Doomed Confessionary: Erik, Sunniva, Hanna, Erlend & Martin (Monograf)
Photo credits: Tone Brandal
If Scandinavian noir had a post-apocalyptic soundtrack, it would sound like Monograf.
On their latest full-length album, »Occultation« (Nordic Mission, 2025), the Norwegian collective conjures a soundscape that draws on the brooding intensity of Saor and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, while threading through the haunting melancholy of Scandinavian folk instruments like the nykkelharpa and fiddle. The result is music that feels as vast and desolate as the Nordic landscape itself, dark, cinematic, and hauntingly beautiful.
At the center of Monograf is composer Erik Aanonsen, whose unique background shapes the band’s singular sound. With roots in the black metal underground as a former member of Antestor, collaborations with acclaimed Norwegian folk singer Pål Moddi, and a degree in film scoring, Aanonsen brings a rare breadth of vision that straddles heaviness, melancholy, and cinematic drama.
Though steeped in the sorrow and desperation often tied to metal, Monograf refuses to remain within the confines of a single genre. »Occultation« is the unpredictable outcome from the collision of metal roots and Scandinavian folk melancholy, forged into a sound that is unmistakably their own. Monograf reflect the darkness of our times, a sound neither strictly post-rock, metal, nor folk, but something unsettlingly alive in the space between.
Monograf are Erik Normann Sannes Aanonsen (vocals, guitar, nyckelharpa, synths), Sunniva Molvær Ihlhaug (fiddle), Hanna Sannes Aanonsen (bass), Erlend Markussen Kilane (drums) and Martin Sivertsen Adams (guitar) with additional member Ingvill Trydal (synths).
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Monograf from Norway, blending post-metal with elements of Scandinavian folk music.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Getting our second album, »Occultation«, finished. Took forever!
What can you be most proud of so far?
Same thing, actually: Our second album, »Occultation«. It took forever to get it done, but we’re really proud of this record!
What was your biggest regret?
Bandwise we can’t really think of anything!
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Being back in the Netherlands, for the first time as a full band, in 2019 playing Brainstorm Fest was really great!
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
The band Wayfarer’s second album came completely out fo the blue for us. Excuse our prejudice, but we didn’t think Americans had it in them to make such great black metal!
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Been rediscovering some music that we listened to while making the album, and Wayfarer’s »A Romance With Violence« and Ásmegin’s »Hin vordende sod og sø« has seen many re-repeats recently.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Erik: As a teenager learning electric bass, my bass instructor said I should develop my “touch” on the instrument to make my playing sound better. I said “Well you have a so much better instrument than me, no wonder you sound better.” We switched instruments, and I still sounded just as mediocre, and he sounded just as good playing on my crappy beginner instrument. That experience really opened my eyes to how you as a performer can (or can’t) make your instrument sing.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Erik likes to play violent video games. Haha.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Norway?
Something we view as very positive in the resurgence of Norwegian folk music in pop and indie music here in Norway.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’re currently booking shows for the autumn, and there might be some dates in mainland Europe later this year, but until now only confirmed ones in Norway.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We a lot of musical ideas and riffs lying around that we’re soon going to make into full songs.
How can people best support your band?
Buy our merch and albums on Bandcamp: monograf.bandcamp.com/merch.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Respect your fellow human beings, and understand that there is always two sides to every story.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well