All Interviews
Green Carnation
Tchort
Posted on Aug 20, 2005
by Anders
I was first hooked on Green Carnation when their third album, the light-psychedlic semi-progressive rock album "A Blessing In Disguise" was released. Soon I got hooked on the band's earlier material as well and was delighted when the Norwegians' new album "The Quiet Offspring" was released early this year. Back then it didn't fit into my schedule to interview the band, but flexible as the band's guitarist and main songwriter Tchort always is, he fitted me into to his busy schedule, even though he is in the middle of a 1000 different things right now and kindly answered my questions.
Hey, how are things in Norway right now?
Things are fine here. Nice weather so it's possible to get some relaxation outside and taking swims, etc.
How are you doing and what are you using your time on at the moment?
I am fine too. Working on the new acoustic album in the studio these days. Sounds great so far! I am also establishing the new production company, run by Kjetil Nordhus and myself; Sublife Productions. We will be handling the release of the acoustic album from Green Carnation and other bands' releases as well. Lots of work to be done here.
Your 4th album "The Quiet Offspring" was released a while ago, how has it been received, both by the press and by your fans?
Again we have been blessed by great reception of the fans and also by the press. The album was voted "Album of the Month" in several magazines and came out with high scores and great positions in "soundchecks", etc. We have done a few shows playing the new material and the reception from the live fans have been very well too.
How do you look upon the album yourself, now when you have had some time to reflect on it?
Actually I haven't had time to reflect on the album at all. I have been touring a lot since we recorded it, with my other bands and now I am establishing my own label + writing music for the next Green Carnation album + recording an acoustic album. But if I measure the quality of the songs on the album from the reception given by the fans during our shows, I would give it 4 thumbs up if I had four arms!
Are you fully satisfied with every detail on the album, or has there started to pop small things up?
I am happy with the recording we did. We had a limited studio time and tons of details to fit into the music, and I think we did a good job. There are a couple of issues done by the mastering, but that was out of our control and doesn't really matter for the listener.
Can you pull out a favourite track from "The Quiet Offspring" and tell us why it is exactly that track?
Hm, maybe I would choose 'The everlasting moment', because it’s a great live song as well.
How would you describe the perfect song?
It makes you feel something. It touches something within you – make you daydream or think of something in the past.
How important is "the song" for you?
Not very important. I have done everything from songs lasting 60 minutes, down to 3 minutes and I concentrate more on the atmosphere and feeling of the song, rather than the song it self. I like to experience with arrangements and do stuff that I haven't done before.
How do you get inspired to write music?
My mood inspires me. I am 31 now and I still haven't figured out my mood swings, and that makes me curious and inspires me. My son and old memories also inspire me to write music and lyrics.
Are there any certain emotions or happenings that can trigger your songwriting?
Anger and sadness. Especially sadness.
If you had to pull out a single person and a single band, that has meant a lot for your song writing and style, who would you chose?
Blackie Lawless and Sepultura. One person that meant a lot to me as a artist and one band that have had much influence on my song arrangements.
How would you describe Green Carnation's development, during the last 5-7 years?
In one word, I would say "natural". First album was written by X Botteri and myself, the second album I wrote myself, then 2 new songs writers came in on the third album, and 3 more on the last album. We have changed musically, but we still have the melancholic atmosphere in our music and we try to keep the prog elements too. We have been inspired by the live shows we have done and that have influenced our song writing and song arrangements too.
Have your own musical preferences changed and has it affected the band's sound and musical style?
Not really. I prefer listening to extreme music so I can't really say that I have let that shine onto Green Carnation and our music.
How have people reacted to the progression of the band?
As with any band, some people hate it and others love it. That's what you get when you don't make the same album over and over. We like to keep ourselves interested in what we are doing and therefore we are experimenting a lot and we enjoy our own music. If we wanted to keep people happy, we would have pulled an "AC/DC" and made the same album/style over and over.
How was the more straight forward psychedelic rock n' rollish style on "The Quiet Offspring" received?
Surprisingly well! Press results have been equal to the other albums and fans reactions from our live shows are better than ever before. I think our show gains from the fact that we have some very progressive and epic stuff, like "Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness", the semi progressive "Blessing In Disguise" album, and the rock oriented album that "The Quiet Offspring" is.
What do you find great about the music Green Carnation plays now?
The energy and the passion.
How do you see the progression of the band in the future?
Depends on who is involved in the song writing actually. The next album, I have written alone, but I haven't arranged the material yet so I am curious myself how it will sound like.
How far can you take Green Carnation and the sound of the band?
I don't know. Very far and not much further. We haven't set ourselves any goals when it comes to how far we want the band to go. We enjoy playing live shows so that’s something we are working on, booking more shows and be able to travel around the world to play live.
How is it going with the songwriting, have you started writing new music for Green Carnation, or is it a bit on hold?
I recently finished writing the second album of the doom trilogy; "The Chronicles Of Doom", where "Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness" was the natural first album + the acoustic album we are recording now, so I would say we have been very active on the song writing front!
Any good news regarding touring, new release or anything else you want to share with us?
Well, it's the acoustic album that will be released in January 2006, and we have some live shows coming up – Denmark, ProgPower, Finland, Estonia, Germany, Canada and Italy.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite album and your 5 favourite Scandinavian albums, with our readers?
Tough one, but I'll give it a try!
In no order:
Sepultura – Beneath The Remains
WASP – The Last Command
Deicide – Deicide
Slayer – South Of Heaven
Suffocation – Effigy Of The Forgotten
Scandinavian:
In The Woods – Omnio
Darkthrone – A Blaze In The Northern Sky
Candlemass – All albums up to and including Tales Of Creation
Grave – Into The Grave
Satyricon – Nemesis Divina
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to do it now!
Thank you for the interview! Check out the band's website for news and updates on the album and live shows and www.sublifeproductions.com for samples from the new acoustic album and other releases from Sublife.
Things are fine here. Nice weather so it's possible to get some relaxation outside and taking swims, etc.
How are you doing and what are you using your time on at the moment?
I am fine too. Working on the new acoustic album in the studio these days. Sounds great so far! I am also establishing the new production company, run by Kjetil Nordhus and myself; Sublife Productions. We will be handling the release of the acoustic album from Green Carnation and other bands' releases as well. Lots of work to be done here.
Your 4th album "The Quiet Offspring" was released a while ago, how has it been received, both by the press and by your fans?
Again we have been blessed by great reception of the fans and also by the press. The album was voted "Album of the Month" in several magazines and came out with high scores and great positions in "soundchecks", etc. We have done a few shows playing the new material and the reception from the live fans have been very well too.
How do you look upon the album yourself, now when you have had some time to reflect on it?
Actually I haven't had time to reflect on the album at all. I have been touring a lot since we recorded it, with my other bands and now I am establishing my own label + writing music for the next Green Carnation album + recording an acoustic album. But if I measure the quality of the songs on the album from the reception given by the fans during our shows, I would give it 4 thumbs up if I had four arms!
Are you fully satisfied with every detail on the album, or has there started to pop small things up?
I am happy with the recording we did. We had a limited studio time and tons of details to fit into the music, and I think we did a good job. There are a couple of issues done by the mastering, but that was out of our control and doesn't really matter for the listener.
Can you pull out a favourite track from "The Quiet Offspring" and tell us why it is exactly that track?
Hm, maybe I would choose 'The everlasting moment', because it’s a great live song as well.
How would you describe the perfect song?
It makes you feel something. It touches something within you – make you daydream or think of something in the past.
How important is "the song" for you?
Not very important. I have done everything from songs lasting 60 minutes, down to 3 minutes and I concentrate more on the atmosphere and feeling of the song, rather than the song it self. I like to experience with arrangements and do stuff that I haven't done before.
How do you get inspired to write music?
My mood inspires me. I am 31 now and I still haven't figured out my mood swings, and that makes me curious and inspires me. My son and old memories also inspire me to write music and lyrics.
Are there any certain emotions or happenings that can trigger your songwriting?
Anger and sadness. Especially sadness.
If you had to pull out a single person and a single band, that has meant a lot for your song writing and style, who would you chose?
Blackie Lawless and Sepultura. One person that meant a lot to me as a artist and one band that have had much influence on my song arrangements.
How would you describe Green Carnation's development, during the last 5-7 years?
In one word, I would say "natural". First album was written by X Botteri and myself, the second album I wrote myself, then 2 new songs writers came in on the third album, and 3 more on the last album. We have changed musically, but we still have the melancholic atmosphere in our music and we try to keep the prog elements too. We have been inspired by the live shows we have done and that have influenced our song writing and song arrangements too.
Have your own musical preferences changed and has it affected the band's sound and musical style?
Not really. I prefer listening to extreme music so I can't really say that I have let that shine onto Green Carnation and our music.
How have people reacted to the progression of the band?
As with any band, some people hate it and others love it. That's what you get when you don't make the same album over and over. We like to keep ourselves interested in what we are doing and therefore we are experimenting a lot and we enjoy our own music. If we wanted to keep people happy, we would have pulled an "AC/DC" and made the same album/style over and over.
How was the more straight forward psychedelic rock n' rollish style on "The Quiet Offspring" received?
Surprisingly well! Press results have been equal to the other albums and fans reactions from our live shows are better than ever before. I think our show gains from the fact that we have some very progressive and epic stuff, like "Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness", the semi progressive "Blessing In Disguise" album, and the rock oriented album that "The Quiet Offspring" is.
What do you find great about the music Green Carnation plays now?
The energy and the passion.
How do you see the progression of the band in the future?
Depends on who is involved in the song writing actually. The next album, I have written alone, but I haven't arranged the material yet so I am curious myself how it will sound like.
How far can you take Green Carnation and the sound of the band?
I don't know. Very far and not much further. We haven't set ourselves any goals when it comes to how far we want the band to go. We enjoy playing live shows so that’s something we are working on, booking more shows and be able to travel around the world to play live.
How is it going with the songwriting, have you started writing new music for Green Carnation, or is it a bit on hold?
I recently finished writing the second album of the doom trilogy; "The Chronicles Of Doom", where "Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness" was the natural first album + the acoustic album we are recording now, so I would say we have been very active on the song writing front!
Any good news regarding touring, new release or anything else you want to share with us?
Well, it's the acoustic album that will be released in January 2006, and we have some live shows coming up – Denmark, ProgPower, Finland, Estonia, Germany, Canada and Italy.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite album and your 5 favourite Scandinavian albums, with our readers?
Tough one, but I'll give it a try!
In no order:
Sepultura – Beneath The Remains
WASP – The Last Command
Deicide – Deicide
Slayer – South Of Heaven
Suffocation – Effigy Of The Forgotten
Scandinavian:
In The Woods – Omnio
Darkthrone – A Blaze In The Northern Sky
Candlemass – All albums up to and including Tales Of Creation
Grave – Into The Grave
Satyricon – Nemesis Divina
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to do it now!
Thank you for the interview! Check out the band's website for news and updates on the album and live shows and www.sublifeproductions.com for samples from the new acoustic album and other releases from Sublife.
Green Carnation website
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