The band highasakite originally started at the jazz conservatory in Trondheim where two of the band’s members studied. They released their first album All That Floats WIll Rain in 2012 to great reviews. They also have had success live, with sold out venues. Just recently they released their second album, Silent Treatment to even better reviews than their first. Yesterday they played a packed Blaest in Trondheim.

I have seen highasakite three or four times before yesterday, and they are even better now than the last time I saw them. Their style is described as indie pop, like many other bands, which is precise enough for me. Many of their songs are quite complicated, but they grow on you after repeated listening.

A main part of highasakite’s sound and visual appearance is their singer and songwriter Ingrid Helene Haavik. She sings and plays zither. Another is Kristoffer Lo, who plays guitar and flugabone, a valve instrument that sounds like a trombone. The other members of highasakite are Trond Bersu on drums and percussion and Marte Eberson and Oystein Skar on keyboards.

The band started out with Lover, Where Do You Live, the opening song from Silent Treatment. They followed up with the rest of the album, including my favorites Hiroshima and Since Last Wednesday. The venue was totally sold out, and they could probably have sold two or three more houses. I must admit that usually I like bands that are more guitar and rock oriented, but highasakite is an excellent live band that I really like.

Their stage appearance is quite subdued Ingrid Helene Haavik is quite introvert in her performance, while Kristoffer Lo is more active on stage. Musically they are extremely competent. The sound was good, and one of the band’s trademarks is their light, designed and controlled by Ingrid Skanke Hosoien.

Last year the band played at the SXSW in Austin, and this year they are going back again. They are also scheduled to play several festivals in Norway this summer, among them the Molde International Jazz festival, the Oya festival and the Pstereo festival. If you want to hear som great songs performed by a band that knows their stuff, by a ticket to one of these festivals before they too are sold out.

Here is the setlist from the concert:

Lover, Where Do You Live?, Leaving No Traces, Hiroshima, The Man On The Ferry, My Only Crime, I, The Hand Grenade, Darth Vader, Indian Summer, God Is A Banquet, My Soldier, Iran, Since Last Wednesday, Science & Blood Tests Extra: Everything Sank In You.

All pictures are © Per Ole Hagen and must not be used without written permission.