Doomed Confessionary: Lars Kristian, Magnus & Jørgen (Astralplane)
Photos by Thomas Moe Ellefsrud
Astralplane is a three-piece psychedelic stoner/fuzz rock band from Oslo, Norway.
The brothers in Astralplane symbolize three of the fundamental elements within heavy rock. Fuzz, psych and doom! Together they blend heavy riffs from the 70’s with psychedelic stoner rock from the 90’s and 00’s, taking the audience on a journey to unknown destinations and sonic landscapes. They have a magical synergy that can only be explained by the same blood flowing through their veins.
Astralplane are Lars Kristian (bass, vocals), Magnus (guitar, vocals) and Jørgen Halvorsen (drums).
Can you please say a few words about your band?
We’re a stoner-prog trio from Oslo, Norway. We’re all brothers and have been playing together for ten years.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Finding our sound. We’ve been back and forth between alot of genres, trying to write what we thought we wanted. It wasn’t until we quit the idea of trying to be something specific that we truly found our groove.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Our number one proudest moment has to be when we supported Dead Meadow in Oslo, but we’re also stoked on our upcomming record, Out Of The Void, which we put a lot of time and effort into.
What was your biggest regret?
Who needs regrets? We’re still together after ten years and are having a blast.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Last years tour of Norway brought us many great memories and fun stories. It’s cool to see that people in all places, big or small appreciate the music we create. The most memorable was our drummer puking in the backstage fridge in Lillehammer.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
How much time and effort goes into being a band besides actually playing music. Holler if anybody wants to manage us!
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Jørgen: That PetroDraconic Apocalypse album from King Gizzard is pretty tight.
Kristian: Graveyards new album »6«, has been playing a lot and Dead Meadow – »Voyager To Voyager« is a favorite.
Magnus: Rezn, Russian Circles, All Them Witches, Dead Meadow and the early Ozzy albums.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Advice? Nah, don’t think we ever recieved any.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Nice cocktails and ABBA 😉
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Oslo?
There are too many bands and too few venues… Hehe. Jokes aside. There are a lot of cool bands and nice people that we hang with which create a vibrant and creative community within the stoner, doom, heavy scene.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Our next gig will be in Stockholm, Sweden on the 30th of August. Our main focus this year will be to release our upcomming album. We will be on tour next year. Stay tuned!
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Create more, play more and meet more people. Hopefully outside our own borders
How can people best support your band?
Listen to our music, spread the word, check out our Bandcamp and come to our shows.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
We think you’ll enjoy the new stuff, and thank you for you support!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well