Filed under: Exclusive, RPM, New Music, Q + A

Morten Gordestad

Though they eschew the word "mature," after performing in front of tens of thousands of fans, partying around the world and subsequently growing "sick of seeing each other's faces," Norwegian rockers 120 Days have taken the better part of six years off to quietly regroup, work on independent projects and start families before announcing their return.

As they finally prepare to release their decidedly more electronic-influenced sophomore LP, 'II,' Spinner RPM talked with the quartet about their imminent return, recording with space disco pioneer Lindstrøm and some of their past antics, which include attempting to drunk-drive a forklift onto the stage while the Black Eyed Peas performed at a Japanese music festival. (After that failed, they ended up getting busted trying to pick up Avril Lavigne's limo.)

120 Days also made a beautiful ambient mix for us, featuring the likes of Cluster, Steve Reich, Durutti Column and Brian Eno, which you can check out below.

Tell us a bit about what you've been up to for the past couple years. Why the hiatus?

A mix of reasons. After touring the first album, we were all pretty exhausted and sick of each other. Being a band on tour can be an intense experience and when we got into the studio and made a bunch of recordings to try to make another album it added to the tension. At some point, we decided to take a break. Or rather, more than a decision, it was something that just gradually happened. Most of the sessions were scrapped and left to collect dust. We all did other projects during the break -- Serena Maneesh, Bygdin and Masselys -- and then, gradually we started hooking up again.