We are proud to present the Recent Interview with Janne Loseth by Capital FM Bern moderated by Sarah Perincioli 

April 29th 2009

Chris Welch

Rock Journalist

His comprehensive knowledge of the rock and pop world is based on a career that began in the Swinging Sixties.

ALL ABOARD THE TITANIC! 

Norway stunned the rock world when it launched Titanic, of the hottest bands of the early Seventies. They were hugely successfully with their big hit ‘Sultana’ and now they’re back in 2009 with a brand new Repertoire album ‘Ashes & Diamonds’.

Fans will be delighted the group have set sail again, having steamed through the decades with all guns blazing. They’ve certainly won a few battles in their time.

After all, it was a time of heavy competition when Titanic first set course in 1971.

Most of the heavyweight groups of that era hailed from America and the UK, such as Led Zeppelin, Santana, Sly & The Family Stone, Yes and Deep Purple. Despite this overwhelming dominance, such was the desperate hunger for ‘live’ music to satisfy demand that many other countries began to nurture their own local artists. As musicianship improved, it wasn’t long before there were excellent young rock groups playing throughout Europe.

LUCKY BREAKS

One of the best was Titanic from the Norwegian capital Oslo. They enjoyed an encouraging response when they first appeared over the horizon in 1971. Yet they’d had to fight hard to establish a reputation. This wasn’t necessarily due to their coming from a small country. Admittedly, Norway had failed to make much of an impression on the pop scene. But rock’n’roll fans weren’t too bothered about national boundaries. If you were good, you were accepted, and it didn’t matter where you came from.

The problem was the age-old one of getting the right amount of exposure and promotion. Titanic had to gain recognition beyond their own borders if they were to become an economic success. They needed to convince the rest of the world that they could compete, both in terms of their music and their image. Fortunately, they had some lucky breaks to help them on their way.

SULTANA

The five-piece was originally formed in 1969, and included Kjell Asperud (percussion, vocals). Jan Loseth (guitar, vocals), John Lorck (drums) and Kenny Aas (organ and bass guitar). They rehearsed hard, wrote some good tunes, and the group became one of the first Norwegian bands to enjoy hit records in both England and Germany. They also recruited English lead singer, Roy Robinson, who gave their music international appeal. Roy wrote most of the lyrics which he sang in English, on a succession of fine albums and singles.

Critics and fans alike were impressed by such songs as ‘Underbird’, ‘Confusion’ and the dynamic group composition, ‘Sultana’. ‘Titanic’ were thrilled when ‘Sultana’ played in the style of Santana, was a hit in England. It shot to Number 5 in the UK singles chart in September 1971. It was also a hit back home in Norway, where their album, ‘Sea Wolf’ got to Number 7 in the national charts.

‘Titanic’ now embarked on a busy schedule of gigs. Their big breakthrough came when they played at the Cannes Film Festival in France. They were invited to play before the gala screening of the 1969 ”Woodstock“ movie. The group also played at the Aix-en-Provence festival. Such was the wildly enthusiastic response at both these gigs that the band decided to settle down in the South of France. At the same time, Titanic’s reputation spread to Germany, where they enjoyed a hit with ‘Santa Fe’ which got to Number 36 in the charts. The good news about Titanic also spread across the oceans.

The band was signed to Columbia, one of America’s most prestigious record companies. It was at the time when the label was at the forefront of contemporary musical development, and they had an amazing roster of artists. Titanic were duly included on one of Columbia’s big-selling ‘sampler’ albums, which celebrated both the label’s success and the power of rock music.

SEA WOLF

This was a 3-LP set called ‘The Music People’, featuring 40 Santana, Barry Mann, Bob Dylan, Johnny Winter, The Byrds and Blood, Sweat & Tears. There were also several tracks by lesser-know bands to give the new signings a boost. Titanic’s contribution, ‘Underbird’, from their ‘Sea Wolf’ album was given pride of place. It brought the sound of the band to a much wider audience. The track highlighted all of the group’s best features and showed they were strong on percussion and had a powerful guitar and organ frontline.

Having made a great impression with the ‘Sea Wolf’ material, the band went on to record at least two more albums for CBS, including 1975’s ‘Ballad Of A Rock’n’Roll Loser’. This had more fine songs co-written by Roy Robinson.

Even though the group did not score any more hit singles, they continued working steadily throughout the Seventies. In their later years, they toured extensively throughout Africa, where their funky polyrhythmic sound and punchy stage act was much appreciated.

As well as enjoying hits and winning over both fans and critics alike, the band’s great achievement was showing how rock could break down national barriers and become true world music.

REFORMING

In 1984 Titanic performed two farewell concerts in Chile for the festival ‘Vina del Mar’, near Santiago. In front of 80.000 people, and with an estimated television audience of four million, it was a great climax to the end of an era. Roy Robinson and Jan Loseth being the creative force behind the band, felt they had a lot more to do. Roy recorded in America, producing a version of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and Jan went on a Russian tour, playing with the band Space. They both moved down to the South of France where they jammed together. Jan met English bass player Mick Walker and English-Australian sax player Phil Wilton and they formed a rock blues band that toured Europe. They met Swiss drummer Didier Blum in Geneva and decided to modify their line up and called Roy with the idea of re-forming Titanic.

And so in 2005, Janne Loseth reformed Titanic with Mick Walker, Phil Wilton, and Didier Blum. He later opted to take Roy Robinson back on board and the quintet released a new single that same year, called ‘I Am The Law’, a version of which can be seen on YouTube and DVD.

Their new album ‘Ashes & Diamonds’ (REP 5147) released on February 6th is packed with a dozen exciting performances including the rousing ‘I Am The Law’ and rockers like ‘Rivers Run Dry’, ‘Tear Me Up’ and a new version of Titanic’s hit ‘Sultana’. It shows how the group from Norway have truly become international stars.

January 28th  2009

We are glad to present the recent Interview conducted by Graeme Scott with Roy Robinson for Leith FM Scotland