The concert year 2020 has not been easy, but despite restrictions, many Norwegian songwriters and artists have managed to spread the joy of music. – The contact with the audience has been absolutely fantastic and the best I have ever had, says Janove Ottesen.
/ 14/12/2020 / Kristian DugstadThe fall of 2020 has been very challenging for songwriters and artists. Infection control restrictions have placed severe limitations on what concerts have been possible.
However, that doesn't mean it's been quiet. Creative solutions and a skilled music industry have managed to communicate music even in difficult corona times.
Janove Ottesen had to postpone his plans for an album release and club tour. Instead, he released an EP and for the first time performed a concert lasting almost two hours, all alone on stage. He did this 28 times in 13 cities.
How has the corona pandemic affected you as a songwriter?
Oi. That's a bit of a big question, because we are always in constant change, transformation and development towards something new. For my part, I noticed a slow but sure pull the year before, that is, in 2019, until March 2020, that I wanted to write both music and lyrics from the heart to the greatest extent possible, with no other thoughts or intentions behind it than my own love for the music and my sincere opinion of it. And this was only reinforced even more when covid19 appeared and there was a lockdown on March 12 and we all entered a historically different period. Unity, faith and hope, love, family, colleagues and friends became most important and as a composer I was already well on my way there.
How have you had to change your plans for your concert activities as a result of the infection control restrictions?
The challenge for artists at about the same level as me is that we play a lot and are very active when we first make ourselves relevant with, for example, a new album. Then there is usually a club tour and the following festival summer. While the following year is often almost without concerts because we go into the studio and make a new album and repeat the process. I myself was supposed to complete my next album with the band and launch it in the fall of 2020 and do a small club tour, but at large venues, with a highlight in the DNB Arena for 5000 people in Stavanger. We made an option to move that tour exactly one year ahead, to the fall of 2021, and that's how it happened. So it was wrong to release the album when we couldn't follow it up with concerts and festivals.
So I threw myself into putting together an EP that I had been meaning to do for a couple of years, and brought it forward to fall 2020 and booked as extensive a tour as possible given the current restrictions. That meant a spring and summer of composing, recording, mixing, photography, artwork, putting together vinyl, booking a tour for the fall, rehearsing for live shows, putting together crews, props, set design and getting ready for a new one-man show.
We ended up playing 28 shows in 13 cities. There were a lot of extra shows, often two on the same night. It was very new for me and it was twice as hard to do mentally.
I would say we've been working twice as hard and only got a fraction of what we normally would have done. We recently had stimulation for most of the tour, and that helped a lot. I'd estimate we're now getting about 50% of what we normally would have done. Okay, after all.
The story continues below the picture.
Despite all the restrictions, you have succeeded in organizing an entire tour during the coronavirus pandemic. What challenges have you faced in organizing concerts?
Well, the first thing we had to do was put together the concert I dreamed of, with as few people as possible to save costs. The margins were very small so every penny saved was important.
I ended up playing all by myself for the first time, but on many different instruments and with very nice scenography, which I love and didn't want to sacrifice. I brought sound and lighting technicians who both wore at least two hats for the price of one. These are the best in the industry who also provide service and effort far beyond the traditional framework. That was crucial for the implementation.
The concerts themselves were unproblematic to carry out from the end of September, throughout October and the first half of November. There was a new lockdown in Norway shortly after my last concert which was in Bryne. All organizers were super professional and followed the infection control rules diligently. Very little infection, if any at all, can be traced to cultural events as the audience is well taken care of by organizers.
Have the restrictions in any way contributed to creative expression?
Hm. Yes, in the way that we spent the whole spring creating our own online store solution so that our products could be obtained directly from us, signed and sent directly to the public. It has been a great creative job to put together and then launch. I am very happy that we did that job this spring. In six months we have sold about 1200 vinyls alone, only via our own online store. Check it out:) soiree.no/nettbutikk
How has the live situation been different for you? How has the contact with the audience been?
Barrikadeballader tour 2020 is actually the first time in my life that I've played a full concert of about 1h 40 min all by myself. It was new. It actually didn't hit me until halfway through the tour that I hadn't done this all by myself before. I was probably in high spirits and quite stressed about getting everything we were doing down. The contact with the audience has been absolutely fantastic and the best I've ever had with an audience. Without a doubt. And I owe that to the format, which was stripped down, but magnificent, close and personal. In addition, I hope my love and sincerity came through.
What do you hope and believe will happen in the future, both in terms of restrictions and support, compensation and incentive schemes?
I have no idea what the government is going to do for our industry. I only think about what I can do myself. And I both hope and believe that I can play a month-long tour in March in northern Norway and some extra in the south before Easter. And I both hope and believe that I can get some stimulation for my efforts there. The summer is very open and very exciting. I try to prepare myself for several scenarios so that I can do as much as possible what I want most and what suits the situation best.
See the promo for Janove's autumn 2020 tour below.