The rock band Kings of the Valley is a breath of fresh air, inspired by the old. With stoner and prog rock in their baggage, the trio impressed the audience at Trondheim Calling in February. This year, their debut album will be released.
/ 29/03/2019 / Kristian DugstadName: Kings of the Valley
Age: Christopher Roseth Sand, 26. Markus Teksum, 25. Øystein Megård, 25. Esten Mortensen Holien, 25.
Current with: Debut album "Kings of the Valley" out on 18 September 2020.
TONO member since: September 2017.
This story was first published on 29.03.19.
What is their musical background?
Everyone has been playing and studying music for many years. We have also explored many different genres individually, which is reflected in our music.
How did Kings of the Valley come about?
We studied music together at Levanger, where we found our groove and started the band. We have now moved our base to Trondheim.
What was the name of the first song you ever wrote, and what is it about?
"Lie", and it is about indoctrination.
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How do you work together?
We meet at the venue, "jam" and write songs. Some may have the beginning of a riff, while others have the tail of the riff, and the rest just comes by itself. So it can take anything from a day, or a year until we have a finished song.
How does your music come about?
Out of nowhere and "jam" at the venue. Good old recipe there. No plan for form, and who follows who. So not fixed that for example. bass must follow drums. Rather that drums follow guitar. A bit like Led Zeppelin.
We play what we think is cool, and we create songs based on that. As three/four different musicians, we have created our own, unique expression.
Tell us about your latest release?
We released a self-titled EP in 2017. It is our first release, and a presentation of ourselves. It was recorded live in Brygga Studio, on tape recorder and mixed and mastered in Brygga studio by magician, super musician and producer Pål Brekkås, and mastering king Magnus Kofoed. The cover is designed by Robert Høyem.
A little fun fact: on one part of "Lie" we added a 12-string guitar, played with "Pick of Destiny".
What are you working on now? What does 2019 bring for you?
We are working on finishing the album, planning the release date of any single and music video. We will release the album during the fall, and in connection with that we are also planning a release tour (which we will of course report to TONO).
What is your career highlight so far?
It was incredibly fun to win the Bandwagon competition, and get the chance to play at the Steinkjer Festival in 2018. In addition to that, it was fun to be chosen to play at Trondheim Calling 2019.
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Do you have an instrument or other equipment that is indispensable in the writing process?
Drums, bass and guitar?
What do you do when you're not making music?
Studying, working, changing diapers, going to concerts and drinking beer.
What is your greatest musical experience?
Difficult to answer. Each of us has had many good musical experiences.
Together we have seen and heard the old prog rock legends "Høst" at the Steinkjer Festival 2018. We thought it was incredibly cool and inspiring!
There are so many experiences that we are unable to fully answer this question. To actually meet and play what we like to play is a very good musical experience in itself.
The song
"Wake Up" is used in the NRK series "Young Promising People".