given a lot of thought to, mainly because it just happens naturally”
“Me and Ketil are different persons,” laughs Simen while Eirik continues “I’ve known Ketil (Myrhe, lead singer and lyricists in Dråpe) for ten years and we’ve always made music together. We’ve written a lot of songs in that time.” “Two different bubbles,” throws in Torstein.
So you can just switch off and move from one bubble to the other? “Yes, it’s not a problem.”
Simen offers his viewpoint … “I think it’s perhaps that Eirik …
Turns and starts talking to him directly (I’ll just read a magazine shall I?)
“I don’t know if you have the same role in both bands – but I think it’s just you as a person. It all works out because you don’t go all crazy and weird.”
“He’s very calm, you know, always real, ” ah, he’s back with me! “He’s a good person, he’s a stable kind of guy you know.”
By way of enlightenment, Eirik concludes “The songwriting in Dråpe is more based on hooks, and the songwriting in Gold Celeste is more beats based. Both bands are searching for moods but I haven’t really thought about it too much beyond that.”
So, the answer to happy co-existence, is don’t over analyse, just “be”.
We are nearing the end of our time together so I decide to throw out some random and unrelated questions …
Is it important to have a sense of humour?
“Yeah. In ‘The Glow’I think you need to have some kind of self-ironic and humourous kind of naïve but provocative way of singing. Have you heard the ‘Can of Worms’ song? It’s an ironic kind of song in a way. We created this kind of creepy but soft, mellow song. I don’t know. I don’t know how we are perceived humour wise … We don’t want to be in this SERIOUS band. We WANT to be taken SERIOUSLY” Simen does his best Terry Pratchett DEATH character booming voice.
I think you’re hilarious! I don’t think you’re hilarious as in stupidly funny, but I think you’re hilarious in your approach which is kind of subtly mocking sometimes and quite sarcastic and sardonic. But it’s all covered over by this lovely music. If you didn’t pay attention to the lyrics you wouldn’t actually get the bite that’s in there.
“Yeah, I like that. I think that’s perhaps one of the most important things for me lyrically is to nurture the contrasting elements. If the song is … it can be a very good … it can have a very nice affect when the lyrics and music contrast with each other, than perhaps they both make more sense,” he says with a smile.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
“I think I put it in words half an hour ago perhaps,” muses Simen “if you could make society more made for human beings rather than by human beings all the time. Do you feel your surroundings reflect how you feel inside? I think we could make architecture and society and things reflect more the introverted values rather than everything being external all the time. Everything is so external and I think we should perhaps stop for a second and perceive ourselves as one people.”
Are you optimists?
“Optimists? Yeah” replies Eirik “Yeah, agrees Simen. “There is nothing worse than pessimistic, whiny music. It really, really takes all the energy out of you. It makes you feel awkward, makes you want to leave. You really, really want to leave”.
What’s next for Gold Celeste? Was ‘The Wonder of Love’ the start of the next phase of your music, will it be on the next album or is it a stand-alone work that’s not going to fit anywhere?
“We recorded ‘The Wonder of Love’ in October” Eirik tells me, when I ask him when it was recorded. “I think we make some songs that you know are reminiscent of that part of us and hopefully we’ll make some music that goes in another direction and together they make us fresh and interesting, enthuses Simen. “We don’t want to make another ‘The Glow’ but I think however far we would want to go in another direction it wouldn’t be far-fetched you know. It would be Gold Celeste.”
So it would be building on what you’ve already done? “Yeah I think so,” he continues “we’ve spent so much time making music that some would perceive as narrow but we try to find a centre in the music rather than spread out too much, we try to find this core and then just add to the core all the time.”
So what are the plans for 2016, are you going to do more gigging and touring, and is there another album in the pipeline?
“We hope to play a lot of gigs and some festivals; we’ve some dates booked, and are working on more” Eirik explains.
And finishing as we started, the final words go to that most verbose of lead men, Simen Hallset …
“I think after the end Winter and into the Spring, if we get things our way and work hard and try to nurture the connections we’ve made and record some other new songs and videos, and try to keep the momentum up from the album, hopefully things will pan out and things are happening rapidly … it’s so rapid, everything goes so fast, you don’t necessarily have to build slowly anymore you can come with this one song and it might explode, or you can come with this mini-album and someone picks it up, and then people follow and then you manage to get into the last segment of festival bookings that happen you know March, April perhaps. You know if we work hard we hope to reap some reward,” he beams a radiant smile at me … “After the release we haven’t exploded and travelled all over the world, but we have slowly tried to build some connections, and hopefully 2016 will be the year when things start to blossom.”
And so say all of us!
And that my friends is the end of conversation with Gold Celeste. I hope you found the interviews (both parts) as interesting, animated, humourous and informative as I did. A huge fan of both the guys and their music, here’s hoping, as Simen said ,that 2016 will see them reap the fruit of their labours and gain a strong foothold in the wider music markets, helping them gain the recognition their music so richly deserves.
My sincere thanks to Eirik, Petter, Thorstein and Simen for their time, patience, humour, cordiality, honesty, words and last but certainly not least, their absolutely gorgeous music for which I can’t thank them enough! X
As before, I am leaving you with the gorgeous video for The Wonder of Love, filmed by Benedikte Olsen, and a spotify playlist of all the tracks featured in this half of the interview.
Gold Celeste will play Bergen Sat 13th, check it out, and, Trondheim 20th February – details here.
Like and follow their Facebook page to keep up to date with further gig/music news.
***An abridged version of the full text of Gold Celeste Uncovered P2 was published in The Monitors on 5th February 2016.
Today we are introducing Snøskred, an upcoming four-piece from Norway. They hail from Trondheim, Norwegian music mecca and home of rock, and comprise Karl Klaseie (vocal/guitar), Lars Ove Fossheim (vocal/guitar), Martin Hvidsten Berger (bass) and Kyrre Laastad, (drums).
Snøskred are signed to indie label, Riot Factory, and it was through RF sub-label, Sad Songs for Happy People, that they released their domestic debut album, Whiteout, in late 2012. Recorded in Greener Studios, Trondheim, the album was self-produced with the help of Gold Celestefrontman, Simen Hallset. Two singles, Come Closer and We Are (7″) were warmly received with the album itself being hailed as one of the best indie releases of the year.
Much touring, gigging, projects, writing, and recording later, September 2015 saw Snøskred release ‘Puzzle’, the lead track from their long awaited international debut album, ‘Empty House’ which they started recording in June 2014, again in Greener, and which is due for release 19th February coming.
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In advance of the album launch, the band have just dropped new single ‘Lexington Hotel’ about which lyricist, Karl Klaseie explains:
“‘Lexington Hotel’ came to me in a dream after a late night viewing of Scarface. I was in the middle of a mobster shakedown and woke up thoroughly confused and sweaty.”
Louche, I think is the word I’d use to describe this track; a slow, sexy, languidly louche sonic strut. Actually, it doesn’t so much strut, as undulate, to the provocative rhythm of its sensual pulse.
Fraught with tense, menacing, guitars, and blackened by moody, cavernous basslines, the lingering instrumental is an atmospheric slow-burn. Martin Hvidsten Berge’s bass peripatetics wholly underpin this track – a musical marvel to behold on this doom-laden composition – its dark, heavy, syrupy sound transudes through tremolo heavy walls of grinding guitars.
Kudos to Kyrre Laastad for some very cleverly arranged percussion including some lovely, lazy conga/batá beats. Actually, the sync between the RS is tighter than tight, thereby adding to the songs intensity by making it feel somewhat claustrophobic.
Conversely, the chorus is something of a release, coming like a breath of fresh air after the stifled atmosphere of the verse. Warm melodic Kraut-country lines lift the mood, with some gorgeous, shimmering guitar sequences from Lars Ove Fossheim, giving memorable if momentary relief. And so it plays out, long stretches of dark, brief flashes of light, which lead into a final electronic fuelled thrum that gives the track an interesting if unexpected close.
The vocal has Damon Albarn stamped all over it, with vocalist Karl Klaseie having that same Albarn-esque way of letting the vocal slip effortlessly from his lips – languorous, subtly playful, and nonchalantly cool.
Timing is everything and Snøskred’s is impeccable: the arrangement is timed to perfection, thereby ensuring maximum effect. Highly imaginative, exceptionally well mixed, arranged with pinpoint accuracy, and very perceptively produced, this is an extremely unique and very strong track that hopefully gives a pretty clear indication of what is to come on the album.
A rich, sticky ooze of dark toxicity, ‘Lexington Hotel’ lures, captivates and holds you in the thrall of its highly potent and dangerously addictive nature. You are left longing for more …
‘Lexington Hotel‘ is available to stream via Spotifyand to download via Amazon. It is also available via Bandcamp. The album, ‘Empty House’ is scheduled for release via Riot Factory, on 19th February. You can follow Snøskred on Facebookand Twitter.
2015 was a pretty crazy year for Norwegian band Gold Celeste – changing brand, releasing their highly acclaimed first album, ‘The Glow’,and making their London live-debut. Not to mention dropping what was surely one of THE outstanding tracks of the year, ‘The Wonder of Love’. In the first instalment of an exclusive two part interview, Gold Celeste discuss Folkehogskole, musical blenders, and a myriad influences from Krzysztof Penderecki to Ray Davies.
I meet up with the Oslo based musical triumvirate of Simen Hallset (vocals/bass), Petter Haugen Andersen (drums), and Eirik Fidjeland (everything including the kitchen sink), at the Old Blue Last on a bright December’s afternoon. One of those pared back on-trend hang outs for the modern day “yuppy”, the OBL has fast become the de rigueur place for emerging non-UK acts to be seen and more importantly, heard.
Due on stage a few hours later, these laid back, convivial and highly articulate Norwegians are in high spirits, buoyed by what has thus far been an enjoyable and rewarding sojourn in London. Indicative of the spirit of friendship that is at the very heart of this young band, fellow musician and close friend, Torstein Kvamme Holum, who joins them for their live performances, is included in the interview conversation. In fact, the notion of a close, tightly integrated network of musicians based on friendship and mutual support is something which appears to be a key tenet of the Norwegian music scene.
To get a better understanding of the band and the basis not just for their formation but also for their friendship, I decide to start at the most logical of places – “the beginning”.
“I met Eirik in 2008 at the Folkehogskole high school in Trondheim,” explains frontman Simen Hallset, “and we’ve been making music together ever since. I didn’t meet Petter until 2011. He was already good friends with Torstein by then.”
“Folkehogskole is an optional ‘People High School’ where you can choose to go for one year after you graduate from (ordinary) highschool” interjects Torstein.
The guys explain that the college focus is anything from wildlife to music but that in the main it is an educational-cum-cultural hub where like-minded young people can network in a friendly and relaxed environment. “Yeah” continues Simen, “they had this great recording studio (in Trondheim), one of the only ones in Norway, and we spent a lot of time in there. That’s how we got into the production aspect of creating music.”
I ask what drew them together musically? “We got to know each other through some similar musical preferences” says Simen. “The Norwegian band Motorpsycho, Radiohead, Sigur Rós and then eventually, My Bloody Valentine, Deerhunter and Beach House. We had this post-punk band early on, during the school year. I think that’s where we kind of found each other musically.”
“WE SPENT FIVE YEARS TRYING TO FIND WHAT WE REALLY WANTED TO DO”
So is it because that was the type of music you liked to listen to, that you decided that was what you wanted to play? “You want to play the music you love hearing, knowing, or do something personal with it.” says Petter. “I think that was what brought us together but at the same time we continuously tried to find new music that we got inspired by and that felt fresh. You can try to copy Beach House, or you can try to copy other bands, but that’s not what we wanted to do. We like to jam a lot and try find influences from different kinds of styles and genres, and to make our own sound.”
How then do they define the style of music they play? Do they want to be classified, boxed into “indie-psych-gaze-dream-whatever” I ask?
Simen laughs mockingly and shakes his head, “You know it just sounds ridiculous really, ‘indie-gaze-dream-pop’.” It is ridiculous, I agree. Using several words to describe your style when none of them actually define what I think is your sound, because to me your style isn’t definable. “Yeah,” he nods, “but at the same time, I don’t think it should be up to us to classify. If we had to name our own style I think that would be too pretentious, so I usually just say, psychedelic pop, lo-fi, aesthetic stuff. Something like that. We spent five years trying to find what we really wanted to do and I think ‘The Glow’ is perhaps the first release where we’ve been totally comfortable (with the sound) and now we just want to make new music.”
And ‘shoegaze’?
” ‘The Wonder of Love’ is perhaps the song that is most openly influenced by soul music” he continues, “you know, Curtis Mayfield and the Philadelphia soul bands of the late 60s early 70s, but it’s still very us. So you know, this shoegaze reference is more perhaps how the vocals and all the sounds combine to make the texture. We like this other-wordly feel to the music, but we still try to keep its and our feet on the ground.”
You said in your bio that you were influenced by “soulful dreamers of the 70s”. Who and what do you mean by “the soulful dreamers”. Mayfield? There’s a bit of a free for all Simen/Petter love in at this point, so we’ll just go with the flow …
Petter… “Of course, as mentioned Curtis Mayfield and the other artists who tried to bring a popular method and get people to understand.” Simen … “Social commentary” Petter … “Yeah, to get people to understand that there can be a better tomorrow. David Crosby and all those guys.” Simen … “John Lennon”.
Petter continues,“You can call them naïve hippies or whatever but there is some truth to what they’re saying. You can’t just go to the White House or anyplace and say “Stop war” or “Be nice to each other”, but you should really try (to do something)! Not that it helps 100% to just write a song about it.” At which point Torstein chips in with his tuppence worth … “I’m just a fourth of the live tour, so it is easy for me to have an objective approach or view of it. I really like the kind of ethics that these artists once talked about. The approach that we (as a unit) have is a bit self-ironic. It’s not like this condescending way of talking, like do this and do that. There’s a lighter approach to it, which is a much more appealing way to talk about the issues.”
Shindig
“WHEN YOU AND I MET YOU WERE A GUITARIST” … “I STILL AM!”
Not only is it apparent at this point that these guys are incredibly comfortable talking about a wide range of topics, it is also extremely obvious that they are immensely at ease in each others company. They talk across, over and through each other quite seamlessly, at some points even finishing each others sentences. I steer the conversation back into the world of musical influences with a nod yet again to their bio and sound …
Miles Davis, John Coltrane and jazz – I hear it a lot in your music, especially in your percussion which seems to be very jazz oriented. How influenced are you by the whole jazz sound and vibe?
Front man Simen takes the lead once again … “I think when you talk about drumming, one important factor in our percussion sounding jazzy is the fact that we spend a lot of time in the studio. We want the drum kit to sound good when you just listen to the drums, you know have this internal volume that it’s just one instrument. It’s like a piano, you have all these timbres, you have all these pieces; the drums are like a piano in that way. When a drummer just bashes away, every drum sounds isolated.
We want the whole thing to just sound like it should and that was what was so important to the great jazz musicians. They were so conscious about their instruments, the timbres, the dynamics, and I think that is one of the most important aspects of how jazz music has influenced us. The way you listen, you try to understand the instruments, don’t just bash away.”
So was it important to put those two jazz instrumentals on the album?
” One track, ‘Pastures’ was actually recorded about three years ago! It was just a sketch, us jamming in the studio.” explains Eirik, who, Petter tells me, played drums on the track. Drums? What will we hear Mr Multi-Instrumentalist play on the next album, the saxophone? Laughing he shakes his head, “Nah.”
Amidst the merriment Petter quips, “I am trying to learn the flute, so hopefully I’ll be playing some flute on the next album.” Will you be throwing your flute up in the air then like your drumsticks? (see ‘The Wonder of Love’ video) “Yeah! (laughs) Of course.”
“AS “NOT-A-DRUMMER”, I REALLY HATE DRUMMERS”
On the subject of jazz percussion Petter continues, “I guess on the drumming part, it’s worth mentioning that I’m actually not a drummer. In Angelica’s Elegy (see next) I played bass in the live band with Simen on piano, but then he decided to go back to playing bass as that’s his main instrument and he’s really good at playing it. Suddenly I was out of a job so I said I could play drums. (Quick on his feet isn’t he!!) I learned most of my drumming in the studio recording the songs. The guys would have a sketch or an idea and I’d have to learn how to play with studio drums or with a three mic set up and make it sound beautiful. And also as “not-a-drummer”, I really hate drummers, (to much raucous laughter) because most of them play like shit. In most rock bands they hit as hard as they can and that just makes the drums sound bad. Cue “trialogue”!
Simen, “You’re a musician, you’re not a drummer.” Thorstein, “When you (Petter) and I met, you were a guitarist.” Petter, “I still am!” (More laughing).Thorstein,“Yeah, you’re still a guitarist (still laughing) but now you also play drums really well. I guess when you play an instrument your whole life you can get really good but it’s also limiting because if you define yourself as an instrumentalist you can function but if you’re a musician then you can have this kind of vision which means that you can think like a musician rather than an instrumentalist.” Simen, “Did this just turn into some kind of ass-kissing situation? (Laughs) We like to share positive and negative comments with each other, it’s how you grow!” I think you’ll agree these Norwegians are refreshingly honest, self-deprecating and lacking in bull!
Speaking of Angelica’s Elegy, why the name change to Gold Celeste?
” I think the answer to your question is threefold” muses Simen. “The first is perhaps that AE was basically a studio project. After we finished Folkehogskole, I started a recording studio with a friend where we, Eirik and I, spent a lot of time creating, writing music, recording, producing, finding sounds, and you know, basically trying to develop some kind of direction.
When we started to see the light at the end of the tunnel with ‘The Glow’, we wanted to start afresh. AE had been myself and Eirik, and I think GC was more me, Eirik and Petter. Also, the band name AE was kind of based on this melancholic concept we had early on, with regards to the kind of pictures we wanted to put into people’s minds with our music. With GC it’s a bit more open, it’s not that loaded, when it comes to it’s dark, or it’s light or it’s positive. You know, it can be a lot of things.”
He smiles broadly and says, “You know, Gold Celeste is also easier to pronounce. You don’t have to say the band name four times, maybe only three, so that’s an improvement.”
I mention the fact that in their bio the one genre not referenced is classical and ask why? (Another question that results in a “group” answer … )
“We listen to classical music too. Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead, he makes fantastic classical music. We also listen to Wagner,” affirms Eirik. “Yeah, Wagner” agrees Hallset. “There’s some seriously beautiful classical music. Penderecki, for instance.” Drummer Petter jumps in, “I don’t listen to that much classical but I love the things that Simen and Eirik put on. But a lot of it is also found in some of the more orchestral jazz things like Ahmad Jamal and all that … David Chesky. So you can also get some of the classical aspects through there.” “We like the timbre of the strings you know” smiles Hallset. “And then there’s Ennio Morricone” offers Fidjeland, to universal approval.
These guys don’t half know their music – throw anything at them, they have an answer, like walking musical encylopediae.
“EVERYTHING’S BEEN DONE, INCLUDING BLENDERS”
You cite Radiohead and Can as influences, I say. Can you see yourselves going down the same route of extreme experimentation? And can you, Simen, see yourself singing your lyrics backwards?
Simen laughs and gives a firm “No! Right now, we like to experiment with the pop format I guess. And in the future, who knows.”
“I think on the one hand it seems like a good idea, it might happen. But we don’t want to experiment just to experiment, to be weird you know” declares Petter.
But where is there left to go? Do you think it’s already been done?
“Well we went to Berlin a month or so ago,”Petter continues, “and this guy played us some weird club music with blender sounds, so I think there is nowhere left to go!” They all explode with laughter – they do this quite frequently! “Everything’s been done,” he concludes, “including blenders.”
All started by Nils Frahm with his toilet brushes I laugh, to which Torstein replies, “I’ve seen Frahm performing that boiler room thing, it’s really cool. (Boiler Room x Dimensions)
To close out discussing their influences, I ask the band to nominate their songwriting heroes …
To my surprise, Eirik nominates Ray Davies, announcing that he really likes The Kinks. Petter then tells us that he’s had the song ‘Waterloo Sunset’ running through his mind these past few days while he’s been in London.
“I liked The Kinks’ songs from the mid-sixties til they get really weird in the seventies. I like the Arthur (1969) record and The Kink Kontroversy. They made some really great songs.”
After much debate, Eirik quietly brings the subject to a close … “There is Mark Linkhous from Sparklehorse as well. And of course there was John Lennon.” He pauses, while the others nod quietly, conscious that the just the day before had been the 35th anniversary of Lennon’s death. “There are just so many to choose from you know!”
In the second part of this extended interview, Gold Celeste discuss the creative process, recording ‘The Glow’, creating change, and being “infinitely loving”. This second instalment will feature in The Monitors later this month. Keep an eye out, you don’t want to miss it!
Take a listen to some of the Gold Celeste tracks mentioned along with a few more on this short playlist …
I think it’s really neat to have musicians talk about the music of their peers. So to follow the trend we started some weeks ago, we now have another guest reviewer, in the form of David Dhonau, airing his lofty views on an album that has featured on this site – ‘The Glow’, by Gold Celeste.
David Dhonau is a bassist, cellist, composer and producer based in the UK. His work has ranged from ambient electronica to fuzzy alt rock, contemporary classical to improvised noise. As a composer, arranger and session player his work has been favourably reviewed in NME, The Wire, Uncut, Muzik and the Sun.
Live performances have taken him to Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House and festivals such as Tramlines and Summer Sundae. He has had recorded work featured on television programmes such as BBC3’s ‘Ideal’ and Channel 4’s ‘Hollyoaks’. David currently plays in Leicester based dream-pop band Dayflower and is a founding member of experimental rap collective 1,000,000,000,000 o’clock.
David Dhonau reviews ‘The Glow’, Gold Celeste.
Conjuring thoughts of something shining, chiming, transcendent and precious, Gold Celeste is a band name as evocative as it is beautiful. It came from a simple appreciation of the sky, saturated with colour during sunrise or sunset. The Glow is the debut album from this Norwegian dream-psych trio: an equally appropriate title for a record that exudes warm, luxuriant, brilliance from start to finish.
It begins with a collage of reversed voices, odd tape effects and swooning strings (found, one might imagine, on a dusty, worn film reel); a mini overture which builds and swells until a clattering drum fill shatters the reverie and ‘Can Of Worms’ opens properly. Suddenly we are in the midst of a legion of multi-tracked voices, repeating a world weary mantra: ‘They said it would be good for you’. These fall away to leave a wistful lead vocal alone against a backdrop of meandering chords and ambient textures: elements which form a blueprint for much of what will follow.
After a few false starts with outside producers, the band chose to handle production themselves. Not surprising for a group of friends who first bonded over a shared love of Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine, bands known for their attention to studio craft. (Gold Celeste covered the former’s ‘Weird Fishes/Arpeggi’ at their debut London showrecently, apparently to great effect.) It was clearly the right decision – they have meticulously sculpted a record which is a truly gorgeous listen.
There are no hard edges on ‘The Glow’. Multi-instrumentalist Eirik Fidjeland lays down drifts of guitars and washed out keyboards that meld and merge, sometimes barely distinguishable from one another. Cinematic strings seep into tape echo, enveloping the listener in a warm, analogue embrace. Effects are applied with painstaking care, never muddy or vague. The whole sound scintillates like sunlight reflected in clear, rippling water.
Still Benedikte Olsen
While the high end floats with diaphanous lightness, a solid anchor is provided by the masterful rhythm section of Petter Haugen Andersen (drums) and Simen Hallset (bass, keys, lead vocal). Swaggering tom fills and deft snare flourishes interweave with melodic bass, summoning memories of Paul McCartney and Ringo at their peak. No coincidence that the somnambulant organ stabs at the heart of ‘The Dreamers’ make it feel like Strawberry Fields Forever’s comedown.
Each instrumental part is played beautifully, making the intricate seem effortless. Shrewd arrangements draw an orchestral hugeness from the band, heightened by additional instrumentation and nuanced, abstract noise: it’s Burt Bacharach and Brian Wilson exploring the surface of another planet.
While these ‘golden age’ influences loom large, The Glow also resonates with a more contemporary avant pop tone. ‘Open Your Eyes’ is a near perfect gem of a song (a clear highlight on a consistently strong album), relying on woozy synths and a syncopated breakbeat, which call to mind Tame Impala or MGMT as recorded by American neo-psych production maestro Dave Fridmann.
Hallset’s top-of-the-range vocal strongly recalls the fey, quavering delivery of Jonathan Donahue, Fridmann’s bandmate from his days as bassist in Mercury Rev: a group famed for its reckless experimentalism and symphonic grandeur. But whilst Donahue and Co’s latest offering,’The Light In You’, fell somewhat flat (at least in part due to Fridmann’s absence as producer) ‘The Glow’ succeeds in the same way as Mercury Rev’s finest work – synthesising a varied palette of sonic influences and weaving them into a lush, timeless landscape, uniquely and on its own terms.
It may not contain anything as obviously anthemic as ‘Goddess On A Hiway’ or as unhinged as ‘Chasing A Bee’, but ‘The Glow’ is a sonic trip of remarkable depth, imagination and beauty. It’s an LP which unfolds more richly with each listen and is designed to be experienced as a whole, joyfully rubbishing any notion of The Album being a outmoded concept. Gold Celeste are revelling in the format, down to the carefully paced track order.
The longish opening track is followed by ‘But a Poem’: a succinct ditty based around acoustic guitar and vocal. Tantalisingly brief instrumental interludes fade out when they’ve barely begun. Subtle shifts in key and tonality lends the music a weightless dream logic. When Gold Celeste open a door in front of you, expect to float out through the window instead. As Revolver did with Tomorrow Never Knows, the song cycle ends with a beginning, and a dramatic one. ‘The Start of Something Beautiful’ is propelled by an urgent beat as chords climb restlessly, beckoning the hopeful radiance of a new dawn.
‘The Glow’ is as ambitious lyrically as it is musically, addressing societal malaise, global progress and personal, spiritual transformation. ‘Grand New Spin’ searches for ‘some kind of answer’ and longs for ‘a place where truth is not a sin’. Gold Celeste are treading in Lennon’s footsteps: dreaming with clear, open eyes, not to escape the world but rather to imagine a better one. As with the music, the earnestness with which such grand themes are presented is offset by an artful playfulness which banishes any sense of self indulgence.
A band after Gold Celeste’s heart must surely be those pioneering Oklahoman freaks, The Flaming Lips. Before their glorious ‘Do You Realize??’ rises to its final crescendo Wayne Coyne sings of how ‘the sun doesn’t go down. It’s just an illusion caused by the world spinning round’.
In offering up this exquisite album, three Nordic dreamers have done something sublime: a reminder that maybe the direction the sun is heading is less important than taking the time to enjoy its glow.
Those of you that know me well, know that the one thing I have, head and shoulders above everything else, is a very big and very childish sense of humour. I love to laugh, and I laugh a lot, probably inappropriately half the time, but hey, you know I never mean any harm right? (You do, don’t you???)
So I thought in the Spirit of Christmas (as opposed to the Spirit of Gin…not a drop, swear) and for something a bit different, I’d share with you, some of the moments that made me laugh, smile, snort, fall off the bed (and there were a few of those), splurt and take a turn for the worse, red face and coughing wise!
Before I begin, DISCLAIMER! This piece is not mean to offend…it is a lighthearted look at some of the stuff you bands/singers/musos/writers have put out there this year, which YT just happened to find hilariously amusing. I am not laughing at you….well, I am, but in a nice way. You made me smile, for which I’m thankful.
This time last year I barely knew who JR Moores was…he certainly didn’t know who I was…he does now! Call it the pester effect! JR is a music writer for The Quietus and DIS. By-times, he reviews comedy festivals. I personally think he should be doing stand up.
JR is to insanely quick witted writing as Rodney’s face was to OF&H.
I knew he wrote well (he writes a mega-watts psych feature for TQ – go check it out – I’ve embedded my personal fave), but when I stumbled upon this baby one quiet September morn, I realised that I was in the company of the Dermot Morgan of festival reviewers. Intelligent, articulate, insightful – tick, tick, tick. Entertaining – check. Hilariously funny – side splittingly so.
So the Award for – MADE DERV SPILL HER TEA ALL OVER HER LAPTOP goes to – JR Moores for his hugely entertaining review of the Leeds festival.
(I’m sure he’ll be thrilled – you are JR aren’t you, secretly … very secretly!).
See, you thought it was going to be all musicians didn’t you….well, er!
Anyone who’s read the reviews on this site for the past 6 months will be only too aware that one band has featured more than any other (though the golden glowers have been chasing their tail of late). Yip, the boys from Dråpe get a mention on here today.
Dråpe have put a smile on my oft forlorn face, above and beyond any other artist this year. The reasons are varied, but in this instance, it’s the lyrics to the track ‘?’ from their album ‘Relax/Relapse’, which combined with the zaniest of loop-the-loop guitar riffs, produced a near death experience due to the resultant choking of said reviewer (who was eating a toffee whilst lying on the bed at the time!!). Front-man, Ketil Myhre, may have an ear for a good tune, but it is the sharpness of his eye for a crackingly good lyric that is his forte. Myhre is one of the wittiest, most perceptive and trenchant lyricists I’ve come across in a long time and is the winner of the MOSTMORDACIOUS LYRICS OF THE YEAR AWARD with this piece of astringent brilliance (see track 3 – but please play the whole album, it’s RAD).
It is the only way of living It makes so much sense, those things you do Well-knowing the world is getting warmer still nothings as cool as being you
It’s: black or white – High concept interior design Anal bleaching – Louis Vuitton – The list goes on and on
I’m in a band – Choose second hand – I’m an original I am so free – just look at me – I am the prophecy
Deadpan faces kill me … and one guy more than any other deadpanned me to comic death with his performance in an in-studio music video. But it wasn’t the DP face (you’ll catch it near the end, during a close up!) that won him this award…oh no. This was one of those moments of pure comedy gold where the camera hits the right place at the right time (courtesy of the wonderful film maker Benedikte Olsen who shot the video for the lustrousThe Wonder of Love) and bam……you’ve got your “money shot” (in fact she actually got three – one courtesy of Mr Eirik Fidjeland and two courtesy of the Petter HA). Mr H.A. you have a natural disposition towards the comedic! X
Eirik Has Eye IssuesGo Away, You’re Scaring Me!!
The 2015 comedy money shot goes to Petter Haugen Andersen from Gold Celeste, winner of the RANDOM DRUMSTICK THROWING MID SONG COMPETITION (and in a lesser category, the YOU’RE SCARING ME (CAN’T YOU SEE THE LOOK IN MY EYES) AWARD with a nod to Mr F for his, THAT GUITAR STRING JUST WHACKED ME ONE IN THE EYE vibe.
Kudos to the guys for being big enough to leave these shots in the video. They actually serve to make it fresh and human!
AHA! A-ha
“In fact, during the course of our 45 minutes together, it will often seem that Harket hasn’t heard me at all …”
Back to words….Another music media dude that I’ve got to know over the past year has been one Mr Wyndham Wallace;journalist, author, PR manager, record company executive, art lovey and general all round Mr Culture Personified. He also happens to have a love for things Norwegian (especially NO isles in the Arctic circle and feral cats) and a bit of a gra for one Mr Mark Hollis & the music of Talk Talk.
Back in September, Nordic music gods, A-ha, celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of their UBER pop hit, ‘Take On Me’ and so, being one to see a perfect opportunity present itself to put a Grand New Spin (see what I did there?) on an archived 2013 interview – (why not?) – WW set about bringing it into 2015 with additional words and music links unearthed during some pretty indepth research.
The result was not only a fascinating and detailed exploration into the background of the band and the song, it was an uproariously funny account of his meeting with A-ha frontman, Morten Harket, who by the sounds of things, might just be a few cards short of a full deck! You can read the full bells & whistles below.
Winner of the, HUNTING HI AND LOW FOR AN ANSWER TO MY QUESTIONS AWARD, Wyndham Wallace ‘Talking Away: A-Ha On The Making Of Take On Me ‘ for The Quietus.
Some songs make ya smile, some songs make ya grin like a Cheshire Cat. And so it was with this next smile inducer. Johnno Snips Snippet Cuts Casson (mouthful innit) is a singer, songwriter, musician, FOTN moderator and Toaster. He lives in Essex and claims to have never been in an episode of TOWIE. Cough.
Earlier in the Autumn, as the sun was beginning to take on that lovely autumnal red glow in the sky and the evenings were beginning to draw in around our shoulders like comfy woolly scarves, along came this ray of Sunshine. Snippets ‘The Sunshine’ EP has all the smiley feelgood of Morecambe & Wise and Brenda Lee’s ‘You Bring Me Sunshine’. It brought me Sunshine and a lot of Smiling … and here it is
Winner of the YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE AWARD – Snippet Cuts
Penultimate awards go to two gentleman who made me laugh louder than anyone else this year…albeit unwittingly. I’ve never met either of them, though I do know one of them quite well through our mutual modding escapades.
The first source of mirth is to be found quite early on in the latest Dråpe video – which itself is hilarious and will easily put a smile on your face. (Much laughs induced at .27in with Eirik F doing his best grounded Albatross impressions) but it’s the shot at .30 here that’s the prize winner. Yep, winner of the THE ICONIC “THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY” HAIR IN THE AIR AWARD, is our witty wordsmith from a couple of awards above, Ketil Myhre. To be fair, the dude has sufficient sense of humour not to have asked for that shot to be removed – the more ‘anally bleached, silicon bottomed’ diva-types would have.
Second is the presence of Number 8 in the Northern Portrait video – he comes in around 1.30. Now long story short…one very dark and boring night, a few of us mods were bothering Steve on Twitter (we do that, it’s called free childish entertainment). Along popped Big Jim and his – “did I tell you when I did a dancing part in a video” – line in chat. Then he dropped this on us….to much hilarity, raucous laughter and red faces with aching sides. Debs, the lamb, has never been the same since, and now avoids much social media contact for fear of a relapse into her immediate post No8 state.
When you see No8 – you’ll understand why this caused so much hilarity (and if you knew Jim as we do, you’d understand it even more). Winner of the MY SHORTS DON’T COME ANY SHORTER AND MY WIFE TONGSED MY HAIR, WHAT YOU THINK DEBS? AWARD is Big Jim Cambo, Modertor with Fruit and Nut.
A sincere thanks to you all for making me laugh, smile, cry with laughter, howl, belly laugh and collapse with glee. Without your putting yourselves, your music and your words out there, the world (well mine anyway) would be a much darker and grimmer place.
Finally, my last award goes to Debs, Steve, Jim, Paul, Johnno, Alex, David D, Damian, Jo Marie C, Mme Catherine, Eddie S and my BAES Andrew B & Ieuan B. Not only have you been solid, but you have made me laugh when all I wanted to do was give up, cry, scream and/or invariably get drunk, which I usually never seem to manage!
Winners of my THANK YOU FOR THE SMILES OF FRIENDSHIP AWARD…I give it to you with all my heart X Much love & Merry Christmas XXX
dervswerve 