"It sounds like colors and tastes like sex": Sci-fi rock trio Moviestar from the planet Fenris on their futuristic music
Every now and then, one does come across a truly futuristic band. Often underappreciated in their own time with a sound that's on the fringes of the contemporary musical landscape, they push the borders of music and influence several genres and sub-genres in time to come. But rarely, if ever, does one come across a band that proclaims to BE from the future!
Norway's "Sci-fi rock" trio Moviestar is that band. Actually, they're not really from Norway. Moviestar claims to originate from the distant future, (the year 5523, to be precise) and come from a distant planet called 'Fenris'.
Infinity Vik, The Octopus Goddess and Anaconda (you read that right) took the responsibility of fostering universal peace through their music of the future, traveled backward through time and space and landed in Norway in "the dreaded year of 2016 to help avoid a total collapse in utter chaos," - all this to save us humans and our insignificant little speck of a planet that we call 'Earth'. Beat that Bono!
Moviestar's first act on their journey of liberating Earth with music came in the form of their debut album 'Stupid People / Happy Days', which dropped earlier in February this year via OhYeah! Records, an independent record label. Showcasing an array of post-punk inflected pop reminiscent of Earthling bands like Television, B52’s and LCD Soundsystem, our friends from Fenris have given us a small sample of the mind-bending melodies from the future. Their music videos also echo their DIY punk ethos, best exemplified by the videos for the singles 'Stupid People' and 'Lonely'.
Meaww recently had the once in a lifetime opportunity to interview a band from the future. Of course, the trio have no use for words on Fenris and they all communicate via telepathy, but after multiple attempts at trying to reach out to them telepathically, I settled for e-mail. I'm not sure I was ready for what was to follow. The band stayed in character for the entire interview and the topics we discussed can't possibly align under a single context, yet somehow they did: From the heroism of Ziggy Stardust, to life on planet Fenris, music in the year 5523 A.D., interdimensional travel, the Higgs Boson, and the quest for the mysterious "Stone" - it was the single most surreal conversation I've ever had. Oh, and they also discussed the debut album and upcoming shows and collaborations. Check out the full interview below:
You claim to have come from the future, from the planet ‘Fenris'. Could you tell us what music in the future sounds like?
It sounds like colors and tastes like sex. Where we come from, in our time, the year of 5523, music is considered the most powerful and potent force. In some years the key to unlock the door to this tremendous force will be presented by us and the great team at CERN. The Higgs Boson plays an important role in this endeavor. You might think Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe evoked powerful sexual hyper-drive, but wait until you hear the sounds that the future holds for you. You will need to bring ten extra pairs of underwear just to witness a single rock n roll show. Cascades of bodily fluids will flood the world with love. KABOOM!
What was life like on Fenris? Did you leave for Earth intentionally or was it an accident?
Fenris is such a harmonious place. If it were a musical chord it would be a G major add 9. It has that dynamic push and pull effect. Pulsating, breathing, dynamic and always in total zen. Earth was our intentional destination, as you are our distant forefathers. There were many families and colonies created from the Terra ancestry. Not everyone was as lucky as us in creating a blissful future society. Our task to save the world with the use of Rock N Roll ceremony is in a sense, to ensure a better future for our galactic neighbors or more precisely our brothers and sisters. We left Fenris in the year 5523 and landed in the dreaded year of 2016 to help avoid a total collapse in utter chaos. And hopefully find “The Stone”. We know the enormous power of music. Rock is not dead. Hello! This is the time when the rock revolution finally will set the domino bricks on such a high-velocity ride, you won’t know what hit you. Well, we did. BÆM!
Your debut album, ‘Stupid People / Happy Days’ seems to be a call out to the ignorance of Earthlings in the present day. Tell us more about the message there.
Well, look at the people of today. What do you see? Are you sitting comfortably in your seat in the theater of the spectacle that is unfolding right now. Look at the world leaders. Who selected these guys? We; people did. People are stupid. And what is sad is that they don’t know the possibility for sheer beauty and bliss every last one of them holds. We saw all sorts of ill shit when we landed our spaceship here in 2016. Botox? What the hell is all that about? Jesus Christ!Infinity Vik, The Octopus Goddess and Anaconda are perhaps one of the strangest stage names ever! Who does what in the band?
Anaconda is the eye-candy and the so-called sex symbol of the band, as we have learnt from Rock N Roll history teksts (sic) that you always need one of them. In addition, he plays drums.
The Octopus Goddess has the job title: Interdimensional Interval Calculator. She is actually the encoded map to our mission, but like anything encoded map, tablet or maze, it is a puzzle and we constantly need to figure out how to open get the next step. She can't even access the whole map herself. She plugs into the matrix by using all limbs to play on guitar and autoharp and bass pedals.
Infinity Vik is like the preacher. She tries really hard to convince everyone that our mission is really important. That's her job. She has a big ego so it makes sense that she is the lead singer and plays some guitar mainly to look cool.
About your music video for ‘Lonely’, you said "This is a typical Anti-depressant song. Don't take a pill, take this song.” What’s your take on the pharmaceutical industries on Earth?
Oh, you must not get us started on that one. I think you see our point if you listen to the lyrics, so let's make this one short, ok? Every single human being, every flower, every meadow making fungi, every ant and every tree is the same thing. We all come from the same place and we are all going to the same place. No one is nobody and everyone is everything. If you hurt someone you hurt yourself. Simple as that. So go out there and don’t feel lonely.
The makeup in the video, by Eli Anne Sørland seems like a homage to Ziggy Stardust. Is he a big influence on your work?
Ziggy Stardust is a great hero in our time. He sat the wheels in motion for the coming of the great enlightenment and the great milky way collective gathering. What he did just there was beyond importance by today's standards. So, our hats off to him. Hail Ziggy!
If your spaceship didn’t land in Norway, and you could pick a place where you could land, where would it be?
In the lap of Freddie Mercury as he sings to us, softly, 'We Will Rock You.'
You just wrapped up a UK tour in March. Any plans of heading back to the studio soon?
We are just about to unwrap a new single together with a fine young Englishman called Professor Elemental. We made a song with him about being in the present. Since he is from the past, and we are from the future we thought it would be good to hook up in the present and do a song together. It is about being present and living life to the utter maximum and such things. Sort of a self-help thing really.
We featured you in our article "Up-and-coming bands to keep an eye out for in 2018” alongside Monowhales, Snail Mail, The Aces, Dancing On Tables, Rolling Blackouts C.F. and Greta Van Fleet. Are you by any chance a fan of anyone from the list?
Well, we saw and hang out with Greta Van Fleet in a sweaty club in 2020 somewhere in Germany. Think it was Hannover. We have to just wait and see. Again. But; It was great! What a bunch of huggable boys they are.