Årabrot is a Norwegian noise-rock band established in 2001, originally from

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

, but with a current creative base in Djura and the Oslo-based record label Fysisk Format.

Name

The band is named after a garbage dump in Haugesund, Norway. Etymologically, the name may refer to the place where the rivers or currents meet.

History

Since starting out in 2001, Årabrot's main core has been Kjetil Nernes (songwriter, guitar and vocals), Vidar Evensen (drums and visuals) and Jon Øvstedal (bass), and in recent years noise artist Stian Skagen (electronics) has been a regular on-and-off member of the band. They have also collaborated with producers such as Billy Anderson (

Melvins Melvins (sometimes the Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Primarily a trio, they have also performed as a quartet, with eith ...

Neurosis Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...

Emil Nikolaisen Emil Nikolaisen (born 4 February 1977 in Moi, Norway) is a Norwegian musician, record producer and recording engineer. He's best known as the frontman and songwriter of alternative rock band Serena-Maneesh and former drummer of punk rock band Sil ...

( Serena-Maneesh, Maribel) and

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

(

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded first as a solo project by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band became a trio with an initial lineup that included guitarist Santiago Dur ...

High on Fire High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with thei ...

). Their first three albums were released on Norway Rat Records before they signed to their current home Fysisk Format with the I Rove EP. In 2009 they were nominated in the metal category of the Norwegian award

Spellemannprisen The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...

for the release ''The Brother Seed'', which was produced by well-known musician and producer Steve Albini. In the years following this album, Arabrot spent time playing at unorthodox venues. For instance, they did live scores at silent film showings ("

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

" from 1926 in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, "

Häxan ''Häxan'' (, ''The Witch''; ''Heksen'' , ''The Witch''; English: ''The Witches''; released in the US in 1968 as ''Witchcraft Through the Ages'') is a 1922 Swedish-Danish silent horror essay film written and directed by Benjamin Christense ...

" from 1922 at

Øyafestivalen Øyafestivalen is an annual Norwegian music festival held in the Tøyen Park, Oslo. It has grown quickly since its modest start in 1999 and has become one of Norway's biggest and most important music festivals. The festival has previously fe ...

, "

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' () is a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. The quintessential work of early German Expressionist cinema, it tells the story of an insane hypno ...

" from 1920 and "

Die Nibelungen ''Die Nibelungen'' ("The Nibelungs") is a two-part German series of Silent film, silent fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924, consisting of ''Die Nibelungen: Siegfried'' and ''Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge''. Th ...

" from 1924 at Verdensteatret in

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

) and did commissioned work for the

Henie Onstad Kunstsenter The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter is an art museum located at Høvikodden in Bærum municipality in Akershus, Akershus county, Norway. It is situated on a headland jutting into the Oslofjord, approximately southwest of Oslo. History The artcentre ...

. Amidst these activities, Arabrot produced the exploratory EPs ''AbsoluteNegativism'', ''I Rove'' and ''Mæsscr'', two albums under the Nernes Skagen moniker, as well as two full-length albums: The Billy Anderson-produced double album ''REVENGE'' and ''Solar Anus'', again featuring Steve Albini as a producer. For ''Solar Anus'', they were nominated and subsequently won

in the metal category. This album saw wide international praise, and was described by Drowned in Sound as "...ferocious, funny, colossal, guttural, hopeful and terrifying. It’s a tidal wave of noise from few hands. Like its title, it’s a contradiction, a dichotomy, a triumph. It shouldn’t work, but it does, infinitely well. It’s art from the lowest of sods. It’s a fucking triumph." The Norwegian movie director Fredrik S. Hana made a music video to the trac
"Solaranus"
which was premiered on

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

February 20, 2012. Årabrot's 2012 EP ''Mæsscr'' was produced by

Serena Maneesh Serena-Maneesh (previously spelled Serena Maneesh, sometimes shortened to S-M) is a Norwegian alternative rock, alternative rock band formed in Egersund in 1999. The band is led by founder and multi-instrumentalist Emil Nikolaisen and has had se ...

's Emil Nikolaisen and contains covers of

Death in June Death in June are a neofolk group led by English musician Douglas P. (Douglas Pearce). The band was originally formed in the United Kingdom in 1981 as a trio. However, after the other members left, in 1984 and 1985, to work on other projects, ...

and

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

, as well as two new tracks. The release was premiered by

on August 14, 2012. In 2013, original member Vidar Evensen left the band. The band changed their name to the current Arabrot, and released their self-titled sixth album in August 2013 to 8/10's in

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

and

Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band from Los Angeles, California. It was originally formed in 1985 as Unknown Death by vocalist Oscar Garcia and guitarist Jesse Pintado. They would rename themselves Terrorizer after recruiting drummer Pete ...

. The artwork was done by Johannes Høie. Årabrot has a side project called Nernes Skagen, consisting of Årabrot-singer Kjetil Nernes and concept.virus and Årabrot-collaborator Stian Skagen. The duo has released two albums on Fysisk Format, Ad Undas (2009) and Confession (2011). The band says that they completed a nine-day tour after vocalist Nernes blew his lung the first show, and that Nernes’ riff arm has steel implants after being manhandled by police and dog.

Artistic influences

Arabrot's lyricism includes macabre renditions of classic works like

the Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...

and

Dante's Inferno ''Inferno'' (; Italian for ' Hell') is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem '' The Divine Comedy'', followed by and . The ''Inferno'' describes the journey of a fictionalised version of Dante himsel ...

and philosophical themes derived from the historical

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

. The band also draw inspiration from the existentialism of

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

and

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

; the surrealism of

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 8 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...

and

Comte de Lautréamont Comte de Lautréamont (; ) was the '' nom de plume'' of Isidore Lucien Ducasse (; 4 April 1846 – 24 November 1870), a French poet born in Uruguay. His only works, '' Les Chants de Maldoror'' and ''Poésies'', had a major influence on modern a ...

; the eroticism of

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

and

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade ( ; ; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814) was a French writer, libertine, political activist and nobleman best known for his libertine novels and imprisonment for sex crimes, blasphemy and pornography ...

; the romantic writings of

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

and

Thomas de Quincey Thomas Penson De Quincey (; Thomas Penson Quincey; 15 August 17858 December 1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his ''Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (1821).Eaton, Horace Ainsworth, ''Thomas De Q ...

; mystic thinkers such as

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

and

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

, oppositionals like

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

and the Norwegian contrarian

Jens Bjørneboe Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe (9 October 1920 – 9 May 1976) was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a Waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society a ...

. Musically, the band cite

, The Birthday Party and

Swans Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...

as their main sources of inspiration.

Band members

*K:N (Kjetil Nernes): guitar, vocals (2001-)

Previous members

*Sofus K (Kristian Kallevik): bass (2001-2003) *Deadly Nightshade (Jon Øvstedal): bass, keyboard, guitar (2001-2010) *Marakel (Vidar Evensen): percussion (2001-2013) * Magnus Nymo: drums

Associated members

*Johannes Høie: illustration and artwork (2013-) *

(from

): bass live (2010-) *

Karin Park Karin Maria Erika Park (born 6 September 1978) is a Swedish-Norwegian singer-songwriter. Park was born and raised in Sweden, but began her musical career in Bergen, Norway. Career Karin Park made her debut in 2003 with the single ''Superworl ...

: piano, backing vocals (2013-) *Magnus Nymo (from FORK, REDD): bass live (2011-) *Åse Bredeli Røyset (from Deathcrush): bass live (2011) *Concept.virus (Stian Skagen): electronics (2009-)

Discography

References

External links

Årabrot homepage

Årabrot on Fysisk Format

Fysisk Format
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arabrot Norwegian alternative rock groups Sludge metal musical groups Noise rock groups Norwegian electronic music groups Norwegian heavy metal musical groups Norwegian doom metal musical groups Spellemannprisen winners Musical groups established in 2001 2001 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Oslo Musical groups from Haugesund