Photo: Espen Stranger Seland

Happy proto-punk and garage rock Friday everyone!
Thee K-OTICS’ debut album ‘We The Thee’ out today! Stream it everywhere or get your copy on vinyl! Trondheim and Oslo! Meet the band at release concerts this weekend!

The band released their first single ‘Coastguard Girls/Last Time Around’ in 2021. And now you can finally enjoy the whole album! Get ready to rock’n’roll and fabulous combo of “the explosive spirit of Seattle in the ’60s, the gritty vibes of Detroit in the ’70s, and the avant-garde sounds of New York and Sydney in the early ’70s”

Read the interview with Thor Erik Havn and Marius Kromvoll of Thee K-OTICS

And your debut album is finally here. Are you happy with the result? And how was it working on it?

Thor Erik Havn: We’re quite happy with the result, it turned out pretty good. Maybe even better than we had expected. The whole process has taken a while, from the early start of writing the songs, then the band learning the songs, and in the end arranging the songs together and trying out different things. 

Then we had a very cool time in the studio. We recorded live at Velvet Recording with Christer Krogh, and Christer really helped us making the songs and us as good as possible. Christer plays a lot of percussion on the album and even plays some guitar on two tracks. By the way, he will be joining us live on our release party Friday the 1st of December.

Marius Kromvoll: We are super happy with the result! We’ve spent more time on it than I’m used to, but totally worth it in my book. Instant classic!

Where does your love for garage rock and proto punk come from actually?

Thor Erik Havn: We are all huge Iggy & The Stooges fans and share a common interest in The Cramps, as well as The New York Dolls. Some of us have been playing’ 60 garage rock and collecting records for many years.

Garage rock and proto punk came around in the late 60’s and early 70’s, and a lot of good music was made. Many great bands and recordings from that area are still unknown to many people. Personally, the first riff I learned to play on a guitar was probably ‘I wanna be your dog’ by the Stooges. It’s a great place to start if you wanna play primitive riffs, really loud.

Marius Kromvoll: I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard “Search and Destroy” by The Stooges. I think that’s where it all started for me with this proto punk thing. With garage rock, I think I discovered The Sonics about the same time as Cato Salsa Experience and MC5 around the turn of the millennium. I do love me some rough edges!

What helped you to hold such a high degree of rock’n’roll throughout all ten songs of the album?

Marius Kromvoll: Well, we’ve spent time writing and perfecting these songs, also killed a couple of darlings along the way (as in songs, not, well, you know. People.). Left with just the hits, baby!

Thor Erik Havn: There’s a ballad on the album, as well as an instrumental called ‘Interlude’, both of them are a bit different than the rest of the material. And we even have a drum-machine on the track Mambo Fever, which is not so rock’n’roll in my book. But the rest of the 7 tracks are all high energy songs which we’re quite proud of. We even have two more proto punk songs from the recording session which not made the album. Probably they will appear on a later release in the future.

All band members are not new to the music scene. So, what about Thee K-OTICS team? How do you like working together?

Thor Erik Havn: It’s pretty straight forward, we meet at the rehearsal space, open up a can of beer and plug in. It’s quite natural and all the members have a certain personality in their playing which makes the music quite distinct.

Marius Kromvoll: For me, it’s a very different experience, being used to play with just one other guy in Quarter Wolf, writing lyrics and riffs on my own. I really enjoy both.

Who, besides yourself of course, is the greatest rock band of all time?

Marius Kromvoll: For me it’s easy: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Number one, baby!

Thor Erik Havn: The list is long, but the already mentioned bands; The Stooges, NY Dolls and (early) The Cramps are obvious, as well as MC5, T.Rex, The Who, Radio Birdman, The Saints, The Seeds, The 13^th Floor Elevators etc. etc.

Your latest music video ‘Lovin’ Kinda Rocket’ was pretty cool

Thor Erik Havn: Thank you, the video turned out pretty well on a zero budget. Budget videos are fun and there will be more to come.

Can we expect more such diy video stuff coming soon?

Marius Kromvoll: Oh yes – stay tuned …

What are your next plans after the last concert of the release tour?

Marius Kromvoll: Hopefully writing and recording some more. Might just be another vinyl single coming too!

Thor Erik Havn: We have many more riffs and ideas for songs worked up. And as mentioned earlier, we have some finished tracks ready to be released, so working on a new release will be a natural thing to do. As well as preaching the proto punk gospel to the common people!

Thee K-OTICS
Geir Fredriksen – Bass
Thor Erik Havn – Guitar
Silje Dybedahl – Guitar
Pelle Enebro – Drums
Marius Kromvoll – Vocals