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kimljung2019 ljungblutpromoInterview with

Kim Ljung from LJUNGBLUT, SEIGMEN and ZEROMANCER

Rainy Bergen on a Saturday noon, two cups of coffee and a conversation about vinyl, priorities, festivals, fighting own demons, fans and audiences, thoughts on past and future, migraine and all the things happening in life while you try making plans. An interview with Kim Ljung - songwriter, bass player and vocalist, known from the Norwegian bands LJUNGBLUT, SEIGMEN and ZEROMANCER. Taken on 1st June 2019 before the last evening of the four gigs dedicated to the shows that SEIGMEN played in the 90ies at the student club Hulen in Bergen - for the club’s 50th birthday celebration in 2019.

Reflections of Darkness [RoD]: You just played with the other guys three gigs at Hulen during the last three days and tonight you are going to play the last one. So how do you feel about doing it right now?
Kim:You know, every show is different. But now it’s very different, because we plan different types of setlists. And it’s types of setlists that we would never think of putting together today. It’s so weird how the songs were put together like - yeah - it’s very weird. But it’s fun doing it also. Yesterday was I think the show with the most energy. That is because a lot of times when things don’t go as planned, you have to make up for it. And like when Marius had problems with his guitar - during the first songs I didn’t notice that. And then suddenly it didn’t work at all at these distortion parts. Sometimes you can fuck up the whole show. But I think we have the routine. If you have played a lot of shows, you know how to cope with things like that. It just gives us energy, so we have to perform better. It releases some tension, we get a little bit angry. Which is good.

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RoD: Then you can shout out louder.
Kim:Yeah. And then it just gets crazy and you feel that you lose control which sometimes is good for the audience. Then it’s not perfect and perfect is not good.

RoD: It actually isn’t. I’ve seen shows by other bands that were actually perfect, but there was no emotion at all.
Kim:That is right. That can happen. And those are the worst shows. Very, very seldom we have shows like that, but that can happen when you are on tour for a long time, because every day is the same. It turns into a routine. And then it can happen. I remember one time, one show in Nuremberg at Hirsch, many years ago. We were writing tour reports for every day about all the crazy things happening on stage, afterwards or during the day, the cities and everything. On that day we just wrote one line in the tour report. We wrote “autopilot”. That was just one of those shows. It was all perfect and we couldn’t remember anything. You just press the “autopilot” button and don’t think about what you do.

RoD: There was just a gig of another band at Plage Noire a few weeks ago. Just everything went wrong with the technic, but the crowd was just crazy. The musician on stage was also just totally surprised by the reactions.
Kim:That is the cool thing with concerts. You never know. So with Hulen, it’s crazy that they have had this place for 50 years. We played, I think together with these gigs now, 19 SEIGMEN gigs there. We’ve also played here with ZEROMANCER several times. It is something with the cave and the connection. Nothing is perfect in there. It is the vibe.

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RoD: It is a student club, right?
Kim:Yes, it is crazy because there are the students, so young. Especially this time they have a different crowd as crew every day. So there is no system. You know, we can get angry. We are just crashing the backstage. We always do that at Hulen. It is just broken glass everywhere. We are not usually doing that. We are kind of calm people, but at Hulen just something happens. I don’t know what happens today, because it is the last day. Maybe it is calm, maybe it is quiet, maybe… I don’t know.

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RoD:
Okay, so everything is possible. Who had actually the idea to play the four gigs at Hulen?
Kim:Not me! I said -“no way!” I said -“No, no, no! It’s a very bad idea!” You know, the idea is good, that playing old setlists is very cool and doing it for the 50 years anniversary - yes, of course. But for the band it is terrible, because you have to rehearse so much and the mind-set is different every day. So we have rehearsed pretty much to be SEIGMEN, a lot of rehearsals to do. But here, when we have the sound checks everyday - we just concentrate on the day. We are not playing any songs from the other days. We are just in the mind-set of “today it is 93” or “today it is 95” and we are strict about it. I think the idea came from our manager, Øystein Ronander. He has managed us since day one. He had the idea and Ottoegil loved it, of course. The promoters at Hulen, they loved it. And they convinced me that it was a good idea. Well, not me - the band. And then I said, “Okay, let’s do it”. In the end, it’s a cool thing. We have lost it, in the last years about playing many different songs, that we weren’t supposed to play or we didn’t think we were ever going to play them. It turned out good almost every time. It’s a fun thing. And the coolest thing with these shows is that we play songs like ‘Rosa Boots’, it is from 1989. It is the first song that I played with the band and it is the first song that we ever played live. And it’s the first song that I was taught when I came into the band. It is one of my favourite songs. The lyrics are so stupid, so Alex and I were like - “no, no, we can’t do that”.

RoD: I saw an old footage of a ‘Rosa Boots’ live performance on YouTube, I think. It was really quite different.
Kim:It is a cool thing. It is more fun than you think it is. And the repertoire is much bigger. If we have more shows coming, we can pick from wherever now. We have played so many songs. It will be more fun for the audience as well, because you never know what is about to come.

RoD: Was it actually difficult to find the old setlists?
Kim:Yes! Otto helped out, but we could not find all setlists directly from the Hulen shows. So we had to pick from the tour. And there might be some changes that we don’t know about. But I know for sure that the setlist that we played yesterday was exactly the same [note: the 1995 - ‘Metropolis’ gig’ on 31th May 2019]. I think the first one, the ‘93 show - we had actually to put some more songs on it, because it was so short. And I think for the show today we have made one change. We pulled out ‘P-Machinery’ and we play ‘Mercurial’ instead. With ‘P-Machinery’ we didn’t have all the programming and we didn’t have the time to start it all over. That’s a little change.

RoD: I actually didn’t know until NCN festival last year that ‘P-Machinery’ is a cover. And D:UEL (former PROPAGANDA) played just before ZEROMANCER there last year. Other fans looked at me when they started playing the song and asked me whether I recognize it and I was like “Eh? Should I?... Oh!”
Kim: Yes, it is a little bit different. We were PROPAGANDA fans in the old days. But I didn’t know that they were playing there last year. But it was, well.

RoD: Well, things were a little bit different back then. Are there any songs that were most difficult to rehearse for the Hulen gigs now?
Kim:Yes! It was not like technically difficult, but the songs from ‘Metropolis’ like ‘Regn’, ‘Rød Himmel’ or ‘Bayon’ - they are not so difficult, but it’s just been such a long time since we played them last time. I think we did ‘Bayon’ on the 2006 tour, but the other two we have never played again since ‘96. They are a little different, little “poppier”, at least ‘Regn’. And the sad thing that was yesterday - you know, we rehearsed it. It should be very good, but Marius’ guitar didn’t work for that song and so we played without him and it was a little sad. Because it was just that one try, he just had to play that song one time, you know?

RoD: Yes, that’s really sad.
Kim:And I think ‘Performance Bravo’ is really difficult. It is usually most difficult for Noralf because there is so much drums. He is an amazing drummer and he is playing in his own way and he has so many hits. He plays so much stuff. There is so much to remember. And I think his toughest show was ‘93 because there was so much old stuff.

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RoD: And he didn’t expect to play it that much again?
Kim:No, he had a crazy mind in the old days and he played so much weird stuff.

RoD: Do you have a favourite show so far from the first three shows?
Kim:Well, I actually don’t. I really like all three for different reasons. The first one - because it was cool playing really old Punk & Metal show and not having to play anything and the lights were turned more down. Yesterday we had much more lights. We rented a lot more lights because it was 1995. We did not have that many lights in 1993. That was cool. It suited the show. 1993 was the one that I was looking the most forward to. ‘94 was great because my family was there, my kids were there and I think the show was very cool. And yesterday was just crazy chaos as I told you and it was great. They were all very different. We talked about it that we want all four shows to be really memorable. We just have to make it okay tonight.

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RoD: I guess so. Pretty sure, it will be “okay”. This year it is 30 years of SEIGMEN. Is it something you think about as crazy being together as a band for such a long time and keep touring or is there anything coming to your mind when you think about it like “wow, it’s 30 years now”?
Kim:We don’t. We don’t want to think about it. We are like - “30 years? What the?!” - you know? We better don’t think about it. We haven’t really any - we could have made a really big deal out of it. But we didn’t. So these four shows is not about the 30 years anniversary, it’s just about the setlists’ anniversary and Hulen’s 50 years. So we don’t celebrate our 30 years at all. We don’t feel like it. It is just normal. We just go on, don’t think about the past. Of course we do these shows, it’s about the past. But we want to go on and I think the reason why I was negative towards these two shows was, because it is so hard to get all the five people, all the five members of the band to have the time to rehearse together. We haven’t had so many dates for these shows. I really would rather would spend these days on making new songs. That’s why I think we are still in the business. That’s the reason why I am still playing three bands, that’s why I always plan ahead. And I have pictures in my head about what the next year should be like and the next release should be like.

RoD: That is actually a question on my list, which band is about to be more active next?
Kim:I always have this idea, you know. It’s not a conflict, but it’s like - it’s not so easy to have three bands. It’s very stupid. This band destroys for that band. And this band destroys for this band. And I wish I had more time for this band and so on.

RoD: You said once in an interview a few years ago that you try not to actively work on all three bands at the same time. But at least from the outside it appears to be exactly like this sometimes.
Kim:I know. Especially with my family - “Kim, now don’t, you have said so many times that you won’t do the three bands at the same time again.” - “Yeah, I know, it is just” - you know, some people ask us to play and we want to play again. - “Can you do this? Can you do that?” And then I have the band members in that band - “Please, Kim, now we have to do something”. It is especially with LJUNGBLUT now, because the band members are so eager. And they write a lot of music. And they send me new stuff all the time. Fuck. And I don’t have this lot of time for it. Yeah. They keep pushing me. And I think the only band - I feel a little sorry for ZEROMANCER because we have a lot of songs that are very far from being done. It’s just sketches, early demos. And it has been early demos for many, many years. And the other bands are in the way, you know? It’s rough. It’s weird feeling having a bad conscience for your own bands. In the end there is a time for everything.

RoD: With ZEROMANCER you are playing in two months at M’era Luna festival in Hildesheim (Germany) and Dan unfortunately left.
Kim:Yeah, it’s true. But there is no crisis.

RoD: No, no. He is still at LJUNGBLUT, so it should be okay.
Kim:But for ZEROMANCER sake - we have a solution right away. I won’t tell his name yet. We had some rehearsals and it’s going be excellent. It was really sad that Dan left. It was a little sudden, it was a little bit surprising.

RoD: Yes, you just announced new material coming out and just a few weeks later came the message from Dan and the fans also didn’t expect that.
Kim:Yes, it was a little bit surprising. But of course we knew that Dan felt some pressure. He has a mind that he has to do things 100 % right. It was too much for him. Even knowing that there is not that much happening with ZEROMANCER, it takes a lot of time anyway. So, we are ready for M’era Luna. We have good set-up rehearsals and there might be more shows coming out with ZEROMANCER. There is nothing exactly planned yet, but we are up for more shows. ZEROMANCER is different from SEIGMEN. With SEIGMEN we can’t change the members. Never. And with ZEROMANCER - it’s Noralf, me and Alex - that’s the core. And that can’t change. But since Chris left and Eric left it’s been many years.

RoD: But you’ve also had the same members at ZEROMANCER for many years. There are some bands for example in Germany that change their members quite frequently. With SEIGMEN it’s clear, there cannot be any changes. But also with ZEROMANCER, it’s been just one change in 2003 before and now Dan left after 15 years.
Kim: Yes, it’s natural. But I feel like Dan is always going be a ZEROMANCER member. Chris is always going be a ZEROMANCER member. Eric is going to be always a ZEROMANCER member. So it’s just all family. There are no hard feelings anywhere. We keep having conversations with Eric and Chris. And Dan of course.

RoD: Is there any secret how to get along for so many years with everyone? Or it just fits together?
Kim: We are a little bit fortunate, because the hard thing about being in a band is that you have always to be together with other people. It has to be people that you like. And you don’t know if you will like them over the years. I think the solution is that you have to know the people that you are playing with. And you have to know all their good sites, bad sites. You just have to give people space. And you have to handle all the different situations. I have been in bands since I was a teenager, so I don’t know about anything else really. It is a really close thing. And that is something that no people can take away from us, because all the history we have together digs very deep.

RoD: It is family, as you say. Spending weeks on tour is a challenging thing.
Kim:Yes, it is. We just keep our mind-set and look forward, always, which is really important.

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RoD: A question about last year, when you played with SEIGMEN in Germany. How was it to play a festival in another country after so many years? I can imagine it is a bit more challenging than a solo gig?
Kim:We really enjoyed it. We played there before and we knew it’s not going be packed. And we know SEIGMEN is exotic, because we were never big in Germany with SEIGMEN. We just have a legacy amongst a few people. The thing that we were a little bit afraid of is that because me, Alex and Noralf, we are comfortable, we’ve done this a million times, playing in front of German audiences. Which is always good about German audiences is that they always focus on the band and they give full attention. They don’t stand talking or whatever. What we were a little bit afraid of, is, that Sverre and Marius think that if we don’t pull that big crowd that they may be put off a little and they maybe think that it is a little weird because they were really looking forward to play in Germany. And they were really excited and we were, we did this all before. But they really enjoyed it. And they really want to do it again.

RoD: You are laughing. You don’t?
Kim:I feel it’s just - in a weird way - I feel its ZEROMANCER territory. We got offers straight away from other German festivals, but it didn’t fit with our calendar. So we did something right, you know. But it’s weird. It’s Norwegian.

RoD: I was actually also a bit worried that maybe not many people will show up and nobody would sing along, because it is something that feels really crucial to SEIGMEN gigs that people are singing along many of the songs. But actually they did. That was so cool. Of course it was not as loud as in Norway usually, but still.
Kim:It was really cool and at the concert the next day, or the day after that.

RoD: Because ZEROMANCER was in between, yes.
Kim:That was not supposed to be like that. It was supposed to be ZEROMANCER first and then two SEIGMEN gigs. It was just another challenge like these gigs. We are better at handling challenges now.

RoD: Is it something that keeps you alive as a band or artist? When it is all just perfect and all the same, you don’t grow, I think?
Kim:Yes. The worst period of our career was the year after ‘Metropolis’ record, when we were really popular. We didn’t tackle that well. We are not meant to be really, really popular.

RoD: Of course I wish every band the biggest success, especially the ones I follow. And I believe it is probably different for the band itself, but as a fan I don’t like stadium gigs, it feels just too far away.
Kim:We act like a stadium band even at small shows.

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RoD: Yes. There are bands that work perfectly on a small stage or others on a big one and I cannot imagine them in a small club. But I feel like with SEIGMEN and ZEROMANCER you can do both easily. That’s great.
Kim:Yes, we like both.

RoD: Thinking about Berlin. You are obviously used to fans travelling to Norway for gigs. But it was actually really cool that so many Norwegians came to Berlin, even from Bodø. Do you remember that scarf from a Bodø football club that was thrown on stage? Alex was really surprised about it. Did you expect that so many people from Norway would travel to the gig?
Kim: We knew that people from Norway would be there. We didn’t know which ones. It was a really good night.

RoD: Yes, you even broke your “rule” to play ‘Hjernen er alene’ as the last song.
Kim: Yes? Oh. Yeah! What did we end with?

RoD: You came out one more time after ‘Hjernen er alene’ and played ‘Slaver av Solen’.
Kim: Did we do?

RoD: Yes, you did! We just kept being loud and shouting for more.
Kim:Yes! That’s true. I forgot that.

RoD: That was really good. A good thing to remember actually. The ones who knew the gigs in Norway were sure that you are not coming out once more, but the rest didn’t know and didn’t care. Sometimes it is good not to know what’s usual.
Kim:Yeah, I remember that. My family was there as well, my mom and dad and others. I have a lot of family coming today as well.

RoD: That is really awesome! Okay, one more question about M’era Luna. Are you going to play something new at M’era Luna with ZEROMANCER?
Kim:No. It is a bit too early with the new guitar player we have to teach him the old songs first. But the next concerts, when they will be, then I think we will play some new stuff. We had a plan for M’era Luna, but we don’t have a long setlist. We have to play pretty short.

RoD: Yes, that’s quite typical about M’era Luna that especially the first bands get really short slots. The newcomers start with about 20 minutes.
Kim:Yes, but it’s a good festival for bands because it’s professional and it’s very structured. It’s always to have just a live check. You have 15 or 20 minutes and then when you are not ready, you have to be ready. The Plage Noire show that we played last year was the worst show in many years because of the technical problems.

RoD: They actually also had some technical issues this year as well, unfortunately.
Kim:That was terrible. We very seldom complain about the local crew, but they were shit. They don’t know what to do. You have 15 or 20 minutes to get a band of stage and us on stage and we have a lot of stuff. We are not just a keyboard with everything on tape. We have drums, we have keys, we have everything. It takes a little while and the people on stage, they must know how to do everything.

RoD: It’s so different even it’s the same promoter for both festivals - M’era Luna and Plage Noire? Last year it was actually the first time Plage Noire after many years, so probably it was due to that. But also this year I heard from bands who had almost similar problems with the crew unfortunately.
Kim:That’s crazy. You know the thing about when you are playing in a band you have rituals about the day. You wake up, you’re doing a thing and you do the sound check, you eat dinner, you prepare for the show, you do the show, lots of time you want to speak to people and have a few drinks and sometimes you don’t. It is actually people often from the crowd or people you know, friends, when they come to the show - it’s a party for them. It’s a show, it’s fun. For us - it’s a job.

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RoD: Of Course.
Kim:We are really serious about it. A lot of people don’t understand. It’s actually for us - of course we party and we have fun, but it’s really a lot about focusing on the situation, rituals and it has to be that certain way.

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RoD: Yes. Some people tend to think that you just do something for two hours and probably chill the rest of the day as a band. Probably not.
Kim:People don’t always understand that and especially this place at the backstage is so tiny, it’s so small. We have to lock people out. Because people come in - “Heeey!” - “Hey. We just played the show, we are just changing, we are almost naked, why are you here?”

RoD: Because they think it’s just party?
Kim:Yeah, maybe later. We are just - we are still at work.

RoD: Yes, I think many people just cannot imagine how it is for the band right after the gig. But many actually tend to get even angry, if you ask them to leave because you need that time for yourself.
Kim:Yes, they don’t actually understand. There is a lot of disrespect in it, but usually it has something to do with alcohol, because they are so drunk. And it’s like the show yesterday. You see the band and it builds, and builds and builds and ends up with a high. And people think it continues that way. But when we go off, it’s quiet. Then it’s over, the show is done and we start talking about things that went wrong and funny parts and stupid parts and the stupid things that we said or we didn’t and forgot.

RoD: That reminds me of the moments when there are some technical issues and Alex has to do some “stand-up” like yesterday.
Kim:Oh, he hates it. And it was funny yesterday. As yesterday, before we went on stage we were talking about stand-up and stupid stuff. It was just funny that it happened and he had to deal with it. I played as a bass player and backing vocals singer for so many years and that’s not until I started performing with LJUNGBLUT that I totally understood what it means to be the main singer and actually have the whole responsibility, it’s all on your shoulders.

RoD: The majority is mostly watching at the singer - it is how it is.
Kim:Yes, it is how it is! I feel that we try to take the pressure of him, but we can do whatever we want, he’s always going to be the centre. It just came down to me when I’ve done the LJUNGBLUT shows how great Alex is doing to have the spotlight. I think it’s a really cool thing. And I think he has been struggling a lot with his sickness and he has been in a really bad health because of his arthritis. And he takes so much medicine. He has been in a really bad shape. But now he is better and he has worked hard for it for a couple of years. And I feel very proud of him, how he dealt with it and how he is performing, especially now the Hulen shows. I think it’s been magnificent. Yes, really amazing.

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RoD: When we talk about the performance now, not just saying it because you are sitting here, but from the first time I saw ZEROMANCER live back in 2010 at the show with DIARY OF DREAMS in Berlin, I was really impressed by all the energy you guys had on stage and I still feel like ZEROMANCER is one of the most energetic live bands I’ve ever seen.
Kim: Thank you. That’s a good compliment. DIARY OF DREAMS actually keep asking us every year if we can go on tour with them. Well not every year, but they have asked several times. What is funny for us. It’s actually - I mean, we are old, we have family and we have jobs. So we can’t go on tour for two or three weeks. That’s impossible. That’s what they do. And we live in Norway.

RoD: Yes, many bands in Germany are now doing these weekend tours, but I guess it’s hard to organize this while living in Norway?
Kim:Yes, it is. It’s expensive. So if ZEROMANCER would be based in Germany, it would be so much easier. We would play so much more. It’s sad.

RoD: The scene in Germany is still kind of really big, but there is a probably a lack of new blood there. There are some new things growing, but you can also see some stagnation during the last years.
Kim:It’s a little bit dead, yes. We talk a lot about it. I play in LJUNGBLUT with Ted, who is also drummer in APOPTYGMA BERZERK. We have a lot of these discussions with him. It’s a lot of the same names, yes. What the hell are we doing? But it’s fun as well, yes.

RoD: Yes. When I went to the E-Tropolis festival earlier this year, I felt that there are people of many age ranges which is great, but at the same time it felt like there was a cut-off for people under 30 maybe. That felt weird.
Kim:Maybe in ten years there is nothing.

RoD: I don’t think so, actually. There are some things growing around the core like new Post Punk bands etc. It’s probably because the scene is big compared to other countries here, but still quite familiar, so everyone knows each other and so bands are booked over and over again which makes sense on the one hand. But do you think it’s therefore harder for new bands to get a chance to play at festivals?
Kim:It’s not really the promoter’s duty. The new bands have the duty. They have to make it themselves and if they are good enough, they will make it to the bill and they will grow higher. I think there have to be some saviours. Some very new bands that really save that all. But we feel really privileged that we can come down and play.

RoD: Well on the other hand the festivals also adjust to the changes. The camping side at M’era Luna for example has an area called “Gothic Garden” with kind of comfortable beds, Wi-Fi, probably better showers etc., I guess. So there are more comfortable options for those who don’t feel like doing the hard-core camping anymore, but still want to stay nearby.
Kim:Oh, I didn’t know about it. That’s a good idea. I mean I went to the Roskilde Festival. When I was young, there were hardly any festivals. There was one in Norway, two in Denmark, I don’t know how it was in Germany, but not many. Now there are festivals everywhere. I was very attracted to the festival thing. I went to Roskilde Festival for ten years in a row from when I was 17 years old. And it really shaped me, I think.

RoD: Well there are quite many festivals in Germany right now, that’s true. But there is also the problem, that some of them have been cancelled a few months before due to low presale numbers, I think. Of course not the big ones, but the smaller ones. On the one hand it’s amazing to have so many choices, but on the other hand of course the people don’t have the money and time to go to like ten festivals a year.
Kim: Yes, in Norway there are festivals for everything and everywhere now, as well. Almost through the whole year. The sad thing about it is, that it’s harder to do the club shows now. That’s why it happens in Germany as well that people play weekends. The people go to festivals and spend their whole money there and don’t have money left when bands go on tour.

RoD: That is literally sad.
Kim: There might be fewer festivals in the future. Everything comes and goes.

RoD: Yes, we will see. So all in, are you happy with the shows right now?
Kim:Yes, we are happy. Not so nervous. I am always more nervous about the shape. I had a detox with my migraine medicine that I had been taking a lot of during the last 20 years. And since January I’ve been off. It’s been much better than the previous ones. But I’ve never ever played concerts without taking the migraine medicine. The remake of the ‘93 show was the first show ever without. And the LJUNGBLUT show in April I also didn’t take some, but I had to take a few for the last show. I don’t think that I am going back to my old routine with taking so much medicine. This is the only bad thing about the show today that I have to take more medicine to go through it. The first show now, I didn’t take any. But after the show I had to. I am a little curious about the next week, how it’s gonna be back home.

RoD: So are you going to stop taking the medicine than again?
Kim: Yes, I am going to stop then. Always more worried about it. It is the same with Alex. People don’t understand how much we fight with our own demons to get on stage. We work really hard for it. But it’s always rewarding. When you are on stage, you understand why you’re doing it. But sometimes when you are at home, you are sick, you are wondering - is it worth it? I mean there are so many preparations, so many other things that you can’t do, because it takes a lot of energy. You feel awful and you wonder - can I do this? Is it going to work? So that is always the fear. And that is different now compared to how it was before. That is the hard part actually. And sometimes it’s confusing with all of the three bands. It just feels a little bit too much sometimes, but then again - that’s what I do.

RoD: And you are doing well.
Kim: Yes, thank you. But it has to come out and I have to. I know that I could do a lot more, if I wanted to, but I have to hold back a little bit. There is always a song that I have to work on. But I can put it aside or leave it for a few weeks or months or years. There is always going to be music for me. The one way or the other. I don’t know performing-wise, but I am always going to make music some way.

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RoD: So are you on another treatment now?
Kim: Yes, it’s a new treatment. It came in the last fall. It is new medicine that they have been working on for many years. It is kind of a miracle drug for migraine patients. You get a shot injected once a month. It’s a new thing and it works very well for a lot of people. I have a double shot every month. It is really expensive, because the government hasn’t supported it yet. They keep delaying it. It should be free now since March, but it’s still not confirmed. It’s the same in Germany and everywhere else. A lot of migraine patients are doing a lot better with it. Me too. I am not good, I have chronic migraines still, but I don’t have to take those pills every day. That is a good thing for me.

RoD: I read an interview in Norwegian that you had a treatment, a complicated surgery that helped almost everyone, but not you?
Kim: Yes. I have that all the time. But with this medicine there is a little hope and there is a lot coming. We will see. I don’t know the reason for my migraines. I would like to know the reason. Not just taking a lot of medicine.

RoD: Totally understandable, yes. Good luck with that new treatment.
Kim: Yes, thank you!

RoD: On Wednesday you announced the re-release of five SEIGMEN albums in re-mastered versions, also on vinyl and as a limited box. Do you think it is going to be out this year?
Kim:Yes. I think they will be ready for the December shows. When you have vinyl, records - especially when you have special designs - it takes about four months for it to be released. So you have everything to be ready and then it takes four months.

RoD: Sounds perfect for Christmas presents.
Kim:Ah, yes! It should have been released years ago, we just have been a little slow. But I am buying vinyl myself.

RoD: I used to have one single vinyl for many years, but no record player to actually listen to it. Just a fan thing when you want your collection to be complete, you know. And then I bought ‘Enola’ and the single box that SEIGMEN released in 2017 and then I decided, okay, now you really need something to play it. So there is a record player in my house now and more vinyl - also from other bands started adding up to my collection, so actually you can say because of SEIGMEN.
Kim:That’s cool! I grew up with it. It was just vinyl for me when I grew up. I collected everything. When I was young, I was really crazy about music, exploring new bands. But I lost everything in an apartment fire once. So I stopped buying vinyl for a while. But now I am back on it. I had to start from scratch.

RoD: I guess, our time is unfortunately over now. Thank you so much for being here!
Kim: Of course. It’s a pleasure!

All pictures except intro picture by Nasta Iz

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