Interview The Blizzard
Up in the cold north of Norway a new sound came to life. Call it trance, call it progressive, but whatever you call it, your ears will love it. Two guys teamed up, received tremendous support from the trance scene and conquered our ears with their massive tune ‘Kalopsia’ and surprisingly good remix work on several tracks, such as ‘The Doppler Effect - Beauty hides in the deep’ and Mike Foyle’s mysterious ‘Pandora’. But beauty doesn’t just hide in the deep, it’s made in the studio of these two youngsters. They’ve given us proof: it only takes two guys to cause a blizzard of sound.
Let’s start with a little introduction. Who are you guys and where should we know you of?
We are Lars Nyheim and Tore Vatle Jensen, also known as The Blizzard. We started producing music together in November 2006. Our genre is mainly progressive trance, but we are also very influenced by tech-house, electro and groovy music. Our first release was a track called ‘Kalopsia’ and was instantly signed to Armin van Buuren’s imprint on Armada Music. It did pretty well last year, so people probably know us best from that track.
Who came up with the name?
Tore: I was out shovelling snow in December 2006, while ‘Kalopsia’ was still under production. We didn't have a name for the project, so I got inspired by the blizzard.
Lars: Yes, I remember Tore suggesting the word ‘blizzard’. Then I came up with ‘the’!
Have the both of you always been trance fans? What do you like about it so much?
Tore: I started listening to trance in the mid ‘90’s. I think for me it's the melodic synth riffs that make it so lovable, but I'm also really into the more groovy electro/tech house stuff.
Lars: I've listened to trance music since the late 90’s. Before that time I listened to dance and the commercial stuff a lot. Until I discovered the sound of Armin, Tiësto and Ferry. What’s so likeable about the trance scene is, of course, the music. But besides that, people who like trance music and such are often really nice people and get inspired by the same things as us. So we share the same passion for the music, and that connects the scene into a universal religion of feelings!
What about Norway? Is trance getting bigger there?
Lars: Trance isn't that big in Norway compared to the scene around 2000. But I think the scene is slowly starting to grow. More trance dj’s are being booked to Norway these days. I would especially like to mention Mihkku Tostrup, who is the main man behind the concept Under The Sun. It’s a great concept, with loads of good events in Oslo. He’ll bring Paul van Dyk here next month, for instance.
A new range of Scandinavian talent has found their way up. You guys, Ørjan Nilsen, Marcus Schössow etc. How come the Scandinavian trance scene still isn’t that big yet? Is it all a matter of promoters?
Lars: No, of course it isn’t. But without people willing to take the risk of having the big artists over here the scene will remain small. And sadly, I don't think there’s one Norwegian trance dj who can attract enough people to large events just by himself. About the Scandinavian thing, that’s a tough question. Maybe because other genres like r’n’b and hiphop hold a strong position in the commercial market, so it's not easy for trance inspired tracks to get attention. And besides that, Norway hasn’t got a huge amount of people compared to the space we hold. So maybe that’s another reason?
What divides the sound of the Blizzard from any other producer?
Our tracks are something between trance and house. But what we think divides us from many producers is that we try to put a lot of details into our tracks. And we try to be consistent, instead of pushing out a lot of material we don't feel. We would rather release quality instead of quantity, even though it really affects the financial side of producing. Hopefully people will respect and recognize us for that.
Do you think it’s still possible to be original nowadays? In other words: how do you guys manage to stay original and prevent getting too predictable?
Lars: Yes, I think so. I think it's about trying really hard. But still you got to do your thing. And what's original and what's not really differs from person to person. So all I can say to producers is to do what you like and you'll be okay. For me an original track is a track that makes you want to hear it again after listening to it. Something with an interesting melody and lots of cool details. An example is the Michael Cassette remix of Oceanlab - Miracle. After I've listened to what the lyrics are all about I finally understood why the guys of Michael Cassette have put a sound in his remix which sounds like a clock waking you up in the morning.
What is your strongest and weakest point when it comes to producing/playing?
Lars: Well, I think our strongest points at producing are the details and good sound quality. Weakest point would be that we are really slow producers.
As for dj’ing, I don’t know. I let the crowd be the judge of that. To be honest, I don't think about stuff like that too often. We just do our thing, and if people like it, we are happy. If not, then feel free to mail us suggestions or simply click ‘next track’! I can be a bit shy, but that eventually disappears when I’m warmed up. And it’s getting better every gig, I get used to stand in front of a crowd. Dj’ing has really been my main motivation for producing, it’s what I love to do most. Play the music and make people happy. I love to see the crowd’s reaction every time I change tracks.
Which producers/dj’s get your likings or inspire you guys?
Lars: I get inspiration from a lot of artists. I've always loved Michael Jackson, Enya and music like that. Music with a lot of feelings. As for EDM-artists we get a lot of inspiration from Boom Jinx, Andy Moor and Eric Prydz these days. Maybe you can hear it in our productions? Still I think we have our own sound.
How long did it take to get Kalopsia signed and why did you end up at Armada?
Lars: As I said, Kalopsia was our first track. We used like 3 months on finishing it. I had send the track to a good friend of me who knew Danjo (as in Danjo & Styles). He send the track directly to Armin van Buuren who signed the track to his personal imprint ‘Armind’ after talking to the A&R. I always liked the quality Armada releases, especially on the Armind label, so it was my biggest dream to be on that one.
Kalopsia has been a huge success, but it’s been a while since it was brought out. Everyone’s waiting for a follow-up. So, where is it?
The follow-up will come. When, we cannot say because it's not finished. It should be a monster track, or else we won't release it. That's all we can say about it. It just takes time. We have remixed a lot this year, so that has kept us busy. We've done one more remix which should see the light soon. But we don't think there will be any more remixes this year. We’ll focus on the follow-up for now.
Do you feel a bit of pressure, or confident enough you won’t just be one-day flies? Do you think you’re both talented enough to make it to the top?
Lars: We’re pretty confident we won't be one-day flies, I think we have already proved that we can stay consistent. My goal is to make music that inspires people and go out dj’ing a lot, because that's what I love to do. For me it's not about being on ‘the top’. But if ‘the top’ expresses success I really hope we'll have some more success, yes!
Which are the main goals you want to achieve with the Blizzard? Is it both your intention to be able to live by making music and dj? Or are there any other goals to reach for in life?
Lars: Well, I think our goal is to do what we enjoy the most, which is to make music and dj. That’s our passion. I would love seeing myself having this as a fulltime job. But for now we aren't even close. We aren't getting paid that much compared to the hours of amount sitting in the studio. I guess that’s a part of the scene. All I can say is: support the music you love and buy it.
For instance, would you guys want to be as big as Armin?
Lars: I think that’s hard to say. He has worked his way up and has learned a lot in the meantime. But maybe in some years? I need to have more experience and travel more. Then it would be easier for me to answer this question. But I would love to play in front thousands of people every week, that’s for sure.
Tore, you’ve been a producer for almost 13 years now. Why did it take so long for you to get signed? Was Lars the extra bit of help you needed to get there?
Tore: I guess because I've never been satisfied with any of my own productions and whenever I listen to them, I usually focus on all the things I don't like about them. When Lars and I started working together 2 years ago, I realized something. If this was going to work, I had to put my own criticism aside and just finish what I've started. You know, I almost didn't finish ‘Kalopsia’ because I was so sick of it towards the end. But Lars is a very determined guy, and he kept pushing the project forward.
Lars is the one doing the mixing stuff and gigs. Why, Tore, don’t you learn to mix and come along? Don’t you feel you’re missing out on all the good stuff?
Tore: I'm having a hard time seeing myself as a DJ really, and I certainly don't like being in the spotlights. I'm not into the whole trance scene thing either, to be honest. I like music in general. It doesn't matter if it's called trance, house, progressive, electro or pop. As long as it sounds good to me, I'm happy. But I do like the term EDM - Electronic Dance Music. It makes things so much easier. So Lars takes care of the dj’ing, gigs, etcetera, and I can mostly focus on music production.
Lars, you’ve been producing under the Zral alias back in the days. Was it any successful, or would you rather just forget all about it?
Lars: I've only released one track under that name. It was a lousy track made in Reason several years back. I don't want to forget about it, because it's a part of who I am today. I've had lots of gigs in Norway under that name, all really nice experiences. But I won't use that name for any more releases. It’s actually my name spelled backwards, but with a Z.
No kidding, Lars!
Are there any special parties you’ve dreamed of playing at?Lars: Of course, events like Trance Energy, Dance Valley, Mysteryland, The Gallery, Sensation and Cream would be like a dream!
Which records never leave your cd case?
Lars: ‘D. Ramirez & Mark Knight - Colombian Soul (Gabriel & Dresden Tuscan Soul Reconstruction)’. One of the best club tracks ever. Our very own remix of ‘Envio - For You’ works pretty well too, I think. And there's always some stuff from Michael Cassette in my cd wallet.
Have you notice you guys got a fan base? Any groupies yet?
Lars: Haha, I have to admit I have. We regularly get messages on myspace, facebook, mail and forums. I try to answer most of them. Also I try to participate in the various forums, I love to read reactions and talk to our fans. At first it was really strange, but now I've gotten used to it.
In remixes, vocals play an important role. Would you guys consider making a vocal track yourself someday?
Yes, we would. Actually we've already started on one, but it’ll take some time! We’re teaming up with a Norwegian band, but I can’t say too much about it yet. More info later!
The DJ Mag voting has started again. Do you guys expect to make it to the poll in a few years, or is it not something you aim for?
Lars: That's not something we aim for right now, but if people want to vote for us then feel free to do so. I don't see myself on that list until I start getting more bookings. But I must say, things are getting better. From a economic point of view it's good to be high on the list. Maybe it's something we can aim for in the future.
Who are both of you voting for?
Lars:
1. Armin van Buuren (great guy, great show and role model)
2. Andy Moor (loving his podcast)
3. Tenishia (They played a great set at Luminosity in Holland, make the greatest vocal tracks and are also great guys)
4. Ferry Corsten (Nice show)
5. Michael Cassette (stunning music, I can just imagine how their sets are).
Tore: I'm not up to date on ‘who's hot and who's not’ at the moment, so I haven't voted yet. But I would definitely vote for Armin. He's been great support to us. I also might vote for Andy Moor and Eric Prydz.
A few months ago, there were plans to make your own radioshow. In the end you decided not to, but now there’s rumours there’s going to be a radioshow after all. Please, enlighten us! What’s the deal, and what’s the plan?
Lars: Well, I've teamed up with Kris O'Neil from Denmark and formed our very own dj agency. It's an agency where everyone does the job, both the crew and the dj’s. We help promoting each other. We are also going to have a radioshow called ‘The Lucreative Show’. This show will be hosted by one of our dj’s every week, playing the latest and best in trance, progressive, electro house and tech. All this is being sorted out as we speak. In the mean time you can visit our facebook or myspace site.
The Blizzard has been gaining a lot of popularity by their excellent remix work on several tracks. How do you guys select the tunes to remix? Have you been asked to do remixes?
We have remixed 6 tracks now, two of them we asked to remix ourselves. The others we’ve been asked for. The track we asked to remix was ‘Envio - For You’ and ‘The Doppler Effect - Beauty Hides In The Deep’. We really thought those tracks needed another type of remix, and we had great fun remixing them. Our last remix is the one we did on Andy Moor’s ‘Fake Awake’, which is going to be released soon. Since then we've had many remix-requests. But we turned them all down to focus on our own productions.
After a whole lot of searching for gigs, you finally decided to start Lucreative Agency, teaming up with Kris O’neil, Ørjan Nilsen and others. Tell us, how’s it all going to work and why didn’t you join an existing agency ?
Lars: I did join an existing agency, Vibe Management. But I didn’t get that much bookings from them. It probably just takes time to get gigs, so I don’t blame them. I just wanted to go my own way. We will have one person taking care of the bookings (Kris O’Neil) and to keep in touch with the dj’s.
How’s the gigs going now? Where can we see you play in the next couple of months?
Lars: The gigs are getting there. I’ve received requests from Ukraine, Hungary, Lebanon and a few up here in Norway. Takes time to get recognized as a dj, it seems. We need to release some more own productions I guess, even though we’ve released quite some big remixes. Here is my confirmed schedule:
05.09.2008 Under The Moon @ Oslo, Norway.
26.09.2008 Under The Sun Pre-Party @ Oslo,Norway.
27.09.2008 Under The Sun @ Oslo, Norway.
17.10.2008 Voss Pre-Trance Party @ Voss, Norway.
21.11.2008 TBA @ Budapest, Hungary.
Last question. The impossible choice: love or music?
Both. And that’s our final answer!
I’d like to thank Lars and Tore for their time and wish them the best of luck.
Info and bookings:
www.myspace.com/blizzardsoundz
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23145861508&ref=ts
www.myspace.com/lucreative
