Dear readers, we are pleased to offer you in this article an interview with a trio that offers an intense blend of Jazz Rock and Progressive. We welcome Krokofant.
Hi, welcome to our pages, how are you?
“Hey! Doing great, thanks!“
The band was formed in 2011, how did the project come about and what significance does the name Krokofant have?
“Me (Tom) and Axel (drummer) started to play together back in 2009 or 2010.
I just to play together with Axel Ìs big brother witch is also a drummer, and i was friends with their family.
Axel and i started working at the same time in a local instrument shop in our local town (previously owned by Axel Ìs dad). We started jamming in the shop and instantly had a connection, played freejazzrock stuff. We played duo gigs around Norway until 2012 when we played at Kongsberg jazzfestival, we ask JĂžrgen if he wanted to join for that on-off gig, and he did. After that we continued as a duo. Later we booked a studio session with Christian Engfelt in 2013 i think, after we recorded the duo stuff, we thought maybe we should call JĂžrgen if he wanted to come down to the studio an record the stuff we played a year earlier, hi did, and it sounded great! Christian the engineer, who had done records for Rune Grammofon previously, sent over the tracks for Rune to check out. And low and behold, he really liked it! WellâŠ.the stuff with JĂžrgen he liked, and wanted to release a record with that music, so i guess the trio was born at that point.
The name Krokofant has really no significance, just something that Axel spurted out when we were dicussing potential band names, we thought it was as good a name as any, so we just went for it. A band
has to have a name right?“
You offer a mixture of Jazz Rock and Progressive, how did your passion for these sounds and music in general come about?
“I guess its a little different of each of us in the band, as for me I have grown up in a home with progressive rock ion the house, me dad had a huge collection of 70 Ìs prog rock, rock and heavy music. So when I picked up the guitar in my early I kind gravitated to progressive music (After the mandatory Iron Maiden and metal stuff off course. I later really got into jazz guitar, but eventually gravitated back to more rock oriented stuff.
As for the other guys, they a little more jazz oriented I guess, educated at jazz conservatories and stuff.
Axel is maybe the most versatile in the band I think, he can play about anything or genre on the drums. I think its our differences as individuals that make up our «sound». Or whatever.
In this regard, what are your main sources of inspiration?
“It depends on the songwriting or the approach to improvisation and solos. The songwriting is inspired a lot by progrock, typically King Crimsonâs «Red» album is always in the back of my head, when Iâm composing at least. But we have lot of solo improvisations, inspired of the greats like John Coltrane etc. (And a little bit of Robert Fripp for my part). But anyway, I donât thinks we sound anything like the aforementioned, the most inspirational thing is just us playing together, interacting and having fun. And fun is a keyword, we are just three idiots goofing around, telling jokes and being total morons at our rehearsals, you probably donât get feeling when listening to our music, but I think this dynamic has and impact how the we sound, its all very loose, and we trust each other 100%, if one of us fucks ups we play on it and take
the music to other places.“
Your new album â6â is due out on January 10, 2025 via Is It Jazz? Records, how would you describe this work?
“The last two records with StĂ„le StorlĂžkken and Ingenbrigt HĂ„ker Flaten, was a little bit of a one man show composing wise for me with my Progrock fetish. So the new record is more back to roots for us, but even more collective contributions to the songs. Its really refreshing, a lot free Ìr, it sound different everytime we play live. So the recorded music is very much a condensed version of the songs. But we think it came out pretty good.“
We reviewed it recently, it contains 6 long tracks steeped in Jazz sounds, how does the creative process of your music take place?
“Previously the songs has been pretty much written out beforehand, then we do a little adjustments and arranging at rehearsals to make it playable. For this record we worked a little more together at rehearsals, so more contributions from each member, everybody bringing riffs and ideas to the table so to speak.“
The lineup has changed over time, what have the new artists in it contributed today?
“We done different guest contributions over the years at shows, With StorlĂžkken and HĂ„ker Flatenas the longest lasting one, so much that it became a new band in its own right, and two records. As mentioned before, this was more of a one man show composition wise, with me meticulously composing stuff for that. Now that we have gone back to the trio, it has really free Ìd up our playing, going back to our roots with more improvisations and just a free Ă©r approach To the songs, rather than the stricter song forms of the quintet. We have some shows lined up in Norway , and we are currently working with putting on a tour in Germany and Belgium in September this year. So watch out for that!.“
Many of our readers and your fans wonder if there will be a chance to hear your music live, do you have plans in this regard for the near future?
“We have some shows lined up in Norway , and we are currently working with putting on a tour in Germany and Belgium in September this year. So watch out for that!“
How has the way of experiencing live performances changed from the 00s to today? And what has changed for you?
“Not much really, except its more and more great bands and great musicians coming on the scene, so its increasingly harder to get gigs.“
Norway has established itself in recent years as one of the most interesting realities of the modern scene, how do you see the scene in your country and more generally in your genre?
“The Norwegian scene is interesting I think, its seems that artist feels free to do whatever they want musically and are not peticularly bound to any given genre. As for our peticular thing I donât know, it seems that it is still the key players as
when we started, like Hedvig Mollestad, Bushmanâs Bushmanâs Revenge etc. Im sure its a lot of other new stuff too, but its hard to keep up.“
What advice would you give to young artists approaching music with sounds like yours?
“Ha ha, donât expect getting rich, thatâs for sure! Other than that, just keep practicing!“
Do you have any other activities or artistic passions outside of music?
“I canât speak for all of us, but for me, and for JĂžrgen a lot of time goes to family, kids and stuff.
I also enjoy skateboarding.“
I thank the band for the interview and wish them all the best for the promotion of their new album and the continuation of their artistic career.
Purchase the album on Bandcamp: https://krokofant.bandcamp.com/album/6
Read our Review of their new album here: [Review] Krokofant â 6
