TROLD - Interview

[uvego]

TROLD
(Glowing Flame Records / Northern Psylight Records)
• Stavanger / Norway

published by Stein V. Skjoldal , Bjorn Opheim at 27.09.2007

Trold consist of Stein V. Skjoldal (34) & Bjorn Opheim (32)
Both from a town on the west coast of Norway called, Stavanger.
They started around the year 2000.




Tell us a bit about your background, your regular profession and your way up to here?
Bjorn was at that time running a head&head shop in Stavanger, and Stein was running a Tattoo studio. Stein had also been involved with various different music projects up until that point playing percussion and bass, but from around 2000 they both consentrated on the Trold project.

We was compleatly new to the digital domeign of music, so it was a loong learning period just reading manuals and find things out on our own. There was not to many people to ask in our area that where doing electronic music at that time.
Made our first demo and sendt out to a few labels in 2002, wich gave us a album deal with Apoxina rec.(France),and a track releace with Sundance rec. (Australia)
Our first album, "...Once upon a time" was releaced in sept. 2003
After this we traveled alot and meet different people in the scene and releaced tracks on many different labels such as Glowing flame rec, Kethu rec, Vertigo rec. and Northern psylight rec. etc.
From that time we also played on many partys and festivals around the world including Universo Paralello, Trancylvania, Freaky dragons and last years amazing Boom festival.

Where do you come from? Where is your base? Tell us a bit about the scene at your home country? What is the special flavour in your land? Please give us an idea how scene life is like at home ...
The scene in Norway is not particulary big, so its still very underground and small partys are going on with beautifull nature and magical atmosphere in the different city areas... with Oslo beeing the main one.
Some artist like Phobium, Aviate, Krussedull and Fraggletrollet are some artists that is realy making some new and inspiring stuffs.
Also there is three newly born Labels from Norway; Northern psylight rec. wich are releacing powerfull stuff, and has alot of international artists on the menu. Then there is Yggdrasil rec, witch consentrate more on scando artists and also Chill Tribe rec. that presents the more chill side of trance.

Tell us about your new stuff and why people shouldn't miss it? Did you think it is something different, or would you think it should be named in a row with others? How would you define your style of music?
We just releaced a new album this summer entiteled, "Time of illusion" on Glowing flame rec. And we have receved many nice comments about our work. We have been working on it for quite a while and feel the resoult is presenting the whole Trold idea. It's music with high energy and intencity, but yet with quite alot of melodic aspects.
I guess u could call us influenced by the early psytrance period, and the music we make is always with this in mind. Some people call it forrest music, but i think this term was invented after we started, so im not shure what it meens...hahaha.


Did you think copying kills music - or did file sharing makes the artist famous? What has been you experience with p2p and track-swapping?
We dont think copying kills music, rather the opposite, but it sertainly kills the income of the Artists. Its impossible to "make" any money on producing and releacing psytrance. It was never our intension to get rich, only to get some traveling for free. Its realy a shame, becase we would realy love to do this full time but it just dont pay enogh to support a family. Its a bit fucked up, but its just how things has worked out with to many small labels around selling a few hundred copys each.


Where do you see yourself in 5/10/20 years? Where do you see our scene in the future?
We seriously dont have any predictions or ideas about the future of psy. We guess it will come more and more down to the already established artists and organisers that are doing a good job. We have experienced that many of the partymakers around the world are unexperienced, and some of them have no idea about how to make a blasting experience for their people and artists at all.
We hope that we still will se the point in continuing for many years still!!

Your definition of luck & satisfaction?
There aint such a thing as luck from our point of view. We belive we all create ur own reality, and if u want things to happen...make them happen!


Your favorite musicians?
We dont have any idols or main inspiration sourse. Quality music is everywhere and we use tall types of music as inspiration.
The music in nature is a inspiration source though.

Where could our readers see/hear you in the next time? Any special events worth to mention here?
Due to the fact that I am living in London right now doing Sound engeneer school and Bjorn is full on buissy with his newly bought farmhouse, we have no bookings going on untill after christmas.
After New year we will be full power again, and with more skills to do an even better job than before.

Contact:
trold.trance.net
www.myspace.com/troldmagic

Booking contact, email and phone?
stein@trance.net or,
trold@trance.net
0044 (0)7852732668