The Low Frequency in Stereo Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Feb 24th 2010 3:00PM by Mark R. Collins
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After being compared to the Doors by none other than Rolling Stone Senior Editor David Fricke, the Low Frequency in Stereo will be in Austin for one night and one night only before taking flight for Oslo, Norway the next day to take part in a John Cage exhibition. Oh, the life of a musician. Spinner caught up with bassist Per Steinar Lie in anticipation of the band's upcoming stint at SXSW.

Describe the band's sound in your own words:

Compost Rock. We re-circulate many cool things from music history. Me and the drummer have no real music training at all so we sort of made up our own style. We combine these things and what we end up with is a whole new sound. It is very important for us to find a unique identity in our music, but everything has roots from the past.

How has the band changed since it first came together in 2001?

It has evolved from a minimalistic duo to a monster with four organs, a sampler, straight full backline and five vocalists. But we still go for the minimalism idea and try to groove on two notes and still try to move the listener into wellness, lust and space.

How did you and the rest of your bandmates meet?

I originally moved to our home base of Haugesund, Norway with another band. Then I met our drummer, Ørjan, at a party when he was really spinning and playing drums. I knew him from before, but did not know that he was playing drums so we started playing together. He and I collaborated on the music for a theatre play, and we met Njål, who was playing the main character and was also bloody good on guitar. He knew Linn and said she could play the organ and tambourine. Hanne was a local bar maid at a place we liked to drink who could sing. The band started as a side project to other more loud and fast playing bands. Since we were all playing fast music we wanted to explore the mystics of slow music. The rest is history.

How did you come up with the band name?

We were trying to fit a classic line into our music and identity. The name came from a phrase you see printed on vinyl from the '60s: "High Frequency Stereo." We just tweaked it. Easy.

What are the band's musical influences?

We were inspired by bands like Yo La Tengo and Codeine. Nowadays it's bands like Neu and Broadcast.

What type of music do you like listening to when you're not performing?

We listen to all different kinds. Many things like '60s jazz and Bob Dylan. I always have a Stephen Malkmus album around. 'Real Emotional Trash' is really good. Bands of today we like is bands like Wooden Shjips, Dead Man's Bones, Black Angels, Blood Orange and a cool new band from Norway called Hypertext.

What is the craziest thing you have experienced on tour?

So many things have happened, but a short story here, maybe not the craziest but a nice one. We were getting stopped by the police in Germany without our driver license and passports, which were stuck in the back behind all the gear. We told them that if they had the time we could take out all the gear and look for our papers, but when they looked at how packed the car was--the car was almost exploding--they just wanted to make sure I hadn't been drinking.

So they take me inside a big police van with six policeman. The police chief had a big mustache and gun and was about 55 years old. He asked me my birth date and when I said it is the 12th of April he was shocked. He had the same birthday! We became very close buddies in a very short time. From there on it was easy. A lot of smiles, we invited them to the show that night and gave them a couple CDs and t-shirts and we left happily.

Have you guys played any good practical jokes while on tour?

This is very difficult to explain. We have been on several terrible, terrible low life tours where we have to sleep on the floor the whole time. There have been many stupid moments with crossing our bandmate's boundaries and personal space. These stories are hard to tell. It's probably not very funny on paper.

What Norwegian thing do you miss most when you're away from home?

Our wives and children.

If you weren't in a band what would you be doing?

I would probably be a very poor and thirsty professional soccer player playing for a non-league club in Wales.

Do you have any special memories about playing SXSW in 2009?

We were playing a showcase outside a cafe with some bands and suddenly all hell broke loose with heavy rain showers and a storm, and it was just during our set. Before and after it was quiet. Very strange. We also saw some good bands like Johnny Dowd and Flametrick Subs who had a bass player who had lost one hand.

By the way, I took the wrong shoes from the driver who drove us home after the gig. So if he is reading this: Our boss at the record company is wearing your shoes at the moment. They did not fit me. Sorry about that.

Mark R. Collins is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.