DEL (Norwegian band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DEL is a Norwegian rock band formed in 1996 by Per Gisle Galåen, Lasse Marhaug and Kjell Runar "Killer" Jenssen. The band's music is mostly improvised and heavily influcenced by drone music, space rock, psychedelic rock, noise music and obscure horror films.

Although the core of DEL is the aforementioned trio, they often invite guests on recordings and for live performances. Notable guests include Fredrik Ness Sevendal (who is an almost-official fourth member), Tore H. Bøe, Petter Flaten Eilertsen, Audun Eriksen, Campbell Kneale (Birchville Cat Motel), Kai Mikalsen, Antony Milton (A.M.), John Birger Wormdahl and Mr. Cosmonaut (Cosmonauts Hail Satan).

The band releases most of its recordings on labels run by the band members or their friends. Most of the artwork is done by Lasse.

1 History
2 Discography
- 2.1 Compilation contributions
3 External links

[edit] History

DEL was formed in 1996 with the idea to create the perfect drone.

Kjell Runar "Killer" Jenssen had been a founding member of Norwegian rock band Motorpsycho and played drums on their first release, the cassette Maiden Voyage (1990), as well as their first album, Lobotomizer (1991). He had also been involved in numerous other bands, including Swamiis. Per Gisle Galåen was playing in Slowburn and lots of other bands. Lasse Marhaug had been doing solo noise music for many years and was also involved in the group Origami Replika.

1997 saw DEL's first release, a split with Green Monkey, the first in a still uncompleted five part series of 7" vinyl singles featuring covers of Sonic Youth songs, where DEL did a version of "Satan Is Boring". The record featured a DEL remake of a well-known Sonic Youth band photo on the cover, as well as liner notes by SY member Thurston Moore. This was followed in 1998 by DEL's debut album, If You Got To Fight... Fight Dirty! (one side live, one side studio) and No Escape From The Valley of the Cannibals, their first movie themed 7" single, focusing on Italian cannibal films of the late '70s and early '80s by directors such as Sergio Martino and Umberto Lenzi. The Polymorph 7" lathe cut, themed on the Korean monster movie Yongary (1967), and the Tremors / Screamers cassette were issued the same year. Ghost Bitch / 'Cross the Breeze, the second release in the Sonic Youth cover series, this time split with The Four, came out as a picture disc in 1999.

In 2000 the band released their second album, a CD called Projectionist Please Focus, made up of reworked and remixed live recordings and featuring several guest musicians, as well as Twilight Of The Dead, their second movie themed 7", inspired by the zombie cinema of George Romero, Umberto Lenzi and Lucio Fulci. The live recording Blå, 10. December 1999 was issued as a CD-R in an edition of only 10 copies. DEL did a live recording as an alternative soundtrack to Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer's classic horror movie Vampyr (1932) in 2001. It was first released on Killer Records in an edition of only 10 copies and reissued the same year on Celebrate Psi Phenomenon. The Dog & Mole Tape was also released in 2001.

DEL's third album, Der Lehnstuhl Sagt Alles, consisting of live recordings from 2001 and 2002, was released as an LP in 2002 and on CD-R the following year. The album was a tribute to exploitation goddess Doris Wishman, with all titles taken from her films. A CD-R reissue of the Tremors / Screamers tape followed in 2004.

In February/March 2005 the band played their first concerts outside Norway; one performance in Singapore, followed by six shows during their Sheep Tricks Tour of New Zealand. Two new releases, the NZ Tour 2005 8" lathe cut and the Flummm CD-R card, were available exclusively at these shows. One concert took place at the New Zealand Film Institute, where the band played live to a screening of the Norwegian silent film Café X (1928). Some of the other performances featured NZ guests Campbell Kneale (Birchville Cat Motel) and Antony Milton (A.M.) plus fellow Norwegian Petter Flaten Eilertsen, and two of these shows were released as the cassette Live at Cuba Street Carnival & Huttstock - 2005.

In May 2006 the band played live to a screening of Sergei Eisenstein's silent classic Strike (1925). The performance was recorded and is currently available as an MP3 download.

DEL released their first proper studio album, Five Dolls For An August Moon, on Norwegian label Synesthetic Recordings in August 2006. On these recordings, originally made in 2002, the band took on a slightly more subtle and subdued approach compared to their previous releases. The album title is taken from an early '70s giallo by Italian master of horror Mario Bava, a longtime favorite of the band. One of the songs is a Black Sabbath cover, stripped of its signature riff and with lyrics in Norwegian, disguised under the title "Sabbath Fucking Sabbath". The DELirious & DELicious DELuxe Edition of the album was a metal film canister containing test pressing of the LP, promotional CD-R of the album, exclusive CD-R with an outtake from the album sessions, t-shirt, button, keychain, A4 insert with credits, A4 poster made for the release party, press release and polaroid photo. It was released in a limited edition of 15 numbered copies.

During the fall of 2006 DEL recorded material for a new album, which is to be released on Italian label Qbico in late 2007.

[edit] Discography

Satan Is Boring / Inhuman - split with Green Monkey (7", Betley Welcomes Careful Drivers/Apartment Records/Jazzassin/Killer Records, 1997)
Tremors / Screamers (MC, Freedom From, 1998)
If You Got To Fight... Fight Dirty! (LP, Apartment Records, 1998)
No Escape From The Valley of the Cannibals (7", Killer Records, 1998)
Polymorph (7" lathe cut, Dirtlove Records, 1998)
Ghost Bitch / 'Cross the Breeze - split with The Four (7" picture disc, Killer Records, 1999)
Blå, 10. desember 1999 (CD-R, Brumm, 2000)
Twilight Of The Dead (7", Killer Records, 2000)
Projectionist Please Focus (CD, Apartment Records/OHM Records, 2000)
Dog & Mole Tape (MC, Xerxes Records, 2001)
Vampyr (CD-R, Killer Records, 2001)
Vampyr (CD-R, Celebrate Psi Phenomenon, 2001)
Der Lehnstuhl Sagt Alles (LP, OHM Records, 2002)
Der Lehnstuhl Sagt Alles (CD-R, PseudoArcana, 2003)
Tremors / Screamers (CD-R, Gold Soundz, 2004)
NZ Tour 2005 (8" lathe cut, Killer Records, 2005)
Flummm (CD-R card, Synesthetic Recordings, 2005)
Live at Cuba Street Carnival & Huttstock - 2005 - with Birchville Cat Motel and A.M. (MC, TWR Tapes, 2005)
Five Dolls For An August Moon (LP, Synesthetic Recordings, 2006)
Five Dolls For An August Moon (CD-R promo, Synesthetic Recordings, 2006)
Five Dolls For An August Moon: DELirious & DELicious DELuxe Edition (Box set, Synesthetic Recordings, 2006)
Musical Pandemonium / Sabbath Fucking Sabbath (CD-R promo, Synesthetic Recordings, 2006)
T.B.A. (LP, Qbico Records, 2007)

[edit] Compilation contributions

"Piece" on We'll Sail Out Far... Maybe A Little Too Far... (2xLP + 7", Apartment Records, 1998)
"Piece 2" on Artificial Nerve Part 2 (MC, Xerxes Records, 1998)
"Bliss Miss Albatriss" on Songs From The Loosing End v2.0 (LP, Krank Records, 1998)
"35 mm Delerium" on We Are Hello Vol. 1 (CD, Machine Machine Records, 1998)
"Do You Wanna Dro?" on To Jupiter And Beyond (CD, Aporia Records, 1999)
"Piece" on We'll Sail Out Far... Maybe A Little Too Far... (2xCD, Surefire, 2000)
"Sunset Cove" on Le Jazz Non: A Compilation Of Norwegian Noise (CD, Smalltown Supersound, 2000)
"Jeg Er En Skikkelig Bra Fyr" ["I'm A Real Nice Fellow"] on No Tribute: The Music of The Nihilist Spasm Band (CD, Sunship/Little Mafia/Carbon/Breathmint, 2002)
"Modern Woman" on B.J. King: A Tribute To The Joel (CD-R + comic book, Long Division, 2005)