Intervju med Kristoffer Oustad, V:28. Som sagt, ikke helt ferskt.
It is not too often these days that new, exciting metal bands pop from the once forefather-land of grim and true black metal, Norway. Most good bands have been around for a while, and others have evolved into different genres than metal. None the less, exceptions occur, and V:28 is one of them. Having released the splendid album NonAntropogenic in the autumn 2003, it is about time that they get the space they deserve. I met up with the guitarist Kristoffer Oustad for a long talk at the university campus in Trondheim, where he at the moment is studying.
As I guess most of the readers are new or unknown to V:28, could you give a quick retrospective glance at the story so far?
V:28 was founded in the spring 2002, by yours truely (guitar and programming) and Eddie Risdal (vocals, guitar). The band originated from the band V:O:I:D, which released three self-financed demos. The vocalist in V:O:I:D at that time was involved in a car accident, and unfortunately had to leave the band. Eddie then took over the vocal duties, and as we wanted to move in a more electronic/industrial direction, we decided that the best was to re-create the band as V:28. After doing another demo recording under the V:28 name, the album NonAntropogenic was released autumn 2003 on the small USA based company Vendlus. Subsequent to the album release, bass player Atle Johansen joined the band. He has a past from numerous bands, and was at some time partly involved in Kovenant. Last year we played at the Hole in the Sky-festival in Bergen, Norway, and we wanted to have a live bassist for the show. Atle is from the same, tiny town as me and Eddie (Arendal), and since we know him since long time back it was a natural thing to ask him. Things worked out very well, so well that we recruited him as a permanent bass player. I will end my studies during this summer, and then move back to Arendal and the band will again be gathered.
There seems to be some kind of concept tying together the band name, lyrics, music and the visual. And I have a suspicion it is not of a very optimistic nature, concerning the future of mankind?
To start with the name, it stems from the old V:O:I:D name. If you take the three last letters and assign the number referring to the corresponding order in the alphabet and summarise these, you get 28. And since one of the V:O:I:D demos was called Galaxy B-28.unreal we thought that a cool name for the band was V:28. There is not any deeper meaning of the band name. When it comes to the lyrics, which are written by me, they deal with the downfall of mankind. None in the band wanted standard black metal lyrics, since I think you should be able to stand up for the words you sing. Instead we chose a much more optimistic subject... The lyrics depict a future world where the human being is made superfluous by the machines they have created, or is being threatened by technological advances made by them selves. Some kind of Terminator though... There is of course also a psychological aspect to this, concerning extreme alienation of the human nature and humanity. The lyrics are written to support the music and the atmosphere created by it, more than being read as descriptive epos.
You have in the same way as you describe above, made the traditional drummer superficial by using drum machine on the album. Is this done to support this negative scenario, or...
Well, I guess this could be seen as a mean of making the music more alienated, less human. And this of course supports the thought of making music which creates such an atmosphere to the listener, underpinning the red thread in the concept. But it also shows that technology always has two sides, it can also be used for good and creative ways in a society, as long as it is in the right hands.
Are there any musical influences you would like to emphasise? I sense an ambient feeling in the music, which is supported by the way you use electronics.
I know that many people like to compare us to Red Harvest, but I would say that Samael is a much bigger inspiration. Other metal bands which have inspired me are Metallica and Morbid Angel, amongst others. The “flow” in the music is, as you point out, inspired by more ambient and industrial artists. Bands like Deutsch Nepal and Brighter Death Now on Cold Meat Industries are big inspirations. The synth in V:28 is also inspired by Emperor and similar black metal bands. And I have to point out that Soundtracks for the Blind by Swans is perhaps the best record ever made!
You released the album on the quite newly initiated Vendlus label in USA, how did you end up there?
Initially we got a deal with another company, and we thought everything was going ok. The studio was booked, the producer was ready, but no money showed up! After trying to contact this company many times without result, we financed the album recording with our own money, and sent the result to different companies. Einar Sjursø (Duplicate Records, Beyond Dawn etc) mentioned that this Joseph Cortese was starting up the label Vendlus in USA, so we sent him an album, and since he was the one who seemed most enthusiastic about the album, we decided to sign with him. As V:28 is presently one of the few artists on Vendlus, he is forced to do a good job for us, which is of course a big advantage for us. Also, Vendlus is a very open-minded label, which means that with focus will be on quality, not the musical expression of the band itself.
The album was recorded in Subsonic Society Studio in Oslo, with LRZ from Red Harvest as a producer. The album has vocal contributions by Grutle Kjellson from Enslaved. Quite big names for a band who had only released a couple of demos!
The studio is quite new, and is run by LRZ and Lars Klokkerhaug (who has worked with Motorpsycho, Red Harvest and Zeromancer amongst others). I really liked the way LRZ had mixed Cold Dark Matter by Red Harvest, and we wanted to create a similar, industrial sound. After a concert with Red Harvest and Cadaver the autumn 2002 I gave him a demo and asked if he was interested in working with this material, so I guess he liked what he heard. We are at least really pleased with the way the sound on the album turned out. Now, Grutle I know from long back. I have been an Enslaved-fan for many years, and after sending fan-mail to the band in my early years, it gradually turned more into a friendship. So when Grutle heard that V:28 was to record an album, he asked if he could contribute in some or another way. He did some additional vocals on Dead Shining Star and all vocals on Purity. I guess it was important for him that the band has a completely different sound than Enslaved, not being some kind of Viking metal outfit. Tor Helge Skei (from Manes) is also acknowledged in the cover, as he has taught me very much of the computer programming which is a important part of V:28 today. Actually, we also asked Garm/Trickster/Kris from Ulver to do some vocal contributions, but I think V:28 is a bit too metal for him these days...
Do you know how many albums you have sold so far? Is there a market for futuristic cybermetal?
For the first question I will only say: Haha! The album was printed in 1000 copies, and there is no need for a second re-print yet... Even in the Norwegian market it is a slow process to become a part of the established scene, just look at how long time it has taken Red Harvest to make a name. But we have, in addition to various Norwegian metal magazines, done an interview in the Polish metal magazine Mega Sin (www.mega-sin.com) and the American zine Lunar Hypnosis (www.lunarhypnosis.cjb.net/). And now this! Vendlus has its distribution channels, but these are mostly run in the same manner as Vendlus; small, idealistic, with limited amounts of money. But we have only recorded one album so far, so I guess it is too much to ask for, being superstars already. Anyway, we have no ambitions of making a living out of the band, for me composing music can’t be professionalized into a job. There are just too many factors in the usual trot which inspires. If I would loose this I might loose whatever inspires to create the music.
How does the V:28 material work out in live setting? Have you got much live exposure yet?
Untill now we have played 8-9 concerts with V:28, but none outside Norway yet. The biggest experience was playing at the Hole in the Sky festival 2003 in Bergen, with names like Samael and Arcturus. For me live playing is by far the most inspiring thing about being in a band, seeing that you reach people with your music. And it is of course the promotional value of playing live. For live playing we use Minidisc for the drums and the synth. Some people react because we use programmed drums both on record and live. Look at Samael, when they released Passage, their first album with programmed drums, everyone wondered what they where doing. But I think no one questions their use of computer drums today. It is not an aim for me to use programmed drums, and I guess we could have a real drummer in the band, as long as he/she was dedicated to the music. But at the same time, I think it is hard to keep that industrial vibe with real drums.
How does the music come into existence in V:28? Jamming? Musical dictatorship? Something in between?
The songs are almost totally composed by me, with Eddie arranging the vocal lines. I wouldn’t call it a dictatorship, but the way it works in V:28. And of course, if someone has an objection or a good idea about something, it is tested and incorporated if we feel for it.
So, what are the future plans for the band?
First of all, we would like to do more liveplaying. We have now teamed up with a manager-alike person for the band, and he will help us with the promotion and to get gigs around in Norway. I guess playing outside Norway must wait until the next album, as we want to gain a bit more foothold in the foreign market before going abroad.
What about the Inferno festival, wouldn’t that be a perfect showcase for the band? Actually we tried to squeeze us into the festival programme on the last years festival, without success though. And this year, well, I must admit that the band forgot the whole thing! But as you say, it would be really cool to play at the festival, as you get exposure to parts of the audience that you would never reach playing “solo”. On the studio side, we will record two more albums on Vendlus and thus in total 28 songs with a visual and lyrical concept spinning around the deconstruction of the human society and downfall of humanity. What direction V:28 will take after this trilogy is open. Also, this summer the band will attempt shooting a video, so expect heavy rotation on MTV soon!
Are there any in the band who are involved in other bands/projects?
Both Eddie and Atle are involved in a band called Ancestral Legacy, which is some kind of melodic metal band with some hints into black metal. I think they are recording a three track demo at the moment.
The metal scene in Kristiansand and surrounding areas in the southern part of Norway seems to be quite vigourant, although this is in the heart of the Bible belt. I guess a lot has changed since the mid-90’es, into todays post-black metal environment which seems to be open to influences not commonly associated with metal. Any thoughts about the metal scene in Norway these days?
When it comes to the Arendal/Kristiansand area, I think it is the combination of benevolence and the effort of a few extremely dedicated people. You have bands like In the Woods, Blood Red Throne, Green Carnation and Carpathian Forest who has paved the way for the metal scene in the area. On such small places there is of course a lot of inbreed amongst the bands, but I think that is a good thing, especially if the different bands develop their own sound and identity. From the mid-90’es the scene has evolved quite a lot, at that time the scene was very much centred on Oslo and Bergen. Today the scene has opened, is less pretentious, and more interested in what is happening around. Some of the bands that deserves to be mentioned are Organ:, Lamented Souls, Enslaved, Red Harvest, Zyklon, DHG, Manes, amongst many others. Although Norway did foster some of the greatest black metal bands in the 90’s, we are not in the same league in the industrial department. I think the Swedes have a much better and developed scene for this genre.
I would like to thank you for spending some hours in the cantina at the university, answering my stupid questions. Any famous last words to the people?
Surprisingly enough I hope that people will check out the album, I think it will appeal to open-minded metalheads who likes music with an industrial feeling. Our homepage, which is hosted by us, is found at www.v28.com, and it is possible to order the album through the band. Otherwise the easiest way to get the album is at the Vendlus (www.vendlus.com) and Duplicate Records (www.duplicate-records.com) homepages.