Sex Judas feat. Ricky started out as the solo project of Norwegian producer Tore Gjedrem, known for his work as one half of electronic duo Ost & Kjex. The project gradually developed into a fully-fledged band, home to multi-instrumentalist Ivar Winther, the bass magic of Kristian “Gesse” Edvardsen, the percussive forces of Sidiki Camara and Tore Brevik and the vocal talents of Tracee Meyn. Band affiliates include modern composer and violinist Ole Henrik Moe and illustrator Sindre Goksøyr, responsible for the instantly recognisable visual life of the project. The band received the prestigious Norwegian Spellemann award for their debut album, “Go Down Judas”. 

Sex Judas feat. Ricky recently struck back with a joint effort from the Norwegian underground! Borrowing the vocal talents from Raymond T. Hauger of infamous art-rockers Beglomeg for the summer anthem, ‘Dum Stripper’.

If you scratch the surface of Oslo, you find a deeply rooted culture for underground music. For noise, the avant-garde, experimental jazz, electronic music and beyond. For Sex Judas, this is the epicentre. 

Enjoy ‘Dum Stripper’ and get to know more below!

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Tell us about how your EP “Dum Stripper” came into being?

We wanted to do an EP incorporating some of the wonderful talents we see all around us in Oslo. In particular the vocal talents of Raymond T. Hauger from the art-rockers Beglomeg, Linn Nystadnes from experimental noise rockers Deathcrush and our friend, the sexy goth chanteuse, WHALESHARKATTACKS.  Also, we wanted to see if we could maintain the funk while singing in Norwegian. It’s a tough task!

What can you tell us about the Norwegian underground? What makes it unique?

The scene here is very alive at the moment. There is a freewheeling attitude running through the underground with exciting things happening in genres as diverse as club music, jazz, electronica, noise, metal, folk music, the avant-garde etc. There seems to be a willingness to experiment and you see a lot of cross-pollination between musicians and music styles.

It also helps that our country and capital are quite small and there is a short mental and physical distance between us. Most musicians in Oslo can be found living and breathing within a couple of square miles, making downtown very happening and alive.

What inspires you and what makes you want to keep making music?

I’m inspired by the daily grind of working in the studio. Sitting there deeply immersed in music is my favourite thing to do.

How do you separate yourself from other artists and producers right now?

Oh, I don’t really know. All I can say is that for the Sex Judas project I wanted to do something that had a vast musical palette. A space where I could incorporate a lot of the different music styles that inspire me, from African music, post-punk, disco, house, noise, psychedelic rock, jazz, the avant-garde etc. To do so I had to find musicians that could help me bring these ideas into life. So if anything makes us unique, I would say it is the combination of the skilled people put together in this band.

Which piece of hardware or software would you consider the most essential in your setup, and that you would be a little lost without?

I have to say something as unsexy as my stationary Mac. It’s amazing to think that you can almost make any type of music with it, and make it sound good. I started to make music in the late ’80s, when you had to go to a professional studio to make a worthwhile recording. The development of the technology that has allowed us to have functional “home studios” has revolutionized music history in my book.

For aspiring musicians, what advice would you give to simplify making music?

A good rule of thumb for me is “shit in, shit out”. If the sounds you bring into your session sounds shit, you’ll waste a lot of time making them sound good in the final mix.

What have you got in the pipeline for the near future?

Working on our second album at the moment and things are proceeding quite nicely. Hoping that it will be ready for release in early 2021. Also crossing fingers that we will be able to play some concerts soon. We all miss live music, don’t we?

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