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Interview with Herr Nilsson
No, this is not Pippi Longstocking’s monkey, but a band with the same name.
It all started a few years ago when I went in to a store that sells used CD’s. Flipping through shelf after shelf filled with CDs, I had no idea what I was looking for, but that’s when I saw it; an album called Downhill Thrill by some band named Herr Nilsson (or Mister Nilsson, if you will). I had barely heard about them, All I knew was that they’re from Bergen. Despite not knowing remotely what they sounded like, I just knew that I had to buy this album. That’s not something I would live to regret.
When I came home I popped it in the tray and pressed the play button. What I heard was the sound of one of the best bands I’ve heard till this day. They’re a band of eight people extracting pretty sounds out of things like guitars, banjos, trumpets and violins. They play a kind of quirky guitar pop with a touch of country. On their happy pop songs, Herr Nilsson sound a bit like Dexy’s Midnight Runners if Håkan Hellstrøm was singing and when they slow down it’s like hearing a mix of The Decemberists and Wilco, in both occacions you can stirr in a little spoon of fellow Bergenese band Professor Pez and bits of a lot of other bands. This casserole is filled with all kinds of tasty stuff.
After Downhill Thrill, Herr Nilsson have released the EP Tuesday is my Birthday and they’ve also released another full-length album before Downhill Thrill, called I’m No Elvis. In addition to that, they’ve put up a bunch of unreleased songs on their blog. Sadly, they’re not playing live very often. Though I have been lucky enough to catch one of their shows, I’d really like to see them again. What’s more is that there’s been talk of a new album being released soon. Terje Bringsvor Nilsen is the frontman of the band, singing, writing songs and playing the guitar. In this golden age of social media, we contacted him via Facebook to ask about the new album and perhaps hear if we can expect any live performances in the near future.
First of all, can you tell us what the name of the new album will be?
Terje: The name will be Long Live Herr Nilsson.
You’ve said that the album would probably be out this fall, but can you give us a date?
Terje: No, but I can give you a month. According to our plan it will be january. We recorded and mixed the album in march, so it’s a terribly long time from recording to releasing it. But in between I’ve had a daughter and our drummer has had a son, so we’ve kept ourself busy.
Congratulations to both of you! Has the overall sound of the band changed in any significant way on this new album?
Terje: I think it sounds much like Herr Nilsson, though maybe a bit calmer and not as “messy” as the last record. We never stick to one style, but rather try to make songs in different ways all the time. So on our records there will always be a couple of country songs, some happy pop songs, and some songs that can be described as “mellow”. On this record there is a bit more of the last. The record also has a more “live” feeling, which comes from the way it was recorded.
Anything new that has inspired you on this album?
Terje: There’s been a lot of inspirations and ideas that have changed over time. At first it was an obsession with World War II. I tried to fit songs that I had written into a kind of concept album about the war. Then some songs arrived that didn’t fit in, and it turned into an album with 12 songs and 12 concepts. Each song has different inspiration. It’s hard to say what artists influenced the record and what didn’t. One song, “Olympic Fire”, is an attemt to rewrite “When You Wish Upon A Star”, one is quite inspired by Townes van Zandt, and some songs are inspired by personal experiences.
There’s a demo of a song called “Night Garden” on your blog, is this going to be on the new album?
Terje: No, that’s just going to stay on the blog. Hopefully we will record lots of more songs that we can publish on the blog that we won’t use on albums. It hasn’t been updated very often lately, but I would like that to change.
How was it recording the album and making the songs? Any difference from past experiences? How much time did you use?
Terje: The main differece is that we’ve become more like a real band and less like studio geeks. We spent one year recording each of our two first records. 
This time six people was in a room playing the songs live. In five days we had recorded ten songs. On the next day our trumpeter Johannes Førde came from Germany to play his parts. But it’s basically a record recorded live in just a few days.
Is it hard to agree on things when you’re so many or do you take control and decide how to do things and how things should sound?
Terje: It’s quite easy actually. I tell the rest how I’d like it to sound, and then they play something that turns out to be different, but at the same time much better. If it doesn’t, the song will probably die or end up as a demo on our blog. As we have become more self-critical, more and more songs have suffered this faith.
Will you be doing any more live performances in the near future? In Oslo even?
Terje: We are playing at Samfundet in Trondheim 6. november. There will be more concerts in january and february! And certainly in Oslo!
Last, but not least; what did you eat for breakfast yesterday?
Terje: Kornmo! It all happened very quick as I was late for work. But a very good biscuit.
Great choice! As for me, I think I just forgot it all together and skipped to dinner. Kind of busy getting this website finished. Well, thanks for you time. I’m really looking forward to the new album and catching a show in Oslo soon.
Well, you heard him; there’s a show in Trondheim 6. november, so if you’re in Trondheim that day I’d recommend you go see them. And be sure to pick up a copy of their new album when it’s out! You can listen to the track “Olympic Fire” from the new album in the player right below here.
Herr Nilsson – Olympic Fire