Based in Bergen, Andreas Høvset and Vetle Junker, in other words Verdensrommet have been actively producing music since 2012. After a long break of four years, the band returned to the music world and in 2017, the band caught attention with its four-part EP ‘Problem’. With Onge Sushimane accompanying Vetle and Andreas, the band made one of their most popular tracks.
The EP, which we clearly see that Bergen-based musicians support each other, also shows that Verdensrommet is open to various collaborations. Verdensrommet is a band that you should give a chance with their danceable electronic sounds, with Andreas’ cool vocals. The band has been silent for two years and just released their newest single ‘En time i en grå dag’ which also heralds their new EP will be released in the spring of 2020.
We talked to Andreas and Vetle about the new track, their future plans and so on.
Hi Andreas and Vetle. How are you doing these days?
-We’re doing well! We’ve been busy recording a new album and preparing for our first live shows in quite a while, which is gonna be a lot of fun.
It has been a long time since you didn’t drop new music. Why did you wait so much?
-We’ve really just had so much other stuff to do. As you might know, we’re also two fourths of Softcore untd., and we’ve been busy finishing up an album there too. Other than that, Andreas have been releasing songs with his own project (Charlie Skien), while Vetle has been working with producing for other artists. That being said, we’re very much looking forward to releasing some Verdensrommet-tracks! It’s been way too long. I think we both can agree this is the project we enjoy the most.
What is the story behind «En time i en grå dag»? I guess a gray day is a typical day in Bergen.
-It was written a few years back, when we shared a studio in a literal container. While that sounds miserable, it was actually pretty okay, and we wrote a few of the tracks for this upcoming album in that studio. The lyrics to the song is about describing something depressingly ordinary as beautiful, I guess.
The track itself has gone through a few revisions, but we think we’ve settled on the final version now.
How did you decide to start the band? What was your inspiration and motivation?
-We started Verdensrommet back when we went to high school, so we’ve actually been playing and making music together for almost ten years now, which is kind of crazy. We were more into rock and indie music back then, with bands like The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, etc. being played a lot, so I guess that was an inspiration. Now, though, and with our two latest releases, we think we’ve found our sound. If we have to name some inspirations for what we’re doing now, I think we’ll name Blood Orange or King Krule.
What does Verdensrommet stand for? Are you inspired by the space?
-Space is super fascinating, but I don’t think we’d mention that as a direct inspiration.
You also play in Softcore untd., it kind of sounds the same tunes but still different. How did you end up playing in Softcore untd.? Maybe the idea behind was it could be cool to play with some friends?
Softcore untd. started when we got to know Emir and Mathias (from Sushi x Kobe) better. We did a few tracks together, which turned out nicely, but we didn’t want to use them for Verdensrommet, so we started a new band. That’s been really fun though, and we’re releasing our first LP this winter, on Cascine and Eget Selskap.
How do you distinguish the different bands you’re playing? After all, a musician might have same tendency while doing music. What do you think when you’re composing music for Verdensrommet?
-You can probably hear some Verdensrommet in Softcore untd., and I guess you can hear some Softcore untd. in Verdensrommet. I think that’s only natural. However, we have to distinguish the projects, and sometimes that’s hard. There’s been a couple of times where we’ve written something for one project, but it ends up getting released under one of the other.
You can probably hear some Verdensrommet in Softcore untd., and I guess you can hear some Softcore untd. in Verdensrommet. I think that’s only natural. However, we have to distinguish the projects, and sometimes that’s hard. There’s been a couple of times where we’ve written something for one project, but it ends up getting released under one of the other.
Will you ever make music in English?
-Maybe! We might have something coming, very soon.
How would you describe yourself as a band? Who or what inspires you the most?
-We are a two-piece that enjoys working in the studio, writing and experimenting. Our next album feels like a movie-score, and I think its very visual, even though you guys wouldn’t understand a word. So I guess we’re inspired by all the people we meet, all the music we listen to, and our personal experiences and crisis. We’re not a band that has one particular sound that we hang on too, so if you ask about what kind of music, movies or art we’re inspired by I think the answer would always be different.
What can you say about the new album? Will there be more collaborations? What awaits us?
-No collaborations, actually! It’s our longest release yet, and the one we’re the most happy with – we can’t wait to release it.
Be sure to check out Verdensrommet.
