Hailing from the city of Drammen in Norway, Kambodsja describe the alignment of their own sounds as indie-prog-punk-metal, with a touch of post-hardcore and math rock. Think of the Swedish legends Refused, but converged altogether with elements of good old ‘70s prog rock as well as influences from a wide range of artists from Manic Street Preachers to And So I Watch You From Afar. Refusing to conform to certain conventional musical dogmas, the sounds that Kambodsja present happen to be ever-transcendent and all-around eclectic; making the creative process of their music not limited to conforming to certain genre boundaries but rather, making it about intricate explorations.
After releasing an advance single entitled Idlemind, they are expected to release their fifth studio album Resilient on September 29th via the record label Mas-Kina Recordings –based in Norway as well–, which has released many notable albums from many notable names being Beaten to Death, Grant the Sun, and She Said Destroy.
The Ghost Cult editorial team decided to conduct a little interview with the renowned Kambodsja, precisely with guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Baard Bøhlum, as a means of celebrating the release of Idlemind as well as anticipating the upcoming release of Resilient.
1. Hi, Kambodsja! First of all, congrats on the release of Idlemind and I’m looking forward to the release of Resilient! Now that your fifth studio album is releasing soon next month, mind telling us the highlights of the creative process of your album’s songwriting so far?
Thank you!
If we just skip the delays and difficulties of a pandemic, this album has probably been the most relaxing and fun recording we have done so far. We and our producer Øyvind Gundersen moved all our amps, drums, guitars, and recording equipment to Portåsen which is not a recording studio at all but an old barn and the former home of a famous Norwegian writer – Herman Wildenvey. This fantastic place in the forest has been made into a cultural establishment. We recorded all the songs ‘live’ (without vocals) then went to our producers’ studio in Oslo for the finishing touches.
As far as the songwriting goes most of our music comes from improvising together. Or ‘jamming’ if you will. On this album, I would say that 90% of the songs comes from improvising together and the last 10% is ‘homemade-riffs’. The great thing about that is that everyone in the band contributes equally and feel like ‘it is my music’.
2. Several sources have said that your music is influenced by punk, metal, prog, as well as indie rock. How did you end up experimenting with so many genre alignments at once?
We all listen to all sorts of music but mostly those genres that you mention. Since most of our music comes from writing together, what we have been listening to lately tends to rub off to what we play. If Thorbjørn is in a deep ‘Reggae phase’ then he is going to play Reggae guitar when we jam. Meanwhile, Tom is listening to Meshuggah’s new album and is inspired to practice his drumming. I’m tired and sleepy after a long day’s work and just want to relax to some ambient guitar doing as little work as possible and Jørgen on bass is just trying to make everyone happy. If it turns out to be a cool jam then we stop playing and try to record it and save it for later. If the jam is too good then no one wants to yell stop and we just continue to play until we are at the point when the jam naturally dies. Usually, after about an hour, we have forgotten the parts that we should have recorded. Sadly, a lot of good songs have been lost that way.
3. We have heard a lot about the underground scene in the bigger cities of Norway such as Oslo and Bergen– but what about the one of your hometown, Drammen? What is the scene there like– and what bands hailing from there would you recommend?
It certainly isn’t as big as in Oslo, but Oslo is close. But in Drammen it’s many great bands and musicians in different genres and ‘everybody knows everybody’. Our biggest concert venue is called Union Scene and is also a place where we have our rehearsal space. For many years this has been the only place in Drammen. But this year is thriving with places. There’s ‘Kulturhuset’, and a brand new «Rock»-venue where we will release our new album. It’s so new that we can’t say the name yet. But it’s a subunit of Vaterland in Oslo.
Rock, punk, and metal is back in the youth culture, throughout our region. In terms of bands we have to mention our long-time rehearsal space colleagues in Thefalls. Crazy sludgecore/math/metal releasing their new album this fall as well. We’re also really happy to share the stage with Kjöter in Mjøndalen – their hometown outside Drammen. Another great up-and-coming Norwegian punk band with rave live shows.
4. Do you have any favorite rosters from the record label that is about to release Resilient, namely Mas-Kina Recordings? If you do, which are your favorites?
We’re really happy to work with Mas-Kina. They’re great people releasing excellent music. We’ve been fans of just about every release they’ve had from the beginning with Rumble In Rhodos to newer releases like Beaten To Death, and Grant the Sun – who will join us on our release shows in Oslo and Drammen.
5. What are some of the recurring themes that you enjoy writing about the most as parts of your lyrics? And why?
We like to find comic/tragic/crazy/ etc. people and try to speak through their voice. Like ‘What they are thinking’ and what they would say in a song. Not all our lyrics are like that though. Sometimes it is inspired by our own thoughts and feelings. Usually, written with a thick pen and exenterated.
6. Three musicians you would like to collaborate with, dead or alive?
If we are dreaming and think of musicians that mean a lot to us then Ozzy Osbourne and Robert Fripp are the first two that comes to mind… but seeing as we can bring back the dead then we should probably bring back Elvis. That would be cool!
7. What are the messages you are trying to convey through the release of Resilient, if there are any?
There is not really a message in the album as a whole. The closest we are to being political is in the lyrics to the song “Basement Prophet.” There is so much stupidity/false information/hate and conspiracies being posted in social media these days so the song is taking a stand against the internet warriors… or at least trying to make fun of them.
8. Lastly, what kind of musicianship do you aspire to have and what kind of band do you aspire to be or keep on being in the near future?
We have always written the music first then added lyrics/vocals last and we have never really given lyrics and vocals too much focus. We have pretty much been happy with ‘it works’. On this album, there is a lot more melody and we spent a lot more time experimenting with different ways to ‘sing the song’. We also discovered a ‘new’ way to work on vocals that really fit the band and is something that we will continue to do when we write new songs. The songs “Mr.Hotshot” and “Basement Prophet” are examples of working with that vocal method and it is the best vocals that we have made as a band thus far. Those two songs are also the last two songs that we finished writing for the album so it is where we stand now as a band.
Thank you for the correspondence, Kambodsja!
Buy Kambodsja music and merch here:
https://kambodsja.bandcamp.com/music
RALKA SKJERSETH