The vault
Translated news
Here is a translation of official news that were published by Skambankt on skambankt.com, MySpace, or Facebook, as well as articles published by Norwegian and Danish media. The orginal texts have been published online. If you have an article you don't understand and want a translation up here, please give me a hint.
2009/01/16 NRK P1 Norsk på norsk: Album review
| This is a rough translation of a radio program where "Hardt Regn" was reviewed. - Terje Winterstø Røthing writes all the songs and sings. This makes Winterstø Røting the band leader, while in Kaizers Orchestra, he is a bit in the shadows of Janove Ottesen and Geir Zahl who are the ones that do the interviews and stand in front. But here, Winterstø Røthing can do what he likes, and he writes all the lyrics and the music. This is Skambankt's third album, and with this one, they establish themselves right in the top level of Norwegian rock. This is what it says in the press release: To have full control over this recording, they played and produced everything on their own. They were at Beck studio in Jæren and had the wild nature as the background for the recording. Host: - But Atle, we have seen that when artists have done everything on their own, the result can be either way. How did it go this time? - It is not always a good idea if you are so much into the songwriting and the music to do the producing by yourself. On this album, it's a bit varied. I think that the production is the only weak point. It isn't too bad, but the vocals are a bit too compressed. Both drums and bass got too little space. I would have liked a more open sound that would have better preserved the drive in the music. And this is what a producer with a view from the outside can assist and help with - someone who stays in the background a bit and thinks more about the finished product than about getting the songs exactly the way that the writer of the song imagined. Apart from that, this is the most elaborate and most well-produced album of Skambankt, so it is more rock here than roughness and garage, which has been more in the focus before. In addition to the band, there are some guest musicians. It's Janove Ottesen on piano, then four brass players on one song, Johnny Engensvold plays Hammond and piano, Tore Meberg plays the organ and Arne Andersen plays timbals and something they call thunder drums. On this one we will hear now, it's Christer Knutsen who plays melotron - this is O Dessverre. SONG: O DESSVERRE Host: - The music is the next topic, Atle, and it is more rock than punk this time? - Yes, it is riff-based rock. A riff is a short musical figure that you repeat over and over again. Winterstø Røthing had the right touch to find a lot of good riffs. Most riffs have been played before, but here they manage to create new riffs. And then they are good in keeping the adrenaline and the drive in the music that they for sure have at concerts. They manage to transport this into the studio, and it is pretty difficult to keep this drive when you are alone in a dead studio and you don't have anybody who will help you, like you have at concerts. They have preserved the drive from punk, and in addition I think I can hear that they have been inspired by classic rock bands like Aerosmith and AC/DC on this album. These are rock songs with verse and chorus here, and they seem to be made for being played on a stage. Host: - So it is a good set of songs to take along when they are going out on a tour through Norway, maybe? - Yes, they will do a big tour now, and they will do some jobs in Denmark together with the big rockers in Denmark; D-A-D, Disneyland After Dark. And if you go to one of their concerts, you will surely get to hear this one. It's Trygge Rammer. SONG: TRYGGE RAMMER Host: - Atle, just like with the production and the melodies, is it Terje Winterstø Røthing who is behind the lyrics of the Skambankt record as well? - Yes. This is 100 percent Røthing here. It's lines filled with adrenaline. It's about revenge, it's about tough times. Death is a subject in most lyrics, and other frank subjects. Host: - How do the lyrics match the melodies? - They fit the music very well. It's lyrics and music together that form a package that is supposed to hit you right in the guts. The lyrics aren't the most important part. It's the adrenaline, it is the drive that makes up Skambankt. And the lyrics are written from the viewpoint of an angry young man. Singer Røthing uses dialect, and sometimes he screams out words with conviction. And the melody lines are pretty limited, they often follow the riffs, and this works out very well. What you will hear now is a declaration of love. This is "Slukk meg". SONG: SLUKK MEG Host: - Here is Alte Bredal's verdict: - We are pretty early with our review of the Skambankt record. It won't be released until January 26, but this here is so great rock that you can only look forward to it. This here is a strong nine points (out of ten). Host: - So almost full marks for Skambankt and their record "Hardt Regn". Host: Elin Aandal-Herseth You can download the complete program - including the songs - as podcast. |
