Have you ever wondered what went on in the minds of Trond, Thomas, Mari, and Anders when they wrote and recorded Demagogue Days? How were the tracks conceived, and how did they end up in the form they have on the record? Wonder no longer! In the next couple of weeks, we will present the main ideas and thoughts that lie behind each song from Demagogue Days. ##################################################
Sometimes it takes just a few attempts and versions before a song is finally finished, while in other cases it can take years: This idea has been with us for a while, and we’ve played around with it since 2008.
Trond wanted to create a song with multiple parts that are derived from the original melody in 5/4: a simple, almost childish melody, then a tango-like part, and then a symphonic part with a larger-than-life guitar solo. Thomas: “I’m not that into playing guitar solos, (or listening to 99% of them, to be honest), so as a trick to get comfortable when recording, I tried approaching every guitar solo on the album by pretending to be a specific guitar player. Can you guess who I’m pretending to be on this tune?”
The lyrics sound pretty silly, dealing with how to make lyrics to a song, but at the same time they are dead serious: Making lyrics is really difficult, so the draft was kept with some modifications.
The drums start with a beat that is a homage to the drumming of Charles Hayward. Trond: “He is a bit overlooked by the so-called progressive community, but his playing in This Heat and Camberwell Now is of extremely high class. I like his way of supporting the melody and using the drums as an instrument, not only as a rhythm box. He is also thinking of texture and sound and not only playing a million notes per minute.”
The opening is based around “hocketing”, where two or more instruments split up a single melodic theme between them. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocket).
The middle part is inspired by the Canterbury prog bands like National Health, Hatfield and The North, and Egg, with a simple, whimsical melody which is played over a lot of time signature changes. Mari: “The middle part of this song is one of my favourite snippets from the album. It’s challenging to play it, as both hands play their individual melodies with rapid and unusual chord changes.The weird and surprising chord changes are satisfying to listen to and make me want to play it over and over again. To me, this part reminds me of the summer when I was 21, interrailing through Britain, with Hatfield and the North, and National Health on my iPod Nano, savouring every bit of the English meadows and acres landscape from the train window view. “
The Theremin is one of the many aural spices used on the album. Thomas: It’s always nice to get an excuse to pull out the theremin and wave away.”
Youtube: https://youtu.be/LxRmcfHm3Vo
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3deB4AAmKbvfDrLBttOd2b?si=83020b3e1d78430b
Panzerpappa 