Daisy cutter

Hi, thanks for your time. So, how’s it going... what’s happening in the world of Daisy Cutter at the moment? 

Hi, and thanks for having us in Rock Pulse. Things are going great. Right now we are putting the finishing touches on the forthcoming release, meaning mixing, cover art and all the other million things that have to come together, as well as rehearsing and scheduling touring for 2010. 

Your Debut album ‘M.O.A.B’ is due for release on February 12th; could you give us an idea of what to expect? Is there a particular mood or theme that ties the album together, or a particular approach that you’ve taken in the recording process? 

You can expect a full-out rocking collection of DC-songs, no excuses or prisoner taking. Strong guitars, a tight rhythm section and an “in-your-face” lead singer. We don`t go for a particular mood, it all just has to go through the process of getting to sound like a Daisy Cutter song. Quite a few times we end up with a slow song becoming a fast rocker, so that must be what we unconsciously look for! Fast all-out songs are cool to play! The recording process... It’s the never ending quest of getting the vibe of playing live into the studio and onto tape. We had some issues with our own studio, the Wreck, so we had to record drums and vocals at a different location. And the moment you include other people there’s suddenly the issue of time. You have to adjust to other people’s schedules and plans. 

How would you say that you’ve developed or evolved as a band since writing and recording some of your earlier material? You’ve been together for quite a while now (since forming in early 2003) so do you feel that your considerable experience has been of help in the creation of ‘M.O.A.B.?’ 

Of course it has. When spending so much time together, either at rehearsals, playing gigs or just hanging out, you get to know your fellow band mates real good. We spend a lot less time finishing songs now than we used to. Experience tells you what will end up working and what will not, with some exceptions. Over the years, we have built our own recording facility and a lot of stuff has been recorded that will never be released! But recording a lot makes it easier to envision what a song might sound like when it`s finished while you are jamming on ideas. 

Does the new album’s title have a meaning that you could elucidate for us? 

M.O.A.B is short for Massive Ordnance Air Blast and reflects the name Daisy Cutter. A typical military way of saying this is a dangerous mother, which will blow you away if you stand in its way! 

The album is being mixed by Andy Gill (famed for his work with Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Gang of Four and Killing Joke among others) and mastered by Ray Staff (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Muse, many more) in London. How did you come to work with these two individuals, and have you been able to hear any of the results as yet? 

First, let us just say that we’re thrilled to be working with a guy like Andy. We love the sound and freakiness he adds to the music he touches. We knew that if we were going to record and release something we wanted to go all the way with it. It was actually our manager who suggested Andy should mix it. We approached Andy, he liked our stuff and some emails later we knew he was the guy. Andy, or his management, sent us a list (well, two names is more right) with guys he felt could give us the final touch. We’ve all heard Ray’s earlier stuff and the guy has done some impressing releases in his past. Who would turn down Ray Staff for the final stroke? And of course we’ve had the chance to listen to his mixes, sounds great. 

Much of the material that you’ve released in your career so far has featured dark lyrical themes, ‘Secure Settings’ from your previous EP a notable example. What do you tend to draw upon when writing lyrics... personal experience or sentiment, hypothetical situations? 

Yeah, many people think we have a lot of issues and hate in us after hearing that. Truth is that “Secure Settings” is kinda like therapy for us. It is not the singer singing about how he hates everything and everyone, it is how he hates the rest of us in the band. It started out as a normal (in our world) band argument, which again normally ends in Rainer telling us all to fuck off. Jante was playing this “static” guitar riff, we all hooked on to it and Rainer blew off some “I fucking hate you” steam. 

To mark the release of ‘M.O.A.B you’re heading over to the UK for a headline show in Birmingham... how’re you feeling about the show? Have you toured outside of Norway in the past, and can we hope to see you in the UK again anytime in the near future? 

Yeah ,we’re super excited about the show. Some friends of us in Birmingham have told us Eddies is THE place for rock music. It’s our first gig outside of Norway, and if the people in the UK wants us back we’re more than happy to visit several times. 

For readers thinking of heading along to the Birmingham show in February, how would you sum up your live show.... what’ve you got in store for the 12th? 

An hour of your life in the sign of DC, meaning a sweaty, tight, in your face band out to prove something. We have always been playing a lot live, from small fishing villages in the Arctic North to quite large venues. So we are very much looking forward to going to England and Birmingham in particular! The hometown of Robert Plant! By the way, when Robert Plant was in our town a couple of years back, we had a late-night garden hose “fight” with him! That was insane! When we got back to our senses the day after, it was like: “man, that was actually Robert Plant himself we were goofing around with!” So now we are coming to HIS hometown, and its payback time ha ha! 

Where would you like the new album to take you, in terms of touring, stature, fanbase and so on? Do you tend to plan ahead as a band, or just take things as they come? 

Our main goal as a band has always been to play as much as possible, and in as many places in the world as it will take us. Our management is working on sending us many places, so we will just see what happens. We do plan ahead, you have to, but things tend to change a lot as you go, so we have learned to be pragmatic and to accept constant changes. These days touring is the one and only way to go in terms of building a fan base, but hey, that’s ok with us! We kind of like the way that big corporate record companies don’t dictate the rules anymore. 

Over here in the UK many of us have little awareness of the Norwegian music community, so could you tell us a little about your experience of life on the rock scene in your home country? Have you received a lot of support from music fans in Troms? 

Well, if you ask us about the cultural awareness of the Norwegian population in general, you could say that most people are, hmm how to put this….let’s just say, ignorant. People just want to get drunk and plain silly. You know how it is, in bad times and recessions there is much more interest in music and art, and you can say that Norway is far from being in any recession or hard times! Everyone is a “star”, “look at me I have loads of money!” But there are still enough people genuinely interested in music, and we have quite a following among them. A lot of people come to us after shows telling us it`s good to hear an ass-kicking rock band for a change, not just some soap-blowing-pinkfaced- specimen-of-an-androgynous-constellation-of-computer-pushing-nitwits. 

Finally, is there anything that you’d like to add? 

Many thanks for reading and wish to see you in England.