20 years of SLEEPYARD. Oliver Kersbergen: "It came to me in a dream. It means harmony or freedom"

Could You please tell more about Your band?

Sleepyard was the name i chose for the first time i went into a studio to record music. That was in 1994 when i recorded two tracks with a few friends. A demo called Velvet Sky was released and it did become quite popular, so i decided to form a band with my brother in it as well.

Over the years we have had different line ups for live performances. Our records have mainly been recorded by myself and my brother. In later years i have used quite a lot of guest musicians from all over the world.

Easy Tensions from 2006 is my favourite album as it is very natural, not forced in any way. It`s very mellow and i guess it`s our pop album.

Maybe Black Sails is best in terms of achievement.

I finally got to use some engineering tricks i had in my mind from listening to Dub music and electronic composers like Stockhausen and had quite a rooster of guest musicians like Judy Dyble, Mike Garson, Geoff Leigh and Nik Turner on it.

Usually my projects begin with memories, deja vu. It just happen. I`m constantly recording anyway and sometimes something sparkle and brings me in a good space.  

What does Your bands' name mean?

It came to me in a dream. It means harmony or freedom.

Your influences.

I guess my influences to start Sleepyard were The Beach Boys, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Slowdive.

I mostly get inspiration from all sorts of music.. Jazz, electronic music, film music, Classical and pop music. Laurie Spiegel, Sun Ra, France Gall, The Monkees, Lalo Schifrin, Miles Davis, Shangri-Las, Neu!, Claude Debussy.

I love Bubblegum music as much as Avant Garde. It`s always the ideal to blend them and those ideas into something else. Music is often very much like a mathematical project. You have to solve it before it makes sense.

Our favourite current band is The NoMen from Scotland. They are fantastic.  

What impress me.. I love Walt Whitman, Henry Miller, Charles Bukowski.

70`s Hollywood films like the Scarecrow, Fearless vampire Killers, The Shining. Stanley Kubrick is a big inspiration. The title cut of our first EP Intersounds was an homage to him.

Andy Warhol, Edward Munch are important to us.

What is Your religion, philosophy, worldview?

That`s the most difficult question. I don`t really believe in any deity and not in any written  religious text. However i can feel spiritual sometimes.. Very much so when i am up in the mountains and meditating.

How do You call Your music's style?

Sometimes i call it Ambient Surf Music which i guess covers it, other times i call it True Norwegian Psych for fun after the BM expression. It changes. I see us as ever-changing and free to do what we feel.

I remember very well the strange times in Norway. Gehenna is probably the best in my opinion. They have a cool stoned black sound. We do sometimes play some music with them as they are friends.

Is our civilization still going down and down?

I`m making an album about that at present, so those things are very much on my mind. I think we are destroying it by polluting the air we breathe. There might be a third world war..

Thank You. Tusen takk.

Links:

www.sleepyard.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepyard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVx_EgOdZ-Y&list=PL_UyrILh8KEZUx-CkY6QA79nM6Sij9o7r

https://sleepyard.bandcamp.com

https://soundcloud.com/sleepyard

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sleepyard/62995480672

Discography:

    Intersounds (1999) Orange
    Big Monday (2001) Orange
    The Runner (2003) Trust Me Records
    Easy Tensions (2006) Orange
    Future Lines (2009) CCAP Knirk
    Down Tangerine Road 7" (2010) Oatcake Records
    Heavy Tensions (2013) Intersounds
    Black Sails (2014) Global Recording Artists
    White Sails (2014) Intersounds
    Universal Reversal EP (2016) Intersounds