Name: Ivar Grydeland
Nationality: Norwegian
Occupation: Guitarist, composer
Current release: Ivar Grydeland's new album Bøyning, brytning is out via SOFA.

If you enjoyed this Ivar Grydeland interview and would like to keep up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on bandcamp. 



Were you ever interested in minimalism as a style – from the Philip-Glass-variety to solo instrumental work to minimal techno? If so, tell me a bit about your interest in this.

No, I have not been particularly interested in minimalism as a style.

But I do like when microscopic changes in a sound, or in a piece of music, result in a dramatic development

Do you tend to find that, as many claim, “less is more?” Are the notes you don't play really as important as the ones you do play?

This depends so much on the situation(s) and I find it hard to answer in general terms. Sometimes more is more and less becomes nothing, too.

No, I think the notes I play are more important than the ones I don’t play. But the pauses in between ...

So I guess it is a matter of definition.  

Do you feel as that making music is a process of adding elements until it is done – or one where you chisel away pieces from something that is already there?

My working methods are mixed and depending on situations, formats and many other aspects.

On my latest solo album there are tracks (like the first track that includes the brilliant drummer and percussionist Michaela Antalová) that started with a few elements. Later we overdubbed with a few more elements, and after that, several months later, I started chiselling out what finally became the piece on the album.

Other tracks on that album are short edits from hour-long recordings of me experimenting with materials, techniques and sounds.     

Many artists are becoming more minimalist in their music as the years go on, focusing on the “essence.” How is that for yourself and how would you describe your development in this regard?

I’m not sure it would be correct to say I’m more minimalistic now than before, but I do feel more secure in what is essential to me now, compared to earlier days.

Sometimes this means that I play little, but in other situations it means that I’m playing far from minimalistic.

What were some of the starting points for Bøyning, brytning?

I tried to find combinations of a few tools and small musical materials that together would become small “worlds”. A big part of this work is to sit down and play, create music in these “worlds”.

Plenty of the material were discarded when I worked with this album, but I think this was important for the process of trying to find some new paths.

Do you like to set yourself limitations? If so, which were some of those limitations for the new pieces?

Yes, I think setting the limitations that are right for me – at the exact time when recording an album, is a very important part of the process.

The limitations on my latest solo album are both involving the technology I use, but also the material I play on the guitars. I spent quite a bit of time finding the right kind of gear and tools, and to limit my options.

And to develop musical materials that worked well with that.    

Thanks to sampling and digital synthesis, there are endless possibilities for sculpting the sounds and overall sound design of a piece or album. What are your considerations in this regard?

I need to make drastic limitations in order to get ideas that I like. Endless possibilities, and the never-ending stream of new and incredibly cool tools makes it even more important to limit my options.

But, as I said, the process of finding good limitations for a certain project, is a very interesting part of the creative process.

Would you say that you approach your creative tools with a minimalist mindset? Or do you need a wide choice of instruments and tools to make music?

I’m not sure if it is a minimalistic mindset, but I tend to use only very few of all the options that for example a guitar pedal, or a drum machine can offer. Many of my electronic tools can do extremely different sounds, but I still tend to use them for only one or two different types of audio processing.

On the other hand, all of my three solo albums have been recorded with very different kinds of tools. So I like changing instruments and tools over a certain time.   

What were some of the most important pieces of gear or instruments for Bøyning, brytning?

On several tracks I use a Knas / Ekdahl Moisturizer spring reverb, but I mostly use the LFOs and filters on that box.

I also use a Folktek Alter X (only one of the settings, of course ...), and one setting on the brilliant and very flexible Blooper by ChaseBliss. I also have a couple of Montreal Assembly’s great delay/looper pedals. Again, mostly using one setting on each.

My favourite Fender Jazzmaster and my beautiful ShoBud double neck pedal steel guitar.   

With so much incredible music instantly available, are you finding that you want to take it all in – or that you need to be more selective? How do you pick the music you really want to invest in?

I certainly do not want to take all in.

I usually pick up new music from friends and colleagues, and from students that I meet at The Norwegian Academy of Music. I also like to listen to music that I see presented at good festivals, or that I read about.

I also find it both frustrating and beautiful that there is so much music that I never will find which I would love to have heard.