You're probably busy sipping gin while wiping your tears with the Union Jack to the British national anthem and the much longed-for Will and Kate kiss! Yes, 'tis a glorius day and a cause for celebration. And if you're planning on celebrating the big event with a party later on, then I've got some musical suggestions for ya! Perhaps the title of this blogpost is somewhat misleading considering none of the songs have a royal theme. Nevertheless, they are cracking.
First up is a remix from a new DJ I stumbled across, called U-Tern. The song is called Let Me Out and it's by what I presume to be a band called Grand Theft, and some girl called Alexi Turner.
Grandtheft - Let Me Out feat. Alixe Turner (U-Tern Remix) by U-Tern
The next song is also a remix made by some Australian DJs calling themselves Bag Raiders. They've remixed the song "I Won't Let Go" by British synthpop duo Monarchy. In my opinion they've made it so much better in the way that they've combined an old-school 90's sound with a more modern sound.
The last song is not electro music, but rather awesome hip hop from the veterans Beastie Boys! The music video for their newest single is epic. If you haven't already seen it you're in for a treat. Unfortunately, the Beastie Boys also became victims for what seems to be the usual trend in the music industry: someone got hold of their unreleased material and leaked the whole album on the internet. Consequently, Beastie Boys decided to make their entire album available on their website. But I suggest you show them your love and dedication (if you like their music) by buying their album when it gets released. And in the meantime you can enjoy their latest music video and see how many celebs you can spot.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Friday in the 90's
So it's finally Friday again! Yay, weekend! Don't know why I'm cheering... No rest for the final year students! But, of course I'm happy all of those of you that can enjoy the beautiful weather and a nice relaxing Easter holiday (How bloody magnanimous of me to be happy on your behalf while I'm sat crying in front of a computer).
Anyways, I'll give myself some time off to share some music with you. I've gone back some years for these one. Turns out the 90's gave us some brilliant club music! I love going back to that decade to rediscover all the forgotten gems. For example this one: The Bucketheads with The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind). Turns out "The Bucketheads" are in fact only one DJ from New York named Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. He's a DJ veteran now working under several pseudonyms and he's had several singles, but I believe this is his most successful one:
Everyone know who the Chemical Brothers are. They've also been around a looong time and given us some quality club music. I've always been a fan, but I've only really heard their hit singles. So I decided to listen back to their first album Exit Planet Dust from 1995 and, lo and behold, 'twas awesome! The first track Leave Home just immediately draws you in to that electronic rock'n'roll club dance I-don't-know-what-to-call-it-but-it-is-brilliant. Here it is:
For the last song we'll leave the 90's and move into the early naughties (00's). Mint Royale is a big beat electronic music (same genre as the the Chemical Brothers) act from Manchester (Yay, Manchester!). In 2002 they released this gem of a track which I immediately fell in love it the first time I heard it. And not only is it an incredible tune, but they also made a brilliant music video for it which featured some of my favourite comedians: Michael Smiley and Nick Frost (from Spaced, Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz) and Mighty Boosh geniuses Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding! The video is very much representative of how I react when I listen to this song in my car.
Anyways, I'll give myself some time off to share some music with you. I've gone back some years for these one. Turns out the 90's gave us some brilliant club music! I love going back to that decade to rediscover all the forgotten gems. For example this one: The Bucketheads with The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind). Turns out "The Bucketheads" are in fact only one DJ from New York named Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. He's a DJ veteran now working under several pseudonyms and he's had several singles, but I believe this is his most successful one:
Everyone know who the Chemical Brothers are. They've also been around a looong time and given us some quality club music. I've always been a fan, but I've only really heard their hit singles. So I decided to listen back to their first album Exit Planet Dust from 1995 and, lo and behold, 'twas awesome! The first track Leave Home just immediately draws you in to that electronic rock'n'roll club dance I-don't-know-what-to-call-it-but-it-is-brilliant. Here it is:
For the last song we'll leave the 90's and move into the early naughties (00's). Mint Royale is a big beat electronic music (same genre as the the Chemical Brothers) act from Manchester (Yay, Manchester!). In 2002 they released this gem of a track which I immediately fell in love it the first time I heard it. And not only is it an incredible tune, but they also made a brilliant music video for it which featured some of my favourite comedians: Michael Smiley and Nick Frost (from Spaced, Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz) and Mighty Boosh geniuses Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding! The video is very much representative of how I react when I listen to this song in my car.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
When scientists strive the charlatans thrive...
I believe in science. By that I mean, I prefer knowledge to assumptions. But, that statement is in itself fallacious as I said "I believe in science". After all, that's all I can do. I choose to take the words of the scientists as the truth - considering I haven't checked all the data myself. The general gist of a new discovery is simply presented to me through some scientific journal, or rather a magazine or newspaper article.
But “believing in science” does hold water, because if I chose to I could find all the data and methods of how a scientists attained a piece of evidence - in detail! It’s a scientist’s duty to report on every step of the process he needed to take in order to arrive at whatever theory he might wish to investigate. He cannot simply say "Hey! I found a new elementary particle!" and then not tell anyone how he found it. A theory will not be accepted by the scientific community if it hasn't been verified by several other studies and strict testing (the term “scientific community” is often used, although I personally find it a bit exclusive and elitist. But the unfortunate reality is that ordinary people don’t all have the “critical filter” which all scientists are inclined to have. More on this later). So all science is well accounted for. Or at least it should be!
It amazes me to find article after article in newspapers that tries to defy well established theories. Of course it is a good thing that even well-known theories are tested - after all they are only theories - but it would (and should) take a hell of a solid piece of evidence to knock a theory of its throne. The plight of modern science is that modern technology accelerates so fast that it’s impossible for even the keenest minds to keep track of it all. Instead, we prefer to have our science read, digested, and presented to us in a simplified way, for the most part by journalists. One of the drawbacks of this is that journalists can be quite sensationalistic and more interested in selling papers than presenting what's necessarily true. Hence, we get presented with a lot of novel, weak, and spurious science that may contradict established science and, thus, give the impression that "what you thought was true isn't true after all!" and almost give the readers a sense of fear.
I know I sound like a "dinosaur" in the way that I seem to be defending the already established theories and almost defying any new evidence. But let me emphasise that I am very much a supporter of developing, falsifying and verifying the theories we already have. After all, that is the quintessence of science and the only way science can move forwards. The issue is that the science we "laymen" and "mere mortals" are presented with is often the science that provides sensationalistic and catastrophising headlines, instead of sound and solid facts. The proof of this is ample in any newspaper you might read.
Take for example the opponents of climate change. The case of climate change and global warming is thoroughly accounted for through massive amounts of data and well-established evidence. Yet, there are people out there who claim it’s not caused by mankind but a natural occurrence. A few years back, the opponents gloated over an e-mail by one of the leading climate change investigators that indicated that the evidence proving global warming had been meddled with. This was taken as evidence that the entire global warming argument was a fabrication and a “lie”. The first journalist who reported on the email was a Daily Mail journalist. In a documentary, the famous Nobel prize winning scientist Paul Nurse interviewed the journalist only to discover that the journalist had not read any of the journal proving global warming himself, but rather had them broken down and presented to him. The fact that the evidence we get presented in newspaper articles is read and then broken down into “gists” through several links in a chain of journalists and investigators is frightening. This might imply that the “evidence” we are presented with is nothing but a mutated shadow of the original evidence presenting only a fraction of the data. Yet, this is the evidence non-scientific people are presented with and potentially choose to believe. As it turns out, the original e-mail that sparked the entire debate simply said that the data had been manipulated so that it would be easier to understand for non-scientists. Talk about snowball effect. The debate was an important reminder for the “scientific community” to be more open about their research. It is, in my view, imperative to decrease the gap between the scientists and normal population. It might hopefully lead to fewer misunderstandings in the future, and potentially a more enlightened society.
If you want another example, I recommend you read this Guardian article about the anti-nuclear activists. They seem to base their anti-nuclear evidence on spurious and weak facts, but gain a lot of support because people tend to think about Hiroshima and Chernobyl when they hear the word “nuclear”.
The habit of having scientific knowledge presented to us by journalists in such an accessible manner has led to people being readily susceptible to "scientific nomenclature"; a fact that charlatans all around the world have long realised and exploit to the full. Here the other day, I read this article about a company in the USA that sells "real water". Ordinary tap water apparently isn't safe enough anymore, according to "Real Water", which have enriched their super-water with electrons... "Electrons you say? Why, this sounds like proper science to me! You know, with all the chemistry and physics and atoms and whatnot... Take my money!!!"
You may think that my sarcastic imitation of an Average Joe might be a bit over the top, but the fact of the matter is that Real Water (and SO many other companies like them) actually manage to convince their customers that it’s true and people are literally throwing money at them. They've even got usual celebrity-support which of course validates the product way more than any proper scientist could. The same marketing strategies are used by homeopaths, quacks, and fraudsters all over the world. All they care about is exploiting your gullible ignorance (and fear) in order to make money! They fabricate facts that sound scientific to trick you into believing that their product will "save you". And I can think of no worse insult to the name of science...
So my point is this: Be critical of all science and "evidence" you get spoon-fed through papers and magazines or whatever. Don’t simply accept a fact for a fact, but ask yourself how did they find this evidence and arrive at this conclusion. If not, they'll be laughing all the way to the bank.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The curse of the autopilot
This is probably what your autopilot's office looks like in the brain. A looooot of stuff to remember and keep track of.
"Hold on... You're not a real memory, are you? Where's the post-it note with Even's wallet?!"
It happened to me today. I was walking round town, had breakfast in a café, visited some shops, and then went food shopping in Tesco's. All of a sudden, just as I'm about to pay for my groceries, I discover that my wallet's gone. And this is pretty much how my internal dialogue unfolded; a dialogue I think can be applied to any occasion where you normally trusted autopilot fails...
Even (me): Fuck! Where's my wallet!
Brain (reason): Take it easy, man, you're usually on top of this, you've probably just put it in another pocket or in the bag...
*Checks every pocket and bag*
Even: It's not here!
Brain: What? That can't be right... Ok, ok, I got this... We haven't been many places today, we can easily retrace our steps. I'll just check with Memory. Memory!
Memory: Oh hi, there! What's up?
Brain: Can you give us a résumé of today's events?
Memory: Of course I can! First we had a lovely breakfast at that nice café, then we went to Urban Outfitters to try on some jeans, saw that cute girl, she was nice, should've asked for her number... then we went on to American Apparel, tried on a few more clothes, really helpful staff there by the way... and now we're here at the counter in Tesco's paying for some food! All in all, a lovely Saturd...
Brain: Where's our wallet?
Memory: ...day morning! Wait, what? Why, it's in your pocket of course!
Brain: No it isn't! Where did you leave it?
Memory: How strange... Well, if it isn't in our pockets then it must have fallen out of our pocket in the fitting rooms in American Apparel.
Brain: Right, let's go check. We need to go back to every place we've been today.
Legs: Wait, really? Will that really be necessary? Do we really need that wallet?
Brain: YES! Yes, we do! It's our fucking wallet! Money, bank cards, ID, everything!
Memory: Relax, legs, it's in American Apparel, I'm sure of it. Won't be a long walk.
*Goes to American Apparel. Asks everyone. No wallet to be found*
Memory: Oh... That's weird. Well, then surely it's in the fitting rooms in Urban Outfitters. I'm certain of it!
Legs: You bloody idiot... Start paying attention to what you're doing!
Brain: Shut up and get going! You're sure it's in Urban Outfitters, memory?
Memory: I'm positive! It's the only place it can be. I'm pretty sure I remember leaving our jacket on the floor in the fitting room, it must have fallen out when we left.
*Checks fitting room in Urban Outfitters. Not there. None of the staff has seen a wallet.*
Memory: Oh dear... That can only mean we've lost it. We've either been robbed or it has fallen out of our pocket somewhere along our tracks.
Legs: Ah well, too bad, let's go home!
Brain: NO! We need to check the café we went to this morning!
Memory: Why? It won't be there! I distinctly remember putting in our pocket when we left. I'm certain! The wallet's gone... It's probably been stolen.
Legs: Yes, it's probably stolen, let's just leave it.
Brain: Shut up! Get going! We NEED to check!
*Goes to café*
Even: Have you found a grey wallet in here by any chance?
Memory: Oh Even... I'm sorry but this is pointless... Just accept that it's gone...
Guy at counter: Yes! A grey one? You left it here this morning.
Memory: Wait, what...?
Brain: Fucking YES! Sweet Lord Jesus, what a relief...!
Memory: But.... but... When? How? I... err...
Even: Thanks brain! Now take me home!
Legs: Already on our way...
My genius/idiot brain doesn't deserve this much luck... Trust your autopilot, though, he usually does a bloody impressive job. However, if he screws up, trust your reason. And make sure your body cooperates.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Friday rhythms
It's finally Friday yet again! Weekend!
I want to share three new songs with you - indeed, this shall be a weekly thing (let me know if you like it or not). The songs are yet again of an electronic/disco variety, as it is the only music I listen to nowadays... This week I've chosen some "groovy" songs for you - as a drummer, a good groove is my weak spot, my kryptonite.
I want to share three new songs with you - indeed, this shall be a weekly thing (let me know if you like it or not). The songs are yet again of an electronic/disco variety, as it is the only music I listen to nowadays... This week I've chosen some "groovy" songs for you - as a drummer, a good groove is my weak spot, my kryptonite.
We start of with a classic! I remember this one from the good ol' 90s - a decade where a lot of good (and a lot of crap!) club music was made. This one is from Blue Boy, a Scottish DJ, and this was pretty much his only mainstream hit. I remember being completely mesmerised by the groove of this song at the time, and I still am. It's got that sexy, suggestive, funky, confident rhythm - something you can listen to while walking down the street and suddenly makes you feel ultra-coooooool and start strutting, haha.
Next one is from Le Knight Club. This is Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo's little side project with a friend called Éric Chedeville. Their songs seems very "designed" to be easy to mix in with a DJ-set. It's not disco pop tunes like Daft Punk, but just good grooves that they've looped. "Gator" is my absolute favourite. When I hear a groove like this it's like I don't want it to stop. It could go on forever! (The same can be said about this (unofficial) music video...)
Last, but not least, my favourite groove of them all: The intro bit on Daft Punk's "Face to Face". In my head this groove just clicked. It is a "complete" groove, in my ears absolutely perfect. This song immediately caught my attention as I had never heard it before when I bought the Discovery album. It is definitely my favourite Daft Punk track. Hope you like it too. Have an awesome weekend!
(PS! Please, feel free to give me your suggestions for songs you think I should check out!)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
"You are what you is"
Quote: Frank Zappa
It is said that language and thought are closely interlinked. For example in physics, if one were to attempt to explain some astrophysical or quantum mechanical phenomena, our vocabulary simply fails to grasp the essence of what is going on. But doesn't this also mean that our minds falls short of comprehending the phenomena? In psychology, the most elusive, intangible, and consequently incomprehensible phenomenon is that of consciousness - the feeling of "being me" and how "I" experience the world around me: "Selfhood".
When psychologists, philosophers, and even neuroscientists try to discuss the phenomena it usually leads to all sorts of confusion and subsequent debating. They simply can't decide on how to operationalise the bloody thing! I say "thing", but it feels very abstract to be called a "thing", don't you think? In this day and age where physicists are able to explain almost everything in the universe - even things we didn't (don't?) think existed! - there seems to be an increasing demand for "hard evidence" within all fields of science. Philosophising about abstract objects simply won't do anymore. With increasingly advanced technology people want to know, and have the possibility to find out, exactly what's going on. Physicists want to measure the temperature of a star ten billion light years away, or find out what sort of quarks are inside the nucleus of an atom. Neuroscientists want to pinpoint the area of your brain that makes you like the smell of bananas, or makes you feel in love, OR holds the answer to your consciousness!
When scientists talk about phenomena that we cannot observe and which are abstract or hypothesised, they tend to reify it. Reify means treating an abstract concept as something concrete. And they do it with consciousness. One popular idea (it seems a bit ambitious and almost futile to call them theories) about consciousness is the "Cartesian theatre". This comes from good ol' Descartes' idea about the body being the physical entity of a human being, and the mind being the "mental" part of us; our immaterial soul which interacts with the body. Hypothetically, according to this idea, all our perceptions and experiences come together at one point in the brain, as if being monitored and experienced by a little "mini-me" who also makes decisions and commands us further.
This "theory" has long since been discarded as purely philosophical, but still serves as a good analogy because, after all, it feels like this might be the case...! Most neuroscientists today, however, (because no one listens to psychologists or philosophers anymore) opt for some sort of accumulation theory, where all the brain processes in our head together make up our consciousness. Of course they have already tried to pinpoint the "me" in people's heads using neuro-imaging, but whenever they think they've found something the philosophers pounce on them and it usually turns out they've simply described "attention" - again. You can't really blame them, though. After all, attention seems very conscious doesn't it? Think about it: Are you conscious now? Are you aware of that you are aware? So when you weren't thinking about it earlier, does that mean you weren't aware or conscious? Were you passed out...? Ok, so when you woke up, I bet you were still pretty sure that you were you, right? Explain to me then, how the hell did you do that??
Do you see how perplexing this thing is? Wonderful isn't it? This blogpost obviously cannot lead anywhere as there is no natural conclusion to be drawn. I could of course present you with lots of different theories and research, but I'm not going to spoon-feed you like a child, or rather force-feed you like some foie gras goose. After all, my mind is a bit tired after all this thinking and pseudo-philosophising. If you find yourself being all confused and perplexed now, frustrated about what is what and who is who (are you really you?), just do like this guy:
It is said that language and thought are closely interlinked. For example in physics, if one were to attempt to explain some astrophysical or quantum mechanical phenomena, our vocabulary simply fails to grasp the essence of what is going on. But doesn't this also mean that our minds falls short of comprehending the phenomena? In psychology, the most elusive, intangible, and consequently incomprehensible phenomenon is that of consciousness - the feeling of "being me" and how "I" experience the world around me: "Selfhood".
I know I'm in there somewhere!
When psychologists, philosophers, and even neuroscientists try to discuss the phenomena it usually leads to all sorts of confusion and subsequent debating. They simply can't decide on how to operationalise the bloody thing! I say "thing", but it feels very abstract to be called a "thing", don't you think? In this day and age where physicists are able to explain almost everything in the universe - even things we didn't (don't?) think existed! - there seems to be an increasing demand for "hard evidence" within all fields of science. Philosophising about abstract objects simply won't do anymore. With increasingly advanced technology people want to know, and have the possibility to find out, exactly what's going on. Physicists want to measure the temperature of a star ten billion light years away, or find out what sort of quarks are inside the nucleus of an atom. Neuroscientists want to pinpoint the area of your brain that makes you like the smell of bananas, or makes you feel in love, OR holds the answer to your consciousness!
When scientists talk about phenomena that we cannot observe and which are abstract or hypothesised, they tend to reify it. Reify means treating an abstract concept as something concrete. And they do it with consciousness. One popular idea (it seems a bit ambitious and almost futile to call them theories) about consciousness is the "Cartesian theatre". This comes from good ol' Descartes' idea about the body being the physical entity of a human being, and the mind being the "mental" part of us; our immaterial soul which interacts with the body. Hypothetically, according to this idea, all our perceptions and experiences come together at one point in the brain, as if being monitored and experienced by a little "mini-me" who also makes decisions and commands us further.
Yourself: Worst movie director ever.
This "theory" has long since been discarded as purely philosophical, but still serves as a good analogy because, after all, it feels like this might be the case...! Most neuroscientists today, however, (because no one listens to psychologists or philosophers anymore) opt for some sort of accumulation theory, where all the brain processes in our head together make up our consciousness. Of course they have already tried to pinpoint the "me" in people's heads using neuro-imaging, but whenever they think they've found something the philosophers pounce on them and it usually turns out they've simply described "attention" - again. You can't really blame them, though. After all, attention seems very conscious doesn't it? Think about it: Are you conscious now? Are you aware of that you are aware? So when you weren't thinking about it earlier, does that mean you weren't aware or conscious? Were you passed out...? Ok, so when you woke up, I bet you were still pretty sure that you were you, right? Explain to me then, how the hell did you do that??
Do you see how perplexing this thing is? Wonderful isn't it? This blogpost obviously cannot lead anywhere as there is no natural conclusion to be drawn. I could of course present you with lots of different theories and research, but I'm not going to spoon-feed you like a child, or rather force-feed you like some foie gras goose. After all, my mind is a bit tired after all this thinking and pseudo-philosophising. If you find yourself being all confused and perplexed now, frustrated about what is what and who is who (are you really you?), just do like this guy:
Damn straight!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Friday sounds
It's finally Friday! I thought I'd share with you some music to get you ready for the weekend and for tonight. As I've mentioned in a previous blogpost I recently "discovered" (on my own part) Daft Punk. Subsequently, I've developed a penchant for electronic music, and here are some of my favourites at the moment.
DCUP is a Australian producer, DJ, and remixer. He is most famous for his collaboration with the Australian duo Yolanda Be Cool on their international hit single "We No Speak Americano". However, he has got some awesome music of his own (way too few songs in my opinion) and here is one that I particularly like.
The second song is from a 19-year old (!) Canadian kid, calling himself Robotaki, who is a master at remixing popular tunes. In this one he has remixed a track by a famous French electro artist called Kavinsky, and in my opinion he made it sound far better than the original.
The last song I will share with you is from a record I remember listening to years ago - back when I didn't even like electro or club music! This sends me down Nostalgia Lane: In the summer of 2001, my sister was in charge of this outlet store for this "cool" fashion shop. I was hired as a shop assistant (my first real job!) and I remember this was one of the records we used to listen to in the shop. We knew it backwards and forwards. Good times.
I was a bit apprehensive about listening to the album again, thinking perhaps it would be a bit dated, but it is truly a brilliant album with an awesome and timeless sound! Dimitri from Paris is a famous French DJ and producer, and he definitely knows his stuff. This track is the first song of the album and it definitely captures that "smooth and suave" mood of a Friday night in a fancy bar, hanging out with friends, drinking cocktails, mingling, flirting, and all the other cliches that goes along with the perfect night out. The album is after all appropriately titled "A Night at the Playboy Mansion"... So this one is dedicated to my lovely sister, Sara (check out her beauty blog!) and I wish you all a lovely weekend!
DCUP is a Australian producer, DJ, and remixer. He is most famous for his collaboration with the Australian duo Yolanda Be Cool on their international hit single "We No Speak Americano". However, he has got some awesome music of his own (way too few songs in my opinion) and here is one that I particularly like.
The second song is from a 19-year old (!) Canadian kid, calling himself Robotaki, who is a master at remixing popular tunes. In this one he has remixed a track by a famous French electro artist called Kavinsky, and in my opinion he made it sound far better than the original.
The last song I will share with you is from a record I remember listening to years ago - back when I didn't even like electro or club music! This sends me down Nostalgia Lane: In the summer of 2001, my sister was in charge of this outlet store for this "cool" fashion shop. I was hired as a shop assistant (my first real job!) and I remember this was one of the records we used to listen to in the shop. We knew it backwards and forwards. Good times.
I was a bit apprehensive about listening to the album again, thinking perhaps it would be a bit dated, but it is truly a brilliant album with an awesome and timeless sound! Dimitri from Paris is a famous French DJ and producer, and he definitely knows his stuff. This track is the first song of the album and it definitely captures that "smooth and suave" mood of a Friday night in a fancy bar, hanging out with friends, drinking cocktails, mingling, flirting, and all the other cliches that goes along with the perfect night out. The album is after all appropriately titled "A Night at the Playboy Mansion"... So this one is dedicated to my lovely sister, Sara (check out her beauty blog!) and I wish you all a lovely weekend!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Tune - The Anthology, chapter 3
In this part we struggle to get gigs in Oslo, rehearse incessantly, record another demo of songs that too long, and join a band competition that lets us play the hippest stages in Oslo.
Our first little demo/EP got us some news gigs. Gigs were few and far between, though. It usually took months before we got another gig. Progress was slow and that's not what you want when you're in an aspiring band. Perhaps we weren't looking well enough. But then again I can't say Oslo was (or is!) making it easy for new bands. We were all doing different things on the side. Education first and foremost, and part-time jobs which you need if you want to live in such an expensive city and play in a band as well. We were rehearsing once a week, but when you've got course work and your job to worry about on top of everything, it leaves frustratingly little energy and time for the music.
I was still writing new songs, although I wouldn't say I was super productive. I was very picky about the songs I wrote and a most of them never saw the light of day. A few of them I would introduce to the band and we would try them out together. It is so much better to have a band to play your music. I would write the chords and the melody and lyrics, and have a few ideas about lead guitar and bass. But it was the band that took the songs and made them awesome. Espen and Arngeir were brilliant at coming up with ideas on their own instruments and in that way bring a whole new dimension to the song. I always wrote the melody and guitar with Lars' voice in mind. On the demos I would do a half-hearted howling/screaming version of the song; Lars would then pick it up really quickly and sing the song superbly as it was meant to sound. Me being the song writer, the others where waiting for me to bring new material to the rehearsing room. But due to my fastidiousness with my demos it usually took a while for me to introduce a new song. Instead, rehearsals became sessions where we would play the old songs over and over again, much like a setlist for a gig.
After a while we had played all the smaller venue in Oslo, the little places that would give amateur bands a chance. There seemed to be a marked boundary, or threshold, between the little places where any band could play, and the more "hyped" places where only the bigger bands could get gigs; Bands that had released an actual CD, got a review in a paper or magazine, or were considered "cool enough". We weren't too keen on circulating and treading water in the same amateur venues which we'd already played. We were too ambitious for that. We wanted to play the big venues simply because we felt (or should I say "I felt") that was where we belonged.
We decided to record another demo. We got in touch with Jonas Kroon who had mastered our first self-produced demo. He was an aspiring producer and studio engineer and booked us into a studio that some of his friends had built - in a barn. We decided on three new songs which we recorded so much more quickly and efficiently than last time. Jonas knew his stuff. Jonas was excellent at making us relax and performing at a high level - considering we weren't experienced studio musicians. The tracks came out brilliant. Beyond what I thought they could sound like. At this point we had gotten quite skilled at producing the sounds we wanted, owning a lot of equipment and different guitar effects and such. But Jonas made us sound like pros. He made us sound as big as I was imagining we were sounding in my head.
With this demo our aim was to get even bigger gigs. But not much happened. It was a busy time for us with education and jobs and whatnot. We were treading water again. We were now rehearsing twice a week and were getting more and more serious with our sound and musicianship. But one thing is playing in the rehearsal room. We knew our songs backwards and forwards, but everything changes when your on a stage. It's a different dynamic and the presence of an audience makes the troupe on edge. I loved the exhilarating euphoria of the nervousness crossed with excitement, but it was too far in between gigs. Which meant that we weren't getting enough live experience, something every band needs and craves. To bring a new dimension to the band, Arngeir suggested we bring his younger brother as an additional keyboard player. The demos had showed us that some keys could do wonders with a song. So Gjermund was in.
One of the most discouraging things about this demo-business was that it wasn't getting us gigs. We handed in our demos to many events or concerts that asked bands to submit demos and be selected. However, we never got chosen. It was as if we were playing the wrong kind of music. The kind of pop-rock that wasn't "niche" enough for the indie crowd of Oslo. It pissed me off, because I genuinely believed (and still believe!) that we had some great songs. And not only that; we also knew how to PLAY! Too often did we see bands playing the cool venues where we wanted to play, and these bands would pound away at their instruments like five year olds destroying a sand castle. Or playing one guitar string at a time is also considered "cool" by the indie sycophants. You might argue that the music is more important than the musicianship, but fuck me... I can appreciated that argument, but I also know that I enjoy watching musicians who know what they're doing, and they're doing it well.
But the demo turned the attention to an important thing about our songs: My self-indulgent Noel Gallagher'esque song writing. Arngeir hinted that quite a lot of my songs were too long. This was something I had never thought of as I would write the songs as it sounded in my head and that was that. However, two of the songs we had recorded for our second demo were six minutes long! Not exactly radio-friendly durations... I defended myself by insisting that it was how they were meant to be. However, the band persuaded me to let Jonas edit them and make shorter versions. I'll admit I was both angry and sceptical when I heard the new versions for the first time. They were totally different songs. But the others liked it so we went with it (Later on I would grow to love the new edits).
With our new and improved line-up and setlist we entered a band competition, which actually didn't require a demo, just that we pay an entry fee (No recognition of musicianship - just the content in your wallet...). The competition involved three stages which, if we got through, would let us play at a bigger venue for the every stage. A ridiculous amount bands entered. Some bands that seemed to have been formed in someone's garage two days before, and bands that had been playing around for some time. Slightly demoralised by previous competitions and demo-judgings, we didn't exactly fancy our chances, but nevertheless it was another opportunity to play.
To our surprise we got through to the next stage, the so-called semi finals, which let us play a small but reputable venue where a lot of respected national and international bands had played. This was a great experience for us and it showed on stage. We played one of our best gigs. And to our surprise, we were voted through to the finals, which were held on the "coolest" stage in Oslo: Rockefeller. A venue that could hold 2500 people and served as a benchmark for any upcoming band: fill Rockefeller and you knew you had it made. Of course, we weren't playing Rockefeller in that way; we were in a competition with 20 other bands and had only 20 minutes to prove ourselves. But that didn't matter to us at this point. All that mattered was that we were finally going to play a big stage, on which so many of our idols had played, and on which our band was meant to play. This was the sort of stage and venue Tune was meant to play - that had been my aim and ambition since we formed the band. I didn't care if it wasn't our own gig: Our 20 minutes on that stage rocked! Espen delivered, Arngeir delivered, Lars owned the stage, and I was buzzing. The best performance we had ever done - period. Alas, it would also be our last.
The songs from the demo (edited versions) are available on our still existing facebook page . Hope you enjoy them
Tune at Rockefeller:
Our first little demo/EP got us some news gigs. Gigs were few and far between, though. It usually took months before we got another gig. Progress was slow and that's not what you want when you're in an aspiring band. Perhaps we weren't looking well enough. But then again I can't say Oslo was (or is!) making it easy for new bands. We were all doing different things on the side. Education first and foremost, and part-time jobs which you need if you want to live in such an expensive city and play in a band as well. We were rehearsing once a week, but when you've got course work and your job to worry about on top of everything, it leaves frustratingly little energy and time for the music.
I was still writing new songs, although I wouldn't say I was super productive. I was very picky about the songs I wrote and a most of them never saw the light of day. A few of them I would introduce to the band and we would try them out together. It is so much better to have a band to play your music. I would write the chords and the melody and lyrics, and have a few ideas about lead guitar and bass. But it was the band that took the songs and made them awesome. Espen and Arngeir were brilliant at coming up with ideas on their own instruments and in that way bring a whole new dimension to the song. I always wrote the melody and guitar with Lars' voice in mind. On the demos I would do a half-hearted howling/screaming version of the song; Lars would then pick it up really quickly and sing the song superbly as it was meant to sound. Me being the song writer, the others where waiting for me to bring new material to the rehearsing room. But due to my fastidiousness with my demos it usually took a while for me to introduce a new song. Instead, rehearsals became sessions where we would play the old songs over and over again, much like a setlist for a gig.
After a while we had played all the smaller venue in Oslo, the little places that would give amateur bands a chance. There seemed to be a marked boundary, or threshold, between the little places where any band could play, and the more "hyped" places where only the bigger bands could get gigs; Bands that had released an actual CD, got a review in a paper or magazine, or were considered "cool enough". We weren't too keen on circulating and treading water in the same amateur venues which we'd already played. We were too ambitious for that. We wanted to play the big venues simply because we felt (or should I say "I felt") that was where we belonged.
We decided to record another demo. We got in touch with Jonas Kroon who had mastered our first self-produced demo. He was an aspiring producer and studio engineer and booked us into a studio that some of his friends had built - in a barn. We decided on three new songs which we recorded so much more quickly and efficiently than last time. Jonas knew his stuff. Jonas was excellent at making us relax and performing at a high level - considering we weren't experienced studio musicians. The tracks came out brilliant. Beyond what I thought they could sound like. At this point we had gotten quite skilled at producing the sounds we wanted, owning a lot of equipment and different guitar effects and such. But Jonas made us sound like pros. He made us sound as big as I was imagining we were sounding in my head.
With this demo our aim was to get even bigger gigs. But not much happened. It was a busy time for us with education and jobs and whatnot. We were treading water again. We were now rehearsing twice a week and were getting more and more serious with our sound and musicianship. But one thing is playing in the rehearsal room. We knew our songs backwards and forwards, but everything changes when your on a stage. It's a different dynamic and the presence of an audience makes the troupe on edge. I loved the exhilarating euphoria of the nervousness crossed with excitement, but it was too far in between gigs. Which meant that we weren't getting enough live experience, something every band needs and craves. To bring a new dimension to the band, Arngeir suggested we bring his younger brother as an additional keyboard player. The demos had showed us that some keys could do wonders with a song. So Gjermund was in.
One of the most discouraging things about this demo-business was that it wasn't getting us gigs. We handed in our demos to many events or concerts that asked bands to submit demos and be selected. However, we never got chosen. It was as if we were playing the wrong kind of music. The kind of pop-rock that wasn't "niche" enough for the indie crowd of Oslo. It pissed me off, because I genuinely believed (and still believe!) that we had some great songs. And not only that; we also knew how to PLAY! Too often did we see bands playing the cool venues where we wanted to play, and these bands would pound away at their instruments like five year olds destroying a sand castle. Or playing one guitar string at a time is also considered "cool" by the indie sycophants. You might argue that the music is more important than the musicianship, but fuck me... I can appreciated that argument, but I also know that I enjoy watching musicians who know what they're doing, and they're doing it well.
But the demo turned the attention to an important thing about our songs: My self-indulgent Noel Gallagher'esque song writing. Arngeir hinted that quite a lot of my songs were too long. This was something I had never thought of as I would write the songs as it sounded in my head and that was that. However, two of the songs we had recorded for our second demo were six minutes long! Not exactly radio-friendly durations... I defended myself by insisting that it was how they were meant to be. However, the band persuaded me to let Jonas edit them and make shorter versions. I'll admit I was both angry and sceptical when I heard the new versions for the first time. They were totally different songs. But the others liked it so we went with it (Later on I would grow to love the new edits).
With our new and improved line-up and setlist we entered a band competition, which actually didn't require a demo, just that we pay an entry fee (No recognition of musicianship - just the content in your wallet...). The competition involved three stages which, if we got through, would let us play at a bigger venue for the every stage. A ridiculous amount bands entered. Some bands that seemed to have been formed in someone's garage two days before, and bands that had been playing around for some time. Slightly demoralised by previous competitions and demo-judgings, we didn't exactly fancy our chances, but nevertheless it was another opportunity to play.
To our surprise we got through to the next stage, the so-called semi finals, which let us play a small but reputable venue where a lot of respected national and international bands had played. This was a great experience for us and it showed on stage. We played one of our best gigs. And to our surprise, we were voted through to the finals, which were held on the "coolest" stage in Oslo: Rockefeller. A venue that could hold 2500 people and served as a benchmark for any upcoming band: fill Rockefeller and you knew you had it made. Of course, we weren't playing Rockefeller in that way; we were in a competition with 20 other bands and had only 20 minutes to prove ourselves. But that didn't matter to us at this point. All that mattered was that we were finally going to play a big stage, on which so many of our idols had played, and on which our band was meant to play. This was the sort of stage and venue Tune was meant to play - that had been my aim and ambition since we formed the band. I didn't care if it wasn't our own gig: Our 20 minutes on that stage rocked! Espen delivered, Arngeir delivered, Lars owned the stage, and I was buzzing. The best performance we had ever done - period. Alas, it would also be our last.
The songs from the demo (edited versions) are available on our still existing facebook page . Hope you enjoy them
Tune at Rockefeller:
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