NATTEFROST INTERVIEW BY "ØYSTEIN KRISTIANSEN" NOVEMBER 2004
What made you choose the name Nattefrost? What does this name mean for you? We already know that a Norwegian metal band also uses the name Nattefrost, and I suspect this must be a source of annoyance...?
Well,
actually I named it "I nattens mørke" in the beginning (late 1995)
but found it to be too black metal like and changed it shortly before releasing
the first demo tape to Nattefrost. Yes it's very annoying that there's another
"Nattefrost". I don't know when that Norwegian guy started and I don't
care cause I won't change the name anyway. But it's especially annoying when all
these young teenage black metal fans are saying "Oh you're not the real
Nattefrost". Actually I am sick and tired of that but I guess I'll have to
live with it. And look at the album of the Norwegian Nattefrost. "Blood and
vomit" is the title. Excuse me but who can take that kind of thing as a
serious thing??? Anyway I don't know him personally so I won't judge him too
much of course.
You seem to be quite influenced by our Norse heritage, what
do you think we can learn from our
forefathers that lived so long ago?
I'll do it short. I think they are still important. They were brave, strong and they forced themselves to do things that could seem very difficult and hard. They believed in themselves so to say. That's of course only a bit of it. But look at today's people in Scandinavia. I would say that quite a lot of people are very naive and don't believe in anything, especially young people. They are just going around partying at discos and smoking, drinking coffee and looking at their mobile phone as if it's their god. If you ask them what they believe in most of them will reply that they believe in christianity. Why? Because that everybody say so without knowing anything. Ask them if they visit the churches and again most of them will reply with a "no". So how are they christians? If you ask them about our great forefathers and old myths they can tell some things and they are very proud of it, but it's still like they are not very interested and some of them even mix the things. They'd better find out about it and I know that they will never ever say they are christians if they really begin to find about it. They will simply be too proud of themselves to say so. And also I don't like the word religion as if we pagans have a religion. To be Germanic, Scandinavian, pagan, whatever isn't a religion.
Will we ever see a heathen Scandinavia, where the majority return to the old ways?
I
don't think so.
Over to the music, I've seen in earlier interviews that you insist not being directly influenced by any
other ambient musician? If so, where do you draw your inspiration from? Personally I believe we
all stand on the shoulders of past great men.
No I
can easily say that I am not influenced by any other musicians. That's not
necessary for me. I'd rather want to do the music my own way and of course I
know my music doesn't sound too original but still I feel that I am not sounding
much like any other artist. I get the inspiration from Scandinavian nature. I am
enjoying very much walking and I like to do so especially in the forests here on
Sjælland in Denmark, but also along the water sometimes. Lejre, Hvalsø,
Roskilde on Sjælland. I am born in Odense on Fyn and like the forest in Fruens
Bøge/Dalum very much too. Of course there are also other great places here. And
from here it'll only take me half an hour and I'll be in Sweden. Nice
surroundings here really.
What do you use to make the music?
If you
mean the equipment I can tell you that at the moment I am mostly using a very
limited mobile studio. I use Propellerhead Reason 2.5 software and an M-Audio
Oxygen 8, 2 octave synth. But I also sometimes use my Casio CZ-1000 synth and my
Roland XP 80 synth and even the DSR 2000 from Yamaha which sounds very similar
to the classic DX7 synth. I used to record some of the tracks on 8 track reel to
reel tape recorder and will definately do so again soon. I don't have so much
space in my flat at the moment so that's why I use these things. But later on I
want to move from here and to a bigger place and build up my studio. And I will
of course add some important machines like the 8 track tape recorder again. I
actually like analogue equipment.
What makes Vejen til Åsgard different from your earlier works? Did you make any major changes
to the sound?
Major changes?
No, but I am always trying to improve the atmosphere in the tracks. I
can say that this time I've tried with a bit of vocals on the title track and I
find it very fine. I also tried to use some different sounds and there's even a
track with a bass drum, not like in techno music but still. I felt that the
track needed it even I wanted to keep it calm and ambient.
For the first time, you use vocals in your album. Can we expect more of this?
That's
a hard question actually. I don't think you should expect too much vocal but
sometimes I think it's good to make it clear what it is all about and by having
a vocal there should be no doubt about it.
How do you tranlsate the magic of scandinavian landscapes to your music?
You're
really coming up with hard questions for me I can tell you. This is not easy to
answer cause it's just a feeling and a reflection of my feelings. I am Danish
and therefore my music sounds as it does. I sometimes close my eyes when I am
trying to come up with certain harmonies for a track. But sometimes I am not
able to create what I really want to. I have an idea but when I start to compose
it doesn't really sound like the idea that I had. At some point that's good and
sometimes I will just have to stop and wait a bit.
What are your plans for the future, both personally and for your musical project Nattefrost?
Personally?
Eh I am not going to say much about that actually, but I am going to find a
bigger place to stay and as mentioned earlier in the interview I want to build a
bigger and better studio with improved equipment. I even have the best girl you
can ever think of and I am quite sure she'll support me and help me building up
a bigger studio so that's the stuff I will have to work on in the future. About
the future for Nattefrost I can say already that I've had lots of thoughts. The
new EP will be released on Nothingness Records on the 21st of December this year
and after that I will start working on finishing some tracks for a split release
probably with Belgian band "Beyond Infinity". I don't know when you
can expect that release but someday in the near future I guess, that's all I can
say about it, but the guy behind "Beoynd Infinity" and I have talked
about it and we both agree that a split release would be a good idea. He plays
music in the same style as Nattefrost. "Vejen til Asgård" will
include a music video fot the track "Norrøn" but I am planning to
also release a DVD of 5 music videos or so, just different Nattefrost tracks
really, but that's hard work so let's see what could happen with that thing.
Another album in the future is most likely possible too and I will also work on
such a thing. I think in the very beginning of 2005 I'll get some Nattefrost
posters printed in limited edition, being sold from the official Nattefrost site
for a cheap amount of money so watch out for that too. Hopefully a t shirt or
sweat shirt should also be printed, again as limited edition. Enough to work on
really and I find that brilliant.
Well, I have no more
questions. Thank you for the interview. Any last words of wisdom for your
fans? What is the way to Åsgard? Except buying the album that is..hehe.
I will of course have to thank the people who've bought the album so far, that helps Nattefrost a lot. I want to say a big big thank you to the staff at Nothingness Records. Believe me, those guys are doing a really good job. The way to Asgård? You will have to find it yourself, just search and you'll find it I guess. Otherwise listen to the title track and follow Odin and Sleipner at the end of the track, they'll show you the way for sure.