The Topangas
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The Topangas

Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway | INDIE

Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway | INDIE
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"Hawaii, Utsira"

Hawaii, Utsira



INTERNASJONAL GJENG: The Aloha Mountain Groove Band har spilt inn musikk i fyrtårnet på Utsira den siste uka.

Renn Loa Loren fra Hawaii, to "Månemenn" og en superprodusent direkte fra miksebordet til DumDum Boys. Og Nick Abbott flydd inn fra London og ut i havgapet. Hallo?

Tekst: Roar E. Jacobsen



UTSIRA: – Behovet for ikke å bli distrahert, roen og stemningen gjør Utsira til en spesiell plass. Et perfekt sted å spille inn musikk, skryter Renn Loa Loren på engelsk.
Loa Loren fra Hawaii har kone fra Haugesund, har besøkt i byen i flere år. Men han er ofte hjemme under solen, og har som selvstendig musiker opparbeidet seg et visst kontaktnett. Vennetjenester er gode å ha.
Renn Loa Loren startet i fjor Americana alt-country bandet The Aloha Montain Groove Band sammen med haugesunderne Steinar Liadal og Kim Rune Lund (begge eks-Månen), og bassist Tommy Lindmann. Siden sist onsdag har gruppa oppholdt seg i et provisorisk innspillingsstudio i det nå nedlagte fyrtårnet på Utsira. Bak spakene sitter to produsenter av kjent kaliber.

Paradis
– Jeg har tidligere laget plate sammen med Renn Loa Loren på Hawaii, og kunne ikke si nei når tilbudet kom. Utsira er helt fantastisk – an absolutely amazing place – og jeg tror musikken vi har festet på bånd har blitt bedre av å bli spilt inn nettopp her ute. Stillheten, lite folk og i sterk kontrast til hjemme i London, forteller Nick Abbott, som på CV-en kan skryte av å ha jobbet for Crowded House, The Datsuns, Magic Numbers og soloplaten til Madrugadas Sivert Høyem.
Kollega Yngve Sætre i tandemprodusentstolen er ikke snauere. Bergenseren med bakgrunn fra Barbie Bones har styrt lyd for alt som kan krype og gå av norske pop- og rockartister. Sætre ankom Utsiras paradis direkte fra studio i Halden hvor han jobber med comebackalbumet til DumDum Boys.



DumDum
– Helt sinnssykt flott her ute. Jeg er kompis av Renn Loa Loren fra tiden i Bergen, og synes dette høres spennende ut, sier Sætre, som ikke har problemer med å gå fra et av Norges mest kjente band, til kanskje det mest ukjente orkesteret.
– Det betyr ingenting. Begge lager fin musikk, hevder Sætre diplomatisk.
Femten låter har nyskapningen på Haugalandets pophimmel hamret inn i fyrtårnet. The Aloha Mountain Groove Band vil presenterer seg for lokalpatriotene på Flytten fredag 13. mai (uff, da), og albumet skal ut i butikkene i løpet av året. Renn, fra Hawaii er klar på hvordan han vil ha det.
– Et par plateselskaper har vært i kontakt, men vi vil gjerne holde bandet på et uavhengig nivå. Vi ønsker et selskap av musikkelskere, og Tuba er sterkt inne bildet, sier Renn, som har en snutt med i fjorårets suksessfilm «Hawaii, Oslo». Ingen tilfeldighet, skulle vi tro.
roar.e.jacobsen@haugesunds-avis.no
INTERNASJONAL GJENG: The Aloha Mountain Groove Band har spilt inn musikk i fyrtårnet på Utsira den siste uka. Haugesundsbandet har fått fin hjelp. Tommy Lindmann (t.v), Kim Rune Lund, Steinar Liadal, Rebekka Aaskog (11 – Yngve Sætres datter), Sætre og Renn Loa. Foran sitter Nick Abbott - opprinnelig fra New Zealand, men bosatt i London. FOTO: ROAR E. JACOBSEN
- Haugesunds Avis


"Hawaii, Utsira English"

Renn Loa from Hawaii, two "Moonmen" and a superproducer directly from the mixing board of a DumDum Boys (one of Norway's all-time biggest selling and legendary rock bands) recording session. And Nick Abbott flown in from London and out to the open sea. Huh?!
Written by: Roar E. Jacobsen


UTSIRA: – The need for peace, quiet and the absence of distractions makes Utsira a special place.” A perfect place to record music”, enthuses Renn Loa Loren in English.
Loa Loren, from Hawaii has a wife from Haugesund and has visited town for many years. But he is often back home under the sun, and has as an independent musician managed to develop a solid group of some pretty well-known and established contacts. In the music biz; friends in high places aren’t bad to have.
A few months back Renn Loa Loren started the Americana alt-country band; The Aloha Mountain Groove Band together with local Haugesunders Steinar Liadal, Kim Rune Lund, and Tommy Lindman. Since last Wednesday the group has sequestered itself in an improvised recording studio in the now closed down lighthouse compound on Utsira island. Utsira has the environmentally-minded distinction of being the world’s first exclusively wind-powered community. Behind the project sit two very high caliber producers.
Paradise “Utsira is totally fantastic – an absolutely amazing place – and I believe that the music we have captured in these recordings have benefited significantly from the atmosphere out here. The peace and quiet, the absence of crowds and distractions are such a strong contrast to London”, explains Nick Abbott, whose CV (resume) contains Crowded House, Neil and Tim Finn - the Finn Brothers, The Datsuns, Magic Numbers, as well as the solo debut from Madrugadas Sivert Hoyem.
In the co-production seat Colleague Yngve Saethre is no slouch either. The Bergenser with the Barbie Bones background has produced everybody who is anybody among Norwegian pop-and rock artists. Some have even gone on to quite major international successes. Saethre arrived at the paradise of Utsira directly from a studio in Halden where he’d been working on the ever-popular DumDum Boys comeback album.
DumDum
–“It’s Incredibly mind-blowingly great out here. I am a friend of Renn Loa Loren from past times recording in Bergen, and thought that this project sounded exciting. I’ve recorded an album earlier with Renn Loa Loren in Hawaii, and couldn’t turn down this project when it was offered!”, says Saethre, who has no problem with going from one of Norway’s most known bands, to perhaps one of its least-known combos.
–“ It means nothing that The Aloha Mountain Groove Band are as yet unknown. Both bands make great music”, asserts Saethre diplomatically. Fourteen songs – recently born creatures that they are now adorn Haugalands pop heavens having been hammered out in the firetower (lighthouse). . The Aloha Mountain Groove Band will make a public appearance in a special concert at Flytten friday, 13 May (yikes!), where they will be filming a live DVD of the event. The album should hit the shops this summer. Renn, from Hawaii is quite clear about what he wants:
“Though we’ve been contacted by a couple of labels, we’d like to maintain the band at an independent level. We would like a contract with a music-loving, music-driven company and Tuba Records is at the forefront in that scenario right now”, says Renn, who had his music in the soundtrack of last years runaway success «Hawaii, Oslo» film. A coincidence? We think not!
roar.e.jacobsen@haugesunds-avis.no


- Haugesunds Avis


"Deserves To Be Heard!"

HAWAII is the vehicle of Renn Loa, a former isle resident, who recorded this here but is apparently based in Norway with Hawaii/Wave Norway producers Yngve Leidulv Setre and Hans Petter Gundersen. Add a team of Hawaii players including Noel Okimoto, Lyle Ritz, Steve Jones, Kit Ebersbach, and Cyril Pahinui, and the eclectic results will appeal to the adventuresome.
Loa opens with an inspired update of "Hawaii '78" then moves into originals. Some draw on the "exotica" of Martin Denny. Others are reminiscent of the tropical-rock sound of Jimmy Buffet or offer a cross-cultural mix of pop or rock melodies accented by "third world" percussion instruments. Little of this is "Hawaiian" in the strictest sense of the word, but neither is Jawaiian. Loa deserves to be heard here.

John Berger - Honolulu Star Bulletin


"ULTRAMAGNIFICENTRISPLEDERIFFIC!!!!"

Reviewer: Nick Endacott (Noosa, Australia) - See all my reviews
This Cd is simply a holiday waiting to happen-just add ears!
Wherever the 50th State Of Mind may be... "Beam me there Scotty."
I don't know how these guys managed it but they've found a perfect tonic for the stresses, pollutants, naggings and harshness of today's "civilised" society.
Like a sonic time machine, The Hawaii Project transports the listener to a timeless, enchanting, doubtlessly tropical world which one desperately HOPES exists SOMEWHERE!
Buy this Cd and be transported to a tropical world of dreamy, balmy-breezed-bliss! - Noosa Independent


"Polynesiacs Rejoice!!!"

Reviewer: Neil Perry (San francisco, USA) - See all my reviews
This cd is nothing short of a masterpiece!
We bought this while on vacation in Hawaii and haven't stopped playing it.
This is the "Sgt. Pepper" of the Pacific.
The music on this cd is quite unlike any other you are likely to have heard- an unfathomable blend of tropicalia, folk, jazz, exotica and rock which combines Polynesian percussion, grooves and tones in a timeless, contemporary way.
If you're looking for something truly different, positive, energetic, non-aggro yet mysterious and intriguing, this is IT!!!
Buy this cd and be swept away to a tropical paradise which probably only exists in the 50th State Of Mind! - BAM


"Magical Flowers"

Reviewer: Alisdair Sterling "houseofhiss" (london,england) - See all my reviews
I'm in the amen corner now. Martin Denny, Brian Wilson, Roy Orbison and all the Brill Building greats you care to mention cruise onto your hi-fi on a CD surfboard! Slack key geetar, steel, uke, electronics, atoll piano and heart-rending vocals combine to transport you to a 50th state of mind you'd forgotten you had. The missing link in the musical puzzle. Congratulations, guys.
- Uncut Magazine


"INTOXICATINGLY FRESH"

October 24, 2000
Reviewer: Steve Jones "shouldbnumbr1"
Imagine The Doors, The Beatles, Roy Orbison casually sipping their collective mai tai?s ?round midnight at water?s edge in Waikiki in one big laid~back jam session with Exotica progenitor Martin Denny, and you?ll just begin to scratch the surface of the music on this truly innovative, groundbreaking record. Renn Loa & HAWAII effortlessly combine Exotica/Loungecore/Pop/Jazz/Folk and Rock in an intriquing, intoxicating tropical cocktail for the ears. This cd takes Hawaiian/Polynesian music simultaneously back to it?s roots and forward into the future, an absolutely phenomenal achievement!?

- SLO Times


"UNIQUELY Groovy!"


Tropiske countryrytmar 2. juledag
The Aloha Mountain Groove Band entrar scena på Vertshuset 2.juledag og lovar heftige rytmar med ei god blanding av pop, rock, country og reggae.

Av Bente Raaen Publisert 21.12.2007 - 10:00 Tips ein ven om denne saka Skriv ut denne sida Bandet består av Renn Loren, Vidar Støyva, Kenneth Økland og Tommy Lindman. Fyrstnemnde er frå Hawaii, medan dei tre andre er frå Haugesund. Gjengen har spelt saman i rundt tre år og trakterer akustisk gitar, elgitar, bass og trommer.

- Me gler oss til å koma til Odda og satsar på å laga mykje liv og moro, fortel Lindman.

Musikken er ei blanding av eigne låtar og cover og er ispedd mange forskjellige sjangrar. Lindman lovar eit heftig show.
- Hardanger Folkeblad


"Kunne like gjerne vært spilt inn i 1968 med The Byrds"

Artist The Topangas
Tittel Songs From Life's Highways
Plateselskap Wandering Islander/ Bare Bra
Anmelder Johnny Andreassen



BluesNews' anmeldelse

Om du har et forhold til Doug Sahm i fri texmex/country/r&b-flyt eller soulfylte og country-swingende The Mavericks så kan det godt hende at dette norske rootsbandet vil treffe deg midt i handlekurven.

Renn Loa, en amerikansk låtskriver og primus motor for The Topangas, har allerede gitt bidrag på plateinnspillinger med Magnet, Barbie Bones, Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band, Sondre Lerche og Morten Abel. Med andre ord hele Bergensmafian. Han har også jobbet med produsentkongene i Bergen, Yngve Sæthre og hans Petter Gundersen.

Ikke rart at det er payback time når han samler musikere som Øystein Fosshagen på fele (Sunde, Kurt), Tor Bjarne Bjelland på trommer (Lorraine), Egil Skjelsnes på pedal steel (Flying Norwegians), Arve Håland på trekkspill (Hole In The Wall) og nevnte Hans Petter Gundersen (Madrugada, Sondre Lerche) under en helt annen paraply enn man pleier å ha i Bergen.

Denne kunne like gjerne vært spilt inn i 1968 med The Byrds, Asleep At The Wheel og en Doug Sahm i startgropen ringside. Dette er harmonirik countrybasert roots/rock av det slaget man gjerne prøver stemmen sin til selv. Prøv å sette på ”California” og motstå fristelsen til å synge med. Du klarer det om du bestemmer deg for det og er klin edru, men straks etter et par øl faller forsvaret.

At en slik plate lar seg spille inn på det regnfulle Vestlandet forteller alt om hvilke kvaliteter både Renn Loa og disse utvalgte musikerne behersker. Vi husker alle hvor levende både Hole In The Wall og The Flying Norwegians skapte americana i rockeformatet på midten av 70-tallet. Dette er mye av det samme, men det låter mer amerikansk, og det svinger mer som den festen på låven som Los Lobos og The Blasters kunne tenkt seg å arrangere sammen med Doug Sahm i Texas.

Renns sanger har tidligere blitt brukt både i norsk film (Hawaii, Oslo) og internasjonale stjernefilmer som Brad Pitt og Angelina Jolies film Mr and Mrs Smith. Så du skal ikke se så forbauset ut når du hører dette albumet og utbryter et ”forbasket så bra dette låter”! Innspilt i Duper Studio i Bergen der både Dumdum Boys og årets sensasjon John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen har vært før dem, er The Topangas selve essensen i de glade og fengende sidene ved nevnte The Mavericks og Doug Sahm.

Ja, legg gjerne til Bill Kirchens countrytwang med det samme. For dette er musikk som får deg til å smile, får deg til å leve, og liksom med Mavericks er ikke størrelsen på country-stamtavla di avgjørende for å komme inn.

Jeg var nettopp i Oslo Spektrum og så Toby Keith, uten å betale. Jeg hadde betalt for å se The Topangas!
- Blues News


"Kløktige cowboystreker-God grunn til å sale opp!"

The Topangas skiller seg ut fra hopen gjennom de små detaljene. Bandet har funnet seg vel til rette midt mellom kommersiell country og upolert, alternativ countryrock. Samtidig er det også snev av dansebandtakter både her og der, og enkelte låter ligger tett opptil både poprock og 70-talls softrock. Ikke nok med det; tidvis henter primus motor Renn Loren inspirasjon til det komplekse lydbildet både fra fødestaten Hawaii og fra skitten bluegrass, og serverer det hele i et herlig tørt og varmt lydbilde.

«Songs From ...» er et særdeles variert album. For selv om den røde tråden aldri slippes av syne, makter Loren og kompani å gi hver enkelt låt sjel og særpreg. Bandet våger å rendyrke særegenhetene i hver enkelt melodilinje, noe som gir god dynamikk og lang levetid. Dette er på ingen måte en plate som utfordrer konvensjoner eller tøyer grenser, men The Topangas forvalter arven etter sine inspirasjonskilder med ærefrykt og sjel. En kløktig og bunnsolid plate.

PETTER LØNNINGEN
- Bergens Tidene


Discography

Our songs; Can't Stop Time, Guess I've Gone & Done It Again, All Inside & All I Want, Need... Got are all currently receiving heavy airplay at many internet radio stations and FM stations around the world as well as in Norway. Most recently "Can't Stop Time" has been added to Canadian National Broadcast station Radio 3 and Guess I've Gone... and California (Memory Suite) by Nashville FM stations.

The Topangas "Songs From Life's Highways" WanderingIslanderMusic 2010

Renn Loa - “Renn Loa”
Released in 2008
(Provocateur Media)

Magnet - "Lay Lady Lay" appearing on the Mr & Mrs Smith (starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) soundtrack.

Ralph Myerz & the Jack Herren Band "Loveland"

Morten Abel - Being Everything Knowing Nothing

The Hawaii Project - "50th State Of Mind"

Songs from this album appear on the "Hawaii, Oslo" film soundtrack.

The RoadRunneRs - "Arriba" (Independent release)

Raindance - "Raindance" (Independent release for the artists fund)

aka Ronny Loren - "Wanderin' West" (Strange Forces/Malpaso Productions) Clint Eastwood's production company. Snuff Garrett producer

IC Eyes - "Faith In Colours" (SONY)

100 Days – Nowhere To Hide/Hey Dinosaur
(Independent single)

The Look - Ya Gotta Love Me/That Was Yesterday

Photos

Bio

The MAIN thing that sets The Topangas apart from the pack is their emphasis on a highly danceable mix of latinesque grooves and rhythms that are spicily combined with classic rock and alt-country elements into something that could be called: Tex-Mex Country-Rock... or perhaps California Cosmic Country? The Topangas sound defies an easy label.
 
The classic sounding songs of Topangas’ singer-songwriter Renn Loren have their origins in the countless clubs, honky tonks, roadhouses, bars, and saloons of California, Arizona he's played through the years. From the deserts of the great American Southwest to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

*In the U.S. Renn has worked with such musical luminaries as Bill Halverson (Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Jimi Hendrix, America, Cream/Eric Clapton, Kraftwerk, Texas Tornados...) Thomas “Snuff” Garrett (Merle Haggard, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, JJ Cale...) Johnny Cash band member Al Casey and Lyle Ritz of the infamous “Hollywood Wrecking Crew” (Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Glen Campbell....)

*A demo produced by Snuff Garrett which made the rounds of Nashville and Los Angeles reached The Eagles management, Joe Walsh and Glenn Fry resulting in an offer of a position on the Hell Freezes Over Tour at the time when it looked as if Don Henley wasn't going to be able to make the tour schedule. Renn's ability to play drums whilst singing leads or harmonizing in any key made him a logical candidate.

*Additionally Renn has worked with or appeared on recordings by Norwegian artists such as: A-HA, Magnet (feat. Gemma Hayes), Morten Abel, Ralph Meyerz & the Jack Herren Band, Sondre Lerche and Barbie Bones. EITHER as a solo act armed only with acoustic guitar or with one of his bands Renn has opened concerts for - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rickie Lee Jones, Sheryl Crow, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, the Robert Cray Band A-HA, Jimmy Cliff, The Gin Blossoms, The Go-Gos, The Samples, Peter Case, The Plimsouls and Unni Wilhelmsen.

*Renn had a starring role in the Christopher Lambert - Niels Gaup film Tashunga.

*Renn Loren’s songs have been featured in films such as Mr. and Mrs Smith, Hawaii, Oslo and television documentaries alike - a few have even climbed the charts!

Currently songs from The Topangas album are receiving significant airplay on Norway’s NRK P1 as well as regional radio stations around the country. At least 3 songs from The Topangas latest “Songs from Life’s Highways” album are receiving international airplay including stations in Nashville, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

The Topangas Duo features Renn Loren and Bassist-vocalist Tommy Lindman and tends to focus more on the classic rock and folk-rock side of what they do while maintaining their sing-along, dance-along and drink-along approach!

Bass-vocalist Tommy Lindman has worked with Vidar Johnsen and renown jazz pianist Svein Olav Herstad.

“Great songwriting, vocals and band...completely classic and fresh as tomorrow.” - Producer Richard Bennett - The Mavericks, Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam, Bellamy Brothers, Emmy Lou Harris, Mark Knopfler....

“A rollicking blast of sun-drenched tequila soaked Americana!” - Bill Halverson – Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Doug Sahm, Texas Tornados, America, Kraftwerk.....

Such glowing accolades from such highly successful and respected industry legends are indicative of the quality that is the hallmark of the highly critically-acclaimed band The Topangas.

Amazingly versatile and agile guitarist Mike Gallaher has toured with Joe Cocker, King Crimson, Leon Russell, Delbert McClinton, Kirk Whalum, Michael Omartian.
Mike was voted a ' Texas Tornado' by the Dallas Observer as the years best jazz player, joining the ranks as such former Tornado winners as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Johnson and Johnny Winter.

Drummer Tor Bjarne Bjelland has worked with many internationally successful recording artists as well as Robert Post, Aftenlandet, Lorraine and Black Room at home in Norway.

Åge Vaksdal is a highly versatile and talented accordionist who has worked with many national theater productions, recording artists; The RoadRunneRs and Aftenlandet among them.

The Topangas began as The RoadRunneRs and faithfully carry on The RoadRunneRs philosophy of emphasizing the grooves and playing dance and party-friendly roots-oriented songs for people to “sing along, dance along or drink along” to.

"Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to see and appreciate what the locals have long taken for granted. The Topangas are from Norway, but you'd swear they had a cabin off Old Topanga Road. They take you straight down that still lonely desert highway to Sedona, and the steel, twanging guitar, and sweet harmonies bring us all back to the hills of 1970, when the getting was good and hope blossomed in the vines. Sneaky Pete would be proud."
Paul Lacques - I See Hawks In L.A.