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"Highasakite" - My New Favorite Band (this week) 

This week I’m obsessed with this new band from Norway called “Highasakite.” 

OMG they’re so good. I heard about them from a Norwegian music attorney when I was at Midem.  

“Highasakite” she said.  

I had just been at a Songcamp in Spain and was writing with a bunch of Scandinavian writers whose English seemed perfectly good when speaking but when it came to writing English lyrics there were problems that were unacceptable to a native English speaker. And also sometimes there are pronunciation issues that tweak the sensitive ear of a native english speaker as well. 

Anyhow, my attorney friend asked me to listen this band and I checked them out on Spotify. Wow. I was instantly drawn in. Amazing lyrics. Great singing and melodies and production.  

From what I read online the songs start in the mind of their lead singer Ingrid Helene Havik . . . who brings her initial demos to the band and they work with their producer to craft sounds and arrangements that support her tunes.  

I haven’t listened to their first CD yet (although i bought the first and second cd at the gig at the echo) but these lyrics are dark and deep.  

And for a record that’s so meticulously mixed and performed i was wondering how they would pull it off live. 

Perfectly, is the answer.  

Whatever vocal treatments they had going on in the record were in evidence in the live show.  

But it did not sound like there was a backing track playing. The four instrumentalists were playing multiple instruments and the drummer was playing both real drums and triggering 808 sounds and other samples from an octopad.  

Anyhow. They were amazing.  

And i’ve been listening to the CD once or twice per day for the past week or so.  

Here’s a link to their video of their single “Golden Ticket” 

And here’s my video of them playing it live (direct from my iphone) 

And here’s a great discussion and sort of interview with Ingrid about the CD.  

http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/longread/highasakite-the-personal-is-political

Definitely my new favorite band this week.