Ronni Le Tekrø: "If the riffs are tough, then I'll eat"

Here you can meet super guitarist and songwriter Ronni Le Tekrø in a very fun, educational and inspiring video interview in the series TONO Sessions. It is Frida Ånnevik who asks the questions.

“10,000 lovers (in One)”  (YouTube link, opens in new window) is, with its tough guitar riff and sing-along chorus, one of the most successful Norwegian rock hits ever, with a respectable position on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987 and a Spellemannpris for the same year. One of the masters behind the work is Ronni Le Tekrø, and in the TONO Sessions interview with Frida Ånnevik he shares both funny and wise observations about his profession:

– In heavy rock, it's the riff that determines whether it's going to be a mess, or if I'm going to eat anything at all. Because if the riffs are tough, then I'll eat, says Le Tekrø, and believes that the best songs should come quickly and without friction: – If you're going to write pop or rock, a good song always comes in five minutes, he states. – That's maybe why I've been lucky with 15-20 songs throughout my time, but they've all come in five minutes.

Solitary songwriting vs collaboration
Le Tekrø likes solitude in songwriting, but if you're going to spar, a brother or sister in arms can be very exciting, he says: - What I've never worked for me on the other hand is three people. One and two, but three ... I've struggled with that. It becomes too democratic.

He also believes that if you write a song one night and can't remember it the next day without hearing a recording, then the song isn't worth much. However, he still collects ideas, which can later turn into new songs:

– 90 percent of it is gossip and inconsistencies, but sometimes I find things that are inside. But then there is the trap of thinking that you are something. It is dangerous. Both as a performer and as a songwriter, then it is even more dangerous, says Tekrø, pointing to two giants from Le Tekrø and Ånnevik's home area, namely Vidar Sandbeck and Alf Prøysen.

Additional information:

Ronni le Tekrø: TNT's website, Facebookand Studio Studio
Frida Ånnevik online og Facebook
TONO's YouTube channel now contains a total of 16 video interviews.