Simon & Garfunkel Through the Years, Dublin

Port Noir biography

The history of Port Noir is both improbable and fantastic. As late as in November 2011 Andreas "AW" Wiberg (drums), Love Andersson (vocals, guitar) and Andreas Hollstrand (guitar, backing vocals) decided to meet up in a rehearsal room in their hometown Södertälje, outside of Stockholm,Sweden. They were all tired of playing music with people lacking the same level of ambition and wanted to create something new and fresh. Something beyond musical boundaries and invisible frames. -- We were seeking the freedom to do exactly what we wanted to, explains Andreas Hollstrand. A few hours later the trio started recording their very first song, the galvanic "Sun dé Man". The first chapter in the history of Port Noir was written. Before the song was even mixed the trio made a music video and posted it on the Internet. A week later Anders Fridén, singer of Sweden's biggest metal export In Flames and main man behind the label Razzia Notes, heard the song and instantly sent a mail to the band. He stated that "Sun dé Man" was the best song he had heard in a very long time and wondered if the band was contracted to a label. Six months later Port Noir did their first show ever -- as an opening act for In Flames in Stockholm. -- I did not even have the lyrics ready and improvised the entire show. But this was something we could not turn down, Love Andersson says with a smile on his lips revealing that the gig went really, really well. A few months later the band began recording their debut album "Puls" at Dugout Studios in Uppsala together with Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, Dimmu Borgir, Soilwork). -- Daniel's commitment meant a lot for the record. While the rest of us fell asleep in the studio he kept on going until 4am. We still have a close contact and have become really good friends, says Andreas Wiberg. The unexpected title, the Swedish word for "pulse", comes from the album's lyrical theme. It is about not being stuck in your safety zone but finding new ways of doing things. To follow the pulse that pushes us forward. The members come from very diverse backgrounds (black metal, jazz, alternative rock, death metal, hardcore, progressive rock....), yet "Puls" proves that the band knows exactly where it is at and where it is heading. They are moving forward and upward -- at a very fast pace. Now, with "Puls", the improbable and fantastic history has a soundtrack that is just as breathtaking. An amazingly strong debut. "Tide" is released 31/5 and the debut album "Puls" 25/9.

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