Artist: Magick Touch
Herkunft: Bergen, Norway
Genre: Hardrock
Label: Edged Circle Productions
Link: https://www.magicktouch.no/
https://de-de.facebook.com/magicktouch/
Bandmitglieder:
Guitar and vocals – HK Rein
Bass and vocals – Christer Ottesen
Drums and vocals – Bård Nordvik
Magick Touch was on tour across Europe together with Audrey Horne in March 2020. The Band from Bergen, Norway will release a new album in June. A couple of things to discuss, during the corona pandemic via email.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
Hi Chris,
thanks for your time, hope you are all very well and you have no issues with a virus.
Magick Touch / Chris:
Hi Jürgen, thanks for having us! We are well, luckily none of us have been sick, neither have anyone we know of. It was of course very unfortunate that we were on tour in your fine country exactly when the whole world closed down. We had to cut the Audrey Horne tour short, buy new plane tickets two minutes before playing in Nürnberg, and run away in the night. We arrived home just in time before the borders closed.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
Magick Touch is from Bergen in Norway. Not an unknown city in metal, but not necessarily for hard rock. Where does the inspiration for the 70s and 80s music come from?
Magick Touch / Chris:
There was a time before black metal ruled this city, and some of us were old enough to witness it. In 1984 Norwegian band TNT released Knights Of New Thunder and did some very influential shows in Grieghallen, they introduced Norway to big rock shows I would say. (Ironically the same building used to house Grieghallen Studio – the birthplace of black metal a little later.) The year after, Motorhead did 4-5 dates in Norway, among them a show in a tennis arena in Bergen. So that was the beginning, then we moved on to thrash, death metal, pop etc. and now we are back to the beginning again. Heavy metal is the law, you know.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
I tried to find out when Magick Touch was founded. Unfortunately, I did not find any information. Could you explain a little bit about your story and how it came about? Has the lineup of the band always been the same?
Magick Touch / Chris:
In early 2014 we had just released an album with another band to great reviews and did a successful concert in our hometown together with before mentioned TNT. The day after, the singer of our band suddenly pulled the plug on the whole thing. We decided to carry on regardless. HK and myself started singing instead and later the same year we had written ten songs for our very own debut album Electrick Sorcery.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
In 2015 you released your first album. Where was your first live gig and on what occasion?
Magick Touch / Chris:
I believe our first gig was at the legendary rock club Garage in Bergen, and the occasion was the release of our first single Trouble & Luck.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
Magick Touch was already in Europe in 2018. With another hard rock band from Bergen, Audrey Horne. In 2020 Magick Touch was on the road again with Audrey Horne. Is there a cooperation with Ice Dale? Is Audrey Horne a role model for you, too?
Magick Touch / Chris:
Ice Dale is obviously a man of wealth and taste, but Thomas Tofthagen is my only role model in life. No, seriously, we like and respect Audrey Horne very much. Their latest three albums rock very hard indeed. And they are killer live! We happen to share a rehearsal space with them, and they even borrowed me as a stand in bass player for the corona tour as it became known…
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
The tour 2020 unfortunately ended. Audrey Horne wrote that the canceled concerts should be rescheduled. Is there any news? Or are all plans on hold because of the pandemic?
Magick Touch / Chris:
The latest I have heard of this is that the shows have been rescheduled for 2021, but I don’t know for sure. Hopefully we will be back together with Audrey Horne as well.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
Let’s talk about your new release. The first song reminds me a bit of a mix of Kiss and Thin Lizzy. At least it could come from the 80s. Is my impression correct? What was your inspiration for the song?
Magick Touch / Chris:
You are definitely not mistaken. Add a dash of Motörhead too, and you got what we aimed for. At least that is what the song sounds like live. The album has a good deal of mid-tempo stuff so wanted a fresh opening song.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
To The Limit for me is somehow a journey through Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake and similar, but without copying, only as inspiration. Can you give me some information about the creation of the track?
Magick Touch / Chris:
I think our drummer (and closet guitarist) Bård came up with the main riff, and we toyed around with it in our rehearsal space. I came up with the title but I think HK wrote the bulk of the lyrics. This is how we do it, and everybody shares the songwriting credits. Good deal for me on that track then, ha ha…
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
I called Bad Decisions a song in remembrance of Phil Lynott. Is my assessment correct and is anyone of you a Phil Lynott fan?
Magick Touch / Chris:
Guilty as charged. We are all Lizzy fans but I possibly have the biggest “Phil Lynott-complex”, if that is a thing. It seems there has been a big inflation in that area in the latest years, many bands copy Lizzy these days. Maybe we should stop now before it gets overdone into parody. I can’t promise anything, though.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
My personal favorite is Doomsday I’m In Love. The song also stands out to me a little bit from the other tracks because it is a little less accessible and is somewhere between metal and hard rock. Can you tell us a few sentences about the number regarding origin and inspiration?
Magick Touch / Chris:
Thanks! The riffs came mostly from me on that one. One of the riffs date back to my death metal days, I re-discovered on a cassette I found. Bård wrote the lyrics, came up with the clever title, and the chorus. HK composed the excellent guitar solo. I guess I earned my songwriting credit on To The Limit after all!
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
Now of course we have to talk about the topic that is currently very important in the music world. Is Magick Touch also affected by the cancellations of concerts or were the 3 gigs in Germany the only cancellations for you?
Magick Touch / Chris:
We were of course hoping to tour our asses of after the release 26.6. but now nothing is gonna happen in the foreseeable future. We were heading for Germany in the fall, but not anymore. We don’t like it, and we don’t know what to do with it. Hopefully people will have better time to listen to music now at least, I know I have caught up on a lot of stuff during the lockdown.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
Many bands from Norway (e.g. Enslaved, Kvelertak) streamed shows. Would streaming a possibility also for you to realize the release show in June?
Magick Touch / Chris:
There have been talks, but it would have to be something exciting and special. I think Kvelertak has set the standard now with their two streaming gigs, the second one even with a game show and setlist of fortune. Another Norwegian band, Death By Unga Bunga, created Once Upon A Time In Deadwood City which was like a cross between a Western movie and a rock show. Ambitious stuff.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
In Germany, bands play in a kind of drive-in cinema, where cars park in front of a stage. The sound is transmitted to the car via an FM frequency, and the band can be seen on video screens and on stage. Are there such alternative ideas for live gigs in Norway?
Magick Touch / Chris:
Yes, we have seen a lot of creative solutions around streaming gigs, and many totally un-inspiring ones. Drive in shows look fun, but it’s never gonna be the same, is it? Hopefully later in the summer there will be shows allowed with a larger capacity than 50 people.
Time For Metal / Jürgen:
Thank you for your time, stay healthy and I hope that Magick Touch and Audrey Horne will catch up on the unusual concert in Hamburg soon. Stay healthy, stay metal, stay home!
Magick Touch / Chris:
Thank you, Jürgen! Stay healthy and heavy! We need to come back as soon as humanly possible and rock all night long!