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We interviewed Erlend from Quadrivium. Excelent band from Norway, that creates great music, if you like of Arcturus and good music, you HAVE to listen them. They are a step ahead in metal music.
GroundCast – First of all, tell us, how everything began?
Erlend: At first Quadrivium started as a symphonic black metal project. This was back in 2004 when me and a friend needed a name for a project we had at the time. We did some demo songs but never recorded them properl
y and in 2005 I moved to a different city and that was kind of the end of that thing. Later I wrote some new songs that would become the Origo EP. At the time I was talking to Lars Jensen and we always wanted to do something together and I decided to reuse the Quadrivium name which I always thought fit this kind of music. After the Origio EP I got inspiration for some more material and we re-recorded the old songs + the new ones and that turned into the debut album Adversus.
GroundCast – What are your influences?
Erlend: I have many influences but most prominent in Quadrivium is of course Arcturus, especially for the early stuff. For the Methocha album I have tried to incorporate different things and really get some dynamic variation within the songs and the album as a whole. Some movie soundtracks are also very inspiring to me, especially for the more ambient tracks.
GroundCast – You are a step ahead from music we normally listen, tell us, how is the composition process?
Erlend: Its always hard to explain the composition process because it varies from song to song really. Usually though it starts with some kernel of a part which I will expand and then try to elaborate into a full song. Normally that first part or riff will be the guide for the rest of the song. In a way, the philosophy or “feel” of the whole song is condensed into that one part.
GroundCast – Your first full-length CD was in 2008 and the second in 2012, what changed since the first and second release?
Erlend: Just about everything has changed. We have massively expanded the lineup and only Decepticon from the first album played on the second one. Also a lot of things changed in my life and my whole attitude towards music changed. Another very important change was everything I had learned about music writing and production. The first album is leaves a lot to be desired soundwise. For Methocha I was really aiming for a great sound and I am really satisfied with the end result. No doubt that an improvement in my financial situation also helped achieve that because during the recording of Adversus I was a dirt poor student.
GroundCast – We are in internet era, where we have lots of mp3 for free download, sites, torrents, p2p. We
have two sides, artists that agreed and artists that disagree. What is your opinion about it?
Erlend: Its hard to say. Of course its always nice for an artist that a lot of people can easily check his music but making quality albums does cost money. The computer cannot do it for you so you need to use the best equipment and people to make it happen. So my advice is to support the artists you like so they can continue to give you quality albums in the future. Maybe the new streaming services will make things better but I’ll reserve judgment on that. Seems like the streaming company and record label get the lion’s share there anyway.
GroundCast – You are from a country that normally shows black metal bands, how is be against the tide? How is the Norwegian scene for the music you play and for heavy metal in general?
Erlend: I live in rural Norway so the scene is very small. In spite of that we do have Norwegian fans and I think there are still people out there who like our weird kind of metal. As for the scene in general I really don’t know but new and good bands seem to pop up everywhere and that is a healthy sign indeed!
GroundCast – Do you have some project that you want to share with us?
Erlend: Well right now I am working on an all-acoustic album together with the Quadrivium vocalist. This is just a small side-project we have going and it looks like it will be available online for free. It has nothing to do with Quadrivium though. Just two musicians having fun.
GroundCast – What will be the next step in Quadrivium future? A new CD or will you focus on a tour?
Erlend: New cd for sure. I don’t think this band will ever tour. With members from Norway, Canada and Hungary it would be quite an undertaking. Never say never but it looks improbable and would probably bankrupt us all! I am working on some ideas for a new album but nothing concrete yet.
GroundCast –All the members have other bands, how do you do to put together everybody to rehearsal, tour and things like that?
Erlend: Its all done through the wonderful world of the internet. We have never rehearsed as a band and like I mentioned earlier I don’t think we will ever tour. I write all the music and then everyone record their parts either in a local studio or their home studio. Methocha was, except for the drums, done in our home studios. When it comes to drums you need good analog equipment and a great sounding room so we poured most of our money into that. In retrospect, I think it was a good decision!
GroundCast – Thanks for your time guys, now this space is yours to say something to the fans and groundcast’s reader
Erlend: Keep supporting metal and your favorite bands! Even if its just some kind words on our facebook site it is always appreciated and it spurs us on to make more music!