Very impressed by this album and their catchy performance last May at the Heavy Days in Doomtown, I intented to make this interview for quite some time, also because I think people's reception to this band is too discreet regarding their talent... finally here it is and humbly, I'd be happy if it can help a bit more to spread the word on them ! thanx to Merethe for being so interesting and quick to answer -
The album contains 2 songs that were on the demo and two new ones, was that a logical balance you quickly agreed on for this debut album ? Did you have much choice within your repertory of the moment ?
It was logical because we thought the demo songs
were good songs, so we wanted them to be released on a proper album. The album
will end up being heard by a lot more people than the demo which is just that,
a demo, so it seemed a shame to leave them out. As for choice of repertoire, we
simply wrote two more songs and concluded that we had enough material for a
single vinyl which is what we wanted, so nothing was scrapped.
Of course your music is valued on
the album by a much better production
but the band’s identity seems to have matured in a more personal way
during the one year and a half that followed the demo… how do you feel the band has concretely developed between the
demo and the album ?
Being able to rehearse with such a
fantastic keyboard player and rehearsing more in general has made the music a
bit more organic, although most of the development has actually taken place
between the recording of the album and now. Also, since Merethe now plays the
bass instead of the guitar there is that change as well, different bass player,
different guitar player, and different
keyboard player.
You signed on Svart rds, were they
the only label that made a decent proposition to the band? Did you sign for
more than the debut album ? Beyond their quality, reliability and quickness to
release stuff, was that an advantage for them to be from a neighbour country or
would have it been the same for you if they were coming from Taiwan or
Montevideo ?!
We received some other offers around
the same time, but Svart was definitely the best one in terms of quality
releases, financial backing and giving us freedom to do whatever we want. We
feel very lucky that Svart approached us, they’ve been really good to us. We
could hardly wish for more. Finland is a bit different from Denmark and Sweden,
because their langauge isn’t similar to ours, which means we can’t understand
them at all, so it hasn’t really had an effect on our relationship.
The band’s name has a kind of
mystical flavour perfectly reflecting the mesmerizing and trippy music but what
about the lyrical aspect of HPoS ?
The lyrics are supposed to paint
pictures and convey feelings in a non-literal way. Put shortly, the lyrics are
concerned with life, the passing of time, and what it ultimately leads to, both
in the perspective of the single human being, and in the perspective of the
universe.
About organ, did the guy behind it
become a full permanent member of the band ? Was it the same guy playing on the
album and at HDDT (with his grindcore
T-shirt!) ?
That’s the same guy. He has as you
noted an eclectic taste in music, which is fantastic. Our musical conversations
flow freely between Autopsy and Ray Manzarek’s solo albums. Andreas actually
got to know him when they played together in a short-lived death metal band
called Morbus Crohn. We really want him as a full time member, but he is busy
with his other two projects Flashback Caruso and Rancho Relaxo.
Playing (and staying!) at HDDT was a
really good experience for us, in many different ways. While we had a lot of
fun playing, the conditions weren’t optimal that particular night, and a few
things did not go as well as expected, just enough things to make us wish we
could get another shot. But of course, that’s
part of gaining experience, and
we learned a lot from it. We’re very happy that many seemed to like our concert
and had a good experience seeing us..
I must admit that to start the festival
with you and Huata in a row was simply memorable !!! Resonaut playing the last day, you stayed
there during the whole festival, what have been your most interesting moments
within the 3 days which followed your set (inside the fest and in Copenhagen) ?
The most interesting thing was to witness the
whole DIY-culture in Kill Town and just being part of that whole thing and
seeing all the friendly people helping
out and making sure that things went smoothly. I know you asked about moments,
but the general vibe was probably what we remember the best. And Martin
drinking an entire bottle of Vodka that he bought at the gas station on
saturday. Perhaps not that memorable for him, haha.
Could you speak about new songs
please ? Is there anything already fixed for the 2nd album recording
process ? How do the sound of HPoS evolute throughout the years ?
We have two new songs that have been
written, except for vocals and some loose riffs and ideas for a couple more. On
the last album we recorded the bass and the drums together, but this time we
want to record the whole band live which means lots of rehearsing. The first
album was written with two guitars in mind as we had two guitarists for a few
months, but now we’ve kind of settled on having only one guitarist. It’s hard
pinpoint how our sound evolves, but probably leaning more towards our 60s and
70s influences in terms of songwriting, and for the second album it will
probably do so production-wise as well.
Compared to Sweden and Finland, the
Norwegian Doom scene seems a lot more confidential, how do you explain this and
do you think an evolution can be expected ?
Norway in general has a music scene
that isn’t widely acknowledged internationally, the reasons for which are
debated here from time to time. We are Scandinavias smallest country in terms
of population and I guess the smaller number of people makes for a smaller
number of bands that really try to succeed commercially. We have great
financial support systems for buying instruments and studio time, but making
money off of music in Norway is next to impossible. We don’t really think there
will be much change, we think the Norwegian doom scene will stay buried, you
have to be a band like Kvelertak to succeed.
Is the status of musicians/artists
satisfiying in Norway ? does independent culture in general and musical culture
in particular get support and subventions from the government ?
We’re full time students, but Norway
is very supportive of culture, we’ve gotten financial support for lots of
things, like buying the Nord keyboard and the Rickenbacker. We’ve just applied
for another one, hoping to get Andreas a new guitar and some drum equipment.
The financial support is greatly appreciated, because making money is near
impossible, we’ve been paying to be in a band for years and years.
HPoS may often be attached to all
those occult retro- Heavy/doom bands featuring female vocals… are you Ok with
that or kinda embarrassed or simply feeling unconcerned ?
Unconcerned is probably most
fitting. We don’t feel like we’re part of that non-genre at all, especially
since Merethe is the main song writer and we place less emphasis on the vocals.
We don’t really mind either, people can think of us what they will, makes no
difference.
Living in the north of Norway (Trondheim), you’ll be now quickly entering a pretty long period of almost constant obscurity … is that something that affect you and/or change drastically your way of living ? on the other hand, is the midnight sun something you deeply enjoy or nothing special ?
Trondheim isn’t far enough north to
enjoy the midnight sun or having to endure total darkness, but daylight is
scarce in the winter and plentiful in the summer. It’s hard to tell if it
affects us, because this is how we’ve always lived. In some ways it makes us
enjoy the sun a lot, but on the other hand we learn to cope with bad weather.
We stay indoors alot.
You cover Pink Floyd’s “cymbaline” on stage, why this song in particular from the Floyd ? In which measure is this band’s influence reflecting in your music ?
Pink Floyd is perhaps our (Merethe
and Andreas’) favourite band, and we really like the live versions they did of
Cymbaline, it’s criminally overlooked and we just wanted more people to
discover it. It represents a transitional phase for them between the more
traditional psychedelia and the more epic songs they made later. Pink Floyd has
been an influence from the start, especially Rick Wright perhaps. Andreas only
has three influences in his solo guitar work, that is Gilmour, Iommi and Pike.
I guess it depends a lot on the
context we’re in at the moment. Playing a concert is very exhausting both
mentally and physically, and after a gig, normally one of two things happen:
You get a bit quiet and contemplative, or you get totally psyched. I guess you
caught us at the former. I (Merethe) remember speaking to you (I think), and I
remember there being a language barrier as well, which also had a lot to do
with the fact that there was a lot of noise in the room. I often have a hard
time hearing people in crowded, noisy places. That being said, we are
definitely not the most outgoing band in the world, you’re right about that.
It’s just not in our nature, and I guess our music is quite introverted at
times as well.
Could you remind us what merchandise is actually available ?
LP is sold out from the label, but
you can still find it in shops. The CD is still available, and a T-shirt with
the demo cover art. T-shirt with album cover art is sold out and so is the
demo.
Well, thanx a lot for taking the time
to answer this ! add something if you want…
Check out Uzala’s new album “Tales
of Blood and Fire “ and listen to Spectral Haze, Norway’s best band at the
moment.
This was lovvely to read
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