Austinist Talks Norway @ SXSW, Interviews Oslo's Shining

But when dealing with parts from so many different traditions in music, we try to be careful not to make it all sound like a cut-and-paste product. We try to assimilate everything so it sounds like one whole. This is probably why you perceive the music as you do. And we're glad!

And you're right: We give the middle finger to the concept of genre itself! Children don't care about genre; it's a thing you're raised to do. But hopefully nowadays more and more young people also give the middle finger to the genre-concept. After all there's just two types of music: Good music, and bad music (and everything between, of course).

The band has a long and impressive history with jazz of all varieties. Is songwriting outside of that experience easy and exciting as a sort of breakaway from that, or is it difficult to obliterate what you've learned and play outside the lines?

This is a good question!

Many artists (not only in music) are afraid of learning things thoroughly (such as delving into theory for instance), because they're afraid that what they already have will somehow be tainted or destroyed by the new knowledge acquired. I personally feel that any new knowledge is always for the better.

I think that the more you learn, the easier it is for you to obliterate it.

But, yes, it is an exiting experience for us to do what we do.

What inspired the "21st Century Schizoid Man" cover?

We were asked to do a radio show on Norwegian national radio (NRK) on a band that we like. The show was supposed to include one cover of the band (after talking about the band for the first part of the show, playing favorite songs etc.). Our new guitar player is a huge fan of King Crimson's, and I also like the band very much (although the band is somewhat new to me). We settled for King Crimson, and chose "21st Century Schizoid" man out of convenience, and because we thought that it maybe could sound cool with our playing attitude.

This is your first trip to the States, and you're descending on Texas' music capital during the busiest and most insane time of year ... tell us a little about the experience of planning for that, and what you plan to eat.

Ehh, the planning has actually been horrible! I've been touring in strict countries such as China and Israel/Palestine before, but nowhere has it been so hard to get a working permit as in the U.S. The amount of documents you have to provide and the amount of personal prying questions you have to answer is extreme. Also the costs are huge, and you have to finalize the application at least three months before departure. But now that it's done, we're really looking forward to playing in the U.S.!

In Norway we eat lots of fiber (really dark bread) and proteins. During my last visits in the States I've found it a little bit hard to get food with lots of fiber and protein and a minimal amount of carbohydrates (at least on the road). Therefore I'm actually bringing with me some "meal replacement" protein powder bags for making protein shakes. But I guess I'll be eating mostly burgers in Texas. That will be great!

What's in the iPod for the trip? Anyone you'll be trying to catch during the festival?

Ooh, unfortunately I haven't had the time to check out which other bands are playing at the SXSW yet. But I know that our friends in Enslaved are playing at SXSW Friday. I guess I'll try to catch that. Enslaved and Shining are going to do a huge show together at the Norwegian jazz festival in Molde in July. It's just been confirmed, and we're going to meet in Austin to talk about what we want to do.

Apart from that, I will have to look at the program when I get there.

My iPod contains all sorts of music. But on the newer side I've recently bought Dillinger Escape Plan's newest album, Tomahawk's newest, Hancock/Brecker/Hardgrove's Directions in Music, Van Der Graaf's Pawn Hearts, Rush's 2112. Right now I'm listening to "Symphony #3" (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) by Henryk Mikolaj Górecki.

I guess that I'll be listening to a whole lot of different stuff in the next weeks (and buying stuff) to get inspiration for new music for the Shining / Enslaved concert in July. Right now I'm thinking Ligeti meets Dillinger meets SunnO))) meets Pharoah Sanders at the day of Ragnarok.

Shining are playing on Saturday at Emo's as part of the Oya Festival Showcase. Hanne Hukkelberg will be there as well, along with James Yuill (UK), and surprise guest. The show gets underway around 8:00 p.m. You can also catch Shining at End of an Ear on Thursday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Ungdomskulen will play Maggie Mae's rooftop on Thursday night, and you can check their MySpace for updated shows.