Norwegian duo Ost & Kjex have gone a long way: From their debut album ‘Some But Not All Cheese Comes From The Moon’ (2004) which consisted entirely of sounds originating from cheese and biscuits, to their much applauded spicy second long player ‘Cajun Lunch’ (2008, Released on DIYnamic Records) with countless EPs and collaborations between, they have grown to become to become one of the few acts that perfectly bridges the gap between underground electronic music and indie pop. Picking up support from Pitchfork, XLR8R, Thump and much more along the way. 

December 4th is the date to their next release which is out on DIYnamic Records. ‘Freedom Wig’ is the title and it can mean many different things: It could be a name for the room you escape into when you listen to music. It can be a metaphor for the sometimes false freedom we feel when we live our quite predictable structured lives. Or it can simply mean put your party hat on.

Lets start with talking about how you two met? How long have you two been creating music together?

We met through skateboarding as teenagers. The skaters from the different schools in our area used to get together and skate as there were not to many of us. One day Kjex approached me and ask if I wanted to join a band. As I couldn’t play anything I joined in on bass. I’d say this was sometime between 1987-1988. We released our first demo-tape in 1989, so we’ve played together for over 25 years.

Freedom Wig makes a release on 13th November with DIYnamic Records. How did this link up take place?

We got together with Diynamic thru Myspace in 2007/2008. Funny how it now seems ages ago. It resulted in the collaboration track “Federgewicht” with Solomun. 

How long has this project taken to finish?

Five years. It’s been a trip!

What does Freedom Wig mean, because the initial thought on this is its a strange name.

It’s an open title with hopefully some poetic qualities. I get associations to the freedom we feel when we play our music. You can also look at it from a negative angle and say it’s a metaphor for the blindness people show for the terrible things happening in the world. You block things out, you put on a freedom wig. As in party culture. But mainly I get a positive vibe from it.

What does your music production set up consist of?

We’ve each got our own studios and we use Logic and various synths. Some efx etc. 

Originating from Norway, how has entering the underground scene been like from there?

Even though the world seems a lot smaller than it used to, thanks to social media and cheap plane tickets, originating from Norway will leave you a bit on the outside. We are kind of in our own little bubble here up north. I’d say it’s both positive and negative. Positive as we are more free to pursue our own sound in peaceful surroundings and negative as it’s a bit harder to get in on the fun in central Europe. 

What does your DJ set up consist of and why?

2 CDJ’s and a mixer basically. I used to be a big vinyl freak, but it became too expensive to keep up. Also the time it took to get the vinyl to Oslo was a major factor when it came to switching from analogue to digital. 

Name a well established artist who has supported you from the early days?

We have gotten some wonderful support from Kerstin Egert aka Tama Sumo thru the years. I still vividly remember her dropping our track “Milano Model” in one of our first visits to Panorama Bar. That was such an inspiration. She also featured our track “Continental Lover” on her Panorama Bar Mix in 2009. Thanx Kerstin:) . And let’s also not forget all the support we have gotten from Solomun and the rest of the Diynamic crew thru the years. Without this, I don’t think we would exist today.

Explain to the readers why your style is different to a DJ from the progressive house scene?

He he, tough question. I thought we were the progressive house scene? No, just kidding. Maybe we don’t rely so much on sensations as the progressive house scene? With big take off’s and all. 

What is your style?

A horny, melancholic and joyous version of house music.