– We weren't born and raised in Appalachia with bluegrass and old-time in our blood, we didn't learn the technique from childhood, we have to find our own sound.
/ 08/01/2021 / Kristian DugstadWho is the Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra?
Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra – or HBO – is an Oslo-based band that plays bluegrass and all-acoustic Americana. We have long been active primarily live and with music we have published on Youtube, but in a few months we will release our first album.
We call ourselves a bluegrass band because we are a total of 8 people: Guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, dobro, double bass, accordion and vocals. There is a kind of unwritten rule that there can be a maximum of 5 in a bluegrass band.
Many of us have a background in the performing arts, but we also have, among others, a nurse and two who make their living primarily from music. The fact that many of us work in the performing arts perhaps means that we have a tendency towards the slightly theatrical – like when we performed in white suits with cowboy hats at a concert at the Riksscenen.
Why does a Belgian feature film get credit for the band's existence?
The band was started after Joakim Borgen (mandolin) and Rebekka Nilsson (vocals) saw the Oscar-nominated film Broken Circle Breakdown, where bluegrass music was both the soundtrack and a central part of the plot. We had been going around for a long time with several slightly directionless small projects and a desire to get something more concrete going. When we saw that film, everything fell into place – that was the kind of music we were supposed to play. There was something about the whole acoustic, something about the balance between speed and melancholy, the heartfelt that never becomes pretentious, the simple that is still very virtuosic. In just a week, we had gathered all the instruments and people who were eager for such an adventure, and we had a playlist: the soundtrack from the film. We didn't really have much knowledge of the genre, other than that we had played and knew about Americana in general. It was a steep learning curve. It was probably just supposed to be too much fun, but the music grabbed us and we quickly began to both master the genre and find our own sound in it.
What is their musical background?
Most of the band members have an education and background in the performing arts. One is a trained jazz musician and one is a full-time self-taught musician. What they all have in common is that music has been a constant companion and an important part of their lives since childhood. Most of them have studied music before they possibly went on to other things.
We are different people with different musical backgrounds, from classical via jazz to folk and Americana. Emil (dobro) is a jazz musician and helps push the boundaries of the genre and expression. Rebekka (vocals) has classical training at the core, but has always sung and played folk, Americana and jazz. Moa (fiddle) also has classical training, but also brings with her impulses from folk music. Our mixed background is part of what gives us a very unique sound while at the same time being unmistakably bluegrass.
On December 4th you released It Breaks. How has the response been?ært?
The response has been as usual, very good from the USA, and we notice this primarily through our Youtube channel, where we have a large and loyal following. There is also a lot of response from other parts of the world. With our focus on Youtube, we have managed to reach a lot of people internationally and have eventually received a lot of attention at renowned festivals and magazines, but perhaps have gone a little more under the radar here at home in Norway.
This is the sixth single from their upcoming album Migrants. The first came in November 2019. When will we hear the rest?
The album will be released on March 5, 2021. We would have liked to release it in both 2019 and 2020, but it has simply taken much longer than we could have imagined, and in addition, the corona situation made it natural to wait a little longer. But we feel it has been worth the wait, and we are very excited!
It's hard to completely avoid the corona situation. You've had to cancel a month-long gig in the US. Tell us a little about how you've been affected?
Canceling a month and a half at the Festival of Nations in Dollywood – a completely crazy adventure – was of course very sad. It's probably an opportunity you only get once. We have also had to cancel a tour in England, as well as occasional concerts here at home. 2020 was the year when we were really going to go out into the world and play, and that hasn't happened. But we hope and believe that new exciting opportunities will come and that we can visit both England and the USA in the future. In the meantime, we have continued to run our own style and worked on getting material ready to be released on Youtube at regular intervals. So even though it has been quiet, we haven't been.
From Belgian soundtrack to Dollywood Residency, digital performance at the International Bluegrass Music Awards and tour of England. It's been quite a journey?
As mentioned, it wasn't really a conscious thought that this would be as big and long-lasting as it has become, but we are very happy about it. It is primarily because we have received so much response and attention - that kind of thing gives water to the mill. And then it is also crazy fun to play music! After we started writing our own songs (bluegrass is also largely an interpretation genre) the level of ambition has probably increased a bit, and with the response internationally we hope there can be more travel and special gigs in the future, while we hope to show ourselves a little more here at home too. We have been very lucky to have been able to play music on the road. It is really something in itself, and rather than, for example, one rehearsal, a couple of hours, once a week - you play and think about music 24/7 when you travel with your instruments. It gives motivation to think that you will travel again in the future and has not least already given many good memories.
Let the soundtrackhonor soundtrack. Today you write a lot of your own music – What inspires you?
We are inspired by a lot of different things. With eight people, it's probably unavoidable. But we generally take a lot of inspiration from big heroes in the bluegrass genre such as Allison Krauss and Union Station and from old folk idols such as Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills and Nash, but also from newer Americana groups and pop. We also take impulses from rock from the 60s, 70s and (perhaps surprisingly) especially the 80s - a musical period that has greatly influenced Joakim, who writes the songs. It may not always be the first thing you think of, but it is always part of the process.
Bluegrass has a strong identity, and evokes clear images. How genre-conscious are you, how concerned are you with "authenticity"?
There are many in bluegrass who want to defend and preserve the genre, as a cultural heritage. And there are just as many who want to let the music live and mix with other impulses – as it once arose in the 'great melting pot' of the 30s USA. We believe that both are equally important, but as a band we probably belong to the latter group – those who find their own thing based on the genre. We don't really have a choice. We weren't born and raised in Appalachia with bluegrass and old-time in our blood, we haven't learned the technique from childhood, we have to find our own sound. Moreover, we bring with us impulses and inspiration from our own roots and musical upbringings. It can make good music, and very authentic to us, if it's not 100% authentic bluegrass. But it can also be discussed whether there is any new bluegrass today.
Many of our song ideas stem from the genre and the same goes for the instrumentation (with the exception of the accordion). But the way we put it together, the way we phrase and arrange – gives us a unique sound that has something you don’t hear in a lot of bluegrass. There aren’t that many bands like us in the genre, but we may have become more aware of this over time. We feel that we have a privilege in that we are as many as we are, and can fill out the soundscape and never let the listener get bored – both in the choices by removing and adding instruments.
With so many members, there can certainly be many opinions. Do you have clear roles when you work? Are writing and playing separate processes?
It is mostly Joakim (mandolin) who comes up with the song sketches, which he works on a bit with Rebekka who also writes lyrics, before they take them to the band. There, the arrangement and any changes and additions to the songs are done with the whole band. The genre contains a lot of improvisation and solo parts and all the members get a lot of space. Of course, there are many opinions with eight people in the band, but this way of working has worked very well.
Nyear someone brings a lto the community, nyear and how do you know if it's a Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra-låt?
We never know for sure if it will be a Hayde song until it is on the setlist. We have had some songs that we have written and arranged, played a couple of times in concert, but that despite being nice haven't 'stuck'. Then they weren't Hayde songs anyway. It has been a very intuitive process of trial and error, and eventually we know more and more what it is we are looking for in a new song and how we want it to sound.
Do you have equipment or tools?island that is uninhabitedhonest nWhat year are you writing?
Joakim usually says that he wrote his entire first album on an Ibanez steel-string guitar from middle school that needs a capo on 4 frets to keep it from sounding out. Otherwise, he also makes many sketches at the piano. Recording a part of a sketch, letting it sink in, humming to it and then recording it again later is an important part of the process. The most important tool is perhaps time.
What is the first plan to be realized when society fully opens up again?
When society opens up again, we will plan some new concerts here at home, as well as explore the possibilities of taking up the thread again both in Europe, but also in the USA. The album will be released early this spring so we hope to be able to play some concerts in connection with this, both at home and abroad. But it is difficult to know what that will look like for now.
We have begun work on album no. 2, so the best thing would be to start making concrete plans for this.
What is their career highlight then? far?
Career highlights must either be completing the recording and then sending the album for mastering in the USA, or our concert at Christmas 2019 at Oslo Concert Hall where we played with brass, grand piano and drums – a naughty genre digression we indulged in and which will be available on YouTube towards the end of 2021.
Can you share your greatest musical experiences – as listeners?
For Joakim, a great musical experience was when his father put on "School" by Supertramp on his new Bang Olufsen stereo system. Rebekka also has vivid memories of raiding her father's record collection of rock and old prog rock, and lying and staring at the pine roof while the music thundered. Or we can mention both Björk and Radiohead at Roskilde in pouring rain.
Finally – Can you give us a tip for a Norwegian artist you listen to a lot these days?
We listen to No. 4 a lot, but Valkyrien Allstars has been played a lot lately. Also, Darling West's latest album is really good.