Matchstick Sun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Matchstick Sun | |
|---|---|
 On the cover of Flowerground (from left): Rolf Recknagel, Rune Annaniassen, Ivar Eidem & Bulle.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Oslo, Norway |
| Genre(s) | Rock Psychedelia |
| Years active | 1984–1991 |
| Label(s) | RCA Temptation |
Matchstick Sun was a Norwegian rock band formed in 1984. In their first four years they were a treasured secret of the Oslo underground scene. In their last three years, they released two major label albums, won a Norwegian Grammy and broke up.
Contents |
[edit] Band members
- Ivar Eidem – lead vocals & keyboards
- Rolf Recknagel – guitar & vocals
- Rune Annaniassen – bass guitar
- Geir “Bulle” Underdal – drums
[edit] Associated members
- Truls Jedemo – keyboards (1988–1991)
- Bjørn Hemsen – guitar (1990–1991)
[edit] History
Matchstick Sun was founded in 1984 as the Diamond Dogs by four key players of the Oslo post punk scene. The drummer Bulle (b. 1962) had been in the punk group Betong Hysteria and the art/ska band Løver og tigre (Lions & Tigers). The vocalist Eidem (b. 1964) and the bassist Annaniassen (b. 1959) had both been in the last edition of The Cut, the industrial/new romantic band led by the West German immigrant Volker Zibell. The guitarist and main songwriter Rolf Recknagel (b. 1952) had for a short while been in De Press, an original and successful Norwegian new wave band led by the Polish refugee and visual artist Andrej Dziubek Nebb, who in 1978–79 had been in the band Pull Out with fellow art student Volker Zibell.
In 1984 the times were changing in Norway. After decades of post WW2 uniformity, the country was now diving head first into oil driven affluence and postmodernism. Suddenly it seemed like everything was being liberalised. Diamond Dogs, with their arty and alternative stance, were in strange way both outsiders and insiders of this new age.
Their gigs were mostly at private parties and illegal after-hours clubs, all very decadent and goth. But if their attitude and image must have seemed challenging to most Norwegians, their demos that were played on the new independent radio stations sounded like classic pop songs. Maybe moody and melancholic, but always melodic, often sounding something like a psychedelic cross between late Beatles and early David Bowie, with thoughtful lyrics covering political themes as well as male/female relations.
[edit] Going overground
By the spring of 1988, the band's reputation had grown to the point were they were being talked and written about as “the next big thing”. Just prior to releasing their first record, a three song single on the independent label Temptation, they renamed themselves Matchstick Sun after the title of one of their own songs.
Soon their manager was in contract negotiations with several major labels. The budget was set and the studios and the producer already chosen. In the spring of 1989, a few weeks before the recordings started, they decided on a label and became the first act signed to the newly established Norwegian branch of BMG Ariola.
After a few days of preproduction rehearsals in Oslo, the band and their producer Knut Bohn headed for Silence, a residential studio in the deep forests in Koppom across the Swedish border. The New York-based Norwegian Bohn had been an engineer for Nile Rodgers from Chic at the Manhattan studio Skyline and recently also a producer in his own right of albums by US acts Freedy Johnston and Lonesome Val.
Silence is a child of the Swedish progressive scene of the early 1970s, and both a recording studio and one of the longest running Swedish independent labels. The founder and house engineer Anders Lind worked well with Bohn and Matchstick Sun and even managed get their newly bought, but sadly derelict Mellotron in working order.
Aided by the laid back vibe, the communal feeling and the nightly vegetarian feasts served up the studio chef, the sessions went well and were finished on time. Mixing was done by Bohn during a week of night shifts at the all digital BEL studios in downtown Oslo.
In June 1989 Matchstick Sun - with financial support from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry - crossed the Atlantic to attend the New Music Seminar on Manhattan. Joining them in this first ever Norwegian delegation to a US Trade Fair, was the garage rock band The Cosmic Dropouts from Moss. The party of 20 plus Norwegians spent 10 days on Manhattan and the two bands played a show at the club Jammin’ by the bus depot on 42nd street. The Cosmic Dropouts ended up with a deal with US independent Skyclad. Matchstick Sun had some cordial, but fruitless meetings with local representatives of their major label. At least the trip got them some attention in the Norwegian newspapers.
When Matchstick Sun’s debut album Flowerground was released in August 1989, it was an event on the Norwegian rock scene. Critics were almost ecstatic. Matchstick Sun now changed management to Stageway – the largest Norwegian management and booking agency – and soon headed out on a national tour. After five years in the underground, Matchstick Sun were riding high in the mainstream. Their efforts were rewarded with a Norwegian Grammy for Best New Act.
[edit] Seven year itch
By then Matchstick Sun were already preparing for their second album. In April 1990 they headed to Copenhagen’s Studio 39. Knut Bohn was producing one again, this time with New York-colleague Scott Ansell as his engineer. The mix was done at Oslo’s Schlager Studios in May. After this production, Bohn relocated back to Norway and became a successful producer of such acts as The September When, Morten Abel, Anne Grete Preus, Tre Små Kinesere, Ephemera and others.
Matchstick Sun’s second album Itchy Bitchy was released in the fall of 1990. The band now sounded more mature and organic and whilst nearly all the songs on the first album were written by guitarist Rolf Recknagel, five tracks were now mainly credited to vocalist Ivar Eidem. The singer had even produced one track all by himself with session musicians and no involvement from his fellow band members.
The critics were again enthusiastic, but both airplay and sales were disappointing compared to the first album. The demand for live performances was still healthy though and in October, Matchstick Sun was invited as the one Norwegian act at the annual EBU Rock Festival; a three day event organized by the European Broadcasting Union in Cork in Ireland and aired by public service radio stations all over Europe.
Two months later it was all over. Drummer Bulle quit in January 1991 and a couple of weeks later Matchstick Sun was history. Bulle kept on playing with The Lust-O-Rama (1989-93), the garage rock band he started with vocalist Arne Thelin from The Cosmic Dropouts after they met at the New Music Seminar in New York in the summer of 1989. Their one album Twenty-Six Screams was released by the US label Skyclad in 1990.
Guitarist and songwriter Rolf Recknagel quickly put together a new band called Yeahlove Swans (1991-94). Their one album Lovetech was released on by Polygram on the Vertigo label in 1992. Strangely enough twice, with totally different covers. Bass player Rune Annaniassen joined the Norwegian pop-psych band Sister Rain in 1992, which disbanded shortly after having released the record 'The Neptun Tapes' in 1993. He later joined the American-Norwegian band Merchants of Venus (1993-94) whose one album Wish across the Land was released by WEA in 1994. Vocalist Ivar Eidem released his one solo album Missions of a Clown in 1996 on Oh Yeah! and was awarded the Norwegian Grammy for Best Male Artist.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Flowerground (RCA 1989)
- Itchy Bitchy (RCA 1990)
[edit] Singles
- ”You and Me” b/w “Bumblebee” & “Candy Man”
(Temptation 1988)
- ”Matchstick Sun” b/w “Flowerground”
(RCA 1989)
- “It's Just a Matter” b/w “Too Many Girls”
(RCA 1989)
- ”Mr. Powerman” b/w “Modern World”
(RCA 1990)
