Out of the savaged suburbs of Oslo comes the brainchild of Trond Gjellum – drummer from the legendary Norwegian prog rock band Panzerpappa. Suburban Savages consists of members from Panzerpappa, Ghost Karaoke, White Willow, Weserbergland, Fraction Distraction and Now’ve Got Members – bands that have distinguished themselves as playful ensembles with a willingness to expand the boundaries of pop and rock. The result is unique: The catchy simplicity of pop music is mixed with the mind-blowing complexity of progressive rock.
The music writer Richard Toftesund (of former Tarkus Magazine) described the music as follows: “A sort of mishmash between Brian Eno’s experimental pop music, Gentle Giant’s counterpoint exercises, Happy the Man and Kit Watkins’ joyful progressive rock, Lars Hollmer’s sentimental melodies, Steve Reich’s minimalism and post rock with a twist”. In a genre transcending blend, hummable pop tunes merge with prog rock complexity, punk energy, folk music immediacy and post rock aesthetics – even within the same song! Suburban Savages manages to sound witty, catchy and experimental at the same time.
With a direct and to-the-point delivery of power, emotion and groove, Suburban Savages’ music is always entertaining, often hummable, sometimes danceable and even reluctantly laughable. Though experimental and eclectic, the music always manages to be pleasant. Extensive use of melodic percussion and flute besides classic rock instruments as drums, guitars and bass guitar, contribute to produce a fresh and captivating sound.
Suburban Savages will perform at this year’s Close to the Rain Festival in Bergen, 03/06/2017. Their album “Kore Wa!” is set to be released on June 9th through Apollon Records Prog division.
The future of progressive music lies with bands like this.
Christos Ampatzis – Dutch Progressive Rock Page
Line-up:
Trond Gjellum: Drums, percussion, lead and backing vocals, programming, keyboards
Anders Kristian Krabberød: Bass guitars
Nina Hagen Kaldhol: Electric guitars, Moog guitar
Hans-Petter Alfredsen: Keyboards
Mari Lesteberg: Keyboards
Thomas Meidell: Electric guitars, baritone guitar, vocals, noises
Ketil Vestrum Einarsen: Vocals, flute
Websites:
https://www.facebook.com/Suburban-Savages-9619856601/
https://www.apollonrecords.no/
https://www.facebook.com/bergenapollonrecords/
