Silje Nergaard

Over the last six years, Silje Nergaard has released three highly reviewed studio albums as well as one best-of album. These albums are not only dearly embraced by the Norwegian audience; they are also warmly received in several European countries and in the East. “Melodic jazz in sophisticated arrangements,” is one of many characteristics written about her music.
Now, Silje is ready with a new album, “Darkness Out of Blue”, which will be released in February 2007. This time she has put together a new band. All the music is self composed and she believes herself to be taking new ground. “This has been a very inspiring project. It feels extremely important, and I sense it is the beginning of something new,” she says.
A number of the new songs have already been performed live around the world. The audience response has been overwhelming, giving Silje the confirmation that her new songs the quality she seeks. The fact that people embrace these new songs with open arms truly means a lot to her. Especially when daring to play and change things already established.
On this album, Silje has composed all of the 12 songs. And as with previous albums, Mike McGurk (living in Norway) is her lyricist.
“I think his imagery is more poetic than ever. And despite the wide meaning of the term, the new album does not contain many love songs. At least not the “heart/ pain/I have lost you” type of songs.”
Silje speaks affectionately of what she calls key phrases. Often these kind of phrases pop up in her head when composing. One of the songs in the new album is called “When Judy Falls”. “I had this phrase in my head when I made the melody which Mike later on used as a jumping-off point when writing the lyrics.”
In this way the lyrics are written on her terms, so to speak. This time the lyrics are digging deeper and wider, she thinks, leaving the listener to choose how deep they want to plough. “For me it has taken quite some time, because there are so many levels. I still find myself having my eyes opened to new aspects of songs that I have sung hundreds of times.” And then the tunes. The good tunes. The melodic tunes. The organic and the acoustic. The dynamic.
All of this building a solid basis for whatever Silje does. As with the new album. “I think it has become more dynamic. I am digging deeper into the stuff this time. Maybe it seems graver than before, but also more wide-ranging. And there is a lot more joy and energy.”
“You grow, eventually. You get closer to life. Despite of the title; this is not a shady record. Even the most serious songs have a bright twist.”
Earlier this year she put together a new band. The guitarist Bjørn Charles Dreyer and the drummer Jarle Vespestad are still around, whereas Helge Lien and Finn Guttormsen on piano and bass represent the new contribution; both extremely talented musicians with solid references and wide-ranging backgrounds, jazz being the backdrop all along. “It was time for change and renewing. Sometimes one must seek out new partnerships in order to bring out new sides of oneself to avoid stagnation. My music draws from so many genres melted together over a broad spectrum. This demands many characteristics of the musicians; that they have strong personalities; that they shine on their chosen instrument. At the same time, I also seek maturity and the ability to understand musical boundaries.”
All of this, and more, Silje has found in her new musicians. She found even more for the new record – like a new producer, the talented Pål Svenre. Him finding her challenging, she takes as a compliment.
“The recording took place in Rainbow Studio in Oslo and lasted for a week. It was a happening, a great, musical happening. The production has become spacious, vibrant and intense. This comes naturally when the songs are so deeply rooted within the musicians.”
The reason why Pål Svenre, the producer, found it demanding working with Silje, might as well be caused by her having a finger in every pie, more or less, being involved in every little detail around the production. “I am a control freak, but I am so due to my affection and love for my songs,” she smiles.
There is a big difference between studio music and live music, she thinks. “Studio is much tighter than live. Live is more like an instant experience. I am not so preoccupied with live albums. When I make albums, my starting point is that the audience should enjoy listening to the songs over and over again.”
So, how do you know when enough is enough in studio, and that the songs recorded have the excellence you are renown for? “This is something you just know. On the average, we have three takes a song. With one of the songs, we had eleven takes before we were satisfied. After the last take, we knew that either it would be magic or totally uninteresting. Luckily it turned out to be the first.”
Silje is tremendously proud of the new album. And she is extremely proud of having the legend Vince Mendoza (Joni Mitchell, Björk, Elvis Costello) to arrange two of her songs; “Paperboats” and “Let Me Be Troubled”, the first and the last song on the album.
“Mendoza is a great model. What he conjures up for strings and band is simply unique. He goes right into the core of the tunes, lifts them up and enhances them. It can almost be painful listening to – painful and beautiful at the same time. This is how powerful it is.”
Also on “Darkness Out Of Blue”, Silje is mixing genres. “I still sense that I’m falling between chairs. Between jazz and pop music. But everything I have done, is done out of my own world. My roots are many different places. I am not ruled by genres and their regulations, and I believe my strength is that I create something which is totally mine. I also feel I am gaining more and more respect for what I do.”
Silje is not only an artist. She is also a mother. This is why she is strongly involved in SOS Children’s Villages, and especially in a new village soon opening in Malawi. All income from the song “Let Me Be Troubled” will go into this project.
“The song is, among other things, about being dedicated. You cannot take it all in, someone said. No, we cannot take it all in, but we can be much more involved. I am not talking about sentimentality; I am talking about being open-handed with our abundance.”
What about the album title “Darkness Out of Blue?” “Interpret it as you like,” Silje grins.