(Photo Credit - Jonathan Vivaas Kise)
We had the opportunity to interview Sløtface for an Artist Spotlight feature! We are extremely excited to highlight their music as their album 'Sorry for the Late Reply' drops everywhere this Friday! They are certainly #AltRevueApproved so give 'em a listen and check out our interview!
1. How did you come to pursue music and how long have you been at it?
H: We’ve all kind of been in bands since we were quite young, around 11 or 12 years old. We all actually met each other playing in different band when we were kids in our home town of Stavanger. I don’t know if any of us except Lasse, who studied at a music school in high school, thought this was going to be our jobs when we were older, but over the past almost 8 years of playing together it just kind of happened.
2. Could you walk us through your process of writing music?
H: Usually Lasse on bass or Tor-Arne on guitar have a cool idea for a riff, or a demo. They upload them all into folders that we share and then the whole band listens and picks ones we want to work on. Then we get in the rehearsal space together and play through those ideas in all kinds of different ways. Meanwhile I write a kind of journal of song ideas and thoughts that I bring to rehearsal and usually try to match ideas from that to a demo, I keep working on lyrics while we play it again and again usually, then we record a version of that. Just constantly making changes to make it feel good, until we decide it’s done.
3. What artists have inspired you in your career?
H: Tons. LCD Soundsystem, Weaves, Bob Dylan, Phoebe Bridgers, Kacey Musgraves, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Wolf Alice, Wilco, Kvelertak, Honningbarna, The Smiths, The Ramones etc.
4. Do you have any favorite music gear (guitars, amps, effects pedals, keyboards, etc.) that you love to use? If so, what’s the story on them?
TA: Both Lasse and I have been using Fender-guitars for a long time. We did a tour in Australia in 2017 with the great sound technician and tour-manager Greg Jard. One thing led to another, and suddenly Fall Out Boy gave us the e-mail to someone at the UK office. Since then Fender has helped us out with a lot, including gear for touring and recording. I always use my Fender Telecaster, supplied with a Fender Blues Jr, a bunch of pedals (TC Electronics, ZVEX, Electro-Harmonics) plus a bit of magic.
5. Can you describe the vibe at your live shows? Also, what do you enjoy most about a venue when you do a show?
H: Usually we try to bring as much energy as we can to a live show. We love a good mosh pit, especially ones that have a nice gender balance and where people are having fun. We love to see people move and dance, and sing along, but also appreciate the people chilling at the back. Venues, as places to like live and be a person, aren’t really the greatest heh. They kind of all smell like piss and beer and sweat, but we do love meeting the new people working every day, and chatting with people at merch after a show is always a highlight.
6. What is one thing that you want the public to know about your music?
H: Most of the time we're trying to combine something serious with some humor, and we would love it if it made people feel energized or like we have a shared thought or something.
7. Can you tell us about the writing, recording, and promotion process of Sorry for the Late Reply?
H: We recorded Sorry for the late reply in two studios in Norway, Propeller Recordings in Oslo, and Ocean Sound in Giske outside Ålesund. Both totally awesome places to get to work. We worked o the record for about six months off and on with our producer Odd Martin Skålnes, and wrote most of it in different rehearsal spaces. We really wanted to write a record that was political in a personal and quite specific way and discussed identity and what it means to belong somewhere a lot while working on it. Promotion wise, we kind of just did things we always do. Tried to make cool artwork and music videos with other talented people we like, that’s one of the best parts about releasing a record.