I always loved concept albums, says Casper Hatlestad in our INTERVIEW
“I have chosen to play Ella, the second track on my debut Album because it really means a lot to me and I feel if there is one song I want to play at your beautiful stage/art installation at (A)VOID gallery, it’s this one. It’s a sad story, and its mostly Improv-composed in a weird state of mind, but it might be my favourite one. ”
Marie: You are Norwegian, but you are now based in Prague, why did you decide to move here during a pandemic?
Casper: Well, I lived a pretty good life in the UK, I was teaching at DL music tuition, playing concerts and doing a lot of freelance work, but then of course corona hit the UK pretty hard, so I had to look for opportunities. I remember seeing that corona-free celebration at Charles Bridge while gigs, tours and freelance work one after one got cancelled in the UK. This was one of the turning points, I’m also in a project that has its biggest fanbase here in Prague, DOMI, and we decided together to move down here to Prague. After touring Europe with Sincerely, Frank in 2018, Prague was my favorite city of that tour, I knew this city would bring me new inspiration to compose songs that would’ve never been written if I didn’t move here. I absolutely love Prague, the architecture mixed with cheap beer and innovative and nice people are hard to not like.
Marie: How do you find the music scene in Prague?
Casper: I haven’t been fully able to appreciate this as corona has kept all of us away from the music scene. I have in total done one TV-gig with DOMI and Lake Malawi, since moving to Prague, that was really fun! I have also scrolled through Facebook groups to pre-corona posts and seen loads of jams happening, supportive people and seen a lot of cool venues from the outside when I’ve explored Prague. I really can’t wait to meet the music scene and see how my project can fit into it!
Marie: You’ve been influenced by artists some people may not be that familiar with such as Stuart McCallum, Bill Frisell, Vin Downes, Henrik Janson, Dylan Ryche. How would you identify your conscious and unconscious influences on your upcoming debut album?
Casper: Oh hard one, when it comes to Stuart McCallum I think some of my playing and understanding of the guitar actually comes from him as he was my tutor at the university for 4 years back in the UK. His playing is absolutely beautiful, I am so happy that I got to pick his brain for 4 years! When it comes to the other artists I love their compositions and the feeling they convey while playing.
Marie: Are your songs autobiographical or do they come from your imagination, or both?
Casper: Both, but the compositions on this record is mostly autobiographical.
Marie: Your album is conceptual. It is 8 stories and 8 colors to go with the 8 compositions. What are the stories behind them and what was your inspiration for this?
Casper: The stories behind my compositions on “Acoustic Tales From Prague” are of course stories from Prague or at least from when I moved down to Prague. The inspiration for this was to have a concept around my compositions and stories, all colours has a meaning, and they help me tell the stories even better, in my opinion. I have always loved concept albums, a red tread from start to finish, it just connects the stories and compositions.
Marie: Which of these have you chosen to play for (A)VOID sessions, and why?
Casper: I have chosen to play Ella, the second track on my debut Album because it really means a lot to me and I feel if there is one song I want to play at your beautiful stage/art installation, it’s this one. It’s a sad story, and its mostly Improv-composed in a weird state of mind, but it might be my favourite one.
Marie: Lockdown has been difficult for everyone. How has it affected you and your songwriting?
Casper: A lot, I have toured Europe, UK, Scandinavia and Iceland and it has always been with other musicians to support my playing or I them. During lockdown I started composing solo pieces, and not having another musician reply to me(musically) has left a lot of room. Its still hard to leave room in the songs, as in silence between the notes, but as I have spent so much time playing on my own during lockdown I have started to really enjoy these moments as well. I have also gone into a completely other mindset while composing, now I mostly compose songs that relaxes me, and that is also the whole meaning of my album, to make the listener relaxed and not stress about corona.
Marie: Do you listen to much music on Spotify, and if so, what are the top releases we should check out?
Casper: Theres so much good music coming out daily, I got a playlist that’s called Relaxing Acoustics where I put all of my new favourite tunes, check it out!
Marie: What do you think will this album have for people to find and resonate with? Where and when should people listen to it best?
Casper: The idea of this album is to tell stories from Prague, which has been lockdown from start til now, I found a lot of peacefulness going offline and just being me and the acoustic guitar in the room. All I want with releasing this is for the listener to take a break, find some peace and relax. I am worried about what corona will do to our mental health, especially when I see the stats of people being more depressed and suicide rates goes up. Hopefully it can help people to relax, as that’s what composing this album did to me. The perfect place to listen to it is at a cabin far away from everything, no social media just you, the nature and fresh air.
Marie: And finally, if you had one wish for 2021, what would that be?
Casper: A studio in a cabin with an amazing view by the west-fjords where I grew up, aand a corona free world of course.
