Interview mit Tobias Solbakk

How did you start playing drums?
I started out the same way a lot of young drummers do, with rolled up newspapers as sticks and kitchenware as drums. After a while my parents asked me if I wanted to get a teacher at around age six. I was never sure if I wanted to be a professional drummer until I started studying music in high school though. Then I took lessons for a long time, I owe my teachers a great deal!

What other instruments have you learnt and do you still practice?
In addition to drums, I would say keys (to some extent) and laptop. I use a lot of technology and synths in the bands I play in, and I often end up with a little too much responsibility for things like this. It is always on my own initiative though, so I must like it in some way!
I practice each day if I can, it helps keep the hands and feets sharp. There are periods when this becomes harder to keep up (touring, traveling etc.), and I always start to feel it pretty quickly if I haven’t done it in a little while.

Some other instrument that you would like to learn in the future?
I definitely want to become a better pianist, it would benefit the music I write a lot to be able to think and play out ideas instead of programming them. I also have just started to do some backing vocals in a couple of bands, so I will have to practice that as well.

What bands/ projects are you working for right now? Which of those have your priority?
It is hard to say what has priority, I kind of butterfly between bands in different periods and end up spreading out my energy pretty evenly to be honest.

Kubbi – electronic music, chiptune. Awesome project that I get to play with live, writing this on the plane from Portugal after a show there!
VIAN – electronic pop, synth heavy stuff with blissful vocals in the Norwegian tongue.
Frukt – progressive metal, inspired by Opeth and Karnivool. Working on the second album now! Just got home from a writing session, the new stuff is going to be smacking, loving the sound of it. Looking forward to doing it live!
Tobias Solbakk – I have my own solo project where I make weird electronic songs. Working on and off on the second album now.
In Vain – progressive/extreme metal. Super fun band, a loooot of double bass stuff, I get my workouts mostly here.
Ihsahn – black/progressive metal, great music and lovely people all around, always fun to work with him!
Runar Nørsett Trio – jazzy and playful, one of the bands I get to use a small drum kit with.
DUALISTIC – crazy jazz-metal band full of grand piano and drums, spearheaded by the former keyboard player of Shining, Bernt Moen.
Alroys Pipedream – awesome acid/prog rock, driven by distorted organs and weirdness. Working on the first album now!
Rendezvous Point – been doing some sporadic substituting for Baard Kolstad in his band Rendezvous Point. Super tough gig, a great challenge for sure!

I also do a lot of freelance gigs and substituting with projects that come and go, choosing not to include them in this list. I have a lot of exciting things coming up, but I can’t say any more for now.

These styles are pretty wide spread. So, to which musical style does your heart belong most?
I have wondered a bit about this myself. If I have to pick a style, I would say both new and old school progressive rock. King Crimson, Porcupine Tree, Tool, Opeth, stuff like that. It is some of the first music my parents showed me, I am thankful for that!

Which of the bands you work for is the musically most challenging for you regarding the level of difficulties and enhancement?
Good question! The substitute work in RENDEZVOUS POINT comes to mind immediately, Baard writes some crazy drum parts that always freaks me out when I realize I have to learn them. Learning that stuff always vastly improves my skills (and makes for a great deal of frustration!)
IN VAIN is also pretty heavy for me regarding endurance, there is a lot of long double bass parts in the songs.
Musically, I feel that there is a good challenge with all the bands I play in. There is always something that demands focus and attention, if it is blasting a festival with Ihsahn or playing “Living On A Prayer” at 3 a.m. in front of a wasted crowd.

Which of all the songs you played live in the past (including those as guest drummer) is the most difficult to play for you and why?
“Para” by RENDEZVOUS POINT is pretty high up there. It uses quintuplets as a subdivision, something I hadn’t worked on a lot when I first learned it. It took weeks and weeks to play it with anything resembling flow and musicality.
“Universal Chaos” from their second album is also pretty heavy, I just don’t have the double bass game (yet!) to play it well. Working on that as we speak, got some tips from Dan Presland, the drummer from NE OBLIVISCARIS during the last tour with IHSAHN.

Are you taking part in drummer contests or drum festivals as a solo drummer or anything special like this?
I did a few scholarship contests when I was a bit younger, but not in recent years, no. I love drum solo stuff though, perhaps this is something to pursue a bit?

Who are your heroes/ favorite drummers and why?
Benny Greb is a huge influence for me. He’s a German drummer well known in the drummer community, he has an awesome groove and a super awesome sound. I have been fortunate enough to spend a couple of weeks with him in Germany through his masterclass-program.
Dan Mayo, Jojo Mayer, Vinnie Colaiuta, Mark Gulliana, Gavin Harrison, Nate Smith…. the list goes on and on.

Are you endorsed by any sponsors?
Not any of the big ones, but I have a pretty clear dream list:
1.) Zildjian or Istanbul Agop for cymbals. I have a lot of different brands that I own and like, but these are the ones that are special to me.
2.) Vic Firth for sticks. Since childhood, I always come back to this brand.
3.) Remo for drumheads. Same as Vic Firth, lovely feel and tone, hard to use anything else.
I don’t really have a favourite drum manufacturer, but if I had to choose it would probably be Craviotto, Ludwig, A&F or Gretsch.

Must you use different drum sticks for different styles in music?
Actually yes! For pop, rock and the heavier stuff I use Vic Firth 55A, a stick with a bit more heft to it than the standard 5A. I am a huge guy with big hands, so it is nice to have a bit more to hold on to.
For jazz and softer stuff I use thinner sticks like the Vic Firth AJ3, they are a bit more bouncy and a bit more playful, I find it easier to improvise and play delicate things with them.

How do you prepare yourself before a show?
A good night’s sleep, practice and warmup. I tend to be a pretty boring guy on tour because I sleep a lot, but I feel that I need it to be able to perform. I also have to rehearse a lot by myself, so I can play the songs with confidence and feeling, as opposed to only focusing on remembering how the song goes.

What kind of routines do you work on when you practice? Do you practice with a metronome?
A lot of different stuff, mostly on drum pads since I live in a flat nowadays. I often try to find new stuff or make my own routines from existing ones, but it can be challenging to figure out where to start. Books can be super helpful here! Coordination is a recurring theme for my routines, I still have a long way to go there.
I almost always practice with a metronome, often with only one click per bar or every other bar, just to internalize my sense of time. A lot of stuff I do is on tracks, so it is very vital for me to be able to play effortlessly with a metronome.

Do you use triggers in the studio or live? What’s your opinion on triggers and drum modules?
No, not for now at least. I think triggers have their purpose, especially in the faster genres. If Dan Presland of NE OBLIVISCARIS would not use triggers, the kicks would be super muddy live, the music is just too fast. If you look at the physics of a bass drum, you are moving a lot of air inside a big cylinder. If you do it too fast, it will just be a mess no matter how you’ll mic it.
So, the short answer is, as long as I ́m not playing suuuper fast, I won’t be using triggers.

You have toured with IHSAHN in the past. What are your highlight memories so far? How does it feel to work for a living legend?

Yes, and will continue to do so thankfully!
One of the biggest highlights of my career so far is the first show I did with him. We headlined a festival after PAIN OF SALVATION (childhood heroes of mine) in Romania. I was pretty new to the metal scene at that point, so to play in front of a crowd of ten thousand was absolutely mind blowing. In addition, Einar Solberg (LEPROUS) and Øystein Landsverk (former LEPROUS) joined this gig, and we played Ihsahn’s song “Celestial Violence” live for the first time ever. What a night!
It feels really fun and weird at the same time to work with a name like IHSAHN. I never was a part of the black metal community, so I first came to know him just as Vegard when he called me. I still sometimes forget how big his name is in the metal world.

Which are your favourite Ihsahn songs?
„My Heart Is Of The North“ (I also love playing it live, it has this awesome groove) and „Celestial Violence“.

What makes a good drummer (besides rehearsing of course and besides the love for the instrument)?
Good question! I think, actually listening to the music is a key point that we drummers tend to forget. We rely a lot on muscle memory because of the coordination aspect of the instrument, so it is easy to forget about the music and just play what feels good for the body. I really have to think and listen to be able to react to the little things that changes from gig to gig; dynamics, improvisation, tempo and so on. I usually sleep very well after gigs because I am so exhausted afterwards!

Nowadays it seems to be hard for bands to find a good drummer. What do you think is the reason for this?
I don’t think I have noticed this trend too much, finding good drummers all over the place!
It is a bit of a hassle to learn the drums for sure, it requires a big instrument and a room that can handle a lot of sound over an extended period of time. Despite all of this, I find that the drums are one of the more popular instruments to learn along with vocals and guitar, at least in Norway.

How many offers of bands to become their drummer did you already have to decline?
I don’t have an exact number, but there have been some declines yes. I generally say yes to as much as possible, if I feel I have the energy for it and I find it fun.

Did you ever have a plan B instead of becoming a professional drummer? What profession can you imagine doing once your physics don’t allow you to drum anymore?
Not really! Maybe something involving programming and computer engineering? I love the use of technology in music, so I do a lot of stuff like that already.
I will do my best to be able to play drums for as long as possible. Fortunately, there are a lot of jobs in music that do not require the physicality of drumming. Producing, teaching, composing, researching and engineering are all things I like to do that I can keep on doing no matter what happens!