About Me
DYSLECTIC POETS - NEW CD OUT NOW!!
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How did it start?
It was a late Tuesday October evening at Berg. As usual, Eiffel had come over from Fagerborg. Our studio was literally the living room table. There was a computer surrounded by some empty beer bottles, a half bad Italian red wine, audio interfaces, effect units, and a package of General chewing tobacco. Another rehearsal was over.For a year, the rehearsing facilities had been the same - headphones and a portable PC. The tunes sound as they're supposed to, but this evening Eiffel doesn't even bother to save the recording session. Both of us know that we can't continue this way. Calmly, Eiffel turns off the computer and says: - Atle, have I told you that I share a rehearsal studio together with a drummer at Lufthavna? There is complete silence, and the expression on Eiffel's face suggests that he is realizing that this is quite absurd. His grin is so huge that the big pinch he has in his upper lip starts sliding down - What? You share a studio with a drummer? Why haven't you told this before? I was simply stunned. Eiffel and I had played together for over two years, and all the time we had been looking for a drummer and some other place to rehearse. And then out of nowhere he suddenly says that he shares a rehearsal studio with a drummer! As Eiffel packs his guitar, he murmurs: - I can ask Helge whether he would like to play with us.As soon as Eiffel had said that I started feeling an inner peace. Finally, I stopped worrying about those Harley goons at Økern who threatened us with torpedoes because we would not pay their blood money for the sewage and dioxin contamined studio we had been so stupid to sign a rental agreement for. I forgot about the Estonian vocalist who suddenly just decided to abandon us. I forgot the strange drummer who played only esoteric rhythms. I forgot the punk drummer that before was a DJ but had to pawne his turntables, and so therefore wanted to be a jazz drummer in our band. I forgot that I had to wash our microphones when we had ice cream-drooling, voted-out-of-Idol singers auditioning on hot summer days. I forgot that singing and traveling clothing salesmen are not necessarily able to hold a note. I forgot that my bass equipment is hard to rig up and just as heavy to rig down. I forgot that we made numerous bad performing contracts.But I did not forget that I played with a unique guitar player, and that all the people we had met along the way had each in its own way helped shaping Live Ullmann. First we have the drummer from Atna. I did hear that he was a carpenter and from Atna. Sounds solid, I thought, and there are several carpenters who have already made significant impressions on others. I still don't quite know where Atna is, but what I do know is that the first time we played together, it was a real kick! It seemed like it was meant to be; Helge was the drummer we had searched for so long, and we ended up finding him in Eiffel's rehearsal studio! What surprises me about Helge is how technical he plays. He is certainly one of the most technical carpenters in Norway, and is perhaps also the Live Ullmann member who is most into music technology. Helge has a passion for loops and samples. The rest of us admire him for that.There's a funky karma in the air: I have no idea about what it is like to grow up at Kolbotn. Myself I had grown up in Vika. Without a doubt, fairly big differences. The first time I met Nadya I could not help but notice that modesty is not necessarily synonymous with reserved. On the phone, she said that she had to sing with us, but that she did not have past experience (never really got started in Kolbotn, she said). That's why I was (and probably the others too) quite surprised when she started singing - funky, rusty, velvet-like, groovy and cool, as well as beautiful English pronunciation. Nadya's story didn't quite add up, but she revealed her secret when getting into that she is half English and have always sung - alone for herself that is (later, I have also been told that her father is a musician). Judgmental? Yes, a bit, but Live Ullmann are still not very concerned about what current trends are, and what is right or wrong. We are concerned about our music. Cliché? Yes definitely, but honest.Oslo, January 2006(In retrospect, I have wondered why it went so long before Eiffel mentioned Helge and the studio. My first theory was that he has so much equipment that it simply served as storage space, or more specifically a guitar equipment storage room. Eiffel is most likely to own one of the largest guitar rigs in Norway, perhaps even in all the Nordic countries?. Another thing that struck me is that it might actually have been a spare apartment. I think I remember seeing a bed inside there once. Well enough about that.)The band
Live Ullmann was actually formed on the remains of a failed disco band! (None of the band members were particularly fond of disco.) For a long time the band existed solely for musical experimenting. In our tiny studio at Grünerløkka Lufthavn, we have created our own distinctive musical style and sound where elements from rock, pop, jazz, electrobeat are all mixed together. We call it RM&H - rhythm, melody and heart. Live Ullmann are most comfortable when playing on stage, and is simply a damn good live act.Historien:
Det var sent en tirsdagskveld i oktober pÃ¥ Berg. Eiffel hadde som vanlig labbet over fra Fagerborg. Øvingslokalet vÃ¥rt var bokstavelig talt stuebordet. Der sto PC..en vÃ¥r omringet av noen tomme ølflasker, en halvdÃ¥rlig italiensk rødvin, lydkort, effektbokser og en pakke general. Enda en øving var over. I et Ã¥r hadde øvingsfasilitetene vært de samme - hodetelefoner og en bærbar PC. LÃ¥tene sitter som de skal, men denne kvelden gidder ikke Eiffel Ã¥ lagre innspillingene. Begge vet at det ikke kan fortsette pÃ¥ denne mÃ¥ten. Rolig slÃ¥r Eiffel av PC..en og utbryter: - Atle, har jeg fortalt deg at jeg deler et øvingslokale med en trommis pÃ¥ Lufthavna? Det blir stille, og gliset til Eiffel tyder pÃ¥ at han skjønner at det hele er ganske absurbd. Gliset er sÃ¥ bredt at den store prisen han har i overleppa glir ned. - Hva? Deler du øvingslokale sammen med en trommis? Hvorfor har du ikke fortalt det før? Jeg ble rett og slett satt ut. Eiffel og jeg hadde spilt sammen i over to Ã¥r, og hadde hele tiden lett etter en trommis og nytt øvingslokale. SÃ¥ plutselig sier han bare at han deler øvingslokale med en trommis! Idet Eiffel pakker ned gitarene sine sier han litt mumlene: - Jeg kan jo spørre Helge om han vil være med. Med en gang Eiffel hadde sagt det fikk jeg en indre ro. Med ett hadde jeg glemt de kjipe Harleygutta pÃ¥ Økern som truet oss med torpedoer fordi vi ikke ville betale blodprisen deres for det kloakk og dioxsinbefengte øvingslokalet vi hadde vært sÃ¥ idiotiske og takke ja til. Jeg glemte den estiske vokalisten som plutselig bare forsvant. Jeg glemte den rare trommisen som alltid hadde sÃ¥ snÃ¥le rytmer. Jeg glemte punktrommisen som hadde blitt Dj, men som mÃ¥tte pansette platespilleren sin og derfor ønsket Ã¥ bli jazztrommis sammen med oss. Jeg glemte at jeg mÃ¥tte vaske mikrofonene vÃ¥re nÃ¥r is-siklende idolnedstemte vokalister sang pÃ¥ audition pÃ¥ varme sommerdager. Jeg glemte at syngende handelsreisende menn innen konfeksjon ikke alltid kan synge. Jeg glemte at bassriggen min er tung Ã¥ rigge opp og like tung Ã¥ rigge ned. Jeg glemte at vi gjorde mange dÃ¥rlige konsertavtaler. Men jeg glemte ikke at jeg spilte sammen med et unikum pÃ¥ gitar, og at alle de vi hadde møtt underveis hver pÃ¥ sin mÃ¥te hadde bidratt til Ã¥ forme Live Ullmann. Trommeslageren fra Atna: Jeg fikk høre at han var snekker og fra Atna. Solid tenkte jeg, og det er dessuten enkelte snekkere som har gjort betydelig inntrykk pÃ¥ mange før. Atna vet jeg fremdeles ikke helt hvor er, men det jeg vet er at første gangen vi spilte sammen fikk vi et realt kick. SÃ¥ derfor ble det slik. Helge var trommisen vi hadde lett etter sÃ¥ lenge, og vi fant han i øvingslokalet til Eiffel! Det som overrasker meg i forhold til Helge er hvor teknisk han er. Han er sikkert en av de mest tekniske snekkerne i Norge, og er kanskje den i Live Ullmann som er mest opptatt av teknologi. Helge har en forkjærlighet for loops og samples. Det liker vi godt. It..s a funky charma in the air: Jeg har ingen idè om hvordan det er Ã¥ vokse opp pÃ¥ Kolbotn. Selv hadde jeg oppveksten i Vika. Utvilsomt ganske store forskjeller. Da jeg møtte Nadya første gang kunne jeg ikke unngÃ¥ Ã¥ legge merke til at beskjedenhet ikke nødvendigvis er synonymt med tilbakeholdenhet. PÃ¥ telefon hadde hun sagt at hun bare mÃ¥tte synge med oss, men at hun ikke hadde noen som helst erfaring (kom aldri helt igang pÃ¥ Kolbotn, sa hun). Derfor ble jeg (og sikkert de andre ogsÃ¥) ganske overrasket da hun begynte Ã¥ synge – funky, hest, fløyelsaktig, groovy og â€coolt†og nydelig engelskuttale. Vi fikk det ikke helt til Ã¥ stemme, men hun røpte seg selv ved Ã¥ komme inn pÃ¥ at hun er "halvt" engelsk og alltid har sunget - alene vel og merke (senere har jeg ogsÃ¥ fÃ¥tt vite at faren er musiker). Fordomsfullt? Ja, litt, men Live Ullmann er uansett ikke sÃ¥ veldig opptatt av hva som er trender og hva som er riktig eller galt. Vi er opptatt av musikken vÃ¥r. Klisje? Ja, men ærlig.Oslo, januar 2006(I ettertid har jeg lurt pÃ¥ hvorfor det gikk sÃ¥ lang tid før Eiffel fortalte om Helge og øvingslokalet. Min første teori var at han har sÃ¥ mye utstyr at det rett og slett fungerte som oppbevaringsrom eller et gitarutstyrslager (Eiffel har sannsynligvis et av de største gitaranleggene i Norge, kanskje Norden?). En annen ting som har slÃ¥tt meg er om det kan ha vært en reservehybel. Jeg synes Ã¥ huske at det sto en seng der en gang. Vel nok om det.)Bandet:
Live Ullmann ble startet på restene av et mislykket discoband! (ingen i bandet likte egentlig disco noe særlig godt). Lenge var bandet også bare en musikalsk eksperimentering. I vårt bittelille øvingsrom på Grünerløkka Lufthavn har vi skapt en egen stil hvor vi blander elementer fra rock, pop, jazz, electrobeat... - vi kaller det RH&M - rythm, melody and heart.