Artist: Torgeir Waldemar
Herkunft: Oslo, Norwegen
Genre: Americana, Country, Folk, Singer/Songwriter
Link: https://www.facebook.com/torgeirwaldemar
As a big fan of The Devil And The Almighty Blues (DATAB), I was asked if I would like to do a review of their guitarist Torgeir Waldemar’s new solo album Mercy (here). I was happy to do that and was able to immerse myself in the musical world of the Singer/Songwriter Torgeir Waldemar. After I recently saw the band live again in Aschaffenburg (here), I now had the opportunity to do an interview with him.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
Hello Torgeir, nice to be able to do an interview with you. Until recently, I “only” knew you personally as the guitarist for The Devil And The Almighty Blues. Why haven’t people heard so much about your solo activities in Germany? Things are different in your home country, right?
Torgeir Waldemar:
Hi there. I guess the answer to that has something to do with the fact that DATAB is mainly known inside the stoner scene. And that scene kind of lives its own life inside that communion.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
Since when have you been making music solo under your name?
Torgeir Waldemar:
I did my first release in 2012, it was a three track EP under the name Take Me Home. My first album was released in 2014. But I started to write songs when I began to play in bands in my twenties. In that case, I was pretty late to the party.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
As a solo artist you make completely different music than with your band The Devil And The Almighty Blues. I would say: Heavy Stoner Blues / Rock versus Americana / Singer-Songwriter. Why does this happen? Any compensation for you?
Torgeir Waldemar:
For me it’s two sides of the same thing. I grews up playing the violin, and then of course related a lot to classical music and different types of folk music. I have always listened to a lot of rock’n roll. When I grew up, my favorite bands were AC/DC, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd and a little later, Dire Straits. A lot of different influences that blend together in the tradition of blues and country. But the focus has always been on the quality of the songs, and that’s what it’s all about for me. There’s only two types of music, good and not good enough. I think that if you know what to look for, you can trace the steps of a lot of different influences in both DATAB and my own songs.
Pic by Big Simonski
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
When I started the review of your new album Mercy, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Arne, who did the promo for the album, asked me like this: “Would you like to do a review of the new album by Torgeir Waldemar, the guitarist from The Devil And The Almighty Blues. Maybe it’s not quite your music, but it’s very interesting and has something to it.“ I then got involved with it because I’m totally „open-minded“ when it comes to music and I immediately said Mercy for this tip. He’s right, because the album is very interesting and has something. I hope that is also reflected in my review! Have you read it? I told you in Aschaffenburg that I would do something about it.
Torgeir Waldemar:
Yes, I have read it, thanks for all the kind words! Really appreciated. If you like this, then please check out my previous albums as well. I bet there will be something in there for you as well.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
Mercy is, in my opinion, a pretty intimate album. How did it come about? How long did it take you to write the tracks on the album?
Torgeir Waldemar:
As said in the promotion for the album, I had the vision for a double album since after I did No Offending Borders in 2017. I really wanted to stretch the format of what I am doing, so to do one with big arrangements and with the band, and one totally on my own, was the original idea. When I stumbled across Brian Wilson’s tune Love And Mercy from 1987, I immediately understood that the titles had to be Love and Mercy, cause those lyrics in that song was very much what I wanted to focus on. All of the cover art was made in 2019, so it has been a long term plan. But I didn’t had any of the songs for Mercy ready then, the first one done was Dover, and we released it as a single in 2022. A lot of shit happened under the pandemic, and it took me some time to get my shit together and be able to do some writing again. But I had a pretty celar idea of what the thematics should be, and as with all my song writing, I had a bunch of musical ideas laying around.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
On the previous album Love you had gathered a lot of musicians around you to record/produce it. On Mercy you sat down with just Michael Barrett Donovan (violin and backing vocals) and it was recorded purely acoustically and without overdubs by your buddy Anders Mølller. Please tell me about the recordings. Sounds like a really exciting story!
Torgeir Waldemar:
Yes, it was. The idea was to get as far away as possible from how we did Love. And at the end of that road, it’s just one tape recorder with ¼” tape and only two channels. The original idea was to do it all by myself, but then I got to know Michael, and I suddenly realized that he had to be a part of it. He is brilliant in what he is doing, both musically but also lyric vice. He has been a huge part of getting the lyrics right. I am not a native american, so it’s a huge benefit to have someone that speaks english as their mother language. And he also understands the musical side of getting the lyrics to sound right.
I have always thought that music gets better and more interesting when collaborating with others, as long as one share the same vision. That has been the case with Anders all these years we have worked together, and that is also the case with Michael. It’s the simple thing that I define music as a language, as any other language, it’s kind of boring with monologues in the long run.
I really wanted to capture the magic and nerve that exist in the room while recording. It’s a special thing. And these days it’s so easy to fall into the trap of making things perfect, cause you have the tools to do it. But then you’ll end up losing the magic along the way. But of course, when you do it that way, you have to accept the mistakes that happen. And they do, the albums full of them, but that is the whole point. Music should reflect people, and people aren’t perfect.
Pic by Big Simonski
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
The three of you (you, Michael Barrett Donovan and Anders Mølller) have known each other for a long time? Have there been any joint projects before?
Torgeir Waldemar:
This was the first one that we did, all the three of us. I have worked with Michael on the Vilde Bye album that I did earlier this year, we did all the string arrangements on that record together. Check out that album, she’s a really talented singer/songwriter from Tromsø, Norway. Her debut album (note: Colder) was out a couple of weeks ago, which I produced.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
You probably also travel solo live. Will there be a Mercy Tour (perhaps also as an extended version with more solo numbers) from you soon? I would really like to see you live solo. I saw that there is also a live recording of you. Live At The Opera (Oslo) from 2022. Personally, I always find things like that, locations like that very superb. If you were to do something like “Live At Bayreuth Festival” or something similar, I would be there in a heartbeat. So please let us know in advance. On a “normal” tour too, of course!
Torgeir Waldemar:
Yes, there will be. I have suddenly got a German booking agency so, hopefully sometime during next year, there will be some German shows. If it’s gonna be solo/duo or with a band, that only depends on the budget. I have some Dutch and Belgian shows this fall.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
Would it be an idea to perform as support for The Devil And The Almighty Blues, or would that be too strenuous. Or do you think that doesn’t fit?
Torgeir Waldemar:
If the setting and circumstances are right, that might be an idea. But it’s not ideal.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
Where does your love of Americana, Singer/Songwriter come from? From my point of view, you also show this visually in your clothing and demeanor. The hat looks great on you. I also like headwear myself and have a few hats at home.
Torgeir Waldemar:
I have always been oriented around music that speaks directly to the heart with simple elements. When I discovered country music, or americana, or what you chose to call it, back in the days, it spoke to me in a way that simple blues rock had done in my earlier days. An album that was important to me was the side project that Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) did in 1991 called The Notting Hillbillies. I never thought of it as country music, it was just a really good record. And then Johnny Cash started to do the American Recordings albums. And I found Neil Young. And I found Gram Parsons. And then I found Townes Van Zandt. And Gillian Welch. And Gene Clark. And John Prine. And it’s not getting any better than that. Bob Dylan is of course a guy that has been there all the time, one of the first records I really got into by Dylan was Oh Mercy (!) from 1987. That is a strong one!
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
How much time do you have left for The Devil And The Almighty Blues besides your solo project, or vice versa: How much time do you have left for your solo project besides the band The Devil And The Almighty Blues?
Torgeir Waldemar:
DATAB has always been a side project for me, it’s my solo career that has been my main focus, and what I work on constantly. In Norway, all of that is upside down, I am mainly known for my work as a single playing artist. That is how it is at this point. But that aside, to be able to have a career on different sides is just a blessing. And everyone else in DATAB has other projects that are going pretty well as well. And as I said, I also work with other artists as a producer and studio engineer, so I do a lot of different stuff.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
How long do fans have to wait for Fire by The Devil And The Almighty Blues? Tre was some time ago. With Fire I also think the ambiguity of the word (English: fire, Norwegian: four) is brilliant. Please don’t let us wait too long for Fire. I’m assuming that will be the title of the new The Devil And The Almighty Blues album!?
Torgeir Waldemar:
We are working on it, to get it together as soon as possible. But I don’t have any dates unfortunately. When it comes to the title, I wouldn’t put my money on the obvious, hehe. But who knows.
Time For Metal / Juergen S.:
Finally, you have the opportunity to say something that hasn’t been discussed yet. Of course you can say hello to Grandpa and Grandma, or even say something about the wind, weather and sheep life in general (German humor ☺). Thank you very much for taking your time for the interview. I hope we’ll see you again soon!
Torgeir Waldemar:
Grandparents are gone many years ago, And the weather turns whether we want it or not. Take care, and be on to others that you want others to be to you. Cheers, see you on the road!
