What are your names?
Javier N. Campos, Torleiv Berge, Christian A. Sundet, David Nikolaisen and Arthur Wiik

What is the bands name?
We are The Golden Leaves

How did you come up with the bands names?
We started out with the name Led Zeppelin, but after some googling we discovered that the name was taken. We fell on the name The Golden Leaves because we found it easy, catchy and not to descriptive. Like, we’re not married to a genre or a style with the name. Our other suggestion, Satan’s Death Spawn, made it hard to someday go over to being a boyband. 

What is your genre of music?
We say it’s a modern rock genre, but you should just listen and decide for yourself.

Give us a little bio about you.
Javier, the lead guitarist, likes alcohol, and after drinking a lot around town he first got in touch with David, the vocalist, whom thought it was a good idea to start a band. After some more drinking he found Torleiv, the rhythm guitarist, at another bar, and then it was set. A few beers later, and some months David found Christian playing drums at a party, naked except for his socks, and he just fell in love with him. After a little persuasion and some clothes Christian joined the band. The last man, Arthur was converted from a guitarist to a bass player (like most other bass players) after he talked to Javier while they worked together. From there on out hit has been full tit (as we say in Norwegian), and here we are. One EP and one album out!

What made you go in to music?
The ladies. Definitely.

Are you a signed?

Are you a signed?
Yes. Yes, we are.

You released your album ‘City of Lights’, tell us more about the album.
It’s a complex album, with a wide sound. We do not wish to lock ourselves to one genre or sound, and that is something the album shows. From the hardest songs, Invite Me and Insomnia to the more calm, chill ones, Dear Solider and City of Lights, everyone should be able to find something they might enjoy. And as a disclaimer, we haven’t tried shouting wide, in an attempt on hitting a wide audience, we play what we like to play, and we’re a diverse group of people.

What is the meaning behind the album?
Oh, no, you don’t get of that easy. Give it a listen and tell us what you think the meaning is!

Describe each track in two words.
Insomnia: Sleep tight
Rebel: Rebel for life.
Invite Me: You’re desperate.
Overexposed: Pressure rising
Lemon: Fuck exes
City of Lights: Not Paris
Dancing: Burn baby
Higher than Ever: Water please.
John Dillinger: 1.40 seconds flat
Dear Solider: Dear father

What was the writing process like?
The hardest song to write was John Dillinger. That one was just the riff and an idea for a long time. To get it going we read up on him, robbed a few banks to get in the mood, and ran away form the cops. You know, normal writing process things. Songs like Rebel, Lemon and City of Lights just came to Javier out of nothing.

What was the recording process like?

A lot of fun. We laugh and joke a lot in the studio. Rebel was probably the most fun. There we came up with small things to add in the song, not that I will tell you. You’ll have to hear for yourself.

Who did you work with on the album?
We are signed with Arctic Fox Recordings, and they stood for the finished product and some of the recordings. But due to practical issues we also recorded some songs at JBB productions. All in all, a great team work, they’re more friends than work buddies, so what can you expect?

Will we see a music video for any of the tracks?
It depends. If you’ll go to YouTube, search The Golden Leaves – Rebel, yes. If not, don’t get your hopes up!

Do you have any shows coming up?
Unfortunately, no. We lost Christian to a polish medical study and are currently testing out new drummers to replace him. We’ll let you know when we have a date ready!

What else can we expect in 2019?
Nothing until we have the drummer ready. Something that makes us quite sad, because we would love to play for you!

Do you have any collaborations coming up with any up coming artists?
No, not at the moment, but if you have the contacts, we would love to do something with Metallica or something!

Would you be up for collaborations if other musicians wanted one with you? and who would they have to contact?
Sure! Always fun doing stuff with other musicians. Just hit us up on our Facebook-page!

Do you play any instruments?
Funny that you should ask; we all play instruments in the band! David is the master on the triangle, while Torleiv has truly mastered the double contrabass flute. Javier just picked up oboe as a hobby, and he is a quick learner. Christian finds his peace with the French horn, while Arthur is in love with the Jew’s harp!

Who are your influences?
We like to say we are the forbidden love child of Arctic Monkeys and Rival Sons. If that’s allowed? We have found much inspiration in their work.

How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Torleiv goes to Eastern Europe, gets pepper sprayed in the face, and then goes home to write some hardcore lyrics. And Arthur walks in the forest and mountains, talking to animals. Javier, on the other hand, we don’t want to know. Like I said earlier, he just pulls it out of nowhere. If there is a ritual tied to his writing, it’s best left alone

Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Probably in mourning over Javier. We all have our bets on him being in the 27 club, which gives him a little more than a year left, tops. So, the rest of us will be in morning, playing tribute shows for him. Crying in our mansions, that we bought from all the royalties.

When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
Beside playing basketball agains nerds, Torleiv is working in a bar called Circus, Javier is working in a clothing store, David is a manager at a burger joint, and Arthur is studying to become a lecturer in history.

What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more into the music scene?
Arthur says Dancing Queen. This is why he don’t get to speak in front of the audience. He his very displeased with this. He says: why should I be ashamed of liking ABBA when Javier always play Bee Gees? No further comment.

What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
Treat yourself like you would someone you were responsible for helping.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
If you love something, set it free. Unless it’s a tiger.

What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Life is too short to were boring socks.

Where in your hometown is a must go to visit?
Torleiv, Javier and David say Circus bar, they play the best music and the beer is cheap. Arthur says Nidarosdomen, a cathedral… 

Your coming off tour;
1/ Where do you go first? To the shower.
2/ Who do you see first? Mom, when I’m clean.
3/What do you eat first? Whatever she’s cooking.

When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
The instruments, the outfit, the drummer, earplugs, the set list.

Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Yes, pleas follow us on Spotify, Instagram and Facebook! We are quite active on Instagram, but we would sure like it if you gave us a follow on the other ones too!