Light drones

‘Music that is its own genre without a label or barcode’, the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten wrote in their review of Lumen Drones' second album Umbra. Since their debut in 2015, the trio with the strange band name has been able to call themselves ‘critic’s favorites', and the band members' extensive musical experiences – which includes rock music, contemporary music, folk music and drone music - has provided the basis for a fascinating and indefinable genre mix whose audience appeal has extended far beyond the Norwegian borders. Together, Nils Økland (harding fiddle/violin), Per Steinar Lie (guitar) and Ørjan Haaland (drums) have managed to create a formula where the untraditional instrumental composition produces a type of music few people have heard before, and the trio’s uniqueness has led to album releases on quality labels such as ECM and Hubro.

In connection with Lumen Drones' concert in the Grieg Hall, Bergen International Festival got hold of guitarist Per Steinar Lie and did a chat interview with him on Messenger:

–  You are on Bergen International Festival’s bill this year…does it feel any different to perform in such a setting, or do you simply think of it as 'another regular gig'?

–  We have never played in the Grieg Hall before, so that’s pretty exciting. The festival itself is also quite special, and we look forward to perform there!

– Nils Økland has a slightly different musical background than you and Ørjan. How did the collaboration between the three of you occur?

–  When we were younger, Nils ran a festival in Haugesund called Spontanfestivalen (‘the spontaneous festival’) on an island just outside the city centre. To us, it felt like a place where freaks with berets jammed like crazy with their acoustic instruments. Since then, we have always been excited by Nils and his work. I remember buying his album Blå Harding early on, and it certainly helped open a few doors for me in regards of what music can be. We invited Nils to do a track on a The Low Frequency in Stereo

–  How does a typical song writing process happen for you?

–  It’s rather rare that someone comes up with fixed ideas…we like the idea of ​​improvising based on some simple elements that we create. We give each other key words like for example ‘play as weak as you can’…it's about being open to the things that are happening in the music there and then. For example, I enjoy that if Nils gets a bit hectic and plays some high notes, then I can join in without playing something similar. It means that two different melodies potentially can be played in parallel, and that the listener can fall in and out of them. At the same time, we do enjoy drones. We let the music develop naturally, and our set lists are basically a starting point that allows us to invent things along the way. We want each concert to be a little different and unique.

–  When reading about Lumen Drones, it seems as if the journalists are having a hard time putting a musical label on you. What would you call the genre yourself?

– If you could choose anyone, dead or alive, to collaborate with musically, who would it be?

– We have discussed it a bit lately...we have to keep that to ourselves for now😉

– Yes? Well, that’s exciting! :-) You released the debut album on the legendary record company ECM. How did you experience being on their roster?

– It was incredible to receive emails from Manfred Eicher and his people, even though Nils had to explain to us how huge this really was. The album got a lot of attention and sold well, and it’s nice to be in the company of so many great people. Every single output from ECM is a bit of an adventure…it is without a doubt a quality label. Manfred still emails us and wants to hear new music, so it will be exciting to see where the next record comes out. We also have a very good and close friendship with Andreas at Hubro, a label we are very happy with.

– I know a lot of people who wonder about the band name's origin…what does Lumen Drones mean?

– Lumen drones mean light drones. We tried to collect some terms that we liked and that fit the music. We do not play dark drone rock, so when the word lumen came up, it felt liberating to combine those two words.

Supported by Vestland county council