Ask yourself the question: How many bands have maintained the same lineup throughout a career spanning over three decades? Just count and see how far you get. Seigmen is and remains Alex, Sverre, Noralf, Kim, and Marius.
Resonans is Seigmen's new album, echoing the essence of a longstanding friendship. A strong bond among five guys who found each other through music, learned to play instruments, and expressed themselves together. They solidified their friendship through muddy and sour tones from the rehearsal room on the old submarine quay, down into a basement in the city center, out to a barn outside the city, up on the heights near the old library, down into the mountain beneath the same hill, and back to a rehearsal container at the old shipyard. Always tied to their hometown, Tønsberg in Norway.
Resonans is the reverberation of endless evening rehearsals, weekends with “lefse” and freshly ground coffee in thermoses, and syncopations. Smiles, conversations, and gossip. The hard, precise, and long-term work. Love and art.
Resonans is guts and integrity, demonstrating the uncompromising nature that Seigmen has always represented.
The singles "Berlin," "Kollaps," and "Elskhat" have seen the light of day. Listen to "Melanchthon", approaching two minutes, and the endless solo that ends with no more frets on the guitar neck. Listen to "Blasfem", raw nerve for nearly eleven minutes. Listen to the space created in "Eksplodere i det stille", The transition to a single chorus after five and a half minutes. There are many layers here. The depth is buried in the details. The ones you hear when you play the song for the third or sixth time.
Resonans is the result you get when five focused individuals return to the studio where they recorded "Total" in 1994. Carrying the same curiosity, the same hunger and the eternal urge to create. Incidentally, this year marks exactly 30 years since the release of "Total". Recently, the book about the album was published in the series “Norske albumklassikere”, skillfully written by Even Smith Wergeland. The reference is track number two on "Total", "Ohm", which might be the song that best defines the band. Ohm means resistance.
Resonans is also the echo of the time it took to complete this album. The resistance along the way, in the form of a pandemic and, most notably, serious and prolonged illness. Of course, one should also acknowledge the frugality and thoroughness these years have allowed. Time to work in silence. No concerts for four years have provided ample time in the "space." Even more lefse. Even more cups of freshly brewed coffee.
Resonans is vibrations.
Listen to the last phrases of "Når alle skjermer går i svart" (When all screens go black). The desperation in the voice of vocalist Alex is palpable, you can hear the resistance. Seigmen has always believed that it is they are at their best when there’s resistance. Listen to the first line of the lyrics in "Berlin." All hope is lost, but never say die—it doesn't get much clearer than that.
Resonans ends with the surprise song "Tønsberg", nothing less than a magnificent, honest and personal tribute to the city the band hails from. In the first part of "Tønsberg," guitarist and opera singer Marius finally unfolds his vocal prowess within the framework of Seigmen, something he has only done once before on a record. Strings tastefully arranged by the "film musician," Ginge. Then the rest of the band kicks in halfway, and Alex takes the baton to the finish line. Marius is actually retiring as a soloist in the Norwegian national Opera this spring, where they retire early.
"Up the mountain, up in the tower. Never a stranger in the streets we walk." "Tønsberg" might be a bit of an oddity on Resonans, but the song comes straight from the heart.
Resonans.
If you acquire Resonans in physical format, you will find it tastefully wrapped in peach pink by designer Sigurd N. Kristiansen. Master photographer Bjørn Opsahl is, as always, by Seigmen's side. A band photo in the same color palette is taken in Kim's living room. Pink boots under the sofa, a small nod to the band's very first song. It reveals a band with more humor and spirit than many may think, that sets its own standard and is ready for whatever comes next.