Wobbler (band)
Encyclopedia
History
The band was formed near HønefossHønefoss
Hønefoss is a city in Buskerud county, Norway, and the center of the municipality of Ringerike.In 1852, Hønefoss received town status and was separated from Norderhov. Hønefoss celebrated its 150th year of township in 2002...
(Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
), in the spring of 1999 with a burning desire to create or perhaps recreate some of the musical expressions of the early seventies, especially in the use of the instruments of that time and the somewhat "strange" compositions of the progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
scene from 1969 - 1974. Bands like PFM
Premiata Forneria Marconi
Premiata Forneria Marconi is an Italian progressive rock band. They were the first Italian group to have success abroad, entering both the British and American charts. Between 1973 and 1977 they released five albums with English lyrics...
, King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band was known for the complexity and sophistication of its music and for the varied musical skills of its members. All of the band members, except the first two drummers, were multi-instrumentalists...
, Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, Museo Rosenbach
Museo Rosenbach
Museo Rosenbach is an Italian progressive rock band whose album Zarathustra, in spite of the limited success it scored in the 1970s, is today considered a cornerstone of the genre.- History :...
, ELP
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
and so on were highly influential on the group. In a few months the basic ideas for the demo and the full length album Hinterland was created. There was a pause from 2001 to around 2003, when they figured it was too bad to let those old songs die without any proper recordings of them. So the demo was recorded at Lars
Lars Fredrik Frøislie
Lars Fredrik Frøislie is a Norwegian musician. His main instruments are keyboards and drums. He has also done some producing and runs Termo Records together with Jacob Holm-Lupo...
' studio, put out on the internet and they started living their own life. After a while it kind of took off..
Wobbler ended up signing a record deal with the US-label The Laser's Edge.
By now, Lars
Lars Fredrik Frøislie
Lars Fredrik Frøislie is a Norwegian musician. His main instruments are keyboards and drums. He has also done some producing and runs Termo Records together with Jacob Holm-Lupo...
' vintage keyboard collection was getting out of hand, and the insane recording of Hinterland was about to begin in June 2004. There wasn't allowed to use any midi what-so-ever, and only pre-1975 instruments were applied: for instance keyboards like the mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
, rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
, clavinet
Clavinet
A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
, ARP
ARP Instruments, Inc.
ARP Instruments, Inc. was an American manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 due to financial difficulties...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
.
After eight intense months of studio work the album was ready. The hype from the demo songs had now reached its peak, and the expectations were sky-high. In July 2005 "Hinterland" was revealed at one of their rare live performances, at the NEARfest
NEARfest
The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, is a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event is held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, approximately one hour north of Philadelphia...
gig.
In February 2009 the band released the second album Afterglow. The album was released on Termo Records
Termo Records
Termo Records is a Norwegian record label founded by Jacob Holm-Lupo and Lars Fredrik Frøislie in 2007.They have released albums by artists such as In Lingua Mortua, Haakon Ellingsen, Wobbler, The Opium Cartel, Rhys Marsh & the Autumn Ghost, Judy Dyble and White Willow.-External links:**...
.
The band released their third album Rites at Dawn on Termo Records
Termo Records
Termo Records is a Norwegian record label founded by Jacob Holm-Lupo and Lars Fredrik Frøislie in 2007.They have released albums by artists such as In Lingua Mortua, Haakon Ellingsen, Wobbler, The Opium Cartel, Rhys Marsh & the Autumn Ghost, Judy Dyble and White Willow.-External links:**...
in May 2011.
Lineup
- Lars Fredrik FrøislieLars Fredrik FrøislieLars Fredrik Frøislie is a Norwegian musician. His main instruments are keyboards and drums. He has also done some producing and runs Termo Records together with Jacob Holm-Lupo...
- keyboards (and some vocals) - Kristian Karl Hultgren - bass guitar
- Martin Nordrum Kneppen - drums, crum horn and recorder
- Morten Andreas Eriksen - guitar
- Andreas Prestmo - lead vocals
Guests:
- Tony Johannessen - vocals
- Ketil Vestrum Einarsen - flute
- Aage Moltke Schou - percussion, vibraphone, glockenspiel
- Sigrun Eng - cello
- Ulrik Gaston Larsen - Teorbe and baroque guitar
- Pauliina Fred - recorder
Discography
- Hinterland (September 2005)
- Afterglow (February 2009)
- Rites at Dawn (May 2011)