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MENTAL OVERDRIVE:
A lot of culture is based
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in the kind of survival needs
of living here.
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When you grew up,
that's the main cultural aspect
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you're presented with.
It's like, "This is where we're from,
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and this is what we'll do."
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We were trying to escape
the dull reality of living in Norway.
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KAHUUN: The mountains, the ocean,
you're so close to everything here.
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PRINS: Norway's kind of the last stop
until you hit water.
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MENTAL OVERDRIVE: We were trying hard
to create our own little space.
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DOC:
We were very much on our own.
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ANNIE:
We like rhythm. We like disco.
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It's... I guess it's the dream,
you know, the perfect party.
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If you look at Oslo or Norway now,
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it's much more internationalized.
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STRANGEFRUIT: That wasn't the case
at all 25 years ago.
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It was much grayer.
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(TRAIN HORN BLOWS)
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MICHAEL:
Norway is, in many parameters,
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a really weird country.
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The least densely populated country
in all of Europe,
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so this is a people
that are used to living
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hundreds of kilometers
from neighbors,
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from being isolated, from living amid
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this incredible scenery
and surviving.
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They were survivors clinging
to this very inhospitable landscape,
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and I think somewhere deep
in Norwegians is this
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almost primeval connection
to their landscape.
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Of course, there's clichés
about living in Norway
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how it was many years ago,
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more of a country life in Norway
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and the snow and the cold winters.
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Deep in the Norwegian soul
is a low self-esteem.
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We're... we're old...
I mean, we're potato land.
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But there's this kind
of dysfunctional family relationship
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in Scandinavia. With the Swedes,
it's like the goody-goody head boy.
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The Dane is like
the rebellious younger brother,
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and the Norwegian
is the kind of...
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This isn't me.
This is what other Scandinavians say.
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Norwegians,
like the retarded country cousin.
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Of course, the biggest thing ever
to happen to Norway
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is the discovery of this huge
quantity of oil and gas actually.
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Ever since then,
they have just opened the taps
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to a nonstop supply
of gold and wealth
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and riches beyond anyone's imagining.
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It went from a society where
everybody was fishers or farmers
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or something
or to a more modern society.
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I grew up, or we grew up,
in the middle of that.
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STRANGEFRUIT: Norway remained
culturally communistic in a way.
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Skateboarding was illegal in Norway
until the end of the '80s.
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STRANGEFRUIT: You look to Norwegian
music from the '80s, or '70s, '60s,
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the outside influence
wasn't really there.
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INTERVIEWER: What were clubs playing
before dance music,
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what kind of stuff did they play?
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Mostly shit music.
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Because in the '80s,
not that much was happening,
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even if you had a-ha,
like a big pop success.
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A-ha's breakthrough with "Take On Me"
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was very important
for Norwegian artists
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to kind of show that it is possible
for a Norwegian to make it in the US
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or make it in England
and the rest of the world.
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We have to go into the '90s
before something exciting happens,
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and it comes from Tromsø.
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There were a lot of artists
coming from Tromsø,
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and it kind of started
the dance music
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that is more... famous today.
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DOC: Growing up in Tromsø was
with a great sense of freedom.
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We have a lot of space to explore,
and we did.
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BJØRN: It was kind of
a protected youth or childhood.
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So It was kind of boring, in a sense,
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because you didn't get much impulses
from within.
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MENTAL OVERDRIVE: Before Internet,
almost before we had human language.
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We could just sit up here
and monitor the world in a way.
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We could sit here and watch
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what the humans were up to
in the other parts of the world.
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The crowd in Tromsø I grew up with,
we wanted to explore different stuff,
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so we were like very curious
about alternative music in any form.
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All the guys I knew
doing music or into music,
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we were trying to escape
the dull reality of living in Norway,
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which we saw as not happening at all.
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MENTAL OVERDRIVE: It was a bedroom
movement. Freaks into synthesizers
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and electronic music.
We imported a lot of youth culture.
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We collected everything
into a big heap
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that we shared among us.
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The British music papers,
they were very much in demand here.
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Trying to follow what was going on
beneath the surface in other places.
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On the radio,
we had one program a week,
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which played music
that could be good.
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RUNE: So I built a AM radio amplifier
of signals...
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...and had a 20-meter cable
out my window
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to the neighbor's tree...
(BEEPING RAPIDLY)
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...just to get in
whatever you could get in.
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You had no other radio channels,
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no commercial ones, nothing.
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And suddenly,
they handed out licenses
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for each, you know, area or whatever.
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Local radios were big here in Norway.
It was in the '80s.
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Beatservice was in the beginning
a bit mainstream,
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but gradually more
and more alternative.
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He was like playing all sorts
of stuff, electronic body music,
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Prince, The Cure,
and all different types of sounds.
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RUNE: Norway at the time
there was no rhythms.
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It's not like if you were
in a block in the Bronx
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and you can hear rhythm music
all around you.
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BJØRN: Eventually
me and a couple of friends
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started doing our own radio show
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in another local station
called Brygga Radio.
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They let us play,
well, let us do anything.
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You can just play Detroit techno
drive-time hours in the afternoon.
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Anything got on air.
We would've been sued to death
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for most of the things
that were done.
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There was actually live sex and stuff
like that being transmitted.
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Total anarchy.
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That got me into music that
I wouldn't have found any other way,
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so it meant a lot.
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For us, the radio situation,
to have a place with sound equipment,
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recording equipment,
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learning how to use a mixer
and turntables,
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that was crucial for us.
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BJØRN: Okay, maybe we can start
making our own tracks.
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So all the music I listened to,
they started using drum machines.
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I remember I had this record
from a Canadian duo.
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There was this machine.
I was, "What the fuck is that?"
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I didn't know what it did.
It looked awesome.
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And it was a TR-808 drum machine.
I was like, "I want one of those."
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So I worked for the whole summer,
spent all my money on a TR-808.
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We had a great time experimenting
with trying to make our own sound
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but... failed.
(LAUGHS)
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RUNE: The first thing
I heard about synthesizers,
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which I thought was the coolest
but didn't know anyone who had it,
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was Biosphere's brother,
who was in my parallel class.
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I remember walking past the house
and thought, "Oh,
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he has synthesizers."
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Norwegian dance music
I think I first became aware of
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probably through this guy Biosphere.
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CARL: It was through him
I got an inkling about Tromsø
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and these Norwegian places
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that seemed quite alien to me,
I guess, at the time.
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Nobody is gonna, you know, eclipse
what Biosphere has done, you know?
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I ended up in England in 1987
in Hackney in a squat. (LAUGHS)
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I guess I was pretty lucky
because everything that happened
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in that period in London
was very interesting.
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My first exposure to Chicago acid...
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...and Detroit techno...
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...was through a tape
that was given to me
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from a guy who was also squatting.
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It was kind of a revelation to me.
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It was like, "Okay, there's a space
for this kind of music in the world,
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and it's the clubs."
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I read this story when I was a kid
in this Norwegian music magazine,
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and there was an interview
with Biosphere and Mental Overdrive
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saying the only thing you needed
to connect with the world
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was a fax machine.
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That sounds strange now,
but that was what they were doing.
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They were sitting
in the north of Norway,
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and they had international careers.
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HANS: We have a strong connection
to nature.
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You can kind of connect snow,
cold, ice
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with sounds
that are kind of the same.
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DIGBY: Long darkness
combined with beautiful nature,
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it's going to have some sort
of effect on your psyche.
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MENTAL OVERDRIVE: It's great
for actually taking the time
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and get in depth with what you do,
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and in the dark season,
what should you do?
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You sit inside and do something.
You make music or listen to music.
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It's a great place to contemplate
and to be productive.
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JOAKIM: I think they were inspired
by the whole world.
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And I think that they took influences
from London,
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and they brought it home.
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I remember Bjørn
and Rune was there as well.
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Bjørn and Rune came over to London.
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And we went record shopping in SoHo,
and they were like all over the show.
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'89 was the first year
coming to London,
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and then we made an annual trip,
or at least I did,
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for the next 10, 12, 13 years.
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MENTAL OVERDRIVE:
Bjørn, he was...
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he was the most enthusiastic person
I think I had ever met in my life.
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He was really,
you know, so, so genuine
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about his interest in music
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that it was really
fascinating actually.
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"Wow," I thought,
"this guy, he means it."
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I remember 1990 very well.
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I think I brought back
over 100 titles.
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(LAUGHS) And he did.
He meant it. He still means it.
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Buy a hundred records,
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obviously, you'll take some time
to get through them,
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and you won't catch up
with everything at once.
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You will find your favorites,
and keep something in the back.
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And they will come forth
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as they kind of mature
in your collection.
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MENTAL OVERDRIVE: I didn't know
anybody outside Tromsø
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who were into this kind of music
in Norway, no.
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The first club
playing house music here
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was when me and Bjørn decided
that we were going to put on a rave.
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-Ah, there it is.
-Oh, that's it.
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-Yeah.
-That's the one where we...
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(BOTH LAUGH)
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The most DIY event
ever put on, I think, on the Earth...
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-Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
-...or in the Solar System, I guess.
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MENTAL OVERDRIVE:
We rented a sound system.
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We made all the décor ourselves.
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I built two strobes, so we had that.
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And everything was set.
It looked fantastic.
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And then we had a rave, me and Bjørn.
He was playing. I was dancing.
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And then I went on the decks,
and he danced.
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So that was the kind of first club,
I think, from Tromsø.
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What was your... your hardcore?
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-Open Skies. Yeah.
-Open Skies, that was it.
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You did hard...?
I didn't know you did hardcore.
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We had one 12 out
on Reinforced, yeah.
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-Happy hardcore.
-Yeah, almost.
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Tromsø... (LAUGHS) Tromsø had
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all these young,
very, very enthusiastic people,
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and it was really refreshing.
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I was playing at the festival here
in the '90s.
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Four young lads
came up to me and said,
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"Hi, we're going to play
the support slot for you."
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And that was... They were calling
themselves Aedena Cycle.
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That was Torbjørn and Svein
from Röyksopp,
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Gaute Barlindhaug and Kolbjørn Lyslo,
Doc L Junior.
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We kind of got that impression that,
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if we want to put out music,
we can just do it.
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I mean, they did it,
so why couldn't we do it?
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And they were kind of younger
than Bjørn's generation again,
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so they were like the next step
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of youngsters coming on
to the music-making scene.
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MENTAL OVERDRIVE: I don't need
to get shaped by what surrounds me.
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That was the freedom
of growing up here with music.
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If I grew up in a bigger city
where there was a sound going on,
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I would maybe start
trying to fit into that sound.
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That's maybe the freedom
coming from the Tromsø scene.
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You don't answer to anyone.
You just make what you want to make.
234
00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,560
BJØRN: So, that's
kind of the start of it all.
235
00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:12,040
All based in the boring,
non-happening,
236
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,920
gray little northern town of Tromsø.
237
00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:21,480
We were lucky to have these...
alternative guys here in Tromsø.
238
00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:28,360
Those people kept on releasing stuff
and making music and moved,
239
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,280
later moved to other cities
like Bergen and Oslo,
240
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:37,160
so there was kind of making things
happen in other places too.
241
00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:40,520
I decided to move to Bergen,
"Yeah, I want to do this."
242
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,200
So I just took a chance.
243
00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:46,880
That was '92 I moved here.
244
00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:10,360
MIKAL: Bergen, it's a small city,
I would almost say a big village,
245
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,600
on the Norwegian west coast.
246
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,840
About 250,000, 300,000 people living
in the city and the surrounding area,
247
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,280
so it's definitely small.
248
00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,640
KAHUUN:
And as a city, it's the perfect size,
249
00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:26,280
and it's like everybody knows
everybody
250
00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:30,320
when it comes to the music scene
as I see it.
251
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:34,760
That's maybe why
the music scene is as it is,
252
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,960
and was back then and is now.
253
00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:41,400
Bang! Actually, the day I landed,
moving here,
254
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,440
I met a friend in the airport.
He said, "Moving to Bergen?
255
00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:46,960
We're starting a club.
Do you want to DJ there?"
256
00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:49,000
And I said, "Okay, yeah."
257
00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,280
MIKAL: In the early and mid-90s,
most parties were illegal raves
258
00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,480
and underground parties.
259
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,440
We discovered the techno scene
in Bergen, basically,
260
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:21,280
first through our older friends.
261
00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:31,400
And through them,
we met with Bjørn Torske.
262
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,320
He was kind of our older idol,
I guess.
263
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,160
I don't know, we just looked up
to him. He was very into his music,
264
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,040
very knowledgeable about it.
265
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:47,800
He was five years older than us,
or about five years older than us,
266
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,120
so we'd started dancing the way
he was when we were younger.
267
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,560
Compared to other Norwegians,
he has his own funkiness.
268
00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,080
He has his own funk.
269
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,120
Bjørn is like a tale in himself,
you know.
270
00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,560
He's almost like
a mythical figure over here.
271
00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:29,400
And his last name also means cod
in Norwegian.
272
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,720
-What does his first name mean?
-Bjørn is a bear.
273
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,560
So he's a mixture
of a cod and a bear.
274
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:48,200
He just... He has no limits
in what he likes to use.
275
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,880
He just doesn't care about rules.
That's very rock and roll, actually.
276
00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:07,280
He seems to be the kind of enigmatic,
the enigmatic genius of Norway.
277
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,840
He doesn't sort of put himself
around much,
278
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,880
but everything I've heard has always
been either interesting or brilliant.
279
00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:15,960
RALPH:
It's very hard to describe.
280
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:20,520
Catchy, quirky, strange,
beautiful stuff
281
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:24,480
that I think no one else makes.
282
00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:27,200
JOAKIM: I think
everybody's looking at Bjørn Torske.
283
00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:31,560
It's like, Bjørn Torske
is kind of the godfather in a way.
284
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:35,480
He was the first,
and he is just in his own bubble.
285
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:37,840
So, like, I would say
that he is the pioneer,
286
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,040
but he's not the biggest
and most popular.
287
00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:44,760
But that, I guess, it's the way
of the world when you're a pioneer.
288
00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,440
MIKAL: Kahuun, Bjørn,
and those guys had just started.
289
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,360
But I guess when I grew up,
I was more into punk rock
290
00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:57,400
and hardcore music,
and then I met with Tore.
291
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:12,880
Tore, my friend,
called himself Erot,
292
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,920
he also had a heart failure
from birth.
293
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,320
He couldn't party hard.
He couldn't run around.
294
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,040
I never drank any alcohol.
He didn't drink alcohol,
295
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:26,160
so it was kind of...
We had our own world, I guess.
296
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:30,960
Me and Tore, we quite soon became,
I guess, part of the same scene
297
00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:34,280
as much a driving force
as everyone. We were all doing stuff.
298
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,400
I knew when I was 16, 17
299
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:47,720
that I would start a record shop
as soon as I finished high school.
300
00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:51,240
It became more of a youth club
than a record store.
301
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:53,560
Bjørn would be there.
Erot would be there.
302
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,720
Annie, Ralph Myerz, Röyksopp guys
would drop by as well.
303
00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,600
A lot of people
kind of gathered around that shop.
304
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,680
RALPH: Primitive Records
was the hangout spot
305
00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:04,680
where we would always meet
306
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:11,640
and listen to the records for hours,
drinking insane amounts of Coca Cola.
307
00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:15,880
We were students hanging
more in the shop
308
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,200
than we were actually studying.
309
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:28,120
I don't remember when Erot
and Bjørn started working together.
310
00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:30,000
BJØRN:
He started coming up
311
00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:34,480
with his earliest productions
on cassette tapes, obviously,
312
00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,160
and, well, yeah,
this is kind of something.
313
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:40,320
ANNIE: Obviously, Bjørn
was a bit older than Tore,
314
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:43,160
and I think Tore in many ways
really looked up to Bjørn
315
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:48,400
and thought he was really
an amazing guy, an amazing producer.
316
00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:53,000
So I guess he found him inspiring,
and they really inspired each other.
317
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:57,360
And he never went about anything
with a half ass.
318
00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,040
You know,
he wanted to make it proper.
319
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,800
MIKAL: They found each other
for love of the music,
320
00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:04,960
so as soon as they found each other,
321
00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:07,840
they kind of just started
producing music.
322
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,000
I was deejaying in Bergen...
323
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,720
...just landed and met up with Bjørn
as I always did.
324
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,800
And he said, "You have to bring
your portable DAT player with you."
325
00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:25,720
And I was like, "Why?"
And he said, "I can't tell you."
326
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:30,080
I brought out my portable DAT player.
327
00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:34,880
And Bjørn had this younger friend
with him, and he said, "Meet Tore."
328
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,720
And without saying much,
he just went,
329
00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,920
"Put on your headphones."
And Tore gave me a DAT
330
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:45,880
with his music.
331
00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,920
I had to listen to it
without any talk and was like, "Wow!"
332
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:12,800
But I immediately knew
that this had to be released.
333
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:19,920
RALPH: His stuff didn't sound
like anything else.
334
00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:23,120
It has a very,
very special swing to it.
335
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,640
GAUTE: Listening to "Song for Annie"
by Erot for the first time,
336
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,040
it sounded
like nothing else, like magic.
337
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,840
It sounded like a new start
for... for music.
338
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:52,320
That was a moment for...
like a turning point or something.
339
00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:54,160
It's the otherworldliness.
340
00:29:54,320 --> 00:30:01,320
It's the he's prepared to go past
what's considered to be normal.
341
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:05,360
STEPHAN: Tore was always pushing,
"Yeah, we should do this, do that."
342
00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:07,000
So positive, you know?
343
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,040
Bjørn was maybe more the brain
sometime, you know,
344
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,200
and Tore was just coming like...
(WHOOPS)
345
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:15,520
It was going like lots
of disco happiness.
346
00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:20,120
Bjørn Torske
suddenly discovered disco around '95,
347
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,960
and Erot discovered disco.
348
00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:25,040
And it all kind of changed in a way.
349
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:29,760
I was initially into the more
Chicago- and Detroit-based music.
350
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:31,920
It was all very house and techno.
351
00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:35,600
We had kind of been laughing a bit
about the '70s disco
352
00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:39,200
being kind of kitschy, you know,
but when we started digging
353
00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:42,520
in the underground with
less kitsch value and more groove,
354
00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:44,920
we started pulling to that.
355
00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:49,240
Pål Strangefruit had also
a very great role in this influence
356
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,320
because he was the guy
that promoted the disco sounds
357
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:54,320
of the '70s, '80s.
358
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,120
I think he's been
an underrated massive influence
359
00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:15,760
on a lot of the slightly
younger generation
360
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:18,760
in Oslo in particular,
but in Norway in general.
361
00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,080
STRANGEFRUIT:
I always wanted to be a DJ
362
00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:25,080
since I was like 12 or something.
363
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:30,960
The music I got into was
through basically mysterious tapes.
364
00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:33,320
INTERVIEWER:
Where were the tapes from?
365
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:37,760
STRANGEFRUIT: I don't know where.
It was suddenly at my friend's table.
366
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:40,120
It was a red Maxell tape
367
00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:44,720
filled with this great new music,
synthesizer, disco.
368
00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,280
It was actually a tape
from Kiss FM in New York.
369
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,080
And I was very far
from Paradise Garage,
370
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:52,600
but this was the music
of Paradise Garage.
371
00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:55,600
So it kind of like created
an imaginary sense
372
00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:57,560
of what New York was like.
373
00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:01,400
It was just like a pure fantasy.
374
00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,280
Musically, I felt
that what I was playing was
375
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,480
a bit strange and exotic in a way.
376
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,080
He started doing
his national radio show on Saturdays,
377
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:22,120
and that was very disco-fied thing.
378
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:30,200
The good thing in Norway,
you had terrestrial radio
379
00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:32,400
like the BBC, like the NRK.
380
00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:35,920
They had shows from Norwegian DJs
on Saturdays.
381
00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:40,720
They had Olle Abstract first
and then DJ Strangefruit.
382
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:44,240
Me and Olle was pretty much left
to do what we wanted to do.
383
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:46,600
OLLE:
That was quite an important role
384
00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:49,240
for quite a few
of the bedroom producers
385
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:53,480
in the outskirts of the big cities,
in the small villages around Norway.
386
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,320
On Saturdays,
we had nowhere to go to.
387
00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:58,960
To parties,
we had to drive around with a radio.
388
00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,960
DISKJOKKE: Olle Abstract's radio show
sounded totally different
389
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,440
from all sorts of music
that I'd been exposed to all my life.
390
00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:09,640
It really caught me.
391
00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:13,000
MAGNUS: Strangefruit was good at
promoting local music.
392
00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:17,560
He was like the guy
that spread it all across Norway.
393
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:26,920
They got influenced by listening
to good music on Saturday nights.
394
00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:28,600
It could've been a trance show.
395
00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:30,880
It could've been a trance show
for 14 years.
396
00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:33,840
We'd probably sound a bit different
in Norway now.
397
00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,800
BJØRN:
When the artists of Bergen
398
00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,240
started evolving,
especially around Erot,
399
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:46,000
Mikal was thinking, yeah,
maybe he could do something there.
400
00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:57,800
The three of us did a party
that made enough money
401
00:33:57,960 --> 00:33:59,480
to start Tellé Records
402
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:02,200
called Den Elleville Festen.
403
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:06,160
MIKAL:
It was inspired by a great movie.
404
00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:08,360
-Animal House.
-Animal House.
405
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,600
MIKAL: So they're gonna save
their fraternity house
406
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:13,520
by having a toga party.
407
00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:20,080
So we were supposed to save,
kind of, our scene by having a party,
408
00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:25,040
and the money that we made
would go to printing records.
409
00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:33,240
MIKAL:
So we were allowed to sell
410
00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:35,520
1,200 tickets, I think,
and we probably had
411
00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:39,360
about 1,500 to 2,000 people
kind of crammed into this.
412
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:42,400
And we had to turn away
probably a few hundred people.
413
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,280
BJØRN: This was when people
were crawling up on the roof
414
00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:47,920
-and coming in by the ventilators.
-Yeah, yeah.
415
00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:50,040
And the roof windows to get in.
416
00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:51,680
I remember we were playing.
417
00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:56,160
It just turned
into this crazy explosion
418
00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:00,080
of dance and fun.
419
00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:03,920
The whole show was stopped
because they were afraid
420
00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:08,720
that the floor couldn't actually
stand the jumping.
421
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:10,880
It went, in many ways, too well.
422
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:14,200
MIKAL:
Erot, he did the design of the logo.
423
00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:18,480
I wanted to do pop songs
of the electronic music that I liked.
424
00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:21,720
So we were very inspired
by Motown when we started,
425
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,640
so it was 7 inches
with a big center hole.
426
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:29,160
The first release
is a 7-inch by Erot on one side
427
00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:32,640
and a side project of Bjørn Torske
called "Torske Mendel Explosion"
428
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:34,680
on the other side.
429
00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:42,080
We probably spent a year
selling those 500 records,
430
00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:45,480
and then the next one, I think,
took six months to sell.
431
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:48,360
And for every release,
it went faster and faster.
432
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:50,640
When we came
to the fourth or fifth release,
433
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:53,360
we always sold out
on the day that they arrived.
434
00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:58,080
GAUTE: We were looking to Bergen
and were impressed
435
00:35:58,240 --> 00:35:59,560
about what they were doing.
436
00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:02,760
Being creative and doing
new stuff without thinking.
437
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:11,680
The Tellé stuff was more
from a kind of left field pop angle,
438
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:15,400
and "The Greatest Hit" by Annie was
the one that really caught my ear.
439
00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:18,720
The first time I actually met
Mikal Telle was at a rave party,
440
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:21,480
and that's the way
I got to know him.
441
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,240
Erot, he was there.
And, yeah, I met him, and...
442
00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:30,120
And... yeah, then we became
really good friends,
443
00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:32,520
and we started doing music together.
444
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:35,400
MIKAL: When I heard
"The Greatest Hit," it was just...
445
00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:39,760
You remember when you heard the track
instantly, it's, "This is something."
446
00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:45,240
Has the sample been cleared
in "The Greatest Hit"?
447
00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:48,080
(LAUGHS)
Well, yeah.
448
00:36:48,240 --> 00:36:51,320
Well, you should maybe ask Loaded
about that. I think he...
449
00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:52,720
MAN:
Sounds like a no.
450
00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:55,560
He sampled Madonna. You know?
451
00:36:55,720 --> 00:36:57,240
-And...
-Nobody's been sued yet.
452
00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:10,800
After a week, we started to get like
a lot of interest from labels
453
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:16,360
and, yeah,
and journalists and... yeah.
454
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:20,200
Mikal came on and put out all these
7 inches with brilliant music,
455
00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,920
and then it started
just, you know, exploding.
456
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,720
ANNIE: So many people
doing music at that time.
457
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:34,720
So Röyksopp had a record
and he released their record
458
00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:37,840
and same with me
with The Greatest Hit.
459
00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:46,000
RALPH: Everybody were helping out
and hoping that people would succeed.
460
00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:47,480
It was a very good vibe.
461
00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,680
MIKAL: I don't think I've wrapped
my mind around what happened,
462
00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:56,000
feeling of actually communicating
with the rest of the world.
463
00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,560
INTERVIEWER: Were you surprised
that it was so successful so quickly?
464
00:38:00,720 --> 00:38:04,560
Yeah, yeah.
Astonished, yeah. Really.
465
00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:11,280
KAHUUN: It kind of defined the sound
of Norway, I guess, at that moment.
466
00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:26,320
The first Bergen wave
that's just a...
467
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:30,640
you know, a terminology created
by journalists, because suddenly,
468
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,520
a lot of artists come up with music
at the same time,
469
00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:35,440
and they call it a wave.
470
00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:40,920
The other thing that I really like
about them is their insistence
471
00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:44,560
on releasing loads of music
with Norwegian titles
472
00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:46,680
that mean nothing to anyone else.
473
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:48,600
It's so funny
when you do these names
474
00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:52,880
and people like try to pronounce it
from abroad. It's like... (SNICKERS)
475
00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:57,800
MAN 1:
"Jeg Vil Være Søppelmann."
476
00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:00,840
Jeg vig... Oh.
477
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:05,520
MAN 2:
2000 Isvar Fra Morellviene.
478
00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:11,520
2000 Isvar Fra Morellviene.
479
00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:15,880
MAN 1:
"Tur I Maskinparken."
480
00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:22,200
That's a tricky word that.
Maskinparken Tu I...
481
00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:24,920
And it kind of became the norm,
you know.
482
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:29,520
Full Pupp, it means a full titty.
483
00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:33,480
But it also means the whole shit.
484
00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,320
Erot, which is like Tore backwards.
485
00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,120
Then you have
Jeg Vil Være Søppelmann,
486
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:45,560
which is like the most famous one
of Bjørn's.
487
00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:48,040
That means,
"I like to become the garbage man."
488
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:51,840
(LAUGHS)
489
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,440
Which is weird
because I've never seen Bjørn work.
490
00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:04,040
BJØRN: That was in '99,
I think, it was released.
491
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:08,400
It's a very percussive thing.
It did quite well, actually.
492
00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:16,200
He went so mental
on the beat production there.
493
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:23,520
And suddenly, everyone was raving
and going mad about this track.
494
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:26,680
And Danny Tenaglia played
like two copies for 25 minutes
495
00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:28,160
in Miami the same year,
496
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,800
with Carl Cox standing on the bar
going crazy,
497
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:34,280
and we Norwegians were like,
"Yeah! Fuck yeah!"
498
00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:37,520
I had to ask him
how did that track happen
499
00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:39,200
and he's just like, "I'm sorry,
500
00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:42,320
but I was really,
really drunk that night,
501
00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:44,800
and I can't remember how I made it."
(CHUCKLES)
502
00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:06,680
EMILIO: That is one of the best
Norwegian house records of all time.
503
00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:10,720
It felt like there was
a strong scene there.
504
00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:12,360
There was a lot of DJs.
505
00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:15,320
There was, you know,
a lot of parties going on.
506
00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:19,680
The mid- to late-90s scene,
club scene, in Oslo and Bergen
507
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:21,600
was very healthy.
508
00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:23,480
Lovely music, lovely people.
509
00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:27,640
Yeah, all the good stuff you need
to have a club scene.
510
00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:44,920
OLLE: It was a dark little space
that used to be like public toilets
511
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:48,880
and it was converted
into a nice little futuristic,
512
00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:54,120
metallic-like little box of a club
with a big sound system.
513
00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:01,080
G-HA:
At that time, it was like...
514
00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:04,320
it seems to me like every night
was just magic.
515
00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:07,320
It was crazy
like three nights a week.
516
00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:12,800
First time we went,
you thought, "This is nice.
517
00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:14,680
It'll be a nice sort of intimate,
518
00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:19,600
like playing in a bar or something."
Little did we know. (LAUGHS) Yeah.
519
00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:22,320
CONRAD:
Absolutely insane. Mental.
520
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:24,160
Proper, proper mental.
521
00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:35,000
BILL: That was a bit
of a legendary club at the time.
522
00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:38,400
I think it got voted in Music's
"50 Best Clubs in the World."
523
00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:51,280
OLLE: Erot had his first DJ gig
there outside Bergen.
524
00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:54,280
One of the legendary nights
he played live the first time,
525
00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:58,760
and that was in Skansen,
and that was absolutely crazy.
526
00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:05,960
MAGNUS: He resonated with people
outside of Norway as well, you know.
527
00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:09,600
We were like hearing stories of,
"Erot has been to Japan,
528
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:11,440
and they fucking love his music."
529
00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:13,360
We were like, "Is that possible?
530
00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:19,000
How can this little boy from Norway
go over there and play music?"
531
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:21,320
This is a big deal.
532
00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:29,680
We got so much offers and...
533
00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:32,640
Suddenly, like...
534
00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,000
We didn't have plans about what
we wanted to do with the project,
535
00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:38,440
but I talked to Tore and said,
536
00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:40,920
"Okay, maybe we should do
some more songs."
537
00:43:41,080 --> 00:43:43,480
And I had some ideas.
He had some ideas.
538
00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:46,720
And the plan was to do an album.
539
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:53,240
But, of course, then Tore
got really sick and...
540
00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:56,440
I guess it was like
half a year after.
541
00:43:56,600 --> 00:43:59,040
He was starting to feel weaker
and weaker,
542
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:02,360
and he got into the hospital.
543
00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:04,360
And he got really, really sick and...
544
00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:10,720
I was visiting him, and of course,
545
00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:13,920
I really hoped
that he was gonna be better and...
546
00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:16,280
...which he didn't.
547
00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:22,160
And, yeah, then after one and a half
year or two years, he died.
548
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:27,720
(RAIN PATTERING)
549
00:44:48,080 --> 00:44:52,040
AUNT: Here's Tore and he's done
brilliantly on his physics exam.
550
00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:56,000
-Haven't you, Tore?
-Well, it went quite well.
551
00:44:56,160 --> 00:44:58,320
AUNT: That's good.
What are you going to do
552
00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:02,040
after that hurdle
has now been just accomplished?
553
00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:04,440
-What are you going to do?
-Well...
554
00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:09,080
...I'm gonna focus on music making.
555
00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:13,480
KENN: He could have died
the first 24 hours,
556
00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:17,000
because he had a very serious
heart condition,
557
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:19,400
but the doctor saved his life.
558
00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:24,200
Then he had the next operation
when he was 10 years old.
559
00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:28,120
He always lived on borrowed time
560
00:45:28,280 --> 00:45:33,640
because they didn't know exactly
how to correct the disease.
561
00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:55,800
His heart condition
made it impossible for him
562
00:45:55,960 --> 00:45:59,720
to be like a football player
or something like that,
563
00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:02,920
so he had to have some hobby.
564
00:46:03,080 --> 00:46:05,400
(SPEAKING NORWEGIAN)
565
00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:07,840
(SPEAKING NORWEGIAN)
566
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:11,640
I always... I don't have
any memories of him
567
00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:15,520
without Mikal or Annie.
568
00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:18,960
Yeah, we were really small
when they started seeing each other,
569
00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:22,720
so she was kind of like
a big sister to us as well.
570
00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:25,720
He was a really funny guy,
first of all.
571
00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:28,280
I remember he was really funny.
572
00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:34,000
And he had a lot of sides to him,
a very interesting person.
573
00:46:34,160 --> 00:46:36,640
Erot was...
574
00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:42,120
Well, he was one
of the nerdiest guys I knew.
575
00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:44,680
He would know everything.
576
00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:48,080
He had a brain that was probably
too large for his own good,
577
00:46:48,240 --> 00:46:51,840
so he was huge... Well,
he had knowledge about everything.
578
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:53,720
(SPEAKS NORWEGIAN)
579
00:46:53,880 --> 00:46:57,240
KENN:
He said, "I'm going to Japan."
580
00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:00,920
"What are you going to do in Japan?"
"I am going to play music."
581
00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:04,560
Maybe this was too much for Tore,
582
00:47:04,720 --> 00:47:09,880
because when he came home,
it did go half a year,
583
00:47:10,040 --> 00:47:14,440
then he started to get ill.
584
00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:22,520
They realized that his lungs
were now also damaged.
585
00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:25,440
So we kept the optimism,
586
00:47:25,600 --> 00:47:29,800
and somehow,
we thought it would be okay.
587
00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:34,600
He was ready for the operation,
and he was just waiting.
588
00:47:34,760 --> 00:47:39,520
And something happened.
We don't know.
589
00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:41,560
In fact, we don't really know
590
00:47:41,720 --> 00:47:45,600
exactly what was the situation
when he died.
591
00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:50,640
But it was in the middle
of the night, and the nurse,
592
00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:56,080
she just came into his room
and saw that he was...
593
00:47:56,240 --> 00:48:00,360
He was not breathing.
He had no pulse.
594
00:48:05,400 --> 00:48:11,640
Anna and Mikal
were only a few kilometers away.
595
00:48:11,800 --> 00:48:13,280
They came to the hospital,
596
00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:17,440
and we had some hours
together with Tore.
597
00:48:17,600 --> 00:48:22,120
And that...
that felt very good for us.
598
00:48:22,280 --> 00:48:28,080
Yeah. And... how sad it was,
how good it was,
599
00:48:28,240 --> 00:48:31,760
that they were there, yeah.
600
00:48:31,920 --> 00:48:35,600
I miss him as the boy he was.
601
00:48:42,240 --> 00:48:46,360
KENN: The funeral,
it was amazing because...
602
00:48:46,520 --> 00:48:49,560
And hundreds and hundreds of people,
603
00:48:49,720 --> 00:48:53,320
it was crowded
inside the church and outside.
604
00:48:53,480 --> 00:48:55,320
I couldn't see anything.
605
00:48:55,480 --> 00:49:00,920
I was empty,
but I saw all these people.
606
00:49:02,520 --> 00:49:04,080
That was very special.
607
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:14,480
There is certain people
that are, yeah, building things
608
00:49:14,640 --> 00:49:17,040
and holding things together.
He was one of those.
609
00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:19,800
Of course, for me,
it was a big loss and...
610
00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:25,160
But also, I think, for...
for sort of the scene in general.
611
00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:28,840
You would be correct to call
those records seminal that he made
612
00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:32,000
because listen to them.
613
00:49:37,000 --> 00:49:39,320
People should be aware
of the equipment he used
614
00:49:39,480 --> 00:49:42,080
to make those records.
615
00:49:42,240 --> 00:49:45,160
People would laugh now.
Your phone is more powerful.
616
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:54,080
The stuff he did
freed a lot of producers
617
00:49:54,240 --> 00:49:56,360
from what they believed
was right and wrong.
618
00:49:56,520 --> 00:50:02,240
Producers like him is
really necessary for music to grow.
619
00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:19,400
It's weird how it works
that like the saddest thing happens
620
00:50:19,560 --> 00:50:22,960
at the same time as some
of the funniest things, like.
621
00:50:23,120 --> 00:50:26,520
So at the same time as he died,
everyone was sad,
622
00:50:26,680 --> 00:50:29,720
like Röyksopp got signed
and did really well.
623
00:50:29,880 --> 00:50:31,760
Ralph Myerz did and... and...
624
00:50:31,920 --> 00:50:35,040
some... not some electronic music,
but Kings of Convenience.
625
00:50:35,200 --> 00:50:38,920
Like, they all did pretty well
and became quite well-known names.
626
00:50:39,080 --> 00:50:41,240
So people went on having success,
627
00:50:41,400 --> 00:50:45,480
but the scene
wasn't as tight after that.
628
00:51:06,520 --> 00:51:12,200
The band kind of blew up
after releasing our Special EP.
629
00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:17,920
It was starting getting airplay
heavily on the radio,
630
00:51:18,080 --> 00:51:23,720
and not only in Norway,
but in the US and Europe.
631
00:51:23,880 --> 00:51:26,920
RALPH:
And we toured all over the world.
632
00:51:27,080 --> 00:51:33,160
Our kind of reputation as a live act
was helping us with the record sales.
633
00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:37,400
The shows were very energetic
634
00:51:38,400 --> 00:51:41,600
and a lot more up-tempo
than the albums.
635
00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:46,920
That combination
just kind of worked very well for us.
636
00:51:54,400 --> 00:51:57,960
In the early 2000s, we had Röyksopp,
who went very large.
637
00:51:58,120 --> 00:52:01,480
But suddenly, Erlend Øye, who
had been in Kings of Convenience was
638
00:52:01,640 --> 00:52:02,760
Whitest Boy Alive.
639
00:52:02,920 --> 00:52:06,040
I'd hear things and think,
"Sounds like it came out of Norway."
640
00:52:06,200 --> 00:52:08,600
You could tell something special
was gonna come,
641
00:52:08,760 --> 00:52:10,480
a sound could come out of there.
642
00:52:12,520 --> 00:52:15,160
RALPH:
The next wave of people
643
00:52:15,320 --> 00:52:18,920
kind of directed the spotlight
from Bergen to Oslo.
644
00:52:21,000 --> 00:52:25,400
What really turned me on, I think,
to... things that were happening
645
00:52:25,560 --> 00:52:27,640
was the... was the second wave.
646
00:52:27,800 --> 00:52:29,920
MATT:
It was just really kind of spacey
647
00:52:30,080 --> 00:52:32,800
and all these odd,
different influences.
648
00:52:32,960 --> 00:52:35,600
Over the next year, couple of years,
649
00:52:35,760 --> 00:52:38,240
you just started hearing more
coming out of Oslo.
650
00:52:56,240 --> 00:52:59,960
GAUTE: Oslo feels now like
a natural home for that type of sound
651
00:53:00,120 --> 00:53:02,760
because there's
so many brilliant musicians
652
00:53:02,920 --> 00:53:05,400
making that type of sound from Oslo.
653
00:53:08,880 --> 00:53:12,520
And if you walk into any club,
654
00:53:12,680 --> 00:53:16,440
chances are
that you'll hear that type of music.
655
00:53:21,440 --> 00:53:24,400
I'd describe it
as a weird, strange melting pot
656
00:53:24,560 --> 00:53:27,200
of, I suppose, '70s disco.
657
00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:32,480
Space echo and tape delay.
658
00:53:34,440 --> 00:53:35,600
Eighties synth pop.
659
00:53:37,600 --> 00:53:41,280
Bright synthesizers,
usually played on vintage hardware.
660
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:44,720
Experimental noise in there.
661
00:53:46,680 --> 00:53:49,480
Live, slightly off-kilter basslines.
662
00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:54,120
You've kind of got the sound
in a nutshell there, I think.
663
00:53:58,480 --> 00:54:02,200
So we referred to it a lot
in iDJ magazine as "Scandolearic."
664
00:54:07,560 --> 00:54:11,040
It was sort of what we used to call
heroin disco.
665
00:54:11,200 --> 00:54:14,440
Kind of modern disco
with a lot of effects.
666
00:54:14,600 --> 00:54:16,160
A lot of dub stuff and...
667
00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:17,360
Skrangle disco.
668
00:54:17,520 --> 00:54:20,240
New disco, space disco, cosmic disco.
669
00:54:20,400 --> 00:54:24,120
Yeah, like, slippy-sloppy,
sloppy house, you know?
670
00:54:24,280 --> 00:54:26,960
One-legged disco.
671
00:54:32,040 --> 00:54:33,760
It's really hard to say
672
00:54:33,920 --> 00:54:37,640
whether Norwegian music
has particular characteristics
673
00:54:37,800 --> 00:54:41,280
because I think it's more to do
with individual producers.
674
00:54:41,440 --> 00:54:44,480
Proggy disco, I suppose
you'd call it, that's become a thing.
675
00:54:44,640 --> 00:54:47,600
And if anyone started it,
I'd say it's Lindstrøm.
676
00:54:50,760 --> 00:54:53,480
LINDSTRØM: A lot of the stuff
that at least I was making
677
00:54:53,640 --> 00:54:55,520
was trying to use inspiration
678
00:54:55,680 --> 00:54:58,680
from all of the music
that I've been doing,
679
00:54:58,840 --> 00:55:03,760
like... like from church music
to folk music.
680
00:55:09,600 --> 00:55:13,640
Rather than being embarrassed
about my musical past,
681
00:55:13,800 --> 00:55:15,200
I was more like, well,
682
00:55:15,360 --> 00:55:18,680
trying to implement that music
into my own music.
683
00:55:23,840 --> 00:55:26,080
So that's basically it.
684
00:55:35,000 --> 00:55:37,680
"I Feel Space" feels
like a beefed-up version
685
00:55:37,840 --> 00:55:41,200
of Giorgio Moroder,
you know, from "I Feel Love."
686
00:55:47,320 --> 00:55:49,880
That record was enormous.
It was everywhere.
687
00:55:50,960 --> 00:55:53,680
Lindstrøm is the biggest influence
on everyone,
688
00:55:53,840 --> 00:55:55,760
because he was the only guy
at that time
689
00:55:55,920 --> 00:56:00,480
who actually put something out
that was noticed and big.
690
00:56:03,680 --> 00:56:08,040
House music was lying a bit dead,
you know?
691
00:56:08,200 --> 00:56:14,080
It kind of kick-started
a new type of vibe.
692
00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:30,840
LINDSTRØM: Looking back now,
I realize that maybe it had
693
00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:33,560
a bigger impact
than I really understand.
694
00:56:33,720 --> 00:56:35,720
(CROWD CHEERING)
695
00:56:42,720 --> 00:56:45,840
BLACKBELT: Thomas has been
a fantastic ambassador abroad,
696
00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:51,040
and he's pretty huge
in Norway as well.
697
00:56:51,200 --> 00:56:54,640
MAGNUS: As a DJ, he's one of those
guys that can make anything blend.
698
00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:58,880
He plays eclectic music
without losing the energy.
699
00:56:59,040 --> 00:57:02,840
BILL:
He's a really, really good DJ.
700
00:57:12,840 --> 00:57:16,880
I would say I was probably
mostly inspired by disco,
701
00:57:17,040 --> 00:57:19,920
by all these like loose rhythms
702
00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:21,960
and, you know, trying to find a way
703
00:57:22,120 --> 00:57:25,600
to make the music
sound not too mechanical.
704
00:57:25,760 --> 00:57:27,640
He was like not really
into club music,
705
00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:29,440
but a lot of like weird stuff.
706
00:57:29,600 --> 00:57:32,800
And we kind of started
doing stuff together.
707
00:57:38,800 --> 00:57:42,480
It was Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas
when I started to go,
708
00:57:42,640 --> 00:57:44,880
"There's something going on here."
709
00:57:45,880 --> 00:57:48,320
JAMES: Lindstrøm and Prins
have been able to take
710
00:57:48,480 --> 00:57:51,200
the best of those kind of sounds
that were popularized
711
00:57:51,360 --> 00:57:53,520
in the '70s and '80s
and bring it up to date
712
00:57:53,680 --> 00:57:56,160
and create something
that's, you know...
713
00:57:56,320 --> 00:57:59,640
you know, a nod to the past,
but always kind of forward-looking.
714
00:57:59,800 --> 00:58:04,600
We both kind of like played
everything we got our hands on.
715
00:58:04,760 --> 00:58:08,320
We just played, like used this
as percussion and...
716
00:58:08,480 --> 00:58:10,800
And did a lot of weird stuff.
717
00:58:14,560 --> 00:58:19,120
PRINS: We probably didn't know
exactly how things should be done.
718
00:58:19,280 --> 00:58:23,320
LINDSTRØM: It didn't sound
professional, but it kind of maybe
719
00:58:23,480 --> 00:58:28,040
gave the music a more like
homemade feel or something.
720
00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:29,760
(LINDSTRØM LAUGHS)
721
00:58:33,360 --> 00:58:38,440
I guess there was some kind of a hype
after we did a lot of remixes.
722
00:58:49,480 --> 00:58:52,600
PETE: You're listening to Radio 1.
Welcome to the Essential Mix.
723
00:58:52,760 --> 00:58:55,080
Another installment,
a bit special this week.
724
00:58:55,240 --> 00:58:57,840
Our guests are two amazing DJs
and producers
725
00:58:58,000 --> 00:58:59,320
from the land of Röyksopp.
726
00:58:59,480 --> 00:59:02,240
It's already a contender
for Essential Mix of the year.
727
00:59:02,400 --> 00:59:06,520
From Norway,
Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas.
728
00:59:06,680 --> 00:59:08,520
PRINS:
Doing stuff like Essential Mix,
729
00:59:08,680 --> 00:59:12,080
at the time,
that was actually a big deal.
730
00:59:13,560 --> 00:59:16,680
CARL: When Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas
landed an Essential Mix,
731
00:59:16,840 --> 00:59:20,760
a really important milestone
in any DJ-producer's career,
732
00:59:20,920 --> 00:59:22,920
it was really influential
and seminal.
733
00:59:23,080 --> 00:59:25,840
And I guess that is,
if you wanted to pinpoint a moment,
734
00:59:26,000 --> 00:59:27,760
that would be maybe when you'd say,
735
00:59:27,920 --> 00:59:30,520
"Ah, Norwegian dance music
has arrived."
736
00:59:39,920 --> 00:59:44,080
CONRAD: I think what Thomas
and Hans-Peter Lindstrøm did
737
00:59:44,240 --> 00:59:46,320
was awaken...
738
00:59:46,480 --> 00:59:49,760
It's like a sinful thing.
People were like,
739
00:59:49,920 --> 00:59:53,680
"Oh, you can't really listen
to high-energy, driven music.
740
00:59:53,840 --> 00:59:56,200
You can't listen
to those arpeggiated basslines.
741
00:59:56,360 --> 00:59:58,800
That's music for gay clubs."
You know?
742
00:59:58,960 --> 01:00:02,880
And they just... just tore that down.
743
01:00:12,560 --> 01:00:16,760
CONRAD: From that day until now,
the floodgates opened, you know.
744
01:00:16,920 --> 01:00:20,360
That is the sound now
without question.
745
01:00:23,960 --> 01:00:26,800
All of a sudden, we had
all this response from everywhere.
746
01:00:26,960 --> 01:00:30,640
If you want do this remix,
go here to play, there to play.
747
01:00:37,840 --> 01:00:41,080
We got a bit scared
because it kind of blew up
748
01:00:41,240 --> 01:00:43,640
way out of proportion, you know.
749
01:00:43,800 --> 01:00:48,040
We both had way too much success
to really handle it.
750
01:00:50,200 --> 01:00:53,440
And we ended up
almost burning the bridges
751
01:00:53,600 --> 01:00:58,720
by getting tied up in having to do
these three remixes this week
752
01:00:58,880 --> 01:01:03,240
and kind of ended up
taking on too much, I think.
753
01:01:05,760 --> 01:01:12,600
We made a pretty conscious decision
to weird out on the next record.
754
01:01:20,680 --> 01:01:24,160
BILL: Norwegian musicians have
absorbed all kinds of oddball ideas
755
01:01:24,320 --> 01:01:28,000
that they distill into their music.
756
01:01:29,280 --> 01:01:31,000
DIGBY:
With Norwegian dance music,
757
01:01:31,160 --> 01:01:33,040
there seems to be
less structure to it.
758
01:01:33,200 --> 01:01:36,320
Experimented a little bit more
with beats,
759
01:01:36,480 --> 01:01:38,400
tracks that evolve a lot more.
760
01:01:38,560 --> 01:01:42,000
And they seem to have a bit more fun
and take a few more risks.
761
01:01:47,240 --> 01:01:50,680
CARL: I think there's a certain
cheekiness, a certain sort of playful
762
01:01:50,840 --> 01:01:54,840
almost mischievous nature to some of
Prins Thomas' and Lindstrøm's stuff.
763
01:01:55,000 --> 01:01:57,920
And I'd say that has been
an influence on a lot of producers
764
01:01:58,080 --> 01:02:00,200
to try new things out.
765
01:02:00,360 --> 01:02:03,160
It's been fascinating to watch
Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas
766
01:02:03,320 --> 01:02:04,760
bubbling under for years.
767
01:02:04,920 --> 01:02:07,040
And kind of,
people have been aware,
768
01:02:07,200 --> 01:02:10,480
but it's not sort of gone as big
as perhaps I thought it could do,
769
01:02:10,640 --> 01:02:14,520
or perhaps they had the ability to,
and certainly the talent.
770
01:02:14,680 --> 01:02:17,480
But to be around and see Todd Terje
771
01:02:17,640 --> 01:02:21,000
just take that uniquely
Norwegian sound and elements of it
772
01:02:21,160 --> 01:02:23,080
and really make it his own,
but just...
773
01:02:23,240 --> 01:02:24,440
That album's been huge.
774
01:02:28,400 --> 01:02:30,800
It's sort of a pinnacle
of what's been happening
775
01:02:30,960 --> 01:02:33,240
and bubbling under for ages
with those guys.
776
01:02:33,400 --> 01:02:35,920
But now, Todd Terje did it,
didn't he?
777
01:02:43,520 --> 01:02:49,600
It's cheeky, I think.
He's cheeky and it's like, yeah.
778
01:02:49,760 --> 01:02:52,400
I don't know, something
that I can't put my finger on.
779
01:02:52,560 --> 01:02:55,760
But it's like, yeah, you've got
to dance to it, you know.
780
01:03:01,120 --> 01:03:04,040
"It's very difficult to not like it.
781
01:03:05,520 --> 01:03:06,800
The music makes you happy.
782
01:03:06,960 --> 01:03:10,640
CONRAD: He has got even more
of a pop sensibility about him.
783
01:03:10,800 --> 01:03:12,480
I think he finds that effortless.
784
01:03:12,640 --> 01:03:14,760
Hopefully, he'll sit down
with somebody
785
01:03:14,920 --> 01:03:17,840
and deliver some amazing songs
for us,
786
01:03:18,000 --> 01:03:20,560
because I think that's well
within his range.
787
01:03:24,360 --> 01:03:26,840
BILL: Been pretty amazing
to watch him go from
788
01:03:27,000 --> 01:03:29,640
being a very keen teenager
to being someone
789
01:03:29,800 --> 01:03:32,160
who's feeling at home
working with Bryan Ferry.
790
01:03:32,320 --> 01:03:34,760
It's pretty incredible, really,
what he's done.
791
01:03:34,920 --> 01:03:36,720
He's just enormously talented.
792
01:03:36,880 --> 01:03:38,640
Well, he's incredibly musical
793
01:03:38,800 --> 01:03:42,880
and he's really accomplished
as a keyboard player and programmer.
794
01:03:49,720 --> 01:03:52,400
BRYAN:
A great all-round musician, you know?
795
01:03:53,960 --> 01:03:56,280
And I was amazed at how quick he was,
796
01:03:56,440 --> 01:03:58,200
and I've worked with good people.
797
01:04:09,800 --> 01:04:12,760
So he's very good at creating
atmospheres and drama.
798
01:04:15,600 --> 01:04:20,240
I saw it in person
when I did the festival here in Oslo.
799
01:04:20,400 --> 01:04:25,240
The crowd was going crazy.
They really loved his music.
800
01:04:25,400 --> 01:04:28,120
It was a huge audience
of very young people who...
801
01:04:28,280 --> 01:04:31,600
Actually, of all ages,
which I think is good,
802
01:04:31,760 --> 01:04:33,200
who were really into it.
803
01:04:45,800 --> 01:04:47,480
MATT:
Inspector Norse was enormous.
804
01:04:47,640 --> 01:04:49,680
In 20, 30, 40 years' time,
805
01:04:49,840 --> 01:04:52,760
people will still think of that
as a classic disco record,
806
01:04:52,920 --> 01:04:55,080
possibly,
an all-time dance music classic.
807
01:05:02,920 --> 01:05:05,320
BILL: There's a simplicity
to the music he makes.
808
01:05:05,480 --> 01:05:09,720
All great music
is really about simplicity, I think.
809
01:05:09,880 --> 01:05:12,640
Almost all great records,
something simple about them,
810
01:05:12,800 --> 01:05:16,560
you listen and think, "I could've
done that." The fact is you didn't.
811
01:05:19,000 --> 01:05:21,000
(CROWD CHEERING)
812
01:05:25,040 --> 01:05:27,520
MAN: He seems to have gone global
more than anyone.
813
01:05:27,680 --> 01:05:29,760
What do you think
makes his music...?
814
01:05:29,920 --> 01:05:32,520
Yeah, why do you think
it's gotten so big?
815
01:05:33,520 --> 01:05:35,520
Well, he's...
816
01:05:35,680 --> 01:05:40,720
For the first, he's particular
in his ways, like Erot was.
817
01:05:40,880 --> 01:05:44,480
He's very like into
how he's gonna make it.
818
01:05:44,640 --> 01:05:48,320
Obviously, it's good music,
good dance music.
819
01:05:50,040 --> 01:05:51,680
(CROWD CHEERING)
820
01:05:57,200 --> 01:06:02,080
First impression I have
of Erot's musical adventures,
821
01:06:02,240 --> 01:06:06,400
it was kind of a rave sort of thing
822
01:06:06,560 --> 01:06:08,680
with a lot of silly samples
and stuff.
823
01:06:08,840 --> 01:06:10,080
It was really funny.
824
01:06:10,240 --> 01:06:12,840
I don't know if any of those tapes
still exist,
825
01:06:13,000 --> 01:06:16,800
but what I know is that Todd Terje...
826
01:06:17,960 --> 01:06:21,880
And his big sister
was a friend of Erot,
827
01:06:22,040 --> 01:06:26,920
so he got to listen to these tapes
when he was like 10 or 12.
828
01:06:27,080 --> 01:06:29,400
I just got to know last year
when Terje told me,
829
01:06:29,560 --> 01:06:31,760
so that was kind of funny.
830
01:06:38,920 --> 01:06:40,920
STRANGEFRUIT:
Like, in Oslo now, you have
831
01:06:41,080 --> 01:06:43,120
one of the most
happening musical cities.
832
01:06:43,280 --> 01:06:47,280
There's loads of concerts here.
There's loads of food stores.
833
01:06:47,440 --> 01:06:48,680
So in many ways,
834
01:06:48,840 --> 01:06:51,360
what has happened here
in the last 25 years
835
01:06:51,520 --> 01:06:55,280
has maybe happened in England
in the last 70 years.
836
01:06:55,440 --> 01:06:58,480
It's just happened
in a much faster scale.
837
01:07:00,960 --> 01:07:03,280
There are a lot
of great Norwegian musicians.
838
01:07:03,440 --> 01:07:07,320
They've had a very big
kind of imprint on music.
839
01:07:10,800 --> 01:07:14,560
Lindstrøm, Thomas, Terje's
breaking out definitely influenced
840
01:07:14,720 --> 01:07:16,400
world dance music, no doubt.
841
01:07:16,560 --> 01:07:20,880
To me, they are the people
who really, really blew Norway up.
842
01:07:23,240 --> 01:07:26,120
STRANGEFRUIT: Disco never happened
here in the first place.
843
01:07:26,280 --> 01:07:29,760
It had to be a new generation
to see the wonders of it,
844
01:07:29,920 --> 01:07:33,760
so we basically discovered disco
845
01:07:33,920 --> 01:07:36,560
20 years later
and made our own version of it.
846
01:07:42,240 --> 01:07:44,960
Norwegian dance music
now has got a blueprint.
847
01:07:45,120 --> 01:07:46,520
Once there's a blueprint
848
01:07:46,680 --> 01:07:49,760
and once it's ingrained
in a musical culture,
849
01:07:49,920 --> 01:07:52,600
it's self-sustaining.
It'll go on. People will continue
850
01:07:52,760 --> 01:07:55,440
making records like that.
They'll put their own twists,
851
01:07:55,600 --> 01:07:58,920
but it'll still have
that distinctly Norwegian feel.
852
01:08:03,840 --> 01:08:07,680
Norwegian identity, it's strange,
because you can't...
853
01:08:07,840 --> 01:08:10,920
...go anywhere in the world
and not bring yourself with you.
854
01:08:11,080 --> 01:08:14,000
So it's like,
I'm always gonna be Norwegian.
855
01:08:14,160 --> 01:08:17,560
I'm always gonna be
Northern Norwegian.
856
01:08:17,720 --> 01:08:20,520
Yeah, maybe it's important.
857
01:08:20,680 --> 01:08:23,560
Maybe it's important
that I'm Norwegian.
858
01:08:26,800 --> 01:08:28,800
BJØRN:
There's definitely stuff happening
859
01:08:28,960 --> 01:08:30,360
with the younger generations
860
01:08:30,520 --> 01:08:34,680
and also in the dance music,
house department, yeah.
861
01:08:34,840 --> 01:08:35,880
Exciting stuff.
862
01:08:39,120 --> 01:08:40,960
MIKAL:
When we grew up, we didn't care
863
01:08:41,120 --> 01:08:44,120
what other people in Bergen
or in Norway had to say.
864
01:08:44,280 --> 01:08:47,600
Several young new producers
have done exactly the same.
865
01:08:47,760 --> 01:08:49,840
They haven't kind of talked to us.
866
01:08:50,000 --> 01:08:53,560
They've just gone out
and done the same thing.
867
01:08:53,720 --> 01:08:58,560
I find it really cool that there is
like a new wave of things happening
868
01:08:58,720 --> 01:09:02,520
and people kind of not caring
about what the elders do.
869
01:09:09,360 --> 01:09:12,960
I have no idea if we had any effect
on the world of music,
870
01:09:13,120 --> 01:09:15,120
but we had fun, though.
871
01:11:05,360 --> 01:11:08,360
My favorite Norwegian record ever?
872
01:11:08,520 --> 01:11:10,440
Wow, uh...
873
01:11:10,600 --> 01:11:12,160
-Um...
-Umm...
874
01:11:12,320 --> 01:11:14,000
-Um...
-Hmm.
875
01:11:14,160 --> 01:11:15,560
Oh, that's a tough one.
876
01:11:15,720 --> 01:11:17,680
-That's a tough one. I...
-Um...
877
01:11:17,840 --> 01:11:19,560
-Um...
-Ugh.
878
01:11:19,720 --> 01:11:22,080
-Ooh.
-Wow.
879
01:11:22,240 --> 01:11:25,280
My favorite,
favorite ever Norwegian track?
880
01:11:25,440 --> 01:11:27,680
-Of all time?
-Well, um...
881
01:11:27,840 --> 01:11:31,640
-I... I think...
-Um, that...
882
01:11:31,800 --> 01:11:34,080
-(SIGHS)
-(SMACKS LIPS)
883
01:11:40,640 --> 01:11:43,080
(EXHALES)
884
01:11:43,240 --> 01:11:46,440
Let me think a little bit on that
and I'll... Yeah.