Off Radar sat with the Norwegian band over coffee to discuss their time in Austin, the Norwegian country music scene, and their music.
INTERVIEW: EMBLA AND THE KARIDOTTERS
Written by Katie Karp
At first glance, Embla and the Karidotters look like true, old-school Austinites. The Norwegian group's music, like their fashion style, could be described as "indie country." Under titular band-lead Embla Karridotter's (vocals and lead guitar) fringe jacket and cowboy hat is a graphic tee and a cool, shag haircut. The band she decided to start with Marie Moe (bass), somewhat jokingly on a night out in 2020, has now won the Spellemann award – the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy – for best country act. Perhaps it is due to the star-studded lineup of young, indie musicians from her country who each bring a unique musical background to the table – she and Moe were in ska group Razika for nearly 13 years, Simen Følstad Nilsen (pedal steel) primarily does electronic, Nils Jørgen Nilsen (drummer) specializes in punk, and the talented Ben Rø Haavelsrud (guitar) is the band's newest addition and "younger brother."
The group trekked down south to perform four sets at SXSW this year. Off Radar sat with them over coffee to discuss their time in Austin, the Norwegian country scene, and their music.
Photo courtesy of Hakan Foss
Off Radar: How has your SXSW been so far?
Embla: 1, 2, 3…
The whole band: It's been great!
Embla: When I started the band, one of my goals was to play at SXSW, so this is really just a dream come true. Since we came here, people have treated us so well and been very inviting. It couldn't have been better, even though we lost our equipment in Germany and didn't have our own instruments for three of our shows. Even that led us to meet other new friends in Austin because of a pedal steel Facebook group.
Simen: The pedal steel community around here is apparently super tight. I borrowed mine from Shaan Shirazi, and he is our new best friend and total legend.
Neils: He had drums and cymbals for me, too.
Photo courtesy of Riley Pierce
Off Radar: Is Country music popular in Norway?
Embla: It depends. If you live in the country, everyone listens to country music. In the city and "cool" music scenes, country hasn't been popular at all, which actually made it pretty hard to get gigs and play at a normal festival. Now, there's been a shift and country is accepted, but it's more Americana than country.
Nils: We spoke about the Norwegian country scene the other night after we played at the White Horse, and Embla had a really good observation about how there's a lot of musicians in Norway that can be called country, so its meaning is kind of getting washed out.
Embla: At the country festivals in Norway, people are there to drink so much that they can't remember it. They sell cowboy and Native American outfits. It's just so very strange to be there as a politically responsible person to be like, oh, so we're playing here for people who have a Confederate Flag on their belt? Confederate flags are sold at country festivals in Norway, and – I'm not defending them at all – but the people wearing them are not actively racist. They're just ignorant and think the Confederate flag is like an old-school American flag.
Nils: This mishmash is under the umbrella term country, so it's messy.
Marie: Embla and I started in a ska band, and we were in it for about 13 years. None of us had much experience with country music, so we got together and listened to a lot of it.
Embla: I listened to it a lot, which is why I wanted to play country. I didn’t want to play drums for another band after playing them with the ska band for 13 years. I didn't know how to play guitar, but I learned for this.
Marie: I had to learn how to play bass for country music.
Nils: I play punk mostly… but when Marie told me about this idea and sent me some songs, I really liked them and decided to jam with them, which was really fun too. Performing country is great because we're all starting fresh and growing together as a unit.
Who are some of the country musicians that influence you most?
Embla: My mom listened to Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Skeeter Davis, Patsy Cline. All the good old stuff. We played Stagecoach last year, and Chris Stapleton was the main act. We listened to him a bit before we went, but after, he became the only person we listened to for months after coming home. We are some of the youngest people in Norway who are doing country music this way.
Nils: We're the New Kids on the Block. Because – not to toot my own horn – we also won the Norwegian Grammy in the country category for our debut album. I spoke to a really good guitarist who played country for a living, and he told me after we won that it is so nice to finally see someone playing real country. It was incredible to hear because we're just trying to figure it out.
Simen: Everyone comes from something different, and we kind of bring that to the table. Everybody in this band is an indie musician, so you could call us an “indie country band.”
Embla: Indie country sounds horrible, but it's what we are.
Nils: Since we lack experience, we have so many old-school references that we make our country cartoony. That can be a good thing, too. It makes me feel like our songs are colorful.
Simen: In Norway, country musicians tend to be pretty serious, but we are not. We don't take ourselves too seriously. We're not afraid to look or sound funny.
Off Radar: Maria and Embla, I know that you've been to Austin before. How about the rest of you?
Simen: We have not before, but it's great.
Embla: It definitely will not be our last time here.