SUNSWITCH – Pre-listening party

 

I remember experiencing the Norwegian trio Sunswitch as one of the opening bands at a Saint Vitus concert in Oslo and being a tad mind blown by what the guys managed to do with a set of drums, a bass and a…tuba. That made me to eagerly accept an invitation to a small album listening party organised by the band’s label, Riot Factory in collaboration with Killer Promo and EMI Norway. It wasn’t a bug event, but with friendly company and most of all, with a good chance to hear some words about the band and their music and to speak out the questions that cross our minds after we have heard some of the songs.

Sunswitch consists of Kristoffer Lo, Trond Frønes and Tomas Järmyr, the band is based in Trondheim and is about to release their debut album, release supported by several shows in Norway. Stian, their Riot Factory representative told us a few words about how the people at the label discovered the band and how quickly they got addicted to their music. He also told us, and everyone soon understand what he meant, that Sunswitch’s music is not easy to digest. You either dislike it, or fall madly in love with it. His words were followed by an audition of two songs (out of the four that will be released soon), songs recorded as live improvisations in the studio and who somehow demand to be heard again after the first listen. Soundwise, one can find a mix of doom and sludge, but, in case you missed out the first sentence of this article, there’s a tuba involved. It’s hard to put in words the impact it has on the sound, as it is played in a special manner that pop up a bunch of effects, making you wonder quite often if no other instrument is actually involved. The low tones of the bass and the increasing drumming intensity, alternating with slow quiet bits, builds up a certain massive intensity which feels overwhelming at first.

It was surprising to hear that the guys in the band have played together for only two years, yet their level of improvisation is so high. So, despite the fact that some of the compositions are around 15 minutes, it might be a pity there’s only 4 of them on the debut album, so I’m already hoping for news of another release. The album will physically be available only on vinyl but also digitally distributed after the official release. But most of all, I recommend you give their live show a try. For now, these are the confirmed dates:

Upcoming shows 2012

22/11 Ungdommens Hus, Røros
23/11 Blæst, Trondheim
27/11 Internationalen, Oslo
28/11 Trashpop, Kristiansand
30/11 Folken, Stavanger
1/12 R.I.P., Porsgrunn

For more updates from the band, keep an eye on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunswitch/