Interview: Death by Unga Bunga


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We had the pleasure of talking with Death by Unga Bunga after their show last Thursday at Brighton Music Hall. Death by Unga Bunga is a lively band originally from Moss, Norway. They are now based out of Oslo and are known for their fun and energetic shows.

The band members quickly met each other in high school, as bassist Even describes, “in our town [Moss] it’s only like 30,000 inhabitants, or when we grew up at least, so if you’re into the same things you meet each other.” They’ve been playing music from a young age and they draw on influences that guitarist Stian summarizes to be a “mixture of Turbonegro, Nuggets and Cheap Trick.”

Even though they’re Norwegian, they sing entirely in English. The band explains that English language rock music has always been popular in Norway, and that’s the music that they grew up with. Singer-guitarist Sebastian adds that, “I think that English is a more musical language than Norwegian. Because Norwegian has a lot of rough endings…[band makes rrr sounds] and it kind of sounds weird. English has always been very natural for us.” They also feel that singing in English has gained them a larger, more international fan base and made an American tour possible.

<a href="http://deathbyungabunga.bandcamp.com/album/fight-ep">Fight! EP by Death By Unga Bunga</a>

Boston fans were definitely excited to see Death by Unga Bunga play as their live show was thoroughly enjoyable and unique. Sebastian underscores that, “People are really into our live shows. That’s also a very important part of our music.” You can certainly tell why, because as Stian puts it: “we’ve got some tricks.” Sebastian jumped down from the stage multiple times during the show and paced around the crowd with an aggressive look on his face as he sang intensely. A particularly impressive moment was when the entire band put their guitar or bass behind their head and started playing from behind and then threw in a synchronized kick for good measure. You can tell the band really cares about the music and loves every minute of performing.

<a href="<a href="http://deathbyungabunga.bandcamp.com/track/into-the-night">Into" class="redactor-linkify-object">http://deathbyungabunga.bandcamp.com/track/into-th...</a> The Night by Death By Unga Bunga</a>

The band has just followed up an impressive record, Pineapple Pizza, with two great singles, “Into the Night” and “Bye Bye”. They are heading back to Norway after this tour to record their new album. It’s safe to say we can expect great things from Death by Unga Bunga in the future. Their love for the music shines through, and Sebastian puts it best: “We love each other, and we have a lot of fun on tour. We have a lot of fun every day, and I think that’s what keeps us doing this, year after year. We have a lot of fun together.”

Listen to the full interview above, and don’t forget to check out Death by Unga Bunga’s latest singles. Watch for their new album next spring!

Amanda Glazer is Online Content Director and a DJ for Record Hospital. Record Hospital airs weeknights, 10 p.m. - 5 a.m.

*Article photo taken by Marius Eriksen