Interview: Peel (Written)

Alternative rockers Peel have had a storied career so far, and 2024 continues to be a big year for the band as they build to the release of a brand-new album later this year. We find out a little bit more about them and the upcoming album with this interview.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

PEEL and the peeluniverse was created with a big bang at the start of this millennium; we kicked off our career early this millennium with a self-titled album released on Edel Records/Playground Music with songs such as “Natalie Somewhere”, “Breathe”, “Comes Down…OK” and “Neverending”. These songs got airplay all over the world, and the video for “Natalie Somewhere” made it to second place on MTV’s Top Nordic Charts, as well as the sales charts in Norway. The line up has gone through a lot of changes, but Pim (vocal, guitars, keys and programming) has been in the band since the very beginning. His son Seb (guitars, programming and keys) has been in the band for quite a few years, and 2023 saw the return of another founding member Holten (bass, programming, keys and backing vocals).

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

That is not an easy question to answer because we don’t belong in any spesific genre. Our catalogue contains bits and pieces of all kinds of music, from quite hard and intense rock to “beatlsque” songs. You’ll find elements of classic rock, metal/hardrock, new wave, emo, electro/synth, pop, disco, indie, prog, sympho…We are pretty much influenced by anything or everything from the rock era……hahaha, let’s just say that we are a alt.rock band with focus on the songs.. But seriously if you listen to our new singles “Love Phobia” and “Someday / Someone” and listen to “Natalie Somewhere”, “Neverending”, “(We are)The Wheel)” or “Crack”, you’ll understand what I mean. It’s a varied pile of songs. That’s Peel!

3. What’s currently going on in your camp? New releases? Tours? Etc.

We have just released a new single called “Love Phobia” so at the moment we are doing quite a bit of promotion to make sure that the world gets to hear it. Regarding the near future we are set to release at least two more singles from our forthcoming album “Big Sundown” which is due at the end of this year, early next year.

4. What has been the most positive experience of making music to date for you?

Connecting and communicating with people from all over the world.

5. Likewise, what have been some of the more challenging aspects and how have you overcome them?

There have been A LOT of challenges and obstacles in our career, believe me, but obviously not enough to make us quit…hehe…So, yeah, we have had our fair share of drama and bad luck, both as a band and on the personal side of life. For a while we had a black cloud following us everywhere. We don’t need to get into details on all the shit…But if you truly love what you do, and you have your heart and soul and flesh and bone in it – then you have the power and strength to overcome anything

6. How do you handle the modern expectations of being in a band? Always online, having to put out content constantly, your success measured in likes and follows?

That is very tiring and absurd way of being a part of the music business; to always be available for everyone, to have to document every fucking thing you do wether it has something to do with your music or not…It goes more and more in the direction of the “fame or celebrity thing“ being the important aspect, because to keep up one ends up doing so many things that has nothing to do with your music. And besides always being available takes away some of the magic…

7. What’s something that really ‘grinds your gears’ about the industry/business these days and what would you propose is done to combat it?

One thing that really grinds my gears about the music industry these days is the lack of artist development by record labels. Instead of nurturing and supporting talented artists, labels often focus on quick hits and instant success, leading to a lack of diversity and originality in the music being produced.

To combat this, I believe record labels should invest more time and resources into artist development programs. By providing artists with the necessary tools, guidance, and support to grow and evolve their craft, labels can help cultivate a more innovative and diverse music landscape. Additionally, labels should prioritize long-term artist careers over short-term profits, allowing artists the time and space to experiment and find their unique voice. Ultimately, this shift in focus could lead to a more vibrant and exciting music industry for both artists and listeners.

8. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask them to do to help support your music?

Check us out – listen through our catalogue, not only one time but a couple of times, and see if you connect with us. If you do, then we can support each other…We welcome every new peelgrim into the peeluniverse.

9. Outside of the music, what do you do to relax?

There is no “outside of the music”…hahaha! Life is music – music is life!

10. Where can people find you?

Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok