News, Culture | Kim Christer (31) repeats the venture: – It’s great that we have such a place

Snow is flying in the snow under the shoes of the musician and concert organizer who moved into his home in Odda three years ago.

It is the middle of the Christmas season and we are standing outside Lindehuset, the old factory that used to produce nitrogen in the middle of Odda.

While some are busy with packaging and pork chops, it’s diesel and forklifts that preoccupy Hylland.

There are a lot of logistics involved when building a concert arena from “scratch”. On Boxing Day, what organizers describe as the “legendary plague of the year” will return with new surprises, local artists and a concert that will surpass the previous one each year.

“Odda banker jula inn” will have 20-30 local artists on stage this year.

– As a one off event it’s quite a risk, but this is our coolest concert venue in Odda. I’ve also been to most of the theaters in Norway, one of the finest nationwide. Undoubtedly. It’s great that we have a place like this in Odda, says Hyland.

I think it will peak

The 31-year-old ventured out for several years as a full-time professional musician in Oslo, but chose to scale back when he moved home.

He now works as a player in Norsk Stein, but also as a drum teacher at the cultural school in Ullensvang and at the same time focuses on selected musical projects through the company Bråkmakar AS, which he runs with his partner Camilla Selje Oksnes. She is responsible for the administration and will also take care of the bar and catering during Odda Banks Christmas in the room.

The vision is to be able to have fun and create a community around music. There is room for everyone and there are no rules. Everything is legal. Then I mean everything He says and smiles.

– Then it will be fun. This has been shown to work very well, and it infects those who turn up for these concerts. Every year is different. And you can only experience it if you are there. At the same time, we see that Christmas is the right time to hold this event. Then audiences can experience local musicians and amateurs as rock stars on stage, and people can meet each other and share an out-of-the-ordinary experience together, he says.

At the concerts, also arranged in an Easter version, the mayor of Ullensvang Roald Aga Haug, among other things, sang Rammstein songs. This year, local profiles like Andre Søfteland, Siri Elton, Tuva Lutro, Eirik Bøen Gravdal and Terje Hultstrand will be on stage, to name a few. Audiences can also hear Tommy Tverdal, who is about to move to southern Norway, introducing his own, more modern version of Captain Sabletan as he says goodbye to Oda.

In other words, concerts are not in the “traditional Christmas party” category.

– This year, I think it will peak. We have a surprise that I don’t think has been delivered at a concert in Odda before. There will also be a guest and “keyboard wizard” from Trondheim, Vegard Bjerkan, who usually plays with bands like Thomas Dybdahl and Wizrd. There is room for everyone here. At the previous concert, we had several people over 80 years old. It’s great, Hylland says, and notes that the age range on stage ranges from 16 to 60.

– Why Lindenhuset?

– It actually comes from my fascination with Odda’s smelter. I have made a lot of music and videos from this area and have been inspired by the band Dreamarcher. Lindehuset has insanely beautiful scenery. The perfect music scene. There is no other alternative in Odda, except for the cinema hall. Where you must have a sitting party. He points out that he will never be the same.

What are the challenges in holding a party in such a place in the middle of winter?

– The biggest challenge is that it’s cold. It is expensive to run a diesel generator and we use 20 liters per hour. It costs several thousand kroner in diesel in one evening. In addition, we have to bring a forklift and a truck when we are going to build a bar and stage and bring restrooms. We have to build a concert venue from the ground up, with the system coming from Haugesund with sound and crew from Etne, he explains.

I’ll break the code

Although Hylland has scaled back his career as an independent musician and moved home, he has taken creativity with him to create content that he himself misses from other major Norwegian cities.

Then he makes use of his connections in the industry and wants to get people in Hardanger to test new experiences. He doesn’t want to reveal too much about his future plans, but he has several big ideas in the works through Bråkmakar AS.

– How are you going to crack the code and get the people of Odda to try new things?

– Odda knocks at Christmas such an event. It may sound violent with loud music and flames, but it’s kind of tricky. There is something for everyone. Through Bråkmakar AS, the plan is to put on more of these shows and hope people dare to explore new music and themselves, he says carefully before he shouts:

– Have a look at Hardanger’s tourism industry. They cracked a code and made a massive collaboration that generates a lot of traffic. The same also applies to culture. And I think that’s very important. We just got out of the corona. The cost limits of ranking in Lindehuset, combined with the level of ambition we set for this offer, is a risky sport. Ticket sales have started very well, and with many good supporters, we’re well on our way. If we want to take care of local shops, restaurants and cultural performances, we must use them. What I do is risky, because we all get involved. He says it’s all or nothing.

The previous concert was staged in Iris, but this year’s Christmas concert will therefore take place in Lindehuset, where there are plans to turn the historic building into a permanent, long-term cultural center. When this might happen is currently unknown.

– I hope that in the future it will be taken care of and arranged so that events can be organized here without limits at a cost of several hundred thousand crowns for a one-two-hour concert, says Hyland.