ZapTown

Kenneth Ishak has placed himself at the forefront of the Oslo indie pop scene. Several years too late of the international pop resurgence that dominated the area for years, Ishak does not need a movement to propel him into the future, even though his past is peppered with some impressive studio producer and musician credentials. His latest release, Silver Lightning From A Black Sky (Division) is strong enough to stand on its own and with good reason given the complexity and undertaking of an album that has such a lush and orchestrated character. This is unlike anything Ishak has done with his previous band Beezewax, and an experience he will never forget.

Andrew Duncan: Tell me about Silver Lightning. What were your goals and purpose for the outcome of this release compared to the past?

Kenneth Ishak: Well the band that I had been recording and touring with (Beezewax ) for about 12 years, basically since I was a kid were breaking up, an eight year long relationship had ended so-so. I think i wanted to either stop doing music and make one last album that I could be proud of, or set the standard for a new era in my life. This album I worked hard on. The other records before I was just having fun and never really pushing myself. I guess that was the purpose, the outcome I never really think of. There are always unexpected things that happen to you after a release, but hopefully it will be just playing good shows on tour. You know, just get the music out there.

Duncan: This is a very elaborate release — the multitude of instruments, the studio production. Why have this release to do something like this, and why this time in your life?

Ishak: One of my biggest influences growing up was Neil Young’s Harvest – among others. From when I was four or something, that’s what would be played. I love that full sound and started to study that sort of sound a few years back, and was just waiting for the songs and the opportunity to make an album in that direction. I knew all along that it wouldn’t be an easy sell, but it was a record that I really wanted to make and people were very supportive of it.

Duncan: Was it difficult to construct and conduct a release of this caliber per say your previous solo efforts or even Beezewax material?

Ishak: It was. Beezewax was a straight forward rock band whose energy gave the songs the right arrangement. I did a lot of the arrangement there as well, but beezewax played a less complex music, It was a bit hard to pull off the album because every song and every part demanded that it had to be spot on, and I could hear every tiny little detail in my head. So yes, more difficult. Also lyrically, in the past, lyrics have been more surreal which I find is more easier to write but this time I had certain things I wanted to get in their.

Duncan: What have you learned from Silver Lightning?

Ishak: I learned a lot from the people who helped me make it, who played on it. I love watching people play, how they work – I learned a lot from Jugglo Wall, the engineer and producer and from myself- i learned that it is important not to get too comfortable in your own style. It’s good to try not to sound like one usually does you know, just bend the fingers a bit, sing lower or higher in pitch.

Duncan: Like the song “Don’t Touch My Brother,” we get a piece of who you are through your lyrics. What is your philosophy towards your words and what they mean to you as a songwriter? What did this album do to you as a person?

Ishak: That song was hard to write, not just the words but to pull it off, and getting it like I wanted. I wanted to do a Curtis Mayfield sorta thing mixed with Ted Leo and that sort of world. I am happy with the production I did on it and think I got it right. The lyrics were hard for me to write, they are yes, experiences growing up in a different family, I never write those kinds of songs but this one wouldn’t leave my head so I had to just do it basically. I don´t think I will ever write anything like that again.

Duncan: I love how you can morph your songs flawlessly from a full blown orchestrated explosion to an intimate guitar and vocal piece (I’m thinking of “New Rising Sun”), and both sound equally as powerful and important. As a singer/songwriter, how do you accomplish that necessity to keep your songs valid in any environment?

Ishak: When I write and especially record, I try to make something that you cannot dismiss no matter what your tastes are.
To me dynamics are very important, the lows are as important as the highs – they rely on each other. And, yes I love doing that wall of sound to hardly anything and getting it to sound natural.

Duncan: Some impressive pop artists from the 21st Century has come from the Oslo scene, how has this city affected you and your music?

Ishak: I have lived and made music here for ten years now, and have a lot of friends who make music here. I think my tours and the people i have met in other countries have had a bigger impact on me, but keeping up with what people are up to here at home is a great influence.

Duncan: How do you not get pigeonholed (I see a lot of artist references floating around your name) or is comparative advantage a good thing?

Ishak: I don´t really know, I never planned on making any solo records or becoming a singer/songwriter. Yes I sing and write songs but, I don´t know, I don´t really want to be anything. I just like making music and being one step ahead of the listener. I like to play full blown shows super loud, I like to play solo shows without a PA. But lately I have been more into loud.

Duncan: I cannot decide which I like better, the studio Ishak or the raw and unedited Ishak. Who do you like better? What do you feel best represents you? What attributes keep you doing what you are doing throughout the years?

Ishak: I think i should actually mix the two more then I do,- people are always surprised at how the live shows are that much more raw and loud then on the albums. But then again I love to experiment with sounds and layers in the studio to create a visual listening experience. Time has just gone so fast since i started recording at 15, so it has been half my life that I have made records, played shows and traveled. But like I said, I never chose this life. It just turned out this way, and I am really grateful that I still get to make records that people pay me to do, that people are still interested after all this time. I guess the support
and response keep me making the music, pop music anyway. I have added other influences over the years that aren’t really pop- doing so makes it still interesting to do, to view it more as art then making something that would fit on the radio or something.

Duncan: What’s next for you as a musician?

Ishak: After this album was done, I produced about 10 albums by different artists in mine and other studios, toured and such. I am now recording my next album with some really great musicians- Bent Sæther from Motorpsycho, Jugglo Wall from Stockholm, David Torch from San Francisco. It is being recorded in different studios in different countries. So far it sounds more like a band and yes, is more a mixture of what I usually do in the studio and what I do live. So I hope to finish that hopefully before October and continue to produce for other people.

Kenneth Ishak