Ingrid Helene Håvik, frontwoman of Norwegian five-piece Highasakite is known for putting on a fierce live performance, embodying the music in a way that leaves the audience with nowhere else to look, but at Ingrid herself.
Interestingly Ingrid’s phone manner is in complete contrast: she is quietly spoken and doesn’t give too much away, seeming almost fearfully shy.
Early reviews of 'Camp Echo', the band’s third studio album (to be released 20 May) have highlighted the different sound of the release, noting the heavy, electronic feel to the album.
This is immediately apparent in the distorted melody of lead single ‘Someone Who’ll Get It’, which was released earlier in the year. “We finished recording 'Camp Echo' in December 2015,” Ingrid says.
“We recorded some of it in our producer, Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim’s cabin, which is about two hours outside of Oslo, and then we finished it off at Propeller Studios in Oslo. We started recording in August 2015, and were finished by December.
“I think 'Camp Echo' is very different: it’s more electronic and more up-tempo, and maybe more aggressive. I think I really wanted some songs that were a bit more electronic, I really wanted to try out that sound. These things also just happen naturally, perhaps because I’d been listening to more electronic music.”
When Ingrid explains who she was listening to while writing the album, it all makes sense. “I’ve been listening to a lot of The Prodigy, Fever Ray, The Knife and Die Antwoord.” The underlying, haunting tones heard on Highasakite’s ‘Someone Who’ll Get It’ are not unlike the brooding vibrations found on Fever Ray’s acclaimed self-titled album.
To say the film clip for ‘Someone Who’ll Get It’ is dark is an understatement. The video features a naked Ingrid, whose torso is dotted with bullet holes oozing a thick, black substance. She explains the inspiration behind the video and why she needed a body double to assist with the pole dancing scenes. “I was watching that White Stripes video with Kate Moss ['I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself'] and she’s pole dancing in it.
“I thought she looked really beautiful and I wanted to do something similar in our video because I was inspired by that. The only thing I told the makers of the video is that I wanted to have pole dancing in it and then they came up with the idea of having black goo coming out of my body. I had a body double for some of the more difficult pole dancing moves, and I had to take pole dancing lessons for about six months before shooting the clip.”
Commenting on the dark nature of the clip, Ingrid points to the differing interpretations of music as art between individuals. “I think that what seems dark to someone might not seem dark to someone else. To me that song is pretty dark. I think it’s very important to not say so much about what the songs are about because I really want the listener to decide for themselves. For me the song is about sending someone to me, for my loneliness.”
Ingrid’s brief moment of raw honesty is welcomed, and Highasakite fans can only hope that 'Camp Echo' is filled with more moments like this.
'Camp Echo' is released 20 May.
