Interview with Østen Vige Bergøy (vocals) and Tommy Olsson (guitar) from Long Night
At the beginning of October, we here in Leeds were treated to two awesome wonders from the land of Vikings and perpetual sunrise - I am of course talking about Norway. One of these was a spectacular light show in the sky, the other was a spectacular live show at the Lending Room. The long running premier goth night: Carpe Noctum was celebrating its 25th anniversary and LONG NIGHT were the headline act. LONG NIGHT are a three-piece band from Stavanger in Norway… consisting of Østen Vige Bergøy (THE MORENDOES, TRISTANA) on vocals and both Tommy Olsson (THE MORENDOES, THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, ELUSIVE) and Arnie Sørlie (DESSPO) on guitar. Together they produce an etheric sound that is simultaneously slightly melancholy but melodious, with a slight 60s vibe… Darkwave Goth meets Jim Morrison. It was my first time hearing the band, but I was so impressed that I intercepted Østen after the gig, to request an interview. A couple of weeks later, I had the pleasure of chatting to Østen and Tommy, one Sunday afternoon, from their native Norway. We were joined on the Zoom call by a very special guest: Tommy’s incredibly laid-back cat, Sherlock!
Reflections of Darkness [RoD]: So, I saw you guys the headliners for Carpe Noctum 25th anniversary special. Quite an honour. How did it feel to be the headline act for a UK goth club jubilee?
Tommy: Yes, it was good playing in Leeds, and everyone was so welcoming.
RoD: And you brought the Northern Lights over with you! You must think we all went Northern Lights crazy!
Østen: (laughs) yes, I saw that on Facebook!
RoD. It was very exciting for us. People were dashing out at 1.00am to take photos.
Tommy: Yes, we brought the Northern Lights (laughs)
RoD: Was that the first time you had played in Leeds?
Tommy: That was the first time we were playing in Leeds but not our first show in the UK.
Østen: No, we’ve played in the UK 3 times now.
Tommy: Østen actually lived in the UK for a while.
Østen: Yes in Southampton. That was quite a few years ago.
RoD: It sounded like you had brought a bit of an entourage over with you. Do you have a dedicated band of followers?
Tommy: No, I don’t think so not this time around, I guess we just had an enthusiastic.
Østen: A dedicated group of followers? I don’t know if we do. We do have a few people who come to every show in Norway and maybe Europe.
RoD: Do you play at the big European festivals like Mera Luna / WGT etc.?
Tommy: No, we haven’t - not yet with LONG NIGHT.
Østen: We did play at a festival in Germany, but it was only one of the smaller ones.
Tommy: We would love to play at WGT or the other big European festivals. We’ve not been very good at promoting ourselves (laughs) but now we have a manager so hopefully that will change.
RoD: Well, the crowd in Leeds certainly seemed impressed. You also performed new material at that gig… can we look forward to a new album then?
Tommy: Yes, there was a couple of new songs that we have written. We should have written more by now really.
Østen: We are a little slow to write sometimes as we all have you know other commitments and families.
Tommy: But we really enjoy it when everything comes together and we start creating stuff.
RoD: How did you guys meet? Did you know each other already?
Tommy: We were in a band together before LONG NIGHT.
Østen: Yes, we have known each other a long time. From previous incarnations.
Tommy: We just all get on really well you know, like we are good friends.
Østen: Yeah, we all get on really well and it just fits together.
Tommy: You know like a lot of bands in the 70s they broke up cos there was friction - like THE WHO for instance. Although a lot of that was down to the drugs and alcohol… the promise of fame, money. I think it’s a bit different nowadays.
RoD: It was the first time that I had heard you guys and some of the tracks - especially early on, reminded me of THE DOORS. I wondered if they were one of the band’s influences.
Østen: We’ll take that. Yes, I think perhaps yes probably. We have many you know different influences from lots of different sources.
RoD: I actually find it strange that LONG NIGHT is listed as metal on Google.
Østen: I think that is maybe because of previous bands Tommy has been in…
Tommy: Yes, probably. I was in a band called THEATRE OF TRAGEDY?
Østen: I don’t think anything we do could be described as Metal. I think you know there are always boxes that people try to put you in. I understand why you have to describe a category of music but it can be limiting sometimes as musicians.
RoD: Is there a big alternative scene in Norway?
Tommy: You know I really don’t know because we tend to play outside Norway. I don’t really keep up with it.
Østen: Maybe in some of the bigger cities.
RoD: What keeps you motivated to keep playing?
Tommy: For me. Its I don’t… something in the blood like… it’s just this feeling when you get in the studio or on stage. It’s just… amazing. Then when a song comes together and you create something. It’s just incredible.
RoD: What’s next for LONG NIGHT?
Tommy: Well to write the album… we would like to arrange more tours but the album is our main focus at the moment.
Østen: Yes, I agree that the album comes first so that is what we will put our effort into right now.
RoD: Finally, if you could play with anyone who would that be.
Østen: Oh, that is a very difficult question to answer. I think NICK CAVE.
Tommy: For me, it would be KILLING JOKE.
RoD: Thank you so much for this interview and enjoy the rest of your day.
Both: Thank you.
Website: www.longnight.band
Pictures by Gaz@ Oh My Goth
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