6 Qs for Jan Henrik aka “O” of Gazpacho
I am going back to my roots in this edition of 6qs. To the land of the aurora borealis and the midnight sun. The land of the vikings, the heroes of Telemark and Bjørge Lillelien. Can you tell I miss it, yet? This time my questions are for Jan Henrik, vocalist, in the Norwegian band Gazpacho.
Who are your musical influences?
It’s a bit of a myth that, that in order to make music you must have musical influences. At the same time it’s a given that anyone making music is also listening to music, thus being influenced by that, whether they like it or not. Still, I’d say for Gazpacho it’s a more of a question about WHAT has an influence on our music rather than WHO. If you e..g read my blogs on http://www.last.fm/user/johme , you’ll see that the moods and feedback we get from using a “layered” approach to composing are by far the greatest influence to our sound. And I would have to add nature. That special sunset, that special night sky. Hopeless romantics, us.. melancholic too 
What has Gazpacho been up to lately?
Actually.. working.. Most of us have full time jobs and then some. But of course we’ve been writing new stuff. We almost always do, whenever one or more of us have a night or weekend off. Currently we’re playing around with a few dozen different nits and pieces which we send back and forth to each other to listen to,get a new idea from, develop further and so forth. Personally, I’m meeting up with Tom this weekend to give a more concentrated effort on few pieces he really believes in. Not having heard these yet, I can’t wait!
What’s your favorite song to perform live?
You’d get a different answer from each and every one of us I think. Me, I’s have to pick “Upside Down” or “Massive Illusion” (both from Night).
How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
We started out experimenting, working towards common grounds, so to speak, as we have very different backgrounds. In hindsight, I think we spent the first 4 albums finding it. It’s a lot easier writing gazpacho music now than when we felt bound by traditional song structures. It’s liberating to be “allowed” to be a little arty and make a 17 minute track if you feel like it. We’re more and more into soundscapes, moods and painting stories in the listeners heads, instead of thinking about radio potential, big bucks. I feel we’ve come to the point where we agree what we’re about musically. It’s more important to make a profound impression on the people we reach than to try and be mainstream.Even if that means we’re being placed in genres we ourselves don’t really think fit our music, or that we receive quite a bit of flak from reviewers in those genres because they actually agree with us. (that we don’t belong in the genre, that is..)
If you could play a concert with a band of your choice, who would it be?
Hmm… Again; I can only speak for myself, but given that we can borrow their rig and PA, all their lights and pyro, set in a cram full stadium? Pink Floyd in their heyday. Easily!
What’s your favorite board game?
Backgammon!
A big thank you to Jan Henrik and to Luca for allowing me to use his excellent photos.
All images are (c) Luca Fiaccavento
Gazpacho are:
Jan-Henrik Ohme (aka “O”) – vocals
Jon-Arne Vilbo – guitars
Thomas Andersen – keyboards
Mikael Krømer – violin, additional guitar
Robert R Johansen – drums, percussion
Kristian Torp (aka “Fido”) – bass
Discography:
Get It While It’s Cold (37°C) (2002)
Bravo (2003)
When Earth Lets Go (2004)
Firebird (2005)
Night (2007)
Tick Tock (2009)
Gazpacho’s website where you can purchase their back catalogue and their excellent new album Tick Tock.