Introducing: Montée

Montée is a progressive pop band from Oslo, Norway, founded in 2007 by Anders Tjore, Erlend Mokkelbost and Maya Vik. With musical backgrounds varying from orchestral pop (Turns) to hardcore punk and alternative rock (JR Ewing), the three of them wanted Montée to be a clean slate on which new sounds could be created. Inspired by forgotten pop, a steady disco-beat and strange sounds from far away, they set out to make their band an adventurous one.

They play the TLOBF sponsored all-Nordic “Ja Ja Ja” Club Night which is taking place at The Lexington, London on 27 January. More details (including full line-up and ticket details) can be found here.

For people out there that have never heard of you, give us three reasons why they should?

Album number one, the upcoming album number two and our live show. Hopefully that gets you interested.

Tell us a little about where you’re from: do your surroundings affect the music that you create?

We are from Oslo, Norway, and the only way we are inspired by our surroundings is by the fact that we are trying to distance ourselves from them as much as possible. Norway is a cold and wet place most of the year, and our music represents a definite escape from all that – It’s bright, warm, rhythmic and inviting, all of which Norway is not. Except during the 32 days worth of summer.

If you could have played on or written any song, what would it be?

Doobie Brothers – ‘What A Fool Believes’.

How did the band come in to being? And where did the name come from?

It was formed by Anders Tjore and Erlend Mokkelbost some four years ago. We came from very different musical backgrounds – Anders being a pop-connoisseur in his band Turns and Erlend coming from a more rhythmically explosive angle, through the punk/hardcore-band JR Ewing that he was in for years. We both needed to do something completely different, and with the new bandmembers Maya Vik, Haakon-Marius Pettersen and Marius Simonsen, it was possible to fulfill those goals.

What is the most memorable gig you have played, and what can we expect of your live set at Ja Ja Ja?

The one that stand out are always either the really intimate ones – where people are trapped in a small room where they can feel every sting of music, or the really big ones – usually at festivals – where your mindset is completely different and your music moves people in a whole different way. In that aspect the favorites are either a cramped show we did at the technoclub The Villa or our first really big show at Øyafestivalen in Oslo.

If you were asked to curate your own Ja Ja Ja night, which three acts would you choose and why?

Rumble In Rhodos, which is a terrific band that Anders and Erlend is currently producing, the great Swedish band Dungen and the insane jazz rock trio Elephant 9. Now that’s an all-nighter for you.

We’d like you to make us a Nordic themed mix-tape. Which five tracks would you choose?

Rumble In Rhodos – ‘White Dancing’
Boredoms – ‘Ant 10 (remixed by Lindstrøm)’
Zoo – ‘Jeg, Robot’
Turns – ‘Time’
Elephant 9 – ‘Habanera Rocket’