Interview with Holon

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

I got into listening to music right after I started school. Me and my friends used to listen to the radio and then record the top ten chart countdown every week. Eventually I started buying music on records and cassettes - more actively selecting what I liked. At that time it was all about pop music. I didn't really get into actually playing an instrument until I was around 11-12 years old when I was assigned to playing the guitar in music class at school. Something with that instrument really struck me, and luckily there was another guy in my class that had started playing the guitar - so I was able to borrow a guitar from him. I ended up locking myself up in my room for 2-3 months trying to learn it. I wasn’t really talented or very musical from the start, but I am quite stubborn and I worked hard at it. From then on I gradually did the usual things - got into rock and started a cover band with friends from school.

I don’t know what I would be doing today if I did not get into music - that is really hard to imagine as music has become so much of my core being. I can say as much that when I get interested in something I have the ability to hyperfocus on it so it would probably have been something else that could scratch my need for being creative.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I try to live a balanced life where I get to exercise both my creative and logical part of the brain as well as trying to keep my physical being in shape. Creating music is both a creativity and problem solving exercise in itself so that adds a lot to my mental wellness. I also have an engineering degree and a job in the semiconductor industry - so lots of my time is spent on this work. I do enjoy my job here and it really challenges the logical half of my brain, and I do think it actually contributes to me wanting to balance this with more creativity outside of work. So I think this is actually good for my musical creativity.

Other than this I try to keep in physical shape - weight lifting, yoga, cross-country skiing are a few of the activities i like to do.

Then of course there is my family which I love to be around and care for. That is important for me to give some meaning to this world. Also family has been the inspiration to lots of my songs.

Relaxing is also important to do and for relaxing I like to watch movies or tv series and read books.

How long has your band been around?

My holon project has been around since 2016.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

I am currently based out of a city called Trondheim in Norway. I don’t think being situated here has influenced my music to a large degree though. Possibly living in a place where the winters are cold and you stay inside for most of the day has been positive to being able to focus on working on music though ;

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

I get asked this a lot as the word ‘holon’ is not a word most people have in their vocabulary.. The term holon was first used by Arthur Koestler in his work ‘The Ghost in the Machine’. This is not where I did encounter it though. I first heard about it when reading a book by Ken Wilber, a modern philosopher that is known for his work on integral psychology. It is a term used for something that is both a whole but also a part of a bigger whole. I thought this sums up pretty much everything we know in this world. We are all holons! I also thought the word sounded quite cool as well.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Well, being mostly a studio project I haven’t done many shows. It has only been stripped down, acoustic performances of the songs with me and an acoustic guitar. That has been really enjoyable and intimate so absolutely memorable. Currently I am prioritising using my limited time on making the music, but let’s see what the future brings - maybe someday I will put together a band in order to play my songs in full glory to an audience.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

That is a good question. To be honest I don’t really have any dreams about playing at a certain venue. Maybe it is because I am mostly driven by inner motivation and get my energy from creating music rather than performing it. Also, I think the venue would not matter as much to me as the people I play for. I would rather play a shitty venue with people that really get touched by my music than a big venue with an audience that does not connect with my music. One place that could be cool to play though would be a massive church where one could utilise the possibilities of the massive space and reverberation you get in such a place.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

That is such a hard question to answer! I love so many bands and musicians so it feels almost impossible to choose. But let’s try! I am assuming a festival here :) We need some good variety of genres here. First up would be John McLaughlin and his band Shakti to give a flavour of ethnic indian music and incredible musicianship. Then we would have Frank Zappa to give us a show like we have never seen before with humor, improvisations and fantastic compositions. Then throw in some classic prog rock with Genesis, before Led Zeppelin goes on - maybe doing some songs together with the traditional Indian musicians in Shakti. Finally Dixie Dregs with Steve Morse go on - giving us some fusion of jazz, bluegrass, rock and classic music. And then holon plays! :D

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Be patient! I have been in a few bands and it is quite hard for a control freak like me. Also you become dependent on others so make sure that you all have the same level of ambition. In the end the important thing is to have fun and then hopefully the rest will come by itself - but it also takes hard work! ‘holon’ is basically a solo project where I handle most things myself and there is a reason for that. I do not like to depend on others and doing most things yourself has given me great learning.

I think the advice I would give to myself is that you should put in the time and effort to try to write and arrange music as early as possible as it will pay off. I did for many years just go about not having much ambition when it comes to creating music, but suddenly one day I realized that I could do it - and when putting in the extra effort it gave me such high rewards.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

I think I pretty much already answered that in the previous question - but I think it took some time for me to realise that in order to be able to produce art you sometimes just have to set aside time to work on it - even if you are not always feeling in the mood. Most often this eventually comes when you sit down and start to get into it, and then what often happens is that you do not want to stop. That can be a problem with the rest of the family though - so if you have others in your life they probably need to be patient and maybe help you get out of your bubble. Set aside some time for working on music rather than waste time on other things where you can not be creative and productive! It will feel so much fulfilling to have created something you can be proud of!

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

Sorry, I can not choose just one. My songs are like my children, you know. What I can say is there is one song that is a bit special that is coming up on the next album that is about a good friend of mine that passed away. It is not yet released but will come out later this year. That one stirs up lots of feelings in me.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

I think the one that people probably like the most and possibly the one that has the most commercial appeal would be “Two Grains of Sand” on my first album.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Since this is a solo project the creative process is mostly my process. I do have a fabulous drummer, Geir Anfinn Halland Johansen, that plays on all the songs though. The process is usually list this - the core elements of the song is written by me sitting down and fiddling with my acoustic guitar singing some gibberish words to find a melody that is working. I then record this idea on my phone. Sometimes I stitch together several of my ideas created like this into one song. Then I start creating lyrics from the song. This is usually inspired by events or people in my life. Or like the first record it could be philosophical thought I have. Then I can start recording and arranging the song. This is often a process of back and forth. I can record some rough parts just to check what is working and then when I have finally decided on the arrangement I might re-record if it needs some cleanup. I do often end up using the first original improvised takes though - as there is often an in-the-moment quality there that is hard to reproduce afterwards - even if the take has some flaws. Some of the instruments I play myself live and then some I can program. I usually program the drums and then send over to Geir and then he comes in later on to track them and add his magic though to it. He does tend to like that the overall groves are already written by me though - giving him the freedom to just build around that.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

I don’t think there is necessarily one specific message. Most of the songs are about my own life and I think it is more about listeners relating to the story I tell. Of course some of the songs have sort of a learning point - especially some songs on the upcoming album “Love & Behold” where I have some contemplation about how to go about finding love in today's society, which is largely driven by dating apps such as Tinder. I don’t dislike Tinder, but I discussed the potential it has to encourage shallow relationships. I actually found love again with somebody I met on Tinder, so I owe a lot to that platform. We have been together for 10 years now - so luckily it was not one of those shallow short lived relationships.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Well, I guess being a solo project it would probably require me to have multiple personalities to have disagreements with myself :) What comes closest might be the times it is hard to make a decision when it comes to all the decisions that have to be had during the course of taking a song from idea to a finished and mastered product. In a sense it could lead to a disagreement with myself.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

I am currently in the process of finishing up the next album “Love & Behold”. The first single from it, Samsara , was released in December and the next single is coming up soon. The album will be released some time later this year.

This album is sort of a concept album in the sense that it has to do with love in my life. From going through a divorce, which the opening song Samsara is about, to going out there and searching for love again. Both as in finding a partner to love and also about finding other forms of love in your life. I had so many songs about this that eventually when working on pulling together material for the album I saw the common thread in it all. There was so many minutes of music I had to split it over two albums. I am looking forward to eventually get this out there!

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