Just before the two big solo concerts in our country, Madrugada singer Sievert Hoyem talks about music and politics and declares himself a humanist.
The Norwegian Sievert Hoyem he is the singer of the rock band Early morning, a band much loved by the Greek audience from the first moment they gave a concert in our country. In the last twenty years of his solo career, he also remains a very special foreign singer for the Greek public, even reaching the point of releasing the album “Live at Acropolis – Herod Atticus Odeon, Athens” (2017). He is also moved by songs from great figures of pop culture such as Leonard Cohen and Nina Simone, while he also declares himself a fan of the international Greek troubadour Georges Moustaki. THE Hoyem he has the same warm voice when he speaks on the phone. A kind and communicative man, who does not have the usual blasé style of many rock stars. I caught up with him in Berlin and we had an interesting conversation, the central axis of which was of course his two upcoming concerts in our country in Athens and Thessaloniki, in the context of promoting his latest album released last January (“On an Island”).
Is Norway a country with a tradition of rock music? Certainly the influences from the English and American rock scene would reach there faster than in Greece.
When I was growing up the influences from American and English culture were everywhere, from TV programs to music. But I’m talking about this culture in general, while I’m not so sure about rock music. In Norway I grew up with the records of Jan Garbarek, whom I never met but I know his music well. However, I have the feeling that in Greece rock is more appreciated than in Norway, where pop dominates. I say this without being an expert in Greek music beyond the people I see coming to my live shows every time.
You are 48 years old, neither young nor old. Is there an age for artists?
No, I don’t think so, although the limit age is definitely old age. I don’t know what I would do if I were an old man who had to stop singing. It’s natural for me to sing and my music requires physical involvement, so if I turn 7075, I’ll have to reset the counter. I know some artists who are still “combatants” and are more concerned about the subject. Anyway, as long as you are involved in music, you don’t think that there are age limits.
You come from a teacher father and a politician mother. Did education and politics influence your art?
Yes, I guess, even though I’m not politicized. I grew up with two parents who were into all the radical movements of the 60s and 70s. Not communists, but close to the left currents or the socialist vision of those years. Today I see aggressive policies being practiced from everywhere, people in one corner and other people against them, whether you agree or disagree with them. A sign of our times is all this madness in politics – I’m talking about the last ten years. I prefer to declare myself a humanist in my art, and my parents probably played a role in that as well.
Could you describe to me the distinctiveness of your voice?
It’s hard for me to define my voice genre or style. Maybe someone else could do it who would be an expert in objective descriptions of voices (laughs). I’ve been singing for so many years now that I don’t know if I can do it, that is, distance myself from myself.
Is every time you sing a matter of technique or mood?
First of all I don’t have a trained voice and the kind of music I play doesn’t require any special technique. My only singing training was singing by myself from a very young age, as well as a lifetime of listening to other singers sing. So the most important thing is the mental mood every time. That’s what I try to do, convey the mood I’m in without any thought of technique.
Do you remember the first time you sang in front of an audience?
I think when I was 14-15, singing in a band with my friends. When I was a kid I also played trumpet in a military band and socialized musically by playing rock at the same time as the other band. I remember well that the song I sang in front of an audience for the first time was “Losing my religion” by REM. I still love this very beautiful song that had impressed people that night and there I said “here’s something I can and want to do”. It was a positive experience for me to be in my teens and to receive such courage from my audience. There I discovered my identity.
Usually bands are introduced by their name, but you named your last album Madrugada after the death of your guitarist.
I hadn’t thought of that! It was a monumental and landmark album for the band and for me personally it was our best, the one I still prefer the most. Obviously the fact that it came out after the death of our guitarist and was our last meant something special in the history of the band. I couldn’t think of another title now and so did the others at the same time, that the time had come to release an album with our name as a title. It’s been many years since then and I can’t remember if there was any other specific reason we wanted it.
Photo: Knut Aaserud
Your first album was called “Industrial silence”. In my opinion it perfectly expressed the industrial type loneliness of western societies. In that sense was it a political record?
I understand very well what you want to say. “Industrial silence” was about a concern about the direction society was taking, considering I was an angry young man at the time. On the other hand, it also expressed our moods in a completely industrialized world. As if we were in a car and on a night march we were seeing our very life from afar. But think about what landscapes we would see on this route. We wanted all that beauty to come out, not just the worry or the reaction.
I asked you because the concept of silence seems to permeate your work, both with Madrugada and your personal works. There’s the track ‘Silences’ on the album ‘Lioness’, for example. Does the world really need silence?
I believe that too. The world needs silence and to drop gears. By looking at your iPhone all day or going on social media you are unconsciously making a huge amount of noise. I go to great lengths to stay natural and simple. We need silence more than ever before, and people right now are ignoring that need. It is also the reason we have all gone crazy during this period.
Why are you so loved in Greece? Not usual, you know, for a foreign artist.
(laughs) I love the Greek people too. From Madrugada earlier, but still today I feel the connection we experienced when we first came to Greece in 2000. People in your country took us seriously as artists from the first moment. I don’t know the reason, but I guess this love for our music grew over the years and eventually worked in our favor.
So, with a live solo album of yours from Herodion in 2017, did you want to repay some of that love?
For me it was like a natural consequence to record a live album in Greece, especially when I had the opportunity to play in Herodeion under the Acropolis. I didn’t want to miss such a great opportunity and my band was in a very good place at the time. It would be a shame if I hadn’t.
How much do you know about Greek music?
Very few things. Sometimes my friends take me to places where they play bouzouki. I love hearing them play, as well as the various singers singing. I went once to such a place in Thessaloniki and it was fantastic. I know it’s not what you expect to hear from me now, but I also liked a Greek singer who had a career in France, Georges Moustaki. Of course, he sang in French, so he is probably considered part of the French singing tradition. I’m a big fan of Vangelis of course and Aphrodite’s Child – they were an amazing band! I don’t know anything about modern Greek music and I would still single out Ioanna Ghika, whose electronic gothic music I like, although she has a career in Los Angeles and not in Greece.
Would you be positive to cover and sing a piece by a Greek composer in English or another language?
If it’s a good thing, why not? I would love. I’m always open to new things. After all, music, as trite as it sounds, is a universal art.
Do you still live in Oslo? How do you feel about this city you’ve lived in since you were 19?
I’m not sure if I like this city very much. It’s been my home for years, but I wouldn’t mind living closer to nature at all. I was born in a much smaller place in Norway and today I miss it, but my wife’s job is in Oslo and we still live there. Our base is Oslo and I couldn’t find a better city in all of Norway to live in, even if I would rather live in the countryside. Luckily I travel a lot.
Without being at all interested in your theological pursuits, I would like to ask if you ever felt with your art that you were touching theology as you perceive it.
I’m not religious, but I understand the spirit of your question. I will answer by saying that with music you can really feel that you are connected to something higher spiritually. This is not an easy question… I certainly don’t feel connected to any god. On the contrary, when I sing I feel the union with something more natural, stronger and more human and this in itself makes singing a spiritual activity. I told you, I’m not religious, I declare myself an atheist, but I don’t overlook that making music strongly connects you to something very high spiritually, which is exactly the reason why people make music. In the modern way of life, people need contact with lost spirituality, and this is what music offers in all its forms.
INFO
Sievert Hoyem will perform in Athens, at the Floyd Live Music Venue, on Saturday, April 27 and in Thessaloniki, at the Principal Club Theater, on Sunday, April 28
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