TROLLFEST have always been different and a band in their own right. With „Flamingo Overlord“ the Norwegians now go one step further and release their probably most flamboyant record. With „Dance Like A Pink Flamingo“ the fun birds also took part in the Norwegian pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest and were able to present themselves to a larger audience. We talked to singer Trollmannen about the ESC experience, feel-good places and what makes Flamingos so metal.
Hello, thank you for taking time to do this interview. How are you these days?
We are doing quite well actually, looking forward to unleash our new album!!
Let us talk about the Eurovision Song Contest first. How did you come to compete for Norway at the Melodi Grand Prix with “Dance Like A Pink Flamingo” and how was the experience for you?
It was a very good experience that we enjoyed very much. It actually started when the people behind ESC Norway contacted us because they really liked „dance like a pink flamingo“ and wondered if we would be interested in participating with that song. After careful consideration we agreed it would probably be a lot of fun, so we said yes, and the rest is (obscure) history.
Did you expect big chances to participate in the ESC and were sad that it didn’t work out? Here in Germany many people wanted to send Electric Callboy with “Pump It!”, but unfortunately Metal seems to be somewhat of an outsider in this competition.
Well, we had our hopes of course, but we did not expect any kind of victory. We were very aware that metal music is rejected by most people, and just to be safe, we wore pink to reject the few who would not be rejected by the metal element.
What impact did the Melodi Grand Prix have on your reputation in your home country, how were you received by the audience?
We were received better than we expected actually, but it’s too early to tell what it did for our reputation. Hopefully our reputation grew a little, we have our fingers crossed.
Did you follow the further events and the bands of the ESC? What do you think about the Norwegian contribution of Subwoolfer?
Some of us were glued to the TV for the whole spectacle and really loved Subwoolfer, others were a bit bored and dropped out shortly after our own departure. Seeing as there are seven of us in the band there are a lot of differing opinions about most subjects, which we are really happy about. It keeps things interesting.
Let’s get to “Flamingo Overlord”. The album is just around the corner. How do you feel about the album and what has happened and changed in the TROLLFEST camp since the last album “Norwegian Fairytales”?
We are very happy about our new album, true to tradition we think it is our finest work yet. Since last time we have used the pandemic to practice our singing, I have started playing the saxophone, we got to know a rapper and we wrote our lyrics in English this time around.
How did you come up with the Flamingo topic and how long were you working on it? What’s so special about them and what makes them so Metal?
Like a lot of our ideas the flamingo overlord was born while we were on tour joking around backstage one evening. We probably worked on it for almost four years in total from idea to finished album. There are many things that make the flamingos special, from being filter feeders who do not eat actual shrimps to living in alkaline wastelands inhabitable to most other animals the thing that makes them totally metal is the fact that their mating ritual is to make a mosh pit and slam around in their territory.
You have always been very offbeat and experimental, but could „Flamingo Overlord“ now be your most extravagant album?
We certainly hope so, that is what we tried to do and we feel very satisfied if we have indeed accomplished it.
“Piña Colada” may already be my summer hit 2022. This is a real feel-good song and spreads so much good mood. How did the song come about and do you like listening to summer hits with a Spanish flair yourself?
Trollbank who wrote the song has a very deep love for Reaggeton music and we all love Spanish flair. The song was born when Trollbank found the ultimate recipe for making Pina Colada and decided he would never drink anything else ever again.
Do you prefer to go to the beach to relax, or are there other feel-good places that suit you better for vacation?
This one also has seven different answers as there are seven of us in the band. One does indeed love the beach, but another loves the woods, the third likes luxury and the fourth loves snow, fifth is into urban life and city streets whereas number six thrives best at home and the seventh primarily enjoys boats.
You are always in for something new, so this time you added some Rap to “Twenty Miles An Hour”. How did this come about and are you always thinking about adding new stuff to your sound?
We do love trying out new stuff for sure, it keeps us engaged and fights off stale boredom. We actually tried out a few rappers before we found our guy, but he hit the nail on the head with what he did in our opinion.
The next logical opponent for „Flamingorilla“ in the Flamingoverse could be Flamingodzilla. How would a fight between those two abnormalities unfold and who would prevail?
It is a very tough call, in a face to face fight Flamingodzilla would most likely win seeing as he would probably be a lot bigger. But on the other hand, Flamingorilla is more than just a muscle henchman and could very well fight dirty, use his poisonous testicle kick or just plant some strategic lies with Flamingodzilla’s girlfriend and boobytrap his house so I guess the outcome would be determined by whoever knows about the conflict first.
„Flamingo Libre“ sounds like a drink for real swashbucklers and brave boozers. Have you tried it yourself and if so, what did it do to you and your view on life?
We have tried it, we loved it and it made our lives infinitely much better. It is unfortunately very hard to come by but luckily we have distilled some of the positive effects into our song so if you listen to it enough it might happen to you too.
Your videos are very special and above all always have your typical humor, even if they are fundamentally different. How important are video clips for a band like you to attract additional attention and identification and how much work and planning do you put into the videos?
There is plenty of work going into our videos, but not much planning and preparation. Videos are somewhat important for bands like us and can work wonders if you are lucky.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who is eager to know more about the rise, reign and fall of the mighty Flamingo Overlord! What about books, comics, animation series and so on?
At the moment our finances are far from able to finance anything more than an empty breakfast, but if the album does ok we would love to do all of the above.
Let’s conclude with our traditional brainstorming. What comes to your mind first when you read the following words?
Current favorite album: “A Dada” by Ruby my dear.
Germany: Nice beer.
Best Movie-/Series-/Book-Universe: “Last one laughing” Canadian edition.
Best thing about playing live: Seeing happy faces.
Worst thing about touring live: Seeing sad faces.
Something that makes every bad day better: The right type of music.
This makes the Flamingo the best of all birds: It has fantastic jokes.
TROLLFEST in ten years: Exactly where we are today, but we will be much poorer.
Thank you once again for your time and please keep on making weird, funny and unique music! The last words are all yours.
Thank you so much for talking to us / reading about us / following us! You guys rock!
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10. Juni 2022 Stefan Popp
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