'Moving Down South' is an upbeat, catchy and fun country rock tune in a kind of southern style. The song is about getting a new start when you're not necessarily ready for a new start. Down South Pepper band is from the northernmost part of Europe (Finnmark in Norway) and has been heard on country radio and seen on TV worldwide. The band has composed and recorded about 30 original americana/country songs the last years, the songs has been released on digital platforms such as Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music, but also on CD and cassette. On 'Moving Down South' you will hear Rune Nyby on vocals and bass, Per Øyvind Mathisen on guitars and organ and Eivind Kløverød on drums and percussion.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey DSP band, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. How has the time gone for you since our last interview?
It has been busy months, we have composed and recorded new music, we’ve been promoting the previous single (Son of a Gun) in TV and radio shows and we are right now preparing for the 2023 season.
What role does the artist have in society?
In our view the artist has a very significant role in being a catalyst for different emotions in peoples lives.The artist is there when you have a party, when you’re down and miserable or when there is a life changing event. The artist will help framing memories and emotions so that we have references in our minds that binds different events in our lives together and becomes a part of our storyline in life.
Your latest song is 'Moving Down South'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
Moving Down South is a story about changes you’ll meet in your life and how you tackle them. If there is an unwanted lifechanging thing coming your way, you have to get on the top of the situation and look forward. Of course you might look back and hope that things will get back to how it used to be, but the future is most likely in front of you and not behind you.
The song actually started as an acoustic and downbeat tune with a more melancholic sound. But as we worked on the song we realized that it would be much better to let the melody be positive and uplifting and support up on the basic idea of the song. We also think it was a very good idea to include horns in the last part of the song, the brass instruments underscored the soul and blues feeling we wanted. This is the first time we have brass in a song, and we got Rune’s wife Hege and a few enthusiastic friends arranging and playing these riffs.
What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?
We both grew up in a small village in the northernmost part of Norway, Kvalsund. This is a place with long and cold winters, polar nights from december til februar, sStorms, closed roads, power breaks and that kind of things happened all the time. But then in the summer we had the midnight sun,we had fresh air and free nature and fish in the sea. That place and time had a great impact on us and the music we make.
What’s your most embarrassing moment?
One of the embarrassing moments we had were last year when we were invited to do an interview on a TV show in New York. We were supposed to be on a link from Norway at a certain time and the host with the crew on place in New York. When the interview was supposed to start we were ready, but nothing happened. This because we had made a mistake with the time zone, and we logged on an hour too late, and noone was in the other end of the line. We had to call them, and that was embarrassing. But they had us for the interview a couple of weeks later, so it went well in the end.
Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
To be recording artists requires a lot of focus on creating new music, recording, rehearsing and performing. That are kind of introvert processes where it is one of us alone, the two of us or the band together. It is not a 9 to 5 job, you can be in the process all the time if you don’t confine it. To avoid getting too lonely in these processes we include our kids, families and friends as much as we can and don’t isolate ourselves in our own creative little world.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
We have several other interests, for instance do Per like to take pictures and is a hobby photographer. Rune has a strong interest in his kitchen garden where he grows his own fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs.
What is your dream project?
We really like the idea of a concept album like Woody Guthrie's Dust Bowl Ballads, Styx’ Kilroy Was Here or Planet P project. It would be very cool to d something like that.making 12 songs that are based around a spesific theme.
Which famous musicians do you admire?
We admire lots of artists, Queen of course because of their ground breaking creativity and brilliant musicianship. We are also big fans of artists that tells great stories, for instance Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.
What can we expect from DSP band in the near future?
We are always in the process of making new music and presenting it to all the listeners out there, on radio, TV, streaming or live. So our new years promise is to keep on making and performing our music.