The Architects of Shit City: Q & A with Lonely Kamel

‘Lonely Kamel hail from Oslo, but their music is by way of 1970's London. Their latest release, Shit City, hits hard under clouds of thick fuzz and dank smoke’ and following their successful UK tour with Alunah and The Order of Israfel which you can read about here, Asher G. Alexander hooked up with Stian from the band for a quick Q+A, to discuss the inception of the band, growing up in Norway, to their biggest accomplishments to date.  Please welcome 'The Architects of Shit City’.

Sludgelord: Tell me about how Lonely Kamel got started, how did you come

together and decide to start Lonely Kamel?

Thomas and I were crappy DJ's at the time, playing rock music in bars all over Oslo. Hung out and talked a lot about music and our common interest and love for certain bands and genres. Sometime in 2005 we jammed for the first time and brought some friends and developed something that later became Lonely Kamel.

Sludgelord: What is the meaning of the name?

It's no meaning, just a name. It came from a song named Lonely Kamel, where the lyrics was written by an earlier member of the band. He had and still has a strange view of the world and brought some absurdity to the band at the time which was really funny.

Sludgelord: What was it like growing up playing the music you do in Norway?

At the time there were not that many bands doing it. There was "El Caco" and "Honcho" and a few others. Norway was more about indie rock, electronica and metal but now there's a whole lot of bands doing this and that’s cool. So for us it was not about fitting in or trying to be different or special, it was just about playing and having fun.

Sludgelord: How much Beer and Drugs has been consumed on your latest tour?

We had a beer

Sludgelord: What has been your favourite country to play in?

On this tour definitely Paris, France! The Crowd was amazing, crazy and sang along on all songs and just went nuts during our set. We have a lot of good pictures and memories from that one. But in general, Germany is probably the best country. You always get what you're supposed to and they treat you good and with respect. I guess the UK has something to learn here, seems like they don't care about artists at our level.

Sludgelord: If you had to name an overall influence the band have used to inspire the music (not necessarily another band, it could be an ideology or something unrelated like a love of food) what would it be?

Guess it must be the term "DIY". Do it yourself.

Sludgelord: What would you say is the biggest accomplishment the band has achieved?

Touring with our new album "Shit City" through 10 countries in Europe the Last month has been a big one. Supporting The Sword through Europe last year was another big one. Hard to rank it though. We do a lot of cool things these days.

Sludgelord: Tell me about the phenomenal album you recently released, how was the recording process? What was the writing process like?

We rehearsed a lot for months and worked really hard on the arrangements and the basic sound of the band this time. So when we went in studio we were quite prepared. But then everyone got sick, with flu and stuff so the process wasn't as easy as we hoped. We only booked the studio for ten days and it was hard to nail it in that time. But we did it and are really happy with the result. And Simen Jeistad, the guy who mixed, had 7-10 days to work on it and did and amazing job. We all felt the time pressures cause the deadlines from the record company was quite tight this time.

Sludgelord: Run me through the live gear each one of you use, how does it differ from the gear you used to record?

Boring!! hehe, yeah but we use the same gear on recording as we do live. Mostly, with some additional effects on records of course. Marshall Guitar amps, Gibson guitars, Ampeg bass amp and my Precision bass on almost everything & Gretsch drums. This time we experienced a bit more maybe. Don't remember, had a fever during the studio session. But most of our records sound pretty much like we do live. That has been a goal for us anyway, even though it's not always easy to get the same energy and ballsiness.

Sludgelord: What are you listening too at the moment?

Cannot speak for the rest of the band but I listen a lot to Mogwai at the moment, always loved them. Don't think that’s a common interest in the band though. We all listen to lot of different stuff but I have a big thing for the Glasgow music scene, with bands like Aereogramme, Arab Strap and Malcolm Middleton etc. In the band bus there are Captain Beefheart, Fleetwood Mac and older, more bluesy stuff. And Brant Bjork of course, he's always a winner

Sludgelord: Anything you would like to plug?

Yes, a whole lot J

Cheers & thanks

See you on the road!!