(Original on kaizers.no, Text backup here)
The usually Hellraizing guitar player is releasing a new solo album, this time under the tab "Uncle Deadly." The album "Monkey Do" will be released February 1st, but you can check out four songs already on Uncle Deadly's Facebook page, where you can also become his friend. He would like that. We had a word with this Uncle Deadly, aka Geir Zahl, about his new record.- This is your second solo album, the last one was published under the name "Zahl" in 2007, and it looks like a lot has changed since then?
- Yes, the name is new in any case, and the visual appearance as well. You could say that we've been playing around a bit with different expressions this time. We're probably covering a broader musical range on this album. Last time we kept a hand on the wheel quite steadily in Americana style, while this time it's a bit more both hands and hold on to the hat and change the lane at each traffic light. A bit like training in the roundabout at Forus, actually, just hopefully a little more fun, hehe.
- Can you detail this a little for us, what is for example the reason for the name change?
- I noticed last time that I wasn't entirely comfortable with using my own name, so that's why I rather wanted a project name instead, a kind of character maybe, that is me but at the same time not all me, if you understand. It gives a greater freedom, I think. Uncle Deadly, by the way, is the name of a ghost that appears in a couple of episodes of The Muppet Show, so it's a kind of homage to him. The name implies something half cozy - half dangerous, while at the same time, it is not so solemn, and I like that.
- And what else can you say about the music?
- It's similar to the previous record, while at the same time it probably stretches the rope a little further in all directions. This time I worked with different people than last time, and this affects the outcome, of course. Christer Knutsen is really the only one that is left from the previous bunch. The core of the band consisted this time of Christer on guitars and keyboards, me on vocals and guitars, Børge Fjordheim on drums, and Morten Abel on bass and guitars. In addition, Janove has contributed and produced and played on one song, it's pretty obvious which one it is, hehe. Thomas Dybdahl has contributed as well and played on one song together with Even Ormestad from Jaga, they also have a strong signature, and Morten has of course influenced some songs rather strongly. On the whole, we took song for song and tried to make it as good as we could, and so the album turned out the album it is now. I'm very pleased myself, good songs and the whole range of atmospheres, that's how I see it.
Exciting! We can only advice to check it out!