HAPPY-SAD SONGS FROM THE NORWEGIAN WOODS

Music is an international artform is an oft-statement but it simply applies to the American and British generated kind dominating the global market. The rest of the world hardly has a look in, and with the exception of ABBA and A-HA for instance, for so many a year bands like Can, Mano Negra and 22 Piste Pirkko, were ignored on the world's stage. Despite these bands making rather interesting, innovative and moving music, there was no support from the corporate side, mostly owned by the companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

And it appeared that bands from such non-English speaking territories succeeded only when aping the vocabulary of the trad-pop: think of ABBA and A-Ha again, plus Aqua or The Cardigans... The record industry promoted them due to their ability to effectively use dictionary already well worn-out by the domestic stars. The inventive outfits were left on the hard-shoulder of the fame-autostrada until these countries could catch up and then only by being (ab)used as a source for local artists. Hopefully things are a-changing...

There is one record company that is doing its damnedest to bring the music from the long-neglected countries to the world ' s attention, BMG, and their latest candidate is VELVET BELLY. The going is not easy as the case with the band ' s fifth album, Lucia, is proving: it has been out for a couple of years in their native Norway and secured them the national Grammy and Nordic Music Award, but only reaching the world now. It is not music that instantly invades charts, rather being of variety to ponder and reflect... In a way, Joy Division crossed with the Cocteau Twins, or nearer to the present -- Stereolab: a dark, intense and moody soundtrack reaching far deeper inside (rather than surfing a hype), no doubt influenced by their environment of long polar nights with drink-induced philosophising about the meaning of life. Well, I could have dreamt up the last one...
And the band has been making their music since early 1990s when they got together in a southern coastal town of Kristiansand that is also a stronghold of Bible-bashers, or so we are told. The music is like listening to a taciturn rebellion from the vast regions of an iced-up landscape.

- This album has been around, - guitarist Tor-Henning Sundgodt talks without any discernible bitterness in his voice, - since 1997 and it is been difficult on us because we got so much more new music. But the album is finally getting out in the foreign territories and we should be happy about it, happy to promote and play it. We don ' t feel frustrated a lot because we keep on making music in-between.

The major difference from the Norge-version of the album is an additional song, a cover of Kate Bush ' s The Man With The Child In His Eyes hit from 1978. This band doesn' t make it easy on itself even when they are supposed to take an easier route?

- The record company suggested it, - Tor explains, - but we weren' t really sure about it. We love the song now but were not convinced to cover it. The record company brought it to us and we had doubts because it was a brilliant song in the first place and how do you improve upon a perfection? There was no reason to cover it by just redoing the original and we tried something different. And it worked out, it really did.
They rouse to the challenge mainly due to the masterful singing of Anne-Marie Almedal who gives it such Garbage-sque energy, oomph and punch.

She could easily be promoted, sex-appeal being so highly rated attribute in the music world, to a resident pin-up on the planet-pop but that would really devalue the true quality of their music. And, the only way to survive making music in Norway is to hold a steady job and do it half- professionally.

- Anne-Marie is the only professional musician, - Tor informs us with a laid-back attitude, or is that fatalism?, - three have jobs, one has a career. Vidar (Ersfjord, keyboards) used to work in an instrument shop but is now running a studio with Anne-Marie, Pal (Aanensen, bass) works with wheelchair patients, Kay (Rune Rasmussen, drums) models pipes for the oil industry... I ' m a captain in the Home Guard.
Seeing him on stage one wouldn' t think so; his career is all about discipline while music is about emotions, diverging rhythm and chaos. How does he balance the demands of two such opposing divisions?

- It is hard at times, - Tor confirms it, - but military is more liberal in Norway than in other places. Of course there is a discipline but it is offset with the energy of being in a band and am satisfied on both fronts.
It is not strange then to hear him say that - The biggest ambition this band has is to be able to support our music making by music alone. That ' s all we wanna do, just to be able to exclusively concentrate on music making and not only do it part-time.

Comparisons mentioned when the record is discussed are Massive Attack, The Sundays, Portishead, Morcheeba, Bel Canto... But, V. Belly don' t skirt from embracing the obscure-legends like Can in a song Drift.

- Drummer and bassist are really into Kraut-rock, - Tor admits, - and that ' s one of our influences. There are so many elements to our music and that is one of them. We all are in this for love of music and we don ' t really feel we belong in a bland and one-dimensional world of today. We prefer music that is more complex and you need to give it time to really hear it. It is not instant like the rest which is generally very boring.

Velvet Belly, named after a deep-water shark with a soft-tissue stomach that lights up during courtship rituals, make music that can make you " happy-sad " as one person described it to Anne-Marie. But, don ' t take anybody ' s word for it -- give it a listen in a darkened room for the recreation of months-long night of the Scandinavian North.

Sasha Stojanovic
Copyright MM