The friend in question I met probably about a year ago, if not a month or two less than that. It was a friend of a friend who introduced us, and when she told me she was from Norway, I asked that same question I ask of the few Norwegians I come across in my life: "Have you heard of Kaizers Orchestra?" It's a good ice breaker, and in a room full of strangers, I like to think it might make someone feel more at ease. She had heard of them, though. In fact, she knew a whole lot more about them than I thought I did. We talked constantly about them, always making references to songs while she expanded my knowledge with translation, proper pronunciation, and the meaning behind the songs. She also introduced me to a whole host of tracks i'd never heard before.

One track in question has becomes a personal favourite, and the first time I heard it also happens to be one of the most joyful and lovely memories I have. It was May 17th, which as you're likely aware if you hail from there, is Norway's national day. We had been out amongst a bunch of mutual friends that evening, and sitting in a bar, this friend of mine invited myself and a few others back to her flat for vodka and cake (bløtkake, to be specific). We consumed them both quite liberally, and inevitably, Kaizers came onto the stereo, because what is a national day without some music hailing from that very place. We traversed through our favourite tracks, admittedly slightly boring and confounding the others who eventually huddled into the corner of the room on a sofa to fall asleep. My friend told me that arguably her favourite track was coming up next, and she insisted we slow dance to it. And we did, all the way through "Die Polizei". The English lyrical content threw me off a little ("We know who you are/ We know everything about you/ And we know where you live"), making me curious as to what this song was actually referring to. I didn't question it, though. It was something like 4am, and slowly stepping around and around the room in each other's arms, it was one of those moments of pure human joy. Closeness, the kind we all strive for at some point in our life. And I had Kaizers Orchestra to thank for this moment, and ultimately for the foundations of one of the best friendships i've have.