I gave it a listen and it really touched me – Sonisk Blodbad og Fernando Saunders

For et par dage siden udgav det norske band Sonisk Blodbad albummet Deux. Besætningen er denne gang udvidet og inkluderer folk som Don Preston (The Mothers of Invention), Laurie Amat (The Residents), Clive Jones (Black Widow) og Fernando Saunders, som er den musiker, som har spillet længst tid med Lou Reed.

Som en forsmag på udgivelsen af det aktuelle album, sendte bandet en single på gaden to uger i forvejen med titlen For Absent Friends. På denne single samarbejdede de med Fernando Saunders, og jeg har spurgt ham og Tord Litleskare fra Sonisk Blodbad, hvilke tanker de hver især har om projektet og samarbejdet.

Hvordan opstod idéen til For Absent Friends, og hvad fik jer til at kontakte Fernando Saunders?
Tord Litleskare: Idéen til sangen For Absent Friends opstod, da vi stod i studiet for at indspille en instrumental intro til sangen Drown, der er udgivet som single for et år siden i tillæg til at være med på albummet. Efter at have indspillet i nogle timer, begyndte vi at overveje, om det vi havde indspillet i virkeligheden var en selvstændig sang og ikke en intro til Drown. Vi jokede med, at det ene guitarspor kunne minde lidt om The Velvet Underground-sangen Jesus. Det var egentlig der, at idéen til at kontakte Fernando Saunders opstod. Eftersom han har været en så vigtig del af Lou Reeds lydbillede i løbet af de sidste 30 år, var det på ingen måder svært at forestille sig, at hans melodiøse bas kunne tilføje noget til sangen.

How did you react when Tord asked you to record a song with them?
Fernando Saunders: Tord Litleskare contacted me around January 12th 2015. He mentioned to me he was doing some guitar for a music project he’s a part of called ‘Sonisk Blodbad’ (Norwegian for «sonic bloodbath»). He asked me if I would like to perform on the track which was called For Absent Friends and he mentioned that he likes the mood and the production of the Lou Reed/Velvet Underground song Jesus, which is a duet of me and Lou Reed that I produced for my album Fernando Saunders – Happiness. I told Tord I would like to hear the track and he sent me a rough mix of wave files of the early stages of the song. I gave it a listen and it really touched me. I told him I would like to perform on the song and he gave me artistic freedom to perform as I would like and to chance the arrangement if needed. I just added bass, then a guitar and vocals with lyrics. All very simple parts to keep the feeling of floating. Also, I made a point not to interfere with Tord’s guitar and keyboards by Kristian Stangebye.

Hvilke tanker ligger der bag den måde, som I samarbejder med andre musikere på?
Tord Litleskare: I Sonisk Blodbad, og med de musikere, vi samarbejder med, har vi en filosofi om, at man skal have så frie tøjler som overhovedet mulig. Der skal ikke sættes nogen kunstneriske begræsninger for det, vi laver. Det samme gjorde sig gældende i forhold til Fernando Saunders, og det var virkelig fedt, at han blev så inspireret af samarbejdet, at han endte med at indspille hele tre forskellige basspor, et guitarspor i tillæg til vokal på For Absent Friends.

How did the song For Absent Friends inspire you and what are your thoughts on a collaboration like this?
Fernando Saunders: Thinking of the loss of my father, Lou Reed, the loss of loved ones, soldiers, war, as well as other great artists who have passed away. They are all «Floating Not Drowning».

I enjoyed the collaboration. Working projects like this over the Internet gives each musician a different freedom of expression without others looking over your shoulder. I’m not saying that I prefer working alone. I do miss the traditional way of recording with all musicians recording and creating together. But recording alone in your own space has a magic as well.

We worked together over the Internet, speaking by phone, each of us recording in our own studios in different parts of the world. I was in Czech Republic at the time of recording my parts.

I would also like to mention that before the musical collaboration, I was in contact with Tord Litleskare via Facebook over the years. We became friends and spoke about music. You can learn a lot about a person by chatting, looking at posts on each others Facebook and websites. So when we started to work on the track together it was very natural. We often spoke about the meaning of the song as well as the subject.

Also, it was a pleasure to be part of a project with the likes of Don Preston (The Mothers of Invention), Laurie Amat (The Residents) and Clive Jones (Black Widow).

Hvad betyder det for Sonisk Blodbad at kunne arbejde sammen med folk som Fernando Saunders?
Tord Litleskare: Jeg synes, at det er helt fantastisk at kunne samarbejde med en musiker som Fernando Saunders, som jeg har lyttet til i så mange år og er blevet inspireret af. Generelt har Sonisk Blodbad det godt med at være en fri organisme, hvor musikere med forskellig baggrund kan mødes og skabe noget godt sammen. Derfor har vi også samarbejdet med Don Preston, Clive Jones og Laurie Amat de seneste år, og de har alle sammen tilført nye impulser.

The music of Sonisk Blodbad has been described as «minimalistic Scandinavian noir». How would you describe the song For Absent Friends?
Fernando Saunders: Emotional, peaceful, meditative, spiritual, heartfelt, soul, pop.

I tillæg til to albumudgivelser, to digitale singler og tre syvtommere har Sonisk Blodbad lagt lyd til kunstudstillingen Art With No Boundaries i Dubai i samarbejde med kunstnerne Lionel Guibout, Nikola Zigon og Antonio Veronese. De har har også bidraget med musik til den amerikanske kunstfilm The Magnificent Pigtail Shadow.

Du kan lytte til hele albummet Deux her:

https://soundcloud.com/sonisk-blodbad/sets/deux

 

Du kan låne cd’er, dvd’er, bøker og noter av utøvere nevnt i saka.