– Take care of which profile a front – Special
Darkness. Mystery. Breaking the norm. Surprising.
This is how one can describe the electronics duo Smerz which consists of Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt.
Stoltenberg has a father who is perhaps one of the world’s most talked about people at the moment. Mbut it is not family relations this case is about.
It is about women who have earned a name in the electronics genre, toured in the western part of the world and gained a large foreign fan base.
Music has no boundaries.
Now they are nominated for the Spellemann Prize for the second time in the category “Electronics” to the album “Believer”.
– En such a nomination has a value, because it gives a feeling that others appreciate what you create. But you can not make music with it as the main purpose, says Catharina Stoltenberg.
– Open up calmly
Stoltenberg and Motzfeldt have been our good friends since high school. In recent years, they have been based in Copenhagen where they have been part of a nascent music environment within electronic music and experimental pop.
I start was the music in a way to be together.
– Both are very happy to be social while working, says Stoltenberg.
After a quarter, the ambitions were higher.
– Music began to mean more to us, and we began to see other possibilities. The role opened up, Stoltenberg explains.
– Challenges the Norwegian electronics term
Last year came the debut album “Believer” which received good reviews.
Aftenposten’s reports classified Smerz’s music as «A potpourri of classical, chamber music, hip hop, R&B, trance and techno».
– It tells that the duo was doing something special, at least in the Norwegian context, says Robert Hoftun, who is a music critic in Aftenposten.
Hoftun goes on to say that here at home, electronics have so far mostly been about men from Oslo, Bergen or Tromsø who make catchy, melodic and danceable things. But now a new wave is underway.
– It is probably not allowed to call it the women’s wave, but artists such as Smerz, Sassy 009 and he guide challenge the Norwegian electronic expression with creativity and luck, says Hoftun.
– Listeners across the continent
Still, there is no doubt that Smerz stands out. This “special property”, as Robert Hoftun calls it, has made its visible on the map.
– We are part of a group of musicians who find, share and store music primarily on data, and this is how I am experienced as a listener who travels across countries and continents, Stoltenberg states.
Since last autumn, they have toured in Scandinavia, Brussels, London, Berlin and Bern. This winter they were also across the pond and played several concerts from San Francisco on the west coast to New York on the east coast.
But in recent years, they have also left their mark on several cities in Europe. In 2018, they played in Moscow, St. Petersburg, among others. Petersburg and Kazan in Russia.
Tour of Russia
– The great thing about internet culture is that you can go to Kazan in the middle of Russia, and then you will meet someone who has got the project and who has the same references as you.
– In this way, it can be experienced closer to a concert in Oslo, says Motzfeldt
Playing in Russia was special on several levels. In retrospect, they have realized that it may be a long time until the next gong.
– We experienced being told to take care of what profile one fronts, that one should not be too political, Stoltenberg explains.
Jazz and backtrack music
The popularity can also in a way Smerz perform the music. In their live show, they play with genres, and creates contrasts that are interrupted by expectations one has of how the music is performed.
Here she is based on clicks and plays it out for something new.
– In the same way that we work with combining different genres when we make music, we wanted to work with ways to perform the music on a stage: A jazz singer on a grand piano, music as a backtrack, classical musicians on acoustic instruments.
Feedback and inspiration
When asked if choir is an important success, Stoltenberg answers:
– It is important in this way that one can live off what seems good and rewarding.
Motzfeldt adds that the main value is to make the music.
– The most precious thing for us is to make music. But the music’s encounter with the outside world can be inspiring and set in motion new processes. It is important to have a life as a musician.
The music critic in Aftenposten is at least sure:
– Among many exciting new Norwegian artists to follow now, Smerz is definitely high up.