PRESS SECTION
ENTER TWILIGHT EP REVIEWS CONCERT REVIEWS INTERVIEWS
DREAM MAGAZINE interview (US), 2003
1. Can you tell me some band history of Magic Pillows?
Frode: The band was born in Holmestrand, Norway during September 1999. We recorded a 5-track demo in November that year. We made a very big artistic leap to record our debut EP “Enter Twilight” in 2001. The record was released on the Norwegian label Osito Records in February 2002, and we’ve really achieved some great reviews, both in Norway and abroad. We’ve been playing at some of the underground scenes in Oslo since that, as well as at By:larm, the Norwegian music branch’s annual festival. There has also been a few replacements in the band. Francesco HP joined during summer 2002. He plays upright bass as well as Chapman Stick.
Francesco: I feel very fortunate for having had the opportunity to join Magic Pillows. I’ve played in many bands, but never before have I been in a band like Magic Pillows: there are no ego problems whatsoever, just a very strong desire to make the best music we can.
Another plus for me is that I’m being encouraged to play the Stick, an instrument that guitarists often consider threatening, since it covers the same range (in addition to the bass range!). That doesn’t happen with Frode at all, perhaps because he has a very personal guitar style and a very strong musical vision that goes way beyond wanting to show off some “guitar chops”...
2. How would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard you before?
Frode: I would say acoustically based, melodic, intense, a bit melancholic.
3. There seems to be a lot of remarkable music coming out of Norway these days, what do you think accounts for this?
Frode: Well, I think that the Norwegian music scene is a lot more confident now than it was, say, 15 years ago. And the world has become more global now than it was at that time. And, of course, it is very cold in Norway. The cold weather makes people stay indoors, so they can calm down, listen to good music, get inspired, an maybe even write a song on their own…
4. Your influences sound like a mix of US and UK, could you name a few of your primary inspirations?
Frode: There’s no way around Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen. Some of the newer psychedelic pop bands like The Flaming Lips. Not to forget the musical worlds of Franz Schubert and Richard Wagner. And Stanley Kubrick movies.
Francesco: Even though the band had a great sound and concept to start with, everybody has been very open to my contributions, both as a musician and as a sound engineer. I’m very influenced by David Sylvian, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson and the Portuguese band Madredeus, and I feel that I’m bringing some of those influences into the band.
5. How important are dreams or dreaming to your work or your art?
Frode: Dreams are important. Though I think perhaps the keyword for the musical landscape of Magic Pillows is longing. There is a crucial distinction between dreaming and longing. The virtue of longing for something is, I believe, somewhat stronger attached to real life than is dreaming. As you’re leaving your dreams behind, you move from non-consciousness to become more conscious, and once in a state of consciousness, you start longing for something. Dreams are important as a starting point, from which the music develops and evolves in its own subtle ways.
6. One singer as distinctive as Frode, or Camilla would be enough for any band; together it's a formidable combination, how did you come to work together?
Frode: Thank you for the compliment. We began to work together in late 1999. Camilla was then a music student looking for a band, and as a friend of our bass player at that time, she joined Magic Pillows as a singer after a few rehearsals.
Camilla:
If you like to sing, it is always fun to be the singer in a band, but
if you're two singers you'll always have someone to challenge you and make
you try new things. There are a lot more possibilities with the melodies
when you are two singers, and you never know where you might end up. This is
one of the greatest reasons why I joined MP in the first place. And of
course I'm a big fan of Frode’s music!
7. Do you have a ghost story?
Francesco:
I was visiting my grandfather in a remote island off the cost of Norway, about
20 years ago. I arrived at night to the huge old farm where he was living.
There was a powerful storm that night and the place got very spooky...but I had
to go to the toilet! So I ventured in the long dimly lit wooden corridor,
provoking deep squeaks at every footstep: Suddenly at the other end of the
corridor an old man appeared coming towards me, he smiled and waved his hand.
That sight cheered me up, I got to the bathroom, did what I had to do and sprung
back to my bedroom. The morning after I asked the farmers who the old man was.
His name was Ivar, he had died in an accident at the farm 23 years before but he
still liked to come by and say hello to visitors.
My grandmother likes to watch the sparrows in the attic of my family's house in
Oslo, like she used to do when she was alive, but I didn't get to say hello,
only children see her. Still I like to go there and tell her what is going on
with me, I'm sure she hears me even though I can't see her.
8. Is it emotion or intellect?
Frode: Good question. Let’s say that about 70% of the music is based on emotion, and 30% on the intellect. Just like the earth’s surface, which is covered with 70% water and 30% land. No, really. I think the music is trying to unite the two. I sometimes find it hard to separate the emotions from the intellect, and sometimes it’s like talking of two different planets. One thing I find pretty obvious is that the lyrics in this music would have a hard time standing alone, outside the musical framework. But at the same time, the lyrics are not the only intellectual element, although they play an important role. A single note from an instrument can have a great depth that easily overruns the verbal elements intellectually. I really don’t know. I believe that in the end this depends on the subjective listener.
9. What's next for Magic Pillows?
Frode: We are now working on our first studio album, which we hope to release at the end of 2003. It’s a very exciting process. I can tell that the music is going to turn a little more intense and somewhat darker on the album. “Enter Twilight” had a bit more light to it.
Francesco: I also hope that we will play live a lot to promote the album, not only in Norway, but also abroad.
Last updated 08.12.2005 00:55