Biography
Noise and Silence. The band Svartbag is an entity full of contradictions. Like its namesake the gull, Svartbag is a free bird, but also a scavenger with a black back. An outsider impelled by an underlying primitive force. A black sheep.
Elements, that on the surface seem violent and indigestible for everyday people are, in the hands of Svartbag, transformed into something oddly fascinating, alluring and soothing.
With the use of guitars, loop-pedals and analogue effects, Svartbag creates a minimalist instrumental music, where generated coincidences are intuitively integrated in a repetitive universe of drones.
The references are clear: krautrock (Neu/Can/Popol Vuh), spacerock (Spacemen 3), noise rock (VU/Sonic Youth), and electronic pioneers like Terry Riley, Brian Eno and Suicide.
In 1996, an ad in a Buy and Sell paper brought the two guitarists, A.REX and Niels Ladefoged together. Under the pretence of composing rocksongs for their band, they spent time in rehearsal exploring their gear, and soon realised that they could generate incredible moods using simple effects.
In 2005, the multi-musician Peter Kyed joined the duo and contributed with a more electronic sound through simple drum programming and sampled real sounds. Occasionally, the trio becomes a quartet when joined by Andreas Hauer-Jensen (Düreforsög/Mit Nye Band/The Bleeder Group) on drums, which can be heard on 4 of the albums 5 tracks.
Furthermore, Peter Peter (ex-Sort Sol/Bleeder Group) gives a guest performance on the homage to The Factory, “Billy Name”, in which faint voice-overs from some of Andy Warhol’s sidekicks from the sparkling Factory period at the end of the 1960’s, can be heard.
The long tracks and evocative patterns of sound unveil dark and ominous states of mind, which are consistently relieved by confident tones and minimalist melodies.
The two guitars alternate between performing duets and complementing each other, while bass drones, real sounds, and intermittent, jazzy drums and echoes create hypnotic rhythms.
Svartbag’s debut album has been in development for a long time, not least because of the band’s impromptu working method. The band finds their point of departure in the philosophy that the equipment itself knows what it can and will do - which makes it the band’s job to pick, refine and arrange the manifestations which are brought about by the equipment itself.
SVARTBAG BIOGRAPHY:
A.REX has, since 1979, been prevalent on the punk scene of Copenhagen in bands like Mad Gustav Band, Warshore, The Tide and Bleeder Group. Under his own name he has, among other things, composed music for Nicolas Winding-Refn’s film “Pusher 2”.
Peter Kyed has collaborated for a number of years with Peter Peter on soundtracks for a number of films and computer games. Additionally, he is a member of The Bleeder Group and has released the solo album “The World Inside Her”.
Niels Ladefoged has been part of the organization Subotnick since 2002 and has in this context taken part in planning and executing more than 300 experimental concerts.
In 2001 they take the name Svartbag and start performing live, among other places at the Roskilde Festival, the Nordberg Festival and at miscellaneous happenings.
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