Photo: Olga Bushueva/IHTLNY

You are a well-known music connoisseur and record collector. But how did it all begin?

Oh, I don’t know about that… I’d call myself a music lover! My favorite band has always been The Beatles, since I saw them on TV when I was 8 or 9 years old. I already liked Elvis Presley and Abba, and loved compilations with music from the 60s and 70s. My father is a jazz musician, so there was always music in our house, and a love for movies and books and art. He worked for different record companies, giving me easy access to CD`s (which were the most used format at the time). I was consumed by music and film all through my teens, and I try to keep up still. I always liked the vinyl records better as a whole, so in time I have acquired more on vinyl than compact disc. I am not a collector – but I very much love to look and listen and touch and smell and ultimately buy them. I love going to concerts, quiz nights, mix tape evenings, hanging out in record stores… The woman I live with enjoys many of the same things as me, so I am very lucky indeed

Can you tell a little about your personal favorites in music?

The Beatles, Radiohead, The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed, Tool, The Band, Elvis Presley, Jaga Jazzist, Bob Dylan, Abba, Mogwai, Jan Johansson, Susanne Sundfør, Jonny Cash, Motorpsycho, David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Do Make Say Think, Miles Davis, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Link Wray, Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris… The list is much longer, of course! However, the singular artist I always refer to as my greatest inspiration is Neil Young. The attitude in his guitar playing and his creative vision has influenced me as a musician more than anything

And you also have your own rock band?

1099 has been slowly active for well over 15 years, playing what is most easily described as post-rock. We have released three double-albums, and there will be more music in the future. Family life and proper jobs take much of our time, but with neither a budget or a deadline we can do as we like with the band. A very funny and creative bunch – I can`t see myself not making music with them

You have been working at Rockheim (Norway’s National Museum of Popular Music) since the museums’s opening in 2010. Can we say that being a part of Rockheim is a big part of your life?

Absolutely! I am very fortunate to work with music history on a daily basis. Everything from giving guided tours to arranging concerts to digitalizing pictures and editing video clips to order vinyl records for our museum shop. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and hard working, and through the years I have attained very good friends at Rockheim. People I haven`t seen in a while usually say «That must be the perfect place for you!» when I tell them where I work. My first dreams of being a movie director or a stunt man failed, but I am quite happy where I am now