Name: ükya
Members: Emil Bø (trombone), Kristian Enkerud Lien (guitar), Michael Lee Sørenmo (drums)
Interviewee: Michael Lee Sørenmo
Nationality: Norwegian
Current release: ükya's new album Soon Means Now is out via Nakama.
Recommendation for Gothenburg, Sweden: Haga town!

[Read our Kristian Enkerud Lien interview]
[Read our Emil Bø interview]

If you enjoyed this ükya interview and would like to stay up to date with the trio and their music, visit them on Instagram. Michael Lee Sørenmo also has a personal website.



When did you first consciously start getting interested in musical improvisation? What was your first improvisation on stage or in the studio and what was the experience like?

Improvisation for me started when I had some band projects at high school.  

We played some rock/jazz fusion style of music, where we started to explore improvisation within our songs.

Tell me about your instrument and/or tools, please. What made you seek it out, what makes it “your” instrument, and what are some of the most important aspects of playing it?

My instrument are the drums, which I have been playing since I was a kid.

I started to play drums in a band at school, and also joined my school marching band around the same time. From then on I have enjoyed playing different music, adjusting the drum set to the situation and searching for new sounds through different techniques and drums.

I find the drum set up to be the one thing that represents my “personal instruments.”

How would you describe your own relationship with your instrument – is it an extension of your self/body, a partner and companion, a creative catalyst, a challenge to be overcome, something else entirely?

The drum set for me is an ever-changing force that expresses both my emotions and creativity.

It also gives me great challenges, which makes it fun to practice. 

In your best improvisations, do you feel a strong sense of personal presence or do you (or your ego) “disappear”?  

I feel a very strong presence with my instrument and sounds during my “best improvisations.”

Once you get into it, you try to go with the music without hesitation. Otherwise your idea may feel too late.

Do you feel as though there are at least elements of composition and improvisation which are entirely unique to each? Based on your own work or maybe performances or recordings by other artists, do you feel that there are results which could only have happened through one of them?

Free Improvisation does not need to relate to compositional elements like melody, harmony or specific rhythms. Of course it can, but it's up to the performer to decide.

For me, this creates an opportunity to focus more on the sound of the instruments in a group, and make soundscapes which could have been more difficult to compose.

What are some of your favourite collaborators and how do they enrich your improvisations?

Musicians who are open minded to jump into any situation.

And musicians who'll do the unexpected on stage, and challenge my drumming creativity in an improvisation.

In a way, we improvise all the time. In which way is your creative work feeding back and possibly supporting other areas of your life?      

To be open to other expressions, culture and differences.

Seeing things from different perspectives and broadening your horizon.