EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH KLOSSMAJOR
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH KLOSSMAJOR
TEXT: MARIE TJELTA
TRANSLATOR: NATALIE NAZARENO
The spotlights cast a violet and golden light down on the stage, and the trio consisting of Maja, Karoline, and Dorothea captivates the entire audience with the glamorous, almost euphoric atmosphere they deliver throughout the concert. They let the simple, yet stylish tones and melody spread across the hall and linger in the air; the music stands on its own, sparkling and confident. This is Klossmajor, the band we’ve all been waiting for.
Get to know the stars. MiniUKA i Ås is in full swing, and party-ready students are everywhere on the house. Hidden amidst all the hustle and bustle, behind a secret door leading to backstage, we find the stars before they take the stage. Relaxed and welcoming, the whole band sits on leather sofas, sipping UKEpils. Despite Klossmajor often being referred to as a trio, there’s a whole band behind the group. In addition to the vocal trio, Karoline, Maja, and Dorothea, we meet Olav on keys, Håvard on guitar, Edvard on bass, and Martin on drums. This is a bunch you cannot get enough of, and interviewing them is no easy task as they had this journalist in stitches from start to finish. They talk over each other and joke about everything; they’ve been playing together for almost 9 years, and it’s clear that the group has a unique dynamic and chemistry that works well. They all create the music together and act as co-producers, while Karoline is the songwriter. “It often ends up in fights during band rehearsals,” reveals Håvard to our shock. When asked about their roles within the group, they gave many humorous answers. Karoline is, of course, the group’s mom “mom-bossmajor,” while Håvard is the one who comes up with puns and asks if anyone wants nuts, interpret that at your own risk. The band itself and the music they create is difficult to capture and place into a genre. They take some time when asked to describe the “vibe” of their music. “Alternative pop?” Karoline asks. “But also a bit disco!” Maja adds. “Yes, it’s like folk-pop-disco!” Håvard confirms. They also struggle to answer which song of theirs is their favourite. “Diamant” and “Sjåfør” are the songs that stand out the most, but songs like “Papp og papir,” “Morgensangen,” and “Skjønte ikke du var borte” are also mentioned.
Klossmajor or Flåklypa Grand Tits? Reaching a final name for the band was a long journey. They went through a series of names before finally settling on Klossmajor. “When we started out, I had a list of funny words that aren’t used very often... we had some ugly names before,” laughs Maja. Among these were Dats so Raven, Donkeyshots, and their personal favorite, Flåklypa Grand Tits. “It’s been a journey like no other,” says Håvard. He still dreams that he and Olav will start the duo Flåklypa Grand Pikk. And we at Tun & Tre hope that Sony will be ready with a record contract when that time comes.
“An incredibly awkward story”. The Klossmajor adventure began when some of the band members met as students in Stavanger. The girls Maja, Dorothea, and Karoline were all jazz students together. The birth of the group itself occurred when they went on a class trip to Voss. “It’s actually an incredibly awkward story,” says Maja, with her hand shyly in front of her face. They found a stairwell with very nice acoustics and sang together there. “We thought it sounded quite nice,” smiles Maja. They then had to muster the courage to ask the slightly intimidating boys Håvard and Olav, who were a year ahead of them, if they wanted to start a band. Fast forward nine years, and today they are a well-established band that has taken its place in the music industry with 25,395 monthly listeners on Spotify, all thanks to a stairwell in Voss.
Dreams and the future. Together, they have achieved the ultimate dream of becoming stars. Martin says the best thing about band life is that it’s such a great group to be on stage with. “I get so happy playing with them. It’s sooooo much fun!” Håvard agrees, “It’s a dream to drive past Espa with this group - what a great group to stop at Espa with!” Karoline says there’s a lot of nonsense, but she feels grateful to be able to work with such great people where you can be yourself. For her, the dream is to be able to make a living from music, but she emphasizes that you don’t have to become Beyonce to achieve that.
Klossmajor reveals that they performed at Samfunnet about five years ago. “I think there were 7 people in the audience... so I hope there are more tonight!” says Karoline. Spoiler alert: there were! When asked about the future, the band can slyly reveal that they are releasing a new album in the fall. “Exciting things are happening this fall that we cannot reveal yet,” they explain. It’s about building step by step, playing on bigger and bigger stages. Klossmajor isn’t aiming for a big break overnight, but rather to steadily build upward. “We’re playing the long game,” Olav adds.
SCANDAL?! No Tun & Tre is complete without a bit of celebrity gossip. Like other stars, Klossmajor is not exempt from good old-fashioned celebrity scandals. It comes out during the interview that Maja has somehow, unheard of, pulled Egil Hegerberg’s beard completely unprovoked! Something that made him quite angry, but let’s be honest, who hasn’t wanted to do that? Not only that; Dorothea once told Morgan Sulele that his fly was open. Shameless and scandalous, just the way we like it! That’s all for now, tune in to the next Tun & Tre to catch more of the latest from celebrity life!
