We spoke to Jonas from Oslo based band Pelicat who managed to play a couple of gigs last week and are now excited to release some new material via their Bandcamp page! Jonas tells us a bit more about the band – their sound and also gives us some great tips of where to party in Oslo!
Tell us who you are and what is your sound?
Pelicat is Jonas, Andreas, Mads and Mattias. We started playing / writing music together five years ago. Sound wise I think we’re somewhere between The Beach Boys and The Strokes. We try to make our records the way we want to sound as a band, but of course it is hard to restrain ourselves sometimes, therefore we often add strings, keys and other fun stuff. We also work quite a bit on our backing vocal-game, so that we maybe one day can become The Eagles of Norway.
What exciting projects have you got coming up?
We started to record some new music this week, so I guess we will continue with that until Christmas. I think and it will turn into an album eventually. This time we have a few pointers lyric-wise which makes it easier to make coherent songs that fit together on an album. We also played two gigs in two days a couple of weeks ago. It felt so good, and one of the few good things about the pandemic is that we get to sell out shows.
Where did you grow up and what music influenced you?
We grew up in various towns just south of Oslo. To be honest we’ve never been that much influenced by the local music scenes, except for maybe Death By Unga Bunga. But I guess we all listened to bands, varying from NOFX to Oasis via Phoenix to The Strokes, and this has shaped us as musicians. Pelicat’s sound and songwriting is more influenced by the 70’s.
What cool places do you recommend to visit in your city (bars, restaurants, etc)?
First, SALT, which is a venue with multiple stages, lots of food trucks and saunas. We also played there October 23rd! We also love Revolver and Bonanza. Anywhere with live music, beer and nice people really. Oslo also has great nature surrounding it, so depending on the time of year, you should really check out both the seaside and the woods around the town.
We love recommendations – what have you been listening to, watching, or reading recently?
The latest ‘Tops’ album is really great. Also been digging a new band called Muzz with Interpol’s Paul Banks on vocals. The production is wicked! I also rediscovered Fleetwod Mac’s Tango in The Night album. So good. Some great acts from Oslo includes brenn., Divest, Death By Unga Bunga, Humle and Caterina Eliza. Go check them out!
Finally, what was the last thing that made you swear out loud?
Been doing some renovation lately. Lots of swearing!
Interview by Alex Minnis
