Studio Report 2007

It is the November of 2007 and the place where Kaizers record their new album, Planet Roc Studio, is situated, quite squarely, at the very backside of the universe. After changing from one public transport vehicle into another for about fifty times in a row, and asking our way through a compound basked in a very GDR-like allure, we surprisingly manage not only to arrive, but to do so punctually. Half of the band is there too – Rune, Helge and Øyvind have already done their recording and left.

So first we meet Terje, a.k.a. Killmaster, playing on his guitar in the kitchen. From the recording room the sounds of “9 mm” drift in, a song just being fine tuned and which some might already know form the 2006 tour. Then Janove and Geir appear, accompanied by big hellos and us getting comfortable. Also in the studio are Mark Howard (the producer – who previously worked with REM, Bob Dylan, U2 and Tom Waits), sound engineer Yansen and (last but not least) sweet Lynn – girl Friday, responsible for the total care of the team and with whom we are about to have a lot of fun the evening through.

That's where Helge rules (click!)

First off, Terje gives us a tour of the studio’s many rooms, in which we take look at the legion of instruments and experiment with the different rooms’ acoustics. There is the obligatory anechoic room, a larger one, a set of stairs with three different surfaces (wood, carpet and stone) – for the recording of radio plays – as well as a door to nowhere to record it clacking shut. Also on the technical side nothing is left to be desired, just to mention hard disk recording and a battery of 19” equipment the normal person has no idea whatsoever of how to put to use. According to Terje, it will be exactly this diversity of rooms which will be responsible for the new sound on the next record. There is a giant orchestra hall, where a few songs were recorded. On the other hand one of Øyvind’s tracks were recorded with him simply sitting in the hallway after noticing that location’s sound suitability.

The kitchen-band (source: www.kaizers.no) (click!)

But Kaizers don’t shy away from completely new experiments either: The song "Butikken opp å stå", from the demo, was recorded in the kitchen: “Janove and I were sitting in the kitchen with our guitars, toying with the piece,” Terje recounts “and we noticed that it had a bluegrass-touch. So the band assembled in the kitchen and we recorded the song with an old RCA 44 microphone. It was spectacular!” In retrospect a lot of songs changed greatly during studio work, Terje continues, to the point of being unrecognizable. But that is just another good sign for the band’s productivity.

And what does a day in the studio look like? “We arrive in dribs and drabs around 12,” Terje says. “At Potsdamer Platz, where our flat is, we grab something to eat. Then work begins and mostly we are at the studio up to 11 am or midnight. At four o’clock lunch is served at the cantina, in between and afterwards there is lots of waiting, drinking coffee, watching DVDs or reading.” Terje, nowadays also called Wintertoe or Tortellini (as this is his favorite cantina food) continues talking about the Swedish guest singer, Stefan Sundstrøm, who visited the studio with his daughter to record a song. “He looks so delightfully used up, and then his voice! We were very happy to be able to work with him, what a guy!”

Stefan in the studio (source: www.kaizers.no) (click!)

Does anyone apart from Sundstrøm sing on the album, Geir for instance? “No. If I remember correctly, Geir contributed three songs but sang none. However we are all audible as background singers.” 19 songs were recorded in the course of the studio sessions, but not all will make the album. The cover artwork and the album’s title are already decided upon. Everything is to be set in stone end of December, although Geir and Janove will fly to L.A. to mix and master the album in Howard’s studio. We want to know if Howard had a problem with the Norwegian texts. “Not at all, it doesn’t sound Norwegian to him,” Terje explains, “so there is no problem. We also think the language doesn’t sound that Norwegian, due to the way Janove sings and the usage of many word with similar English counterparts. And in the End Mark produces the sound only, we are the ones responsible for the music.”

And why didn’t Kaizers record this album with their old producer Jørgen Træen? “That has nothing to do with us not wanting to. We all, Jørgen included, had the feeling that something new should be tried. Just to see, how one can continue to grow.” Mark Howard had noticed the band after a pointer by Tom Waits, a Kaizers Orchestra fan himself. And, as it suited his timetable, he asked the band if they were interested in collaborating.

Janove at work (click!)

So here he sits, the small man from Canada, sometimes affectionately dubbed “Schnitzel” by the band. Wearing a the old GDR-era officers' hat his dexterous hands (sporting black nail polish) pull and push the mixer’s controls while Janove sits next to him, gesturing wildly and mimicking the instruments’ sounds. “That is Janove at work,” Geir comments dryly while we, fascinated, watch for quite a time as an enthused Janove improves the songs with Mark. A little more reverb here, a break there, and up the guitar a notch, please. Work here is quite professional. Terje shows us some pictures he shot these days with his digital Nikon-SLR. As Mark was constantly cold he had an oversized jacket making him appear like a little dwarf. So there is a picture series of Mark Howard as a “midget,” one of which can also be viewed on the official Kaizers site. We doubled up and fell down with laughter.

Mark "the midget" (source: www.kaizers.no) (click!)

Sometime around one in the morning, when work on “Du og Dine” is finished, the guys play us a new song. We line up and listen devoutly to this brilliant piece titled "Enden av November". Afterwards I embrace everyone and Tomas falls to his knees (we are quite drunk by now). My comment: “It’s sad and sexy,” followed by a sniffle. Everything will be fine; I will love the new Kaizers album and now, after I’ve seen with how much heart blood and dedication they worked on it, I will love it even more. Moreover I will love Kaizers, for ever and ever and until a Schnitzel falls from heaven.

The beer vending machine has been drunk dry, every match in the studio has been lit and burnt, and every lighter is empty. The last tram is well gone and a taxi has to be called. Janove has to return to Norway the following day, where the children’s play “Det tusende hjertet,” for which he wrote the music, premiers. An evening with Kaizers in the studio draws to a close but actually everything is just beginning! 2008 will definitely be a Kaizerly year!

Shirin and Thomas (translation by the wonderful Martin William Stappen)

P.S.: You will find more studio pix in our gallery 2007.