Hogni Interview: SXSW 2010

Hogni is an acclaimed artist from the Faroe Islands set to make his US debut at this year's SXSW. The singer-songwriter released his latest album, 'Hogni Hare! Hare!,' on Mahogni Music in 2008, marking his third release since the end of his drumming gig with Clickhaze in 2002. Spinner woke up early to speak to the Denmark resident about life as a solo artist and his upcoming trip to Austin.

How would you describe your sound in your own words?

A mixture of Timbaland, Lenny Kravitz and Ben Harper having a party. It's very energetic.

How did you get your start as a solo artist?

I started playing drums when I was a kid, and then I started playing guitar. I was mainly a drummer until I was about 20. It was a well -kept secret that I was a singer-songwriter. I made my first singer-songwriter album in 2003, then I released a second one in 2005. Then I made a really big change of style, where I sort of combined all of my strengths, also using my drumming skills and those ambitions in my music on my latest album, which was released in (the Faroe Islands) in 2008.

Did you play all the instruments yourself on your latest album?

Well, I did it together with a producer named James Thomas. The two of us played all the instruments. He played the bass and I played all of the guitar and drum parts. So it was a split.

Who were your major influences?

My father had a lot of LPs that he used to listen to, really loudly -- Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley. All the good old stuff. Then, when I started discovering music myself, in my early teens, I guess I fell in love with music like Rage Against the Machine, Ben Harper, Tracy Chapman.

Do you have any musical guilty pleasures?

I'm not really that kind of guy. I do keep track of the hit singles. I've always done that. There's very few of them that last, I would be very eager to say. Maybe Jewel, her early stuff.

Are there any bands from the Faroe Islands that readers should know about?

In Scandanavia, Iceland is kind of a guiding light. The Faroe Islands is a very small country, with only about 48,000 inhabitants. Over the last ten or fifteen years, the music scene has been very ambitious and outgoing.

Could you describe what happened to you last year that kept you from performing at the festival?

When my album was released, I was really eager to see if Americans would like my music. And then something came up. A promo company called Platform One asked me if I wanted to be involved in one of their national college campaigns. I found that very interesting. I thought it would be a good test of my music. So, one thing led to another, and some months later they told me they were going to have a showcase with the bands that they were working with. The top three bands were going to be guaranteed a spot in their showcase. I finished number one in the voting and was supposed to travel over to the United States. But it's complicated to go over to the United States. There is a lot of paperwork. So it was actually a Visa problem that stopped me.

How does it feel to be making your US debut at an event like SXSW?

I am aware of what I'm dealing with here -- 2,000 bands elbowing each other out. I'm up for the challenge, and I'm just looking forward to coming to the States for the first time, meeting people, hearing some good music. We're definitely going to do our best, my band mates and I.

What's in your festival survival kit?

It's going to be very simple -- something like my guitar pedals and three T-shirts.

How would you describe the transition from performing in a band to going solo?

I used to be, as I mentioned, primarily a drummer. As a drummer, it's a very noisy job, and it's also very good therapy. In the evenings when I got home, I would sit with my guitar and play really soft stuff and just relax. When Clickhaze ended in 2003, it made a lot of sense to go do something on my own. Also, Clickhaze was a band with seven members, when we were at our most. We were also very democratic. We talked a lot about everything, and everything took a long time. In the beginning, it was absolutely wonderful to work alone. You didn't have to discuss everything with a lot of people. Even though (being part of a band has) a lot of advantages, you often get a brilliant end result when you have a long struggle with a song or something. The very biggest thing was to get in front of the stage. I was very used to looking at the singer's spot from the drums. I'm a very outgoing drummer, but when I got in front of the microphone, everything changed. I've had very many years to get experience and accept my new role as a musician.

For all of your new potential American fans, how exactly do you pronounce your name?

In Faroese, you would say "Hawg-nuhr." In English, you would say "Hog-Knee." It's complicated. I used to present myself with my full name, Hogni Lisberg. That was just a disaster to work with. The thing with my name is that my O has a slash through it and you can't work with that on the internet. So, now when I write to people, I just use the O. We live in the age of the Internet.


Brian Griffiths is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.