Posted on February 25, 2009 - by Mark Zonda

Let the Eardrums roll!

In my last interview with Princess Niko I was asking him if he knew a band from New Zeland/Australia called “The Zebras”. His alter ego is kind obsessed with that animal, and Zebras seems to be one of my favourite bands since a year or so. Can’t you imagine how Mark Zonda discovered “The Zebras”? No safari at all! It was thanks to a Eardrums Music Compilation. What Eardrums exactly is? And what exactly isn’t? Let’s ask to the man behind the virtual curtains.Mark Zonda: How did the whole EarDrums thing started?

Knut Lindbjør: In March 2005, 4 years ago (!),  I was the webmaster for the Norwegian band Delaware myspace.com/officialdelaware , and  I started blogging just to check out the different blogging-services for the band. The blog was then called “For the Eardrums”, and it was never intended to be more than a test-blog. People started to comment, the number of readers grew and I discovered so much good music and came in contact with lots of nice bands and artists, so it suddenly became a really fun thing to do, and I continued. I have always called the blog just “Eardrums” myself, so after a while I dropped “For the…” and changed the name officially. When I look back, I see that what was “For the Eardrums” and what today is “Eardrums” are like two quite different blogs…

Mark Zonda: DELAWARE!? Unbelievable! How did you got in touch with the band?

Knut Lindbjør: The singer’s sister is my wife, so I have followed the band from the start and even before that, when they were called Beyond. Great guys, all of them. Do you know their music? It’s of course a little difficult to be objective, but I think they have made two very good albums, plus  two very good albums as Beyond, and the songs Richard Holmsen makes today as a solo-artist is fantastic, in my opinion.

Mark Zonda: What’s the most exciting thing about indie music?

Knut Lindbjør: The most exciting thing with GOOD indie music is the same as with all good music, – it makes me react with heart, mind, body and soul. It makes me feel more than just the sound of the instruments. A lot of indie music says nothing to me, and I hear a lot of really horrible indie  every day. To excite me, the songs have to have some kind of “own voice”, something new to say, an interesting way to express itself.  I’m easily touched by the good melody, – in any genre, not just in indie pop. When I played in a band myself, I was 90% focussed on rhythm. To get the perfect rhythm was the exciting part, – tuning my brain to get everything right gave me a real kick. Now I’m mostly focussed on the melody, but any part of a song can be the thing that excites me.

Mark Zonda: What about indie music and Italy? Is there any band that worth a listen?

Knut Lindbjør: No. None. None at all. Hey, don’t kick me, I’m just kidding!!!
There ARE some, and some are actually among my favourites. There are not many that breaks through to my part of the world, though. “Le Man Avec Le Lunettes” is a band I like a lot, and their debut album has some really wonderful moments. “The Sad Snowman” is probably the Italian artist that I’ve had my eyes/ears on for the longest time. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to be all that productive, but what he do is fantastic.
I recently heard an interesting Italian band called “Arnoux” through our blog-series Music Alliance Pact. 22 blogs from 22 countries present favourite bands from their own country every month on the 15th, – Eardrums take care of the Norwegian part, and the Italian blog Polaroid had Arnoux in one of their presentations. Do you know the band? Lots of different styles mixed up, and it sounds great.
And there’s a fine 60s inspired indiepop band called “Superpartner”,  sweet lovely indiepop! Isn’t “A Classic Education” from Italy? They’re great. Amycanbe is also good, I really like  the singer’s voice,  mmmm! One of the founding members of “Spaghetti Anywhere” is Italian, does that count? I LOVE Spaghetti Anywhere! And Zucchero. And Andrea Bocelli. But they’re not indie. Oh, and I almost forgot, – I don’t like their music. Now, come on, how many good bands do you know from Norway?

Mark Zonda: LMALL debut album? You mean “Plaska Plaska?” In case it’s the second one. Of course I know and love Arneaux. They came from another band that I used to go crazy for called “Ten Thousand Bees”. I never heard about “Sad Snowman” though. Who on Earth are they? Norwegian bands I know? Too many to mention them, but April Skies, Soda Fountain Rag, Princess Niko, Herr Nilsson posse remains the best. My band and Superpartners were on the same “Bon Vivant” compilation “Pop International” and I’m in touch with some of the guys from “The Man Avec Les Lunettes”. Sometimes co-host me on their radio show for
Sweden/Norwey Vs Japan nights. I’m in charge of the Japanese division! Bocelli with sugar? stay away
from my italian kitchen!

Knut Lindbjør: Great selection, I’m impressed. Yes, as for LMALL I meant “Plaska Plaska”. I knew they had releases some cd-r releases and cassettes, but I thought this was their first official release. The Sad Snowman myspace.com/thesadsnowman is a one-man project by Fil, the man behind the “Kirsten’s postcard” label kirstenspostcard.com. He makes these beautiful acoustic songs in the vein of Elliot Smith and Nick Drake. Very nice, melancholic songs.

Mark Zonda: Actually thei LMALL first album is called “?”, although quite all songs in it were already on previous EP or singles. They’re diggin some real nice shows in Europe right now. And talking about gigs… Live shows, dance-parties or the warm comfort of a room? How do you like to cook your musical experience?

Knut Lindbjør: I’m definitely choosing the warm comfort of a room! I’ve had my share of both live shows and dance parties, but nowadays I prefer the comfort… Another thing is that I haven’t got much choice. I live on a small island far out in the sea, and with a population of 400 people, the chance of having a dance party or a live show here is quite small… We do have a really cool festival on one of the nearby islands once a year, the Traena-festival, www.trena.net, so I guess I am a “live show-man” once a year. I also see that the “comfort-factor” is getting more and more important for every year I’m getting older, so I really prefer the comfort of a room instead of a muddy tent-camp at a rock-festival these days…

Mark Zonda: Can you tell me a little more about Traena Festival? I’m very interested on it, and together we could promote it like the coolest place to be of the year. Wouldn’t it be delicious to have a lot of friends joining your just-for-today-party-moment-of-the-year?

Knut Lindbjør: The Traena festival, actually it’s written with the letter æ, a special Norwegian letter, but I guess it won’t show on your screen, is a rare festival in Norway. It’s on the island with the same name, in the north of Norway. If you look at their website, you see the beautiful island, and all the concerts are held here. I think lots of the artists and the audience come both for the nature experience and for the music. The festival is in early July, 9, 10, 11 July, and the sun is up 24 hours a day during this period, so for foreigners it must be an experience. Not many artists are confirmed yet, but The Whitest Boy Alive, Rockettothesky, The New Wine, Kråkesølv (Kraakesoelv) and Joddski will play. www.trena.net

Mark Zonda: Eardrums became popular for its compilations. Which surprises await us on your next musical project?

Knut Lindbjør: The compilations have definitely made the blog known to a lot more people. The making of these albums have been extremely exhausting and at the same time very rewarding. People are so friendly, and I’m amazed by the “yes!”-attitude artists, illustrators and labels have shown. I’m working on “the next musical project” at the moment, and the concept will be the same as the other two compilations. Free and digital, with lots of great melodic pop. The title will probably be “Birdsongs, Beesongs”, but I can not say much more than that before the 15th of March. I promise some real gems this time too. Some small and unknown artists, and some more known ones. It will be released late March/beginning of April.
After the third compilation I will probably do something completely different. I have lots of ideas and plans in my head all the time, and I guess I am a person who need to do something new all the time to be satisfied. I’m not sure if any of the ideas will be put into life, but maybe… I like combining two of my big interests, music and illustration/art, and elements of both will probably be a part of the next project too. And since I hate money and have far too much of it and don’t want more, it will probably be another free thing. I have several ideas, but haven’t decided yet.

Mark Zonda: Goodnight and thanks for the very interesting interview. It was a real pleausure.

Some songs from the Autumn 2009 Eardrums Compilation:

The Buthcher Boy – “Arbor Day”
Crayon Fields – Mirror Ball
Juni Jarvi – “Looking at you is like looking at the sun”

You can find the whole free compilations here.

Waiting for our sight:

• What Will Replace MTV? (15)
• Our last year of independent? (7)
• Funny Little Bunny (6)
• Christmas Indie Ep from Japan (6)
• Alice Nine (5)