Up From The Depths
Words: David West Images: Anne-Marie Forker
Wobbler, rendered in shades of green.
“I was very inspired by all kinds of mythologies and how these stories say something that has value for all human beings, not for the specific protagonists of the story.”
Andreas Prestmo
As Wobbler emerge from the murky
depths of the human psyche with
Dwellers Of The Deep, the Norwegian
band talk to Prog about not searching
for perfection, why we’re all both
gods and monsters, and mastering
the art of knowing when to stop.
"The main thing is that we want to make good songs, good music, and not really think too much about it being progressive for the sake of it,” says Andreas Prestmo, frontman of Norway’s Wobbler. His statement shouldn’t be read as any sort of repudiation of progressive rock, though. Wobbler’s sound is firmly rooted in analogue keyboards, and their new album, Dwellers Of The Deep, has a wonderful, vintage prog vibe, complete with lengthy, multifaceted compositions. But with their fifth long-player, they don’t want to just bust chops. “We really have matured as songwriters,” says Prestmo. “The last couple of years, while trying out new material and jamming, it’s been very important for us to make good songs with a coherent feel and a good flow, and not just stack difficult parts and sections on top of each other just because, oh, it’s so fun going from 9/8 to 17/4.”
Adds bass player Kristian Hultgren: “This time we composed, recorded and refined during the course of three years, while with From Silence To Somewhere it was six years.”