Norton are a hardworking 5 piece from London, UK. Vocals handled by Ross Banford, guitar and backing vocals and keys are Stephan Petersen, guitar and keys is Ben Swann, Thorbjorn Wulff is on bass and we've got David Kirby behind the kit. Stephan and Ross did an email interview with me just after they got back home after a trip to Toronto for NXNE.
How did two Danes and two Brits manage to hook up to make music?
Stephan: Myself and the bass player moved to London to form a band. this was much more difficult than expected. We went through at least 25 singers before meeting Ross. He came to one of our gigs via an add in the NME and liked what he saw. He then came to an audition where he performed pretty badly but we liked the guy so much that we took him on. The remaining cast has joined us along the way.
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Ross: After seeing an advertisement in NME for a singer/frontman, I decided to go and see two Danes play a terrible gig at the Bar Fly, but I loved their energy and style and went for an audition about a week later. I then returned the favor by giving one of the worst performances of my life. However, we really got on and decided to meet again. I found out later that they had already seen 25 singers so there was obviously a certain amount of desperation! Ben and Dave joined the band a little time later and thus we are a Danish/British combo.
What is it about this line-up that makes it work?
Stephan: We are all very different, but our love for music and our friendship keeps it together. Everyone has a different role to play and is monitored severely any screw ups and there is hell to pay from the others.
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Ross: Difficult to pinpoint really, but we are always very honest with each other and always were from the very start. We are all very different people, but if somebody isn’t pulling their weight or being a bit of an ego maniac, they’re quickly brought back down to earth. Plus, we love each other really!
Tell me about the recording experience of Two Weeks of Feast Two Weeks of Famine, where was it done?
Stephan: For that recording we did not have a lot of money so we did the drums in a university studio that we could get for free. All 5 tracks plus piano in one day. The rest has been recorded in our houses. And the mixing and producing was done by Matt Ollivier (Manics, Doves). We wish we could have had more time and better facilities to do some of the recording but we managed to finish the project and released it on Criminal records it sold about 1000 copies.
Ross: As the title of the EP shows, we don’t really have great wads of cash to be splashed about and so for that recording, we had to do it all over London. Drums for free at a university studio (cheers Adam). Bass at Thor’s house. Guitars and keyboards at Steph’s and myself singing in a cupboard/vocal booth in Stephan’s basement. Excellent experience though and we all dug in. The mixing and producing was done by Matt Ollivier (Manics, Doves), which in itself was a wicked experience.
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Promo plans for this release?
Stephan: Our next release will be recordings recently done in Wales with Greg Haver (Manics, Lost prophets, Catatonia etc.) It will come out on Itunes very soon and we plan to put together another mini album that will availabile. The plan is tour the U.K and do a couple of gigs in Denmark and hopefully Canada again.
How did you hook up with Criminal Records?
Stephan: They approached us to do a gig and subsequently offered to release our E.P
What's in the works with your new singles? How did you hook up with Greg Haver?
Stephan: It will come out on Itunes and most likely there will be a physical release too. Greg was great he had a set of darts that he would throw a members when they screwed up in recording. A method that works.
Ross: Again it will be released through iTunes. We hooked up with Greg through recommendation and we’re glad that we followed it up. Greg came down to a studio for one of our rehearsals for a chat and to hear us play.
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Ross on Norton's trip to Toronto for NXNE
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'Never been before, but will definitely be going again. We had an absolute blast. Everybody was so friendly and genuinely interested in what we were doing in Toronto. Met some really cool people and saw some really cool bands.'
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Ross (cont): We got on really well and decided to take things forward. He is excellent to work with and his methods somewhat unique (darts at the band’s heads – violent, but effective!). We would certainly look to work with him again.
How was your trip to Toronto? Had you been here before?
Stephan: Toronto was great. We had a blast there. Met lots of people and bands. The people of Canada are wonderful. Very easy to talk to. We had never been before but would love to come back.
Ross: Never been before, but will definitely be going again. We had an absolute blast. Everybody was so friendly and genuinely interested in what we were doing in Toronto. Met some really cool people and saw some really cool bands.
Thoughts on touring? Are you aiming to do more of it?
Stephan: It's the only way to connect with the people that are into your music and face them. We are definitely hoping to do more shows over this year.
Ross: It seems to be getting easier (and cheaper!) to be able to go out and present our music to new people and at the end of the day, it is the only true way of connecting with people. Technology can only go so far. Our aim is to do a hell of a lot more of the coming months.
What do you hope to achieve with Norton?
Stephan: We have been working very hard to take this band somewhere so there is a lot at stake. We would like to do this full time.
Ross: We all love making music and hope that we are lucky enough to make that our full-time careers.
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The Playlist
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Norton's Playlist
1. Rammstein - Rosenrot
2. Pearl Jam - Marker in the sand
3. James Dean Bradfield - That is no way to tell a lie
4. Nelly Furtado - Powerless
5. Mew - Why are you looking grave?
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