Øyvind Morken may not be as well known internationally as compatriots like Todd Terje and Lindstrøm, but he’s a stalwart of the Norwegian scene with a 15-year residency at city centre spot Jaeger and releases on labels like Mysticisms and Prins Thomas’s Full Pupp its sub-label Rett I Fletta.
Following his excellent new EP Don’t Techno For Answer (great title, by the way) on hometown imprint Snick Snack, we caught up with the DJ and producer for the lowdown on the Norwegian capital.
Favourite club
The club that I’ve been resident at for 15 years is called Jaeger. It’s a very good club – super good sound system, the DJ booths are amazing. It’s very professionally run.
It’s in the middle of the city so it’s also a tourist destination and it’s very well known. It’s not like a squat party, you know? Sometimes you can play really wild music, but other nights you have to adapt a bit more. But it doesn’t annoy me, I’ve played there almost weekly for 15 years.
There are also a couple of other clubs that I would like to mention. One is like a squat and it’s called Kafé Hærverk. It’s a smaller club, 120 people, and absolutely amazing. That’s the total opposite. You don’t get people coming in there that don’t want to be there.
And then we have Blå, which is a big club that I’ve been playing for like 20 years or something. That’s also very, very good.
Best festival
The best festival that I’ve played here is called Lyse Netter, which means bright nights. That’s in Moss, which is 50 kilometres outside of Oslo.
Most of the artists play for free and the atmosphere is amazing. And in these times where we have festivals that are owned by KKR, which is funding genocide, the festival that I’m talking about is very grassroots and run by people who are doing it for the love and not the money. The vibe is amazing and you have death metal there, and you have techno and jazz – all kinds of music.
The food is amazing and the location is absolutely awesome. There’s only a thousand people or something, so it’s very small.
It doesn’t really get dark in summer. It’s like dusk but only from around midnight to three in the morning, and then the sun is up again. It’s pretty amazing.
Most important DJ
One of my favourite DJs who is very important is DJ Strangefruit. He is one of the godfathers of the scene, and kind of a semi-mentor for me when I was younger.
He started DJing in the 80s when he was a teenager – he’s about 55 now. I guess he played in Oslo from 1990 or 1991, playing raves and stuff. He’s also been part of the nu-disco scene with his Mungolian Jetset project.
He used to have a show on national radio, which was really good, and he actually got voted Norway’s favourite DJ. He’s a pretty crazy DJ, playing leftfield, out-there stuff. People didn’t vote for the commercial DJs, they voted for the weird one, which is pretty cool.
Favourite labels
Everyone knows Full Pupp, and Snick Snack is doing a good job of bringing people together, but the newer labels in Oslo are more from the kids and harder stuff, and that passes me by. So that one is quite hard.
There need to be more labels here, but the taxes are very high. If you’re running a label from here and you want to press records, CDs or tapes, it’s just going to ruin it.
Favourite record shops
There’s a shop called Råkk & Rålls – rock and roll in Norwegian – and it’s been my favourite shop forever. It’s huge, the amount of music is never-ending.
They have vinyl and CDs and tapes in all genres, and it’s great. I usually come out with a CD that I like, because I see a record that used to be £5 but now it’s £25. Just because Discogs says it’s £25, it doesn’t mean I want to pay that. But I still check it out every week.
The staff is amazing, it’s in an amazing location, and the shop is incredible. It’s worth it just to go around for an hour, listen to music and look at people. There’s a guy who walks around with a parrot on his shoulder! It’s pretty hilarious.
Biggest tune
Well you have Inspector Norse, of course. You still get requests for that. But I would say Bjørn Torske – Jeg Vil Være Søppelmann (I Want To Be A Garbage Man). That’s been a huge record for many DJs across the spectrum, for many, many years.
He’s been around from the beginning. He’s from the north of Norway, in Bergen, and he’s a crazy good DJ, fantastic producer. Everybody has played that track, it’s totally crazy.
He actually made that in Oslo, at an after party in the late 90s. He mixed it down and finished it in Bergen, but he started it in Oslo, from what I remember he told me once. There’s absolutely bonkers, mad percussion on it.
Unsung hero
I think DJ Hooker is very unsung. He’s a very good DJ, extremely knowledgeable about music. He used to do huge things but now he’s taking it more easy – still DJing sometimes, but I think he deserves more shine.
If I was coming from England or America or somewhere and saw his name on a poster, I’d go to that club because he’s always playing good music. He’s really into electro and stuff like that, but would still play hip-hop or prog rock, depending on the gig. He knows his stuff.
He knows people but he has no interest in promoting himself. He’s a record collector that DJs, you know?
Favourite bar
There’s one I’ve gone to for 25 years called Bar Robinet. It’s a super small bar, you get like 35 people in there. It’s run by a guy I know who’s been in metal bands and stuff. It’s a really music-oriented bar with very good drinks. It’s certainly not hip, but it’s for the people who know the city.
You have heavy rockers next to hip-hop people and techno people next to jazz people. They’re all in the know, so there’s a good vibe, and the music there can be incredible, but it can also be excruciating – punk music played too loud because maybe there’s two customers there that they don’t like, and then they say ‘Let’s get them out’. Which is really fun, you know. But it can also be very mellow.
They have moody but really nice stuff depending on the day you come in. You’re rolling the dice when you go in there.
Favourite hangout spot
Vigeland Park, which is about 15 minutes from my house. I think it’s magical. The sculptures are amazing.
It’s huge, it’s green, and I usually go walk around there to clear my head and just hang out. I don’t have many friends on this side of town, on the east side, but we’ll probably hang out there because it is absolutely gorgeous.