Sadism? The term named after 18th-century French aristocrat and writer (and much, much more) Marquis de Sade, who published, among other mega-controversial works, 120 Days of Sodom, which then inspired the name of a certain 21st-century sexy, electro rock, dark-but-danceable Norwegian band originally from a small, tranquil, remote coastal fishing town… say what?
“[The book] is just horrible in a way. When you read it, you don’t know if you want to put it down or throw it away, but you just have to keep on reading it because it’s something else. And I guess we wanted to be something else,” admits Ådne Meisfjord, 120 Days’ lead singer.
That seems to be the essence of the 120 Days story—slightly strange, contradictory and off-center. Other worldly.
“We always liked to be outsiders,” Meisfjord admits on a phone call from Oslo, where the group moved from said village Kristianslund in 2002 and promptly “discovered Kraftwerk,” he laughs humbly. In the big city, the rock band from a tiny town, featuring members Kjetil Ovesen (synthesizers), Arne Stoy Kvalvik (drum machine, effects) and Jonas Dahl (bass), grew into a more industrial, colder-in-a-hot-way, synth-loving and soul-having force of music.
Their self-titled debut album from Vice Records is one of the most amazing of the year, taking elements of a very modern mood, mixing them with an almost classic-rock feel and taking off to someplace elegantly galactic, like on the single “Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone),” which makes you want to smash illusions, take off, hook up.
“We were indie rock kids. We come from that genre. And we brought a bit of song structure into the electronic mood and I guess that’s something electronic music misses at times,” says Meisfjord, who also plays guitar and keyboards. On 120 Days, you can just imagine how raging and raving their live show would be and, “on the album there’s no programming other than the drum pattern.” The group’s explosive energy is magnetic, contagious, pulsating. That makes all the difference: Where other electro bands might just give you a beat to dance to, 120 Days deliver the whole potent package.
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