elc team
By Lefteris Anagnostopoulos
We spoke with Emil Storløkken Åse and attempted to give images to the sounds of a space western.
While listening to “Horseback Takeoff” my mind conjured up this image of a lone rider sullenly riding his rusty robotic horse through the plains of a great desert under a sea of stars. Around the second minute of the song, he makes up his mind of where he needs to go and he looks above him while realizing that his mission lies elsewhere. The horse takes off like a rocket and the rider enters a world of limitless possibilities and adventure.
I’d like to read descriptions of the images or stories your minds create while performing songs from Intergalloptic Roundtrip.
When performing Intergalloptic Roundtrip, we do indeed imagine a lone, spacefaring protagonist—a kind of cosmic cowperson—on a journey sparked by frustration with the human-made problems of Earth. Their escape into space is driven by a desire for a freer, more hopeful existence.
Through our instrumental music, we aim to convey both the physical turbulence of space travel (Intergalloptic) and the emotional weight of leaving everything behind. A track like Bag of Freedom captures that sudden rush of liberation when setting off into the unknown. But as the album progresses, the protagonist begins to realize that this mission may be more about escape than true exploration.
Titles like Fistful of Unsettled Matter and A Long Way from Home reflect their growing awareness of what they left behind. The turning point comes with PAL9000 – The Fool – Heading Home, where they decide to return. Finally, in Horseback Landing, the protagonist touches down—ready to face, rather than flee, the world they once tried to escape.
Let’s talk about influences. An important part of any art form is the dialogue between artists and that, in my opinion, usually starts when artists borrow elements from something they love to create something new. From music, cinema, literature or paintings, what are your influences and how do you incorporate them in your work?
The music of PHØNIX is really the sum of what inspires me most—starting with my bandmates, Jenny and August. Their musical sensibilities, and who they are as people, deeply shape both our sound and the way we compose together.
Storytelling is at the heart of my writing, especially the dramatic and epic qualities found in cinema. I’m particularly drawn to old westerns and retrofuturistic sci-fi, and I think those influences come through clearly in our music. We work a lot on how to bring those inspirations into both our recordings and our live shows—where we perform as a trio. It’s always a creative challenge: how do you make three musicians sound majestic and expansive?
As a guitarist, I’ve been hugely influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Hedvig Mollestad. They both have this powerful ability to move from fragile, melodic playing to explosive intensity, always with deep personal expression. Their work in trio formats is especially inspiring—they constantly shift between roles, creating layers and dynamics in real time. That’s also central to PHØNIX. Jenny, on baritone sax, and I often switch between leading the melody, holding down riffs, or building textures—it’s a constant interplay.
A turning point for me as a band leader was realizing I could fuse everything that creatively excites me—music, film, visual art—into one cohesive project. I think that blend of influences is what makes PHØNIX feel larger than the sum of its parts.
What was the thinking behind the names of the songs? “PAL 9000-The Fool-Heading Home” is clearly a reference to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Did you wanted to pay homage to things that you like or is there a deeper narrative reason? My favorite title is “A Fistfull of Unsettled Matter”. I imagine it’s a reference to Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars but beyond that it’s such an epic name.
Yes, you’re absolutely right on both counts. I really enjoy playing with song titles and referencing influences, but for me, it’s also important that those references carry deeper meaning.
With PAL9000 – The Fool – Heading Home, I imagined our protagonist floating alone in a spaceship—much like in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey—with only a machine to communicate with. PAL9000 is, of course, a play on HAL9000. HAL stands for “Heuristically Programmed Algorithmic Computer,” while I imagined PAL as “Problematically Programmed Algorithmic Computer”—a subtle nod to my own skepticism toward artificial intelligence.
In the story behind the album, PAL is the protagonist’s only “friend” aboard the ship, but eventually malfunctions. This breakdown leaves the protagonist completely alone in space, feeling like “the fool” for having put his trust in a machine. That’s the emotional and narrative turning point—the beginning of his desire to head back home.
A Fistful of Unsettled Matter is definitely a reference to Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, and the title carries a few layers. It marks a kind of emotional backlash moment in the story—when the protagonist starts to feel the weight of what was left unresolved: relationships, unfinished business, personal regrets. It’s something many of us carry—a figurative “fistful” of things we never quite settled. It also hints at the physical image of unstable elements drifting in space, adding a cosmic dimension to the title.
What was the process for the creation of Intergalloptic Roundtrip? Did you started with the concept of a space western or were you just experimenting and then the idea struck?
It was a bit of both. The process began with a few musical sketches that already felt like they belonged to that space-western landscape. We had the idea of taking the desert aesthetic from our first album and launching it into space—both sonically and conceptually.
The concept was shaped not only by the music as it developed, but also by reflections on the state of the world—especially how technology is often seen as the solution to major problems like the climate crisis. As the music took shape, the story began to emerge alongside it, creating a kind of symbiosis where the concept inspired new musical ideas, and the music, in turn, deepened the story.
Outside of music, what other activities are keeping you grounded and help rejuvenate your creativity?
Hehe, we all live in Norway, where the winters are long, cold and very dark—so naturally, we’ve each found our own ways to stay grounded, keep our minds sharp, and fight off winter blues.
Jenny is really into knitting and has taken a deep dive into learning about different types of wool from sheep native to Norway. August lives a pretty fast-paced life as one of the most in-demand drummers in Scandinavia, and he seems to draw creative energy from playing in a wide range of musical settings and genres. In his downtime, he enjoys running and also cooking and eating good food!
As for me, I’m a huge NBA fan. American basketball isn’t exactly big in Norway, but it’s perfect timing for me—the NBA season runs through the winter, so it gives me a refreshing break from music during the darker months. In the short Norwegian summer, I try to play basketball outdoors whenever I can. I’ve also gotten into bouldering with friends, which is a fun and physical way to clear my head.
Name your favourite space western. Mine is Cowboy Bebop but Firefly and The Mandalorian are also close to the top of the list.
Wow, I love this question! I definitely need to check out Cowboy Bebop! For me, seeing Firefly for the first time—without realizing there weren’t more seasons—was both thrilling and a bit heartbreaking. I thought it was such an exciting show. Serenity was nice for me, but I really wish Firefly would have lasted longer. The Mandalorian is also fantastic! I’d argue that while the rest of Star Wars is more of a space opera, it blends in a lot of classic western elements.
All in all, Star Wars is my all-time favorite movie universe. Even though the quality of the films and spin-offs varies, I just love getting lost in that world. It always works for me, because it feels like an endless exploration of this massive, imagined galaxy. Great job, George Lucas!
