Agnete Kjølsrud. NO. ex-Animal Alpha. Djerv

Ever since Vortex and Mustis have been kicked out of Dimmu Borgir, there have been a lot of debates going on. One of the funniest is that Vortex still sings on the new single Gateways – with the new Dimmu Borgir - I started looking for this new voice present on the single, and found it in the person of the lovely Miss Agnete Kjølsru - ex-Animal Alpha singer, currently playin in Djerv -. I had the honor and privilege to have a chat with Agnete regarding her musical carrier and about the controversy that she has been mixed in together with the guys from Dimmu Borgir.

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So let us enjoy the CZB. Exclusive interview with Agnete Kjølsrud. Djerv

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Sir Olaf Pol: First off, thank you for the interview
Agnete Kjølsrud: Thank you.
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Sir Olaf Pol: I think a few introductive words would be interesting seeing that the project that you sang in and the new project you started have not hit the Romanian market that hard.
What was the idea behind Animal Alpha?
Agnete Kjølsrud: I wanted to start a band with people that had been playing a long time, that were really good on their instruments and people I could write music with. I put up ads in Oslo and met a lot of strange people. Ha ha, Oslo is full of them. Well, at last I met one guy that had some songs made, but the vocals where missing. I listened to it and made some stuff. From there we started. He had met up with guys he thought could fit the band, because of their taste of music, and also he knew that they were really good at playing. Oslo was full of bands, and it was important for me to meet up with serious guys with experience.

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Sir Olaf Pol: Animal Alpha was a interesting band, that combined a bunch of rock styles. Who was the main composer in Animal Alpha?

Agnete Kjølsrud: Thank you. Well, the main composers were the guy that found my add, Christian Wibe and I. We wanted to play in a band where everything was aloud, as long as we liked the sound. My main influences at that time were Tomahawk and Mr. Bungle.

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Sir Olaf Pol: Was there connection between your personality and the video ideas?
Agnete Kjølsrud: For our first video, we invited several video-producers to a show, and had a tour around in Oslo the week after where we met up with all of them, seeing who had the best idea for a video. We met Petter Jahre, one of the most wonderful and interesting people I have ever met and he had ideas that made us actually use him for all our videos. I think he can see things in me, that I have not really noticed myself. He also read the lyrics and interpreted them his own way. The way I act on stage is not the way I act in private, but I guess we all have more than one personality.

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Sir Olaf Pol: Was the writer’s block so bad that the band had to split up for it? Why not take a break?
Agnete Kjølsrud: If a relationship has to have a break, then fuck it. Excuse my language. I only curse on stage ☺ What I mean is that I don`t see a point in sleeping with an old boyfriend if you are looking for something serious, when you know it won’t work. For me, it`s kind of not serious, and therefore it was best just to go our separate ways. Animal Alpha didn’t really have writers block, but we wanted different things, and we could feel it when we were touring. We got tired.

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Sir Olaf Pol: Tell us a few words about your new project Djerv?
Agnete Kjølsrud: Djerv is a bit different from Animal Alpha. I choose to sing melodic, the guitar player Stian Kårstad makes black metal riffs and the drummer (Erlend Gjerde) is groovy. It is more metal than Animal Alpha, but I think you can put it in the category: hard rock with metal influences. It is a new experience for all of us, working with people with so diverse backgrounds and I think that makes it really interesting.

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Sir Olaf Pol: I see a different approach compared to Animal Alpha, with a more dark side to the music?
Agnete Kjølsrud: Yes, that is right. If you look at the material we had in Animal Alpha, we also got darker and heavier on our way, so for me it was a natural development. Also with Djerv it was just how it had to be, when you think of Stian and Erlend’s background. I love Animal Alpha, but that was then. I have experienced more. Also my biggest influence at that time was Mike Patton (Faith No More). He is still the best singer of all times, but I have also listened more to metal and darker stuff, if you know what I mean. If you only eat sugar, you get fat. If you only eat salad, you get thin.

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Sir Olaf Pol: Does this darker image fit you better as a singer? Do you identify yourself more in the Djerv music style?
Agnete Kjølsrud: Yes, because I’m not that theatrical as I was in Animal Alpha. When we started playing live with Animal Alpha, I was doing my Master’s degree in clothing design. My Master was called “Rococo rocks”. I loved everything about the 18^th Century. The way the nobility acted, with their strange ways of talking to each other, the foolishness, the hair and make-up. I studied them and wanted to be one like them, kind of. Now, with Djerv, I am more myself, but also the music makes me more evil and cunning. I need to be in some kind of character though. It is healthy for me.
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Sir Olaf Pol: When should we expect an album from Djerv?
Agnete Kjølsrud: We are in the studio now and hopefully we will have an album out in February/March 2011.
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Sir Olaf Pol: Now about the questions that have been invading the Internet. People still keep saying that Vortex is doing the vocals on Gateways and they say that your collaboration with Dimmu Borgir is just a facade to hide the truth. How do you comment?

Agnete Kjølsrud: What can I say… I think it is hilarious and also very strange. I don`t want to be rude, but it seems like people live in denial or something. I am sure Dimmu Borgir had their reasons for not having Vortex in the band, or Vortex had his reasons. I don`t care, and neither should any body else. It is their decision and not our business. It is weird that people think it might be Vortex, cause, to be honest, I made the parts that are on the end of Gateways. I am also a sucker for harmonies, you see. If you listen to some of the stuff I have done with Animal Alpha, I`m afraid people have to forget about the idea of Vortex being the singer. I respect and understand that people can have a hope, when they really love one member of a band, like some really want Vortex back, but this time it`s not the reality.
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Sir Olaf Pol: How did the collaboration with Dimmu Borgir come to life?
Agnete Kjølsrud: I was out in Oslo and I was talking to a friend of Stian. They understood that I was the singer of Djerv. I am proud to say that Stian really loves Djerv, and we connected. We didn`t discuss this stuff that evening, but I got a phone from him some weeks later. My experience with those guys has been a blast. They are so professional and also really nice guys.

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Sir Olaf Pol: If you could replace a body part with the body part of an animal, what would you replace?
Agnete Kjølsrud: I think I would like the neck of a giraffe, so I could put my head out my window and in my neighbor’s window to look at what they were up to. We could watch TV together ☺

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By: Sir Olaf Pol for CZB.ro

Posted on 22.SEP.2010

www.myspace.com/djervmusic

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Dimmu Borgir. Gateways

 

 

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