Having previously headlined at the Scala, supported Keane at the O2 Arena, and thrilled at Glastonbury, Bestival and Cambridge Folk Festival, Katzenjammer always make a huge impact with their genre-mixing, full-on riotous shows and now they are bringing such a show to Manchester’s The Ruby Lounge.
Nothing if not utterly distinctive, four smart and super-talented Norwegian musicians – Anne Marit Bergheim, Turid Jørgensen, Solveig Heilo and Marianne Sveen – met at music school in 2005 and have mastered a thrillingly diverse blend of country, folk, blues, pop and rock. There is no one like Katzenjammer, the English-language band from Oslo, named after the Katzenjammer Kids, the oldest comic strip continually in syndication.
As dangerous and fun on record as they are live, their third studio album Rockland, which was released in the UK in March, is undoubtedly their most refined and accomplished effort so far. “We wanted to go back to the roots and be more stripped and not add all these symphonic elements,” says Anne Marit. The moods ebb and flow throughout; from the bass-heavy, rapped-up funk of Oh My God, to the more serenely melodic singalong tracks like My Own Tune, the gorgeous first single Lady Grey, the stomping, wild-hearted blues of Bad Girl and the brilliantly inquisitive Curvaceous Needs, a future live classic if ever there was one. This is a focussed and fired-up Katzenjammer – the excitement coming off them in waves.
The sheer verve of their originality is something that touches people in many ways. Having an impact is the main reason they make music – both audience reactions and the feelings that these inspire within the band are the special moments which affirm their existence. “We’re on stage and people are looking for us and getting something that is bigger than them and bigger than us and that’s fantastic,” says Anne Marit. Solveig clearly agrees: “Some nights you get this moment of realisation, that right there you know what you are actually doing. You have to pinch yourself. Most of the time people get really happy. And what could possibly be better than that?”
“We have our own world in Katzenjammer. We never follow the rules, we’ve always done what we feel like and gone with our hearts”, they confidently declare.
Katzenjammer play at Manchester’s The Ruby Lounge on Sunday 10 May 2015. Support from Gabby Young and Other Animals. Tickets £13.50.
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