Description
ISENKRAM – ISENKRAM (1974)
Isenkram was a Norwegian folk/rock group, active in Trondheim in the first half of the 1970s. The group had a clear political profile. Among the themes in the lyrics were tribute to one of the city's NKP veterans, criticism of Norwegian oil policy and of "Trondhjem's blue". The best-known songs were "Soga om Kark" which in 1974 was on Norsktoppen for 10 weeks and "Bøndene på Capri Ø" (3 weeks on Norsktoppen in 1975). Sæmund Fiskvik wrote many of Isenkram's lyrics while Kjell Müller composed much of the music. They started around 1969 when six people with singing and guitar performed at a public meeting in the Studentersamfundet in Trondhjem as "Gitargruppa mot EEC og dyrtid". In 1970 they changed to Isenkram, a name that was used when songs were played that the group could stand for politically. On more loose occasions they called themselves "Krisejam". Isenkram made a mark in Trondheim's student community and on the political left for a long time, but gained a larger audience when they launched the LP Isenkram in 1974. The album was released by Studentersamfundets plateselskap, and the album's lyric booklet was printed as a supplement to the society's newspaper Under Dusken. The group members went their separate ways not long after the album's release. Per Olav Hernes and Kjell Müller joined the group Allmenningen, which was partly in the same musical and political landscape. Tora Dugstad was employed by the Oslo Philharmonic in 1978. In 1976, Sæmund Fiskvik became the head of the ML movement's record company MAI, later a consultant for the record industry and director of the organization of international record companies in Norway, IFPI. Rita Westvik made a mark as a trade union activist, TV presenter and advisor to AP Minister Grete Knudsen. Isenkram members were: Tora Dugstad (fiddle, viola, vocals) Sæmund Fiskvik (fiddle, viola, vocals) Per Olav Hernes (banjo, guitar, vocals) Kjell Reinhardt Müller (guitar, mandolin, vocals) Harald Sundan (bass) Erik Thorsrud (mandolin, autoharp, guitar, vocals) Rita Westvik (vocals, guitar)
1 Oil polish
2 The Story of Kark
3 Thornæs visa
4 The Peasants of Capri Island
5 Lisa
6 Greetings
7 Go to Mr. Treschow
8 Trondheim blue
9 The SIPO Ballad
10 Dog (A)visa
11 Forward comrades