Originally from Norway, indie band Highasakite is currently on tour in Europe, but recently made a stop in Chicago.
1. Give me some background — how did you guys get together and how long have you been playing as a band?
We got together in 2010, but back then it was just Trond and me. We lived together in Trondheim, and I was sitting home alone writing songs, and when he came home from tour I showed him what I made. We started recording an album, and realized that some synthesizer would be really cool; then Oystein joined us, and so we have just grown after that, or we finished growing in 2012 when Kristoffer joined the band. Figured five people was enough.
2. Where did the name Highasakite come from?
It’s from Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” I listened to that song on repeat in 2010, I was so in love with it.
3. Who are your musical influences?
I have a million musical influences, I feel like I constantly change musical identity, and that’s important to me. So, last year I couldn’t stop listening to Die Antwoord, and now the last couple of months I haven’t been able to listen to anything else than Olafur Arnalds. I go crazy for one artist at the time, very often.
4. What inspires your music, and what is your songwriting process like?
I have travelled some places to write in the past, but I haven’t done that in a while, because I didn’t want to travel that much while touring so much. So, I have been writing at home in Oslo, and at a spa hotel outside of Oslo called Farris Bad. This fall we are going to tour so much that I want to try writing on the road, I haven’t done that before and I’m quite excited about that. Surroundings are so important to me while writing.
5. How is CAMP ECHO different than Silent Treatment?
Camp Echo is a lot more electronic, and quite an angry album.
6. What is “Golden Ticket” about? Where did the inspiration for the video come from, and is there a metaphorical meaning to the “golden ticket?:
A “golden ticket” is a rare opportunity. The video is just inspired by what I think looks cool.
7. Any favorite songs to perform live?
Maybe “Deep Sea River,” it’s fun dancing to that song.
8. How has the tour been going so far? How long have you been touring for, and what are you looking forward to about your stop in Chicago?
Chicago-style pizza! the tour just started. We woke up in Brooklyn today really early, went to the gym, and now we are going to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
9. I like how you have a bit of electronic sound to your instrumentation, it seems very complex. Describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music before.
It’s just tons of synthesizers, programmed drums, vocoder vocals, and noisy guitars.
