Interview with Sivert Høyem

Photo: Per Johan Waag

Interview: Wout de Natris

Copyright © WoNo Magazine 2021

A few weeks ago I was offered the opportunity to interview Sivert Høyem, the Norwegian singer with one of the warmest and greatest voices in 21st century rock. Of course I jumped to the occasion to ask him about his new EP 'Roses Of Neurosis' that was released on 12 February (read my review here: https://wonomagazine.blogspot.com/2021/02/roses-of-neurosis-sivert-hyem.html) and on how he looks back on his career in Madrugada.

As an introduction I wrote a little on how this blog evolved from the once magazine and that Madrugada's and his solo albums have featured throughout the past two decades. Despite I follow his career for over 20 years now, I can't remember ever having read an interview with him, so I had a few questions of general interest for him, besides on the new album. I hope you find them, but more importantly Sivert Høyem's answers, of interest as well. What you are about to read are fully his own words. I want to thank Sivert Høyem for his effort and time as it is truly appreciated.

The cover art of your new EP portrays a rose. A rose is a flower with two sides: The beauty of the flowers and the danger of the stem. What side do you emphasize through the artwork?

SIVERT: Hi, Wout, and thanks for the nice introduction, I like you a lot already. I don’t think the rose artwork is that well thought through, really. With the title and the lyrical themes of love on the EP it seemed like the obvious way to go, and Miles Wintner, who made the artwork, has a wonderful way with this kind of one-to-one symbolism. I discovered his work online and I loved the kitschy nostalgia of it, and the simple ideas that were conveyed, it harked back to the golden era of album art in the Seventies. I guess the duality you mentioned is interesting. The rose is such a poetic flower in the first place, and such a universally understood symbol of love - the beauty of it, and the pain too. So I guess my answer should be both; the flower AND the stem. 

The title ‘Roses Of Neurosis’ holds the same contrast. What is the story behind the title?

SIVERT: The phrase turns up in the song RUN AWAY, where it has a more specific meaning, and I’ll leave that open to interpretation, but as the title of the EP it’s just supposed to indicate that this is a collection of slightly neurotic and claustrophobic love songs. It fits perfectly in my mind, and this kind of bent phrasing occurs a lot in the country music that I love, it brings a bit of wit and humour to the table, which I think is a great place to start when listening to these songs. 

The titles of the first two songs hold a contrast as well. ‘Safe Return’ and ‘Run Away’. Is this intentional or coincidental?

SIVERT: Haha, nothing gets past you, man! I guess that friction is at the core of all these lyrics. I wanted to deal with adult life in an honest way. I’m a grown man now, I just turned 45, and more than anything else I’m struck by the high stakes in our lives. There are kids, families, futures and fortunes, and at the core of it is this relationship between two people - It’s quite overwhelming when you think of it. 

Photo: Frode Fjerdingstad

Four songs on the EP are subtle, some even slightly jazzy in atmosphere. ‘Run Away’ is huge. When do you know that a song needs a full treatment to have maximum effect and when to hold back? 

SIVERT: I try to just follow my gut feeling and find out what the song needs. A lot of arrangement ideas come at an early stage in the songwriting process, so it’s kind of easy to know where we’re going once we start recording.

There are what I call typical Sivert Høyem songs. ‘Majesty’ is one and on the new EP ‘Run Away’. They have a majestic element. How do you respond to this conclusion? 

SIVERT: I think that’s a fair statement to make, and I do prefer songs that are simple, but have big possibilities dynamically. Dave Roback in Mazzy Star once said to me: «Just play simple emotional songs», I try to always keep that in mind, Dave was a very wise man, musically. 

Can you share how a Sivert Høyem song comes about? Are there typical moments of inspiration for you and what comes first, lyrics or melody?

SIVERT: Ideas for songs come while I’m playing my guitar or while I’m walking on the street. I sing to myself all the time, so I’m always working, and the walking pace is a good backbeat for the kind of mid-tempo music I mostly make. Ideally the words come quite quickly as long with the melody, cause if they don’t the process of writing lyrics can be long and joyless. I try to sing the song a lot, just using gibberish words, to find out what words the songs «wants to sing». The key to writing a song, I found, is singing … not sitting at your Mac pretending to be a novelist. 

The trumpet solo in ‘Devotional’ reminds me of the trumpet solo in Soft Cell’s ‘Torch’. It gives the song a distinct flavour and makes the song stand out. What is the story behind that solo?

Photo: Per Johan Waag

SIVERT: I’ve always wanted to work with Nils Petter Molvær, I just never seemed to have the kind of material that would fit. We heard early on that there was space for some real solos on this EP, and Nils Petter was top of my list. He came to the studio one morning and played a bunch of solos, and this is one of them. The man is legend, and he’s such a lovely guy to be around too. I’m so proud he’s on this EP with us.

In ‘Run Away’ you sing, in part, from the perspective of a child or young adolescent. What was the music you listened to as a young child in the home of your parents and does that music still influence you in the music you make today?

SIVERT: I only sing from my own perspective actually, but it’s interesting that you should think I take on a child’s perspective in that song. I’m gonna have to go back and look at it again. Growing up The Beatles was still a big thing, even on the radio, but my most vivid memories are of those big 80s albums during the first half of the decade. I remember when my dad bought Let’s Dance. It seemed like such a big deal to my parents. Later we got the first A-HA album which was a HUGE for us Norwegians for obvious reasons, Brothers In Arms, Reckless by Bryan Adams, which I still think is a total masterpiece, Sting’s solo debut, and Madonna’s two first albums, but my musical awakening was probably Born In The USA. Listening to Downbound Train while building Lego, I think I intuitively understood that there was this whole other meaning to music, this dark and aching thing, that wasn’t in any of the charts-stuff, although what was in the charts was sometimes amazing as well; Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys and Prince!!! Oh, and then there was Leonard Cohen, who made genius music in the 80s too - I never really got over hearing Cohen for the first time.

What music and bands did you listen to when you started to discover music on your own and does that influence you still?

SIVERT: Yes, I think those first big influences that touched Madrugada's music are with me still, and in a way it all goes back to that aching, longing feeling I described earlier. The big ones for me are REM (Losing My Religion was the first song I sang in a band), Grant Lee Buffalo (tragically overlooked in their time), Jeff Buckley (Obviously) and Mazzy Star. Dave Roback, who I mentioned earlier, was living in Oslo back then, and he became an early mentor of sorts. Sadly he passed away early last year. Mazzy Star live in Oslo ca 1997 is the best show I’ve ever been to, and the most inspirational too. And then there was Cohen, Johnny Cash, Springsteen and to a lesser extent Nick Cave, who I oddly get compared to all the time, but who was always more of an influence on Robert and Frode in Madrugada. 

In my opinion you have one of the great voices in rock today. When did you discover your voice and found out that you could enrapture people with it?

SIVERT: First of all, thank you very much! I have been singing all my life, I guess, but I always wanted to play guitar. When I started playing in a band, around the age 15, I was going to be the guitarist, and the bass player was going to sing. Then at the first rehearsal I was the one who had written down the lyrics … to Losing My Religion, and when I sang them to the other guys, to sort of explain how it was supposed to sound, the keyboard player thought I was the better singer, and that was that. I actually got a lot of good feedback because of my voice at our first gig, which felt so good - When you’re that age you need all the encouragement you can get. It was also a great way to get noticed by the girls.

After the release of ‘The Nightly Disease’ you played with Madrugada in de Melkweg in Amsterdam. This show was perfection, in sound quality, in atmosphere and playing on the stage. Around me I saw people totally enraptured. When do you know on stage when a show is nearing perfection? What is your favourite show ever?

SIVERT: That show at The Melkweg is definitely one of them! I remember that night very well, and we all talk about it as one of our best nights ever. That was also the first time I met Nils Petter Molvær, we had lunch at The American Hotel with the boss of Virgin Records Norway, who was a great friend and later became my manager. Anyway … I guess you can feel the vibe of the crowd, that they want it to be good, and also there’s a feeling of ease and lightness that characterises the best evenings - they just sort of happen. The two evenings at Acropolis in Athens, that ended up on my live album, were like that - everybody knew it was gonna be something special, the band and the crowd too.

Madrugada lies behind you, barring a reunion tour, for about a decade. But, is it easier for you to be a solo artist or to be a bandmember and what are the differences?

SIVERT: I’ve been seeking the community of a band since Madrugada. There has been detours along the way, like Paradise, that may have been hard to understand for outsiders, but I always got off on the collaborative spirit, and I tried to recreate that even in the solo format. It took me a long time to start appreciating the freedom of my current position, having tried to escape it every chance I got. It had to do with a confidence in my abilities, but also just the way I started out - I was always in a band, that’s how I learned to be a musician, and my friendships were founded on music too. As I got older I started to realize that there’s untapped potential in the music that comes directly from me, trying to get it across as pure and free-flow as possible, that’s my project now - It’s a very inspiring time for me.

How do you look back on your period in and work with Madrugada?

SIVERT: I look back on it with some gratitude and a bit of sadness too, mostly because of Robert, of course, but I’m proud too of what we accomplished with the music we dreamed up together, the fact that people still keep discovering it today, that’s special.

You made the title song for the TV show ‘Occupied’. Does the promotion for your song in an internationally televised show have a positive impact on your career and if so in what way?

SIVERT: I certainly hope it will, but you can’t count on any kind of miracle. I find that the only real currency when it comes to building a career in music is getting out there and playing to people, it’s the bond that’s formed between you and your audience. That’s the way it’s always been, and it’s still that way.