EMQ’s With Solnedgang
EMQ’s With Solnedgang
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with London based one-man instrumental guitar-based project, Solnedgang. Huge thanks to main man, Jon, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
I’m Jon and I play mainly guitar, but also keyboards, drum programming and whatever else is necessary – it’s a one-man band. I started this project last year as a way to get back into playing guitar and making music, after finding myself playing less and less over the last few years. It’s gone much better than expected!
How did you come up with your band name?
I considered quite a few names, but landed on Solnedgang (which means ‘sunset’ in Norwegian) as it has both positive and negative connotations (sunsets are beautiful to look at, but also symbolise the end of something), which I think fits my music quite well. Quite melancholic I guess.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
I’m from Norway originally, but I’ve been based in London for nearly 15 years. Both scenes are amazing really. Norway is obviously famous for black metal, which is a big influence on me, but there are also some great instrumental and progressive bands there. London is London – it has everything!
What is your latest release?
The first single from the upcoming album is called ‘Nornir’, and is a journey to the afterlife – specifically the afterlife from Norse mythology.
Who have been your greatest influences?
I’ll try to keep it short: Mono, Pelican, The Ocean, Enslaved, Pink Floyd and The Cure.
What first got you into music?
That’s hard to say, music has always been around. My parents are both big music fans with broad tastes, and I’ve always listened to music from a very early age. I guess what got me into making music was when I got a Casio keyboard for Christmas when I was around 8-9. I never got very good, but had a lot of fun and then I started playing guitar a few years later.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
If I can be totally unrealistic I’d say Robert Smith. Being slightly more realistic (only slightly), it would be interesting to collaborate with a band like Dvne. Either way it would have to be someone who sounds a bit different to me – just to make it a bit more interesting.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
I’d have to go with Roskilde Festival in Denmark, as that’s the first big festival I went to. I’ve been there a few times and the atmosphere is just great, and they always have some interesting acts in their line-ups.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
I’ve not really received any gifts unfortunately!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
This is on behalf of artists in general: please consider buying music or merch to support artists, especially smaller artists. The money we get from streaming is just ridiculous.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Oh, good question! I’ll go with Ian Curtis. I’m a big fan of Joy Division and it would have been fascinating to see where the band could have gone if he was still alive.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Songwriting – 100%. I just love coming up with a riff or whatever it might be, and turning that into a fully fledged song. I wouldn’t say I hate anything about it, but I’m not a big fan of all the self-promotion that’s needed – it just doesn’t come naturally to me. Thankfully I’ve got some help from Rogue PR and they manage to find great interviews like this one!
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I’d have to mention again the absurdly low amount that artists get paid from streaming platforms. I just don’t understand it.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Another hard one… I’ll go with “Disintegration” by The Cure. It’s probably the album that has meant the most to me both on a personal level and musically as well. The overall sound of the album, and the guitar playing, has had a massive influence on me. And every single song is amazing!
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
I don’t think you can beat the sound from vinyl records, but I’m going to go with downloads (controversial, I know!) just because it’s so damn practical!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
I don’t play live as Solnedgang so no gigs to mention really. In a previous band we once played this house party/festival that my friend had organised and that was a lot of fun. There were some really weird acts on that lineup… Very Art School, if you know what I mean.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Well, my day job is as a graphic designer so I’d probably just do more of that in my spare time if I didn’t do music. Maybe move more towards illustration and fine art. It would definitely be something creative.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
I’d have Robert Smith there, maybe Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead and let’s say David Gilmour – that’s probably enough musicians… Let’s throw in David Lynch and Arsene Wenger. I wouldn’t be able to get a word in, but that’s fine – I’ll just listen!
What’s next for the band?
I’m finishing up the debut album at the moment, and I’m planning another single before that drops – hopefully by the end of the year.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
In terms of social media I mainly use Facebook and Instagram, and Bandcamp is the best site for music and merch – you can find all the links on http://solnedgang.co.uk
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
Bap of course!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks for the excellent questions, I really enjoyed it!
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