Madrugada: The Vikings Love The Blues - Madrugada are a pleasant surprise from the European north, as they build their dark melodies on classic blues tunes. In our country they have a unique record; by this summer they will have performed here three times in less than one year! During their last visit, co-inciding with the release of their new album and with an acoustic set in an Athens night club, Thanasis Minas met them and tried to find the secret of their unique impression in Greece.

Tuesday, the 10th of April, around 10 PM: Sivert Høyem and Robert Burås, singer and guitarist of Madrugada respectively, have just completed the soundcheck, and relax just before they get on the small stage, set up for the occasion in club Mo Better. Sivert is tall, has very sweet charachteristics, and seems a timid guy. Robert, on the other hand, is more social, and has consumed considerable amounts of beer before the live performance. But you can see clearly that they both enjoy every moment, and that they have the best opinion about Greece.

"I always liked Greece," says Robert. "I have traveled a lot of times in the past few years in the islands and I had a great time. The greek audience is very expressive, very fanatic let's say. The concert at Rodon last autumn, was one the best we have given up to now."

I ask them if they were surprised by their success in countries like Greece.

"Of course," answers Robert. "The same goes for countries like Holland and Germany, where we also have some fans. Generally when we started the band we couldn't imagine this outcome. It is quite rare for a Norwegian rock band to become successful in foreign countries."

Our conversation leads inevitably to the underground rock scene of their country-and of course I don't mean the notorious Norwegian Death Metal scene. I mention names like garage-punk band Cosmic Drop Outs and well-known Motorpsycho. They say they know the first and appreciate Motorpsycho very much, as they opened the way for other Norwegian bands. The name of Sister Ray drops into the conversation, and Sivert responds immediately:

"Sister Ray were a great band, and they were a major influence for us when we started playing together. In the beginning we also covered some of their songs."

The members of the band are not afraid to talk about their influences and their favorite bands. In their songs you find the sounds of bands like Velvet Underground, The Doors, Gun Club, Jesus and Mary Chain, the blues and country music. The covers they have done are also characteristic: "Goo Goo Muck" from Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads, which most of us learned from The Cramps, Velvet Underground's "Venus In Furs," Gun Club's "Mother of Earth." I ask them if their cover of "Goo Goo Muck" can be found anywhere.

"There is in no official recording, but it can be found somewhere on the internet," answers Sivert. "I really like The Cramps. I like them because they are psychotic, and I believe Lux Interior is a great performer. We used to play 'Goo Goo Muck' in the beginning, and especially when we were very drunk! It's been a long time since we last played it."

Also magnificent is the cover of "Mother Of Earth" - it is on the "Electric" CD single - which the audience of Madrugada liked very much, as well as the fans of Gun Club.

"I am glad about that," says Robert, "because it is of course a classic song. Well, the whole album, "Miami," is as far as I am concerned one of the best albums ever released. Jeffrey Lee Pierce was an amazing composer and performer, he was generally a very important personality."

But how did they start hearing all that stuff? Robert engaged to explain:

"Everything happened gradually. Personally I discovered rock'n'roll thanks to The Doors, with a cassette an older friend gave me. In time I discovered groups like Velvet Underground, Dream Syndicate and Gun Club, I listened to punk music for a while and I was stuck in the blues for a while. In general I want to listen to as many different things as possible, and I don't reject any kind of music, I am open to everything. I also like dub and other things from the modern electronic sound."

Sivert's opinion is similar. Also a few hours before the live performance, Madrugada presented some of their favorite songs on [the radio station] Rock FM, or at least the songs which we could find, and their selections reveal a lot of different hearings: "Mommy What's A Funkadelic" from Funkadelic's first album, Stooges' "TV Eye," Neil Young's "Helpless," "The Partisan" covered by 16 Horsepower - even if they prefer the version by Leonard Cohen, who they appreciate unlimitedly - "Soul Auctioneer" by Death In Vegas, "Psychotic Reaction" by Count Five.

"I really like these American bands," insists Robert. "All these unknown garage-punk bands of the '60s who tried to imitate the Yardbirds. Now I am buying on CD many reissues from the garage and psychedelic bands of the '60s. One of the last albums I bought was 'Easter Everywhere,' the 13th Floor Elevators's second album."

We order more beer and the discussion goes to their new album, "The Nightly Disease." I tell them that I regard it a bit better than their debut album. I add that songs like "Two Black Bones" - which reminds a bit of my favorite "Beasts of Bourbon" - "Black Mambo" and "Step Into This Room And Dance For Me" are deep in the mythology of noir, and that the album is in general darker and more blue.

Robert adds even more: "For me the album is more desperate. This is the word that characterizes it. On the other hand... you might be right. I mean, is there a more desperate music than the blues?"

"I think that country and the blues had greater influence a few years earlier, and not too much in our position today, at least not directly or consciously," says Sivert. "I believe that the new album is more tied, more solid. The first one was maybe less connected, since it contains old songs written in different periods. On the contrary, on "The Nightly Disease" all the compositions are new, exept for "The Frontman," which is a bit older.

In the album there are two hard, guitar-based songs, "Lucy One" and "We Are Go." Sivert explains how they turned up:

"We just wanted to experiment with noise. Especially 'We Are Go' was an attempt to play a bit in the style of Sonic Youth and the old Stereolab. Even it isn't obvious this song has a lot of influences from the electronic sound."

It is truly pleasant to talk with people who appreciate good music. But, there are of course a lot of other things in their lives. So,I ask them what other things fascinate them in their personal life, what they enjoy. Sivert, who writes all the lyrics, tells me he is reading a lot.

"Nowadays I read continuously, mainly poetry and litterature. It helps me find material for my lyrics. I prefer writers and poets like Marquez, Neruda and Bukowski, but I also like some relatively unknown Norwegian writers."

Robert says he is a fan of the American cinema, and especially the independent:

"I love Jim Jarmusch. The guy is a genius! I adore all his movies and especially 'Down By The Law.' It's my favourite! But I also liked his last movie, 'Ghost Dog.'"

"The soundtrack was amazing too, it set with the scenes," adds Sivert. "Really cool! I think RZA from the Wu Tang Clan did a great job."

So would they like to make music for a film like "Down By The Law"?

"That would be fascinating!" says Robert and smiles.

About an hour after midnight, Madrugada's acoustic set is finished. Sivert and Robert have deserved the warm applause they got from the audience. Even in this form their compositions maintain their emotional tension, while Sivert's voice is as expressive as it sounds in studio. Robert seems a bit tired, but also relieved. Besides, a few hours before the live performance he was telling me:

"I am a bit nervous. It's been a while since we last did something like this. I don't know how it will turn out, if it will satisfy the people. Sivert and I have presented acoustic live performances in the past, but it's been long time since the last time."

It's surely different from playing with the whole band...

"Yes, but this has it's charm too. I don't want to compare these, because they are different situations, but I admit I feel more comfortable when I'm on stage with the whole band and with electric instruments."

Nice! So we expect you at the Rockwave Festival!

"Yes, and I'm glad I have the opportunity to come to Greece again this summer, as well as the other members of the band. I am also excited that we will appear the same day as two of my most favorite bands, The Fall and The Bad Seeds. At first I couldn't believe it. 'Wow, we will come out on stage after Fall!' When I started playing rock'n'roll, I never imagined that there would come a day that I would share the same stage with such important bands..."

Maybe this is the greatest reward for Madrugada, the greatest vindication of their efforts. Until now, at least, they prove they deserve it.

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(At the Rockwave Festival, the whole festival day where Madrugada were supposed to play was cancelled due to heavy rain, and neither of the five bands, Rockin' Bones, The Fall, Madrugada, Charlatans and Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, appeared on stage.)

This article, written by Thanasis Minas, was published in the May 2001 issue of the Greek magazine Pop+Rock. It was translated to English by Kostas Frangoudis.

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