D’Sound on staying together and being inspired by Boracay

D’Sound will always have a special place in Pinoy music lovers’ hearts. The Norwegian trio has been churning out music since the mid-1990s, but it was with their hit single “Tattooed on My Mind,” released just before the close of the decade, that they became household names here and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Simone Larsen-Eriksrud, Jonny Sjo and Kim Ofstad have released many other albums through the years, hopscotching their way through different musical styles and influences, from jazz-pop to modern soul and R&B.

Their latest release is 2014’s Signs, which sees them trying out a refreshing yet familiar sound.

I had the pleasure of chatting with the members of D’Sound despite all three members being in different corners of the world.

They talked about their memories of Manila, the new album, and how a trip to Boracay inspired them to write one of their songs. Excerpts:

GMA News Online: Where are you now exactly and please tell me what you can see outside your window.

Simone: I’m in my house, outside my window the snow is melting, and a cheeky bird is desperately looking for food.
Jonny: I'm in the mountains in the midst of Norway, staying at a friend’s cottage in a village called Hemsedal. Outside, it's snowing heavily and the wind is blowing quite hard. In other words, I can't see anything but snow.
Kim: I am in LA and I see downtown Los Angeles in front of me.

The band has been in Manila a few times, the last time in 2013. What are your fondest memories of your visits here in the Philippines?

Simone: My fondest memories from our Manila trips are meeting some of the people I now consider as friends. Also, one time I almost missed my plane back to Norway, and everyone at the airport was so nice to me, helping to rush me through the airport and getting me on my plane. That doesn’t happen elsewhere!
Jonny: It's definitely meeting up with friends. Last time, one of our good friends brought us to see Up Dharma Down and it just turned out to be a beautiful
evening with good music and good friendship.
Kim: The amazingly friendly and lovely people always give me the greatest joy.

The band has been making music for close to 20 years now. To what would you attribute this longevity?

Simone: We just love playing together, and it seems that someone still loves our songs.
Jonny: As long as we get a kick out of each other's musical ideas, we'll go on for a long time.
Kim: The love of true musicianship.

We've only just been exposed to the song "Close To Me" here in the Philippines. It sounds vintage D'Sound, but there's something refreshing about it also. Please tell us how you came to write it, and how you achieved this new but familiar sound.

Simone: Originally, Jonny and I wrote this song together with my husband, Simen Eriksrud. It was more like an EDM track. When Kim heard it, he liked the song, but disagreed with the sound. At that point, the band had been broken up for a couple of years. Jonny suggested that maybe Kim wanted to get together in the studio, and try out something more D’Sound-like. As a result, the band got back together and we recorded a whole album in just three days. We did not talk much during these sessions, just played exactly what we felt like.

Your last album Signs came out in 2014. Would you say there's a prevailing theme in that record? How does it reflect where you are now in your lives?

Simone: Since it is our make-up (getting together again)-album, I guess the theme of the album is enjoying each other’s sound and celebrating our chemistry. It’s a straightforward, unpretentious, and honest album.
Jonny: For me, it's all about the choices we make in life; how it impacts on which directions we take, and how vulnerable we are knowing that nothing lasts forever.

When you're not recording or playing music, what do you like to do in your free time?

Simone: I’ve got two kids, ages 4 and 8, who are keeping me busy. I’m also writing my bachelor thesis in Political Science. If I have any spare time left, I love to sew clothes.
Jonny: I love free ride skiing, also called randonee. You walk up a mountain and basically ski down in the wilderness. This is not in the regular ski slopes, but outside the slopes and often also called powder skiing. For me it's the most perfect way of getting my head straight.
Kim: I love going to the gym, watch soccer on TV, and spend time with my amazing son.

If you could live outside of your native Norway, where would you choose to live?

Simone: Probably somewhere in Southeast Asia. I love the climate, the flavors, and the people.
Jonny: I would love to live on an island someplace very warm. Maybe like Boracay.
Kim: Los Angeles & South of France

Please tell us what bands or artists excite you at the moment.

Simone: For the longest time, I have been a great fan of Pharrell Williams. There are also several great EDM artist from Norway that I love, like SEEB and Loveless.
Kim: Tove Lo, Romeo, Miguel.
Jonny: Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars are giving me good dancing vibes these days.

If Adele, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry all had a concert on the same night, which one would you go see?

Simone: Adele - beyond a doubt!
Jonny: I would be torn between Adele & Taylor Swift. Katy Perry is not my kind of thing.
Kim: It has to be Adele.

Is it true that you were inspired to write the song "Dancing Into The Moonlight" during a trip to one of the beaches here in the Philippines, perhaps Boracay?

Simone: On our first trip to the Philippines, I was invited to Boracay by some friends. It was magical. At that time, it was still quite rustic there. One night, there was a full moon and we went sailing, watching fireflies, singing and talking. The only thing I missed was some romance, and being a songwriter, I made up that part and put it onto a song that Jonny had written, which became “Dancing Into the Moonlight.” I actually met my husband the day after I returned from that trip.

If you could dedicate one D'Sound song to your Filipino fans, what would it be?

Simone: It has to be “Tattooed On My Mind”! This song is enjoyed by so many people in the Philippines, and we are so thankful and proud that this song has taken us to a place so far away from our own country. This is definitely their song!
Jonny: I would like to dedicate our new song “Close To Me” to our Filipino friends. This is in many ways a new Tattooed type of song, and I really hope that many people will feel and hear the emotions in this song and hopefully relate to the lyrics.
Kim: “Smooth Escape.” That’s how I feel when we are in Philippines.

Any chance your Filipino fans can see you play live again here in Manila anytime soon?

Simone: We are trying our best to come this year! As soon as we have a certain date, we will post it on our Facebook Page.
Jonny: It’s looking very much like we will visit the Philippines this summer at some point, so we hope to see many of our true Filipino friends at the concert. The date is not set yet, but we will post it as soon as we know. — BM, GMA News

Paul John Caña is a magazine writer and live music geek. He is also co-founder of libreto.org, an online collective of writers and artists. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana.