Interview to Jan Henrik Ohme

By Sergio Vilar

Reason Gazpacho? How were you happened the name?
We were in the studio writing music as usual, when we started discussing the band name, which is always difficult, and it had been a returning subject for a while.
Thomas had a part of a Marillion lyric on his PC screensaver;  "The stains on her versace scarf, were they really just Gazpacho"? So, he suggested Gazpacho to be our band name, and we all fell for the idea.

How and when the band began?
The band was formed in 1996. For a while, I had been doing some session work for Thomas in his studio, doing voice-overs and singing for his radio and TV spot productions. One day we decided to write a rock song as one of us were in the middle of a very turbulent relationship at the time.
So we did. It worked out fine, and all of a sudden plans were being made, songs kept pouring out of there and we suddenly had a band going.

Which is the current formation of the band and what instruments do you play each one of you?
Jan Henrik Ohme - Vocals & Acc. Guitar
Jon Arne Vilbo - Guitars
Roy Funner - Bass
Thomas A. Andersen - Keyboards
Geir Digernes - Drums

We also use session musicians for e.g. flute and violin

Was your music this way from the beginnings? Which were your first influences?
As any band, we just wanted to make the kind of music that we would want to buy. That was our greatest influence. It did take us a few years to find just the right Gazpacho mood and sounds going, but the diversity in the members' tastes makes it imossible to single out any particular influences durig that time.
Our tastes range from opera to hardcore punk rock.

Is music to feel, more than to interpret messages in her?
We do live and write by the "feeling is everything" idea. It's all about the mood and feeling of the track, not about radio friendliness or anything else. As each song progresses, the song itself tells us in wich direction it wants to go, and the song always gets what it wants...

Which is the message of its lyrics?
Many of our lyrics are subtle enough to be interpreted by the listener in different ways.
Some people think "Sea of Tranquility" is a love song. Others have told me they think it's a bout a murder.
Who am I to tell them what is correct and what's not? It's down to the audience to feel our songs in their own way. That is our aim in writing them.

What can you be about the composition process and of recording of "Bravo", your excellent album premiere?
"Bravo" came about after we had almost finished the writing and pre-recording work for a concept album we started on in 1997.
We we're kind of banging our heads against the wall when we started writing new songs rapidly that we felt were a lot better than the ones on the concept album. So we put the concept on the shelf, and started recording this whole new set of songs which turned into the album "Bravo". Composing and writing is almost always a collective process. Thomas and Jon jams up a "skeleton" of the track, only with guitar and keyboard. Then I some in and make a melody and maybe sketchy lyrics on it, After that we decide if it's good enough to pursue the song and orchestrate it fully, or move on to the next sketch. :-)  We always write like that.
"Bravo" was reorded entirely in Thomas' studio, Krypton Soundplanet in Oslo.

Each as much as you play live? Are you very busy musically?
We do gigs these days, and are in the process of booking a tour in England/Scotland for this autumn.
Fingers crossed, we'll try and do a small mainland Europe tour late autumn/early winter next year.

What bands are you listening at the moment?
5 guys listen to alot of different stuff... a few of the bands we listen to these days are; Jayhawks, Muse, Kate Bush, Saybia, Van Halen, Tool, Mr. Bungle, Porcupine Tree...

Some disk or band that you want to recommend us?
Gazpacho  - "Bravo" ! ;-)

Do you already have compound material or in preparation for a second album?
Yes, we have a lot of tracks that could end up on the next album. However, there's plenty of time until "deadline" so we make around 1 song per week these days, to have plenty of tracks to choose from.

With what changes will we meet in connection with "Bravo"?
That's really too early to say. Our only goal is to "beat" "Bravo" in our own heads; to get the feeling that we've surpasssed it and grown in our style.

Of now in more, how does it follow Gazpacho?
Gazpacho will always change. But we've come to a point in sound where, no matter what genre we make in the future, you will still know it's Gazpacho the first time you hear it. Unmistakably.

Thank you. Do you want to add something more?
Thank you for your support, Sergio.