We are over in Norway to hear from Falkevik a collection of musicians who have had their music described as: “Nordic melodic, riff based, edgy indie-jazz-pop”.
Tell us who you are and what would be the best way to describe your music?
We are Falkevik, a contemporary piano trio from Norway. Julie Falkevik is singing and playing the piano, Ellen Brekken is playing upright and electric bass, and Marius Trøan Hansen is playing the drums.
Our music is a mix of riffy jazz-stuff & melodic pop-stuff. We are trying to find our own language in the middle there – and we just make music we love to play really.
It’s a bit hard to explain what Falkevik sounds like, the closest we’ve gotten so far is : “Nordic melodic, riff based, edgy indie-jazz-pop”.
How did this project come together for the three of you?
The trio was originally created when Julie was studying music at the music conservatory in the southern part of Norway, and had begun writing her own music. The trios first bass player and drummer back then were fellow students. When Julie finished her studies she moved to Oslo, and had to go looking for a new drummer and bass player. Luckily there are many great musicians in Oslo, and Julie found the best ones: Ellen Brekken on bass and Marius Trøan Hansen on drums!
Your album New Constellations is out now – what were you influences going into the production of the album?
We suddenly had a lot of free time, since all our gigs was cancelled in 2020 – so we spent a lot of time jamming together. We got a lot of inspiration from each other in this process, and I think a lot of the influence came from jamming and talking about music.
We are influenced by a lot of different musical styles and artists, but lately the greatest influence have come from trios like Esbjörn Svenson Trio (EST), GoGo Penguin and the Norwegian band Jaga Jazzist. And, also the amazing musical project of Ola Kvernberg; STEAMDOME. Ola is playing on two of the songs on our upcoming album, and we were so excited when he said yes to join us on these songs!
Whereabouts in Norway are you from and where are some of your favourite places to hang out?
We are all from different places in Norway. Marius is from the eastern part of Norway (Frogner), Ellen is from the mid-part of Norway (Tynset) and Julie is from the west coast (Falkevik). We all live in or close to Oslo now though.
Favourite places to hang out… That depends on the seasons really. In the winter Tynset is a real go-to-place! It’s always snowy and super cold, perfect for skiing and making campfires outside! It’s also very close to Røros, a beautiful small town with a rich history. In the summer its super fun to go surfing on the west coast. Julies family has a cabin near to Hoddevika, a popular place for surfing!
What is next for you?
We are crossing our fingers that it’s possible to start touring internationally again soon. We are going to a festival in Bremen in mid-September, and then on tour in Europe in the spring.
Playing concerts for a live audience is something we have really missed during this pandemic, and we are super excited to get on the road again!
What was the last thing you watched, book you read, and album you listened to?
We love the Marvel – universe, so we have been watching some of those movies lately!
The last book Marius read was Roots by Alex Haley, and Ellen loves books about history or geography.
The last album’s we listed to are: Pink Noise by Laura Mvula (Marius), Taller by Jamie Cullum (Julie) and Moscow Tears by Olga Konkova (Ellen)
Interview by Alex Minnis
Have you checked out our Nordic New Music Playlist? Have a listen!