09/02/2007 11.33.36
Panzerpappa interview

1) Could you please tell us a brief history of Panzerpappa (the influences, the beginning,...)?

The tale of Panzerpappa begins in the summer of 1996, when I started to record some simple demos on my old 4 track recorder. Seeing that Trond Gjellum was a pretty dull name to use as an artist, I decided to take the name Panzerpappa, a name deprived of any meaning. The songs I recorded were simple sketches of what later would become De 99 trappetrinn and Verktøyet er den 23. veien. The songs were based in the progressive rock sound of Samla Mammas Manna and Univers Zero, and I wanted to start a band to perform this music.
Then, in May 1997, I played a concert with the band Sangioveze - a kind of heavy prog band in the vein of Motorpshyco and King Crimson. At the concert, I was asked if I was willing to play drums in a project aiming at making music to Tolkiens The Lord of The Rings. I got in touch with Steinar Bøvre, and agreed to join the project.
During the summer, this band rehearsed and plays one concert at a Tolkien-festival at the University of Oslo. I'm no big Tolkien fan myself, but during these sessions, we found out that we had have many common influences when it comes to music, especially the music of Henry Cow, Samla Mammas Manna/Lars Hollmer and Univers Zero are common ground.
Therefore we agreed to do further collaborations in the future. In the beginning of 1998, we started a band with Knut Tore Abrahamsen (guitar) and Jørgen Skjulstad (bass guitar), and we agreed to use the name Panzerpappa.

2) I think that "Koralrevens lagesang", your last CD, is a record with a wider range of styles compared with the previous Panzerpappa works; it could be a starting point for Panzerpappa, from which you could choose different directions for future releases. Do you agree? which directions will you choose?

When we started writing the music for "Koralrevens klagesang", we wanted to make an album that showed a more varied and complex sound than the predecessors, an album that showed a willingness to explore other musical soundscapes than on the earlier recordings. For me personally, progressive rock is represented by the willingness to go into other directions, explore and discover. It doesn't mean that you end up with music not resembling your old music, but that you can create new textures within old forms and structures. You could do this by exploring other kind of chords, tonalities, instrumentation, melodies and rhythms.
On this album, we recorded to a computer and got the opportunity to record an endless amount of tracks and overdub everything we wanted to. We kind of used the studio as an instrument and didn't bother thinking about how to recreate the whole thing live. "Farlig Vandring" was much more a matter of recreating our live sound in the studio.
I think "Koralrevens Klagesang" is a more complex album than our earlier ones, and I personally would like to explore that alley more in the future. But I'm still a fan of simple and direct music with good melodies and harmonies. So I think that you in the future will see that the Panzerpappa-sound is expanding in many directions, exploring both composition and recording.

3) How much the scandinavian music tradition influences your compositions?

Well, Scandinavian folk music is a very broad term. I am to a certain degree influenced by folk music, especially by the simple, but still complex, melodies and harmonies that you find in some Scandinavian folk music. The folk music of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland are very different from each other, and to pinpoint one exact source of folk music as influence is different. But being a fan of Samla Mammas Manna and Lars Hollmer, it's possible to say that the Swedish folk music have influenced us, because Samla and Hollmer are very influenced by Swedish folk music.

4) Tell us about the collaboration with Richard Sinclair.

It actually started way back in 2002 when Tarkus Magazine in Norway wanted to bring him over to a anniversary marking Tarkus no.20. Jarle, Andres and I formed a backing band, and the experience was tremendous fun. We liked each other and sounded like a tight knit unit after only one rehearsal. We played Caravan and Hatfield tunes and some solo compositions by Richard.
When we started to write music for Koralrevens Klagesang, Steinar (Børve, keyboards and saxophone) wanted to include a vocal track, and all of us agreed that Richard was the right vocalist for this song. Richard liked the idea, and came to Norway during September 2005. We recorded the song and played a well received concert the following day. All in all, it was like a dream come through! I've been a fan of him since my late teens, so it was a fantastic moment to sit down in my own rehearsal room with him to play the songs I love.

5) Could you please tell us your favourites past and present artists?

Wow, that's difficult, because I'm influenced by so many forms of music and musicians. But generally I love artists that manage to surprise and explore and not only walk the same path all the time. But trying to answer your question, my earliest musical influences were The Police, Mike OLdfield (especially the QE2 and Herdgest Ridge albums), Kraftwerk and Queen. After discovering progressive rock in the mid 80's bands like Yes, King Crimson and Gentle Giant became favourites. But my real eye opener, was the discovery of the Canterbury scene (especially band like Hatield and the North and National Health), Magma and the RIO bands like Henry Cow and Fred Frith, Univers Zero, Lars Hollmer and Samla Mammas Manna, Art Bears and Aksak Maboul. Their unique and intriguing sound has inspired me since.
I'm a fan of Bob Drake and Dave Kerman, and bands like 5uu's and Thinking Plague are some of my favourites. But I'm listening to a lot besides prog and avantrock, and I'm very fond of old Vangelis, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. Thin Lizzy is also a favourite. Of modern music, I listen a lot to the german electronica duo Mouse on Mars.
In a unique way, they manage to create music that is based on good melodies and the possibilities of modern studio recording. I also listen to To Rococco Rot, Tortoise, Critters Buggin, David Sylvian (especially his Nine Horses band) and a lot of good music I just can't remember right now!



6) What do you think about the current progressive scene?
7) Someone says that doing today progressive music is pointless, which is your answer?
8) Do you want to add something?

I think the so called progressive scene is very fragmented and not that much unified, as like the metal, hip-hop or punk scene. I think it's a matter of how you look upon the prog label. Either you can look at it like a sound or a genre with a firm set of rules, trying to recreate the sound of yesterday (preferably the 70's or early 80's) or as an ideology, a wish to push boundaries musically.
A lot of so called progressive bands are just recreating the past, trying to copy bands like Genesis, Yes, ELP, Marillion in their 80's heyday, and so on. If you're interested in real progressive music that tries to push the boundaries and expand the musical horizon, I don't think bands like Spock's Beard and The Flower Kings would appeal to you.
But they've got the same label as really forward thinking bands like Thinking Plague, which confuses people from the outside trying to understand it all. So to sum it up: I think the term is so broad that it doesn't say anything meaningful anymore. In genres like post rock and electronica, you can find a lot more of the prog mentality and the willingness to explore different musical paths, than in the so called progressive scene.
I don't mean to say that progressive music need to sound all different from the old legends, but you have to use it as a springboard for your own ideas, not as a blueprint that is not meant to be altered. Some so called prog musicians and prog fans are almost afraid of experimenting with music. It seems like they got nervous when it doesn't sound just like the last record or like one of their heroes for yesteryear.
The music of Panzerpappa is definitively based upon the work of the old legends, but I feel that we go one step further by exploring elements outside the typical prog sound of mellotron, mini-moog, long songs, Rickenbacker bass guitar, weird lyrics, masks, Tolkien-references and 12 string guitar sections in songs! But even if it's fragmented, it's fun to be a part of the international network of prog enthusiasts, consisting of bands, fanzines, fans and radio stations. Through the years I've learned to know a lot of very nice people all over the world, and to communicate with a Yes or Panzerpappa fan from Sibereia, is a blast!
Thanks