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Found the english version of the David Fricke interview where he talks about Motorpsycho, Rune Grammofon and other stuff from the Norwegian music scene:
You’ve been following the artists on Rune Grammofon for many years now. Every act is different, of course, but what unites them?
— Rune Kristoffersen and I talked about this quite a bit during my stay. I have always felt that the best record labels – those independent ventures that have enduring identities – are all marked by a committment to aesthetic and creative ideals, often with a unifing visual component. To me, Rune Grammofon is in the tradition and original futurism of Elektra, Atlantic and Stiff Records in that the variety of artists – even just the four at the Victoria shows, from Maja and Motorpsycho to Fire! and Hedvig Mollestad Trio – share a creative drive outside the mainstream, and are represented by the distinctive cover art of Kim Hiorthøy. They represent the quality of family without being bound together in genre or style.
On the first day at Victoria we saw Maja Ratkje singlehandedly manage a rugged crowd of «Friday night» oriented people with her exceptional music. It was tough, but she made it!
— Maja’s set on Friday immediately embodied the aesthetic and uncompromising adventure I have associated with Rune Grammofon since the first Supersilent release, 20 years ago. Actually, as she was performing, especially when she attacked the theremin with such vigor, it was as if she was covering Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" – but only the wild middle-sound-effects part. It was heavy and it rocked, in her own distinctive way. Likewise, Fire! the next night, especially the way the rhythm section grooved with such dark muscle.
Motorpsycho has released many great, jazzy prog rock albums for Rune, but has a rich background in the indie and punk rock / European squat house rock from the early nineties. Ever seen them live before? How did you experience their set?
— Seeing Motorpsycho for the first time was an extraordinary experience for me. I knew the band's early days but was truly turned around by their bonding of heavy metal, psychedelia, prog and conceptual theater on Little Lucid Moments, and have been a devoted listener/reviewer ever since. I knew they would be great but the way they took what I knew from the records to another, physically dramatic dimension in performance was a revelation. Two and a half hours didnt seem enough – I hope to see them again soon and a lot. And I hope they come back to America. We need them on our stages.
On the second day it was a pairing of two trios — but can the free jazz of Fire! and the more riff-ready rock of Hedvig Mollestad really exist side by side?
— I thought the pairing of the two trios — Fire! and Hedvig Mollestad Trio – was inspired and perfect. Both groups used collective improvisation, driving grooves and compelling melodic themes to both grab the audience and take it for a ride. It is an example of how Rune Grammofon finds the common bonds in seemingly disparate musics, and also gives those artists room to boom and grow in their own right. Hedvig also showed how many aspects and moods there are to her concept – the introspective ballad "Jurasek" was a brilliant change of pace and drama in her set.
On Sunday you travelled out to Henie Onstad Art Centre to see Moskus perform the Plastic Sun album from 1970. Were you aware of that album and the whole art/poetry/music scene at the museum (and in Oslo in general) in the late sixties/early seventies before you attended the gig? Or without prior knowledge, how will you describe the music that Moskus played and the whole vibe out there?
— I had not heard the original 1970 Plastic Sun before I saw Moskus perform their conception of the album at Henie Onstad Art Centre. It was an amazing space to see the performance; I have the Soft Machine album that was recorded there, and I was amazed to hear that Anja of Moskus played the same piano that Svein Finnerud played at the original session. I got the sense Moskus took the music even further out than the original LP – looking for their own way through the music – but now I have the original on vinyl so I can find out for myself. I'm on mad deadline since I got home, so I am carving out this weekend for deep listening to the 1970 Plastic Sun. Anja told me that their set was recorded, so maybe it can become an album in its own right – the 21st Century Plastic Sun. I'll buy it when it's ready . . .
And finally at the christmas gig, that was quite a spectacle — free form electronic improvisation, one-stringed guitar music from Burkino Faso, free jazz, syrian fusion, tubas, instrumental rock, and a finale of Joni Mitchell songs. Would that kind of mix go down well in the US or any other place? And could you sense a kind of youthful, ideologically oriented vibe from the musicians?
– The Christmas-party show at Nordic Black Theater was a great musical climax for my weekend. The variety in the music and the feeling of family and neighborhood among the performers was a pleasure to experience. I imagine that there are communities everywhere — the still living underground; young, exploring musicians who want more out of the music than Spotify streams and ad-licensing — that have this kind of scene and camraderie. But there was a unique quality to this night that I have not experienced elsewhere, and reminded me a lot of what I saw at the Rune Grammofon shows. I expect to see it again when I come back to Norway. Which I will . . .
@valdra: To get a hold of that one number, you probably have to buy it through a store – though you could try the editor at rob@jazznytt.no.
Subscriptions – both digital and print – are purchasable here: https://jazznytt.jazzinorge.no/abonnement/
Anyway, it's a good read – Bent talks quite a lot about what the different drummer changes have meant for the sound and the internal band process. And the use of extra musicians like Lars Horntveth, Lo, Storløkken and Fiske + some stuff about the different jazz colabs they have done throughout the years. He also talks about the singing in the band, the shift to Rune Grammofon and his bass playing in Steamdome. Should be interesting stuff for a lot of people in this forum!
The weekly Jazznytt-blog wrote a bit more about the Blindfold intervju + a sort of concert review from the Victoria show today. There's also an interview with Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke (who was at the show in Oslo) where he talks a little bit about Motorpsycho. You can read it here:
https://jazznytt.jazzinorge.no/2018/12/07/david-fricke-har-hatt-litt-av-en-helg
Lots of cool stuff here! This is my pop band, The Switch – pretty sure you can hear some Motorpsycho-isms here and there (there's a pretty blatant Starmelt/Lovelight-rip off in one of the solos on our upcoming album), though they're certainly not the bands we're lifting the most from.
http://www.nrk.no/Urort/Artist/the_switch/default.aspx#top
We're playing a lot in and around Oslo, and we're planning on performing some self-indulgent prog stuff + a country set (sounds familiar?) this fall.
https://www.facebook.com/theswitchoslo?fref=ts
Oh, and then there's FAAR (more high concept than hi fi):
http://soundcloud.com/leotardo/you-write-songs-like-a-stephin
