Photo: Trond Lindholm

The Gratitudes released their new EP ‘Beans’ this Friday June 16th via Westergaard Records. The EP is released digitally and available on most streaming services. Vinyl edition will be out next Friday June 23rd. The edition is limited only to 50 copies on 7” vinyl, so you really have to hurry up if you want to get one of these! For order send mail to dyrnes@outlook.com

‘You Close Your Eyes’, ‘Extinction Bash (where’s the beer?)’, ‘Crammed In a Jam Jar’ – the tree tracks of the EP are incredibly full of summer rock’n’roll vibes, so I highly recommend you to check them out and add them to your “great summer 2023” playlist

Read the interview with Akke Knoff Glomstad and Ingvild Hammer of The Gratitudes talking about recording of the EP, what is behind ‘Beans’ title, their favourite songs and plans for live shows 

Actually, why ‘Beans’?

Akke: Beans are beautiful. They’re tasty, accessible, versatile and will keep you full and satisfied for hours – just like the EP.

To be honest, the “Beans” cover art was chosen before the actual “Beans” title. Both this one and the “You Close Your Eyes” cover are photos taken by Ingvild, and they’re wonderful pieces of art. It’s essential to make use of all creative qualities within in the band, which will be even more recognizable on the forthcoming full length. And no, we’re not talking pan flute or lace knitting, haha.

You say your music is inspired by “70’ pop and punk rock, Bowie and Pixies, Grete and Tom Waits, nordic noir and Sør-Aurdal”. Could you name any particular songs or albums that are especially significant to you?

Akke: I’ve always been into great songwriting, not scenes or genres, although I consider myself a punk. I love The Mamas And The Papas as much as I love The Ramones, I adore ABBA as much as I adore Dead Kennedys, ‘cause the songs are brilliant. It’s all about music, leave the politics to the radicals and the haircuts to the models.

Too many albums have made an impact on me through the years, The Who “Who’s Next”, Sham 69 “The Adventures Of The Hersham Boys”, Tom Petty “Damn The Torpedoes”, The Clash “The Clash”, Frank Black “Teenager Of The Year”, The Thermals “The Body, The Blood, The Machine”, Redd Kross “Phaseshifter”, Cheap Trick “Dream Police”, Elvis Costello “Blood & Chocolate”, The Wildhearts “Earth Vs. The Wildhearts”, Titus Andronicus “The Most Lamentable Tragedy”, to name a few.

Ingvild: I can name so many too. Some of my favourites are: Motörhead “Overkill”, David Bowie “Scary Monsters”, Nina Hagen “Unbehagen”, Pretenders: “Learning To Crawl”, Bad Brains “Rock for Light”, Led Zeppelin, “Led Zeppelin”, Dead Kennedys, “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables”, Etta James “Rocks the House”, Audioslave “Audioslave”, The Staple Singers “Freedom Highway”. AC/DC “High Voltage”, Thin Lizzy “Black Rose”.

The EP was recorded with help of crowdfunding and great support from the fans. Would you like to say a couple of words about it?

Akke: We had no plans to do a follow up to the first single, it was basically meant to be a one-off act of fun and gratitude. But this wonderful lad named Bjørnar Kristiansen wanted it otherwise, so he started this fundraising campaign to cover our studio expenses. And people were over the top generous, it was so overwhelming it brought me to tears. And of course, backers will get their selected rewards, merch or blue vinyl, at the same time as the vinyl is released on June 23. Something to look forward to.

Ingvild: It’s absolutely fantastic that this money was raised because the people want more music from us. Thank you so much!

Question to Ingvild Hammer: You have contributed to over 65 recordings with other bands and artists. What is special about The Gratitudes to you?

Ingvild: I wasn’t really going to join a new band, but Akke had made some really cool songs and these guys are amazing musicians, so I had no choice but to join in!

There are three songs on this EP: Dwight Twilley cover ‘You Close Your Eyes’, that was released as single on May 19th, very punky ‘Extinction Bash (where’s the beer?)’ and rock’n’roll gem ‘Crammed In a Jam Jar’. Could you tell me more about the last two? When they were written? And are there any exciting stories behind them?

Akke: Although I have tons of songs lying around, these two were written during the mentioned fundraising campaign. As cash came in, tunes came out. People showing continuing trust and interest in what you do, is incredibly inspirational.

Extinction Bash (where’s the beer?)’ was basically a test. Could I get away with mixing bubblegum punk with some weird, exotic byzantine craziness in the chorus? Probably not, so I did. The song is about doomsday preppers tending to forget the most important things to store, namely beer.

In my opinion, the best songs ever written are where snotty guitar crunch blends perfectly with pop catchiness, like in many of those -70s anthems. “Crammed In a Jam Jar” is a hats off to that period.  

You are working on your first full length album now. The release is planned for early 2024. What can we expect from this album?

Akke: Big riffs, big choruses, and big fun. There’ll be some twisted, sonic cross-pollination here and there, but unmistakably The Gratitudes.

Do you have any plans to play live shows in the near future?

Akke: Summer is here, and we’ll start rehearsing songs for the full length album during the next couple of months. Then we’ll do a gig jam packed with new tunes – and hopefully people – at Enga Pub in Oslo, September 1st. Come on, you know you don’t have any better plans that day.

The Gratitudes
Ingvild Hammer – vocals
Atle Egil “Akke” Knoff Glomstad – guitar/backing vocals
Morten Lunde – bass/backing vocals
Magne Vannebo – drums/backing vocals

Listen to ‘Beans’ on your preferred streaming service! 
https://orcd.co/beans