I´m curious about the way you and Jean Benoit worked at this project, if you exchanged files through the Net, like many musicians around the world use to do, or if you only worked together in studio?
We are very old school regarding our collaboration. I think it is very important to be together in the same room creating. Some of the last parts, like final overdubs and the mixing were done sometimes separetely but we worked at the songwriting and the lyrics together, in the same room. It´s a real collaboration, in person.
You are both multinstrumentalists and composers, which one is responsable of what when you write and record together?
Actually, the great thing about our collaboration is that we can do everything together. We don’t have a “You do that” or “I do that”. Even our vocal parts, we sing together on most of the songs. Even though sometimes one stands out in the mix. I think people don’t even notice that sometimes we are both singing. Most of it is recorded in JB’s studio, so he did a bit more of the recording parts thought and also he is a much better keyboard player then me, so all the well played keyboard parts are his!
I was quite fascinated by the way the project took time to get to this point, it was annunced almost 3 years ago, and then the first EP been released and after that more time passed till the release of the album. You seem go to the opposite way of many other collaborative projects, where the musicians get together and rush putting out a record hoping to cash in. Your is a long-term engagement, musically speaking.
We never though about any cash in. The project took so much time because we wanted to work on it together. Therefore we had to schedule sessions quite long time ahead. Also, it gave us more time to live with the songs and pick out the right ones for the album, and eventually to re-record them. In the beginning we just planned to write and record together one song, but then they became more and more.
Listening to the album, I almost got the impression to listen to a record out of the 70s, it s very complex. expensive sounding and organic. It made me think about the Beach Boys crossed with David Bowie and Kraftwerk:
Yes it sounds a bit retró but with modern elements. We liked our music timeless. Not over-compressed and done with plugins for computer speakers. Almost everything on the album is played by hand, even the arpeggios in Le President. JB said once, you can feel the DNA of Starwalker. But what is most exciting in starting a new musical project is that we are free to experiment with new things also. Something that is new to us or we haven’t expressed in our other projects yet.
I find it a very melodic, pop oriented album with a dark, misterious and still sexy twist, expecially towards the end.
Our music is happy, spaced-out, misterious, poppy, trippy and yes sometimes sexy. Nothing is composed with the purpose of having a pop hit or planned. We don´t sit down and say “Let´s write a pop song”. It´s just what happens when we the two of us are in the studio.
Now I would like to know anyway which are your favourite pop songs of all time?
The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
“The power of love.. Keeps the vampires from your door”
Yes, great song, perfect production on The Power of Love, Trevor Horn at his best, and includes the word vampires in the lyrics.
You look a bit like a vampire in your press shots, dont you?
Not for Starwalker, I hide my teeth on those press photos. And anyway I´am a nice vampire, like in the cartoons.
Good idea, you may scare the listeners that get into your music through songs like Holiday
We have an icelandic children choir on Holidays and Come and Stay. We thought it would fit perfectly and I knew that they sounded amazing.
Talking about Iceland, what about the icelanding music scene at the moment? There was a lot of hype around it during the 9os.
There is a lot going on. Many different styles of music. For a period of time there was this wave of cute music with all the bands dressed in swollen sweaters, but I like it now I like it now, very varied. Even though it´s not all good music, at least there is variety.
Can you tell us something about the videos that you released so far?
Bad Weather was the first song that we recorded together, probably the one closest to our other musical projects, and the first video that we released. We shot it in Iceland while travelling in the North It was done by Jeaneen Lund and Saevar Gudmundsson, then a company called Trickshot worked on the special effects. Saever also did Losers Can Win that was shot in a studio in Paris. All of our videos and press photos have been made by friends except the new one. Blue Hawaii was also shot in Iceland but that time it was done in the South and directed by Ragnar Bragason. Le President was made in Colombia by Luis Vanegas. He had already done two videos for my band Bang Gang.
Holidays is the most unusual of all.
Holidays was made through a competition on Genera TV where film makers send in proposals and we selected one that will also get a price. We added some extra footage in it, to put a little Starwalker humour in it.
How would you describe to our readers the Starwalker humor?
The Starwalker humour is a bit strange but pleasant
It´s interesting to notice how you and JB complement each other, it seems you share a certain vision and have a lot in common too, right?
Yes we have fun together and enjoy working together
Do you think you will collaborate again in the future?
Yes I think so we are already discussing plans for the next recording session
Will you tour and play live promoting this album?
If there will be a strong demand from the public we will perform live. We already played a concert at the Sonar Festival in Iceland two years ago and it was amazing. We were five on stage. I think that is the best setup, otherwise we might try to be three or four.
Last question, what about the plans for your solo career?
After Starwalker is released I will spend some time finishing a neo classical album I have been planning for a while, minimalistic ambient inspired by the icelandic nature, in which I play all the instruments except the strings. I know it´s sound a bit like a cliché.
No worries Bardi, in Italy we love icelandic clichés!
