The Dark Electronic Reveries of Bergeton featuring Teloch from Mayhem

The Dark Electronic Reveries of Bergeton featuring Teloch from Mayhem

Bergeton is the electronic music creation of Morten Bergeton Iversen, a musician based in Oslo, Norway.  Also known as Teloch from the legendary Black Metal band Mayhem, Iversen has also worked with the likes of Gorgoroth, God Seed, 1349, Nidingr, and more!  Miami Murder is the name of the debut manifesto for Bergeton, a dark and fascinating collection of auditory intrigue that will captivate these senses and set the imagination into hypersonic overdrive.  Highwire Daze recently caught up with Teloch to discuss the stark intricacies of Bergeton and the happenings of The True Mayhem in these pandemic days.  Read on…

How did the Bergeton project come about and how long have been interested and inspired by electronic music?
This album started with me trying to recreate some sounds that I accidentally fell over in a genre I hadn’t heard about at the time. I don’t remember if it was a lead synth sound or a snare sound. But before I knew it I had material for an album and plenty of left overs 🙂

Electronic music has always followed me in some ways, my first musical experience was actually A-Ha, before turning into more wicked music. That trip started with AC/DC then WASP and suddenly Metallica, and I became a thrash head. Since then I had a long period with Death Metal before I came home in Black Metal. But synth stuff has always been in the background for me. I played around with different synths and software for a long time. 2000-2005 I also made about 30 electronic songs, under the monicker TRKTR, but never did anything to them.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the CD title Miami Murder? What fascinates you the most about Miami?
I guess I was fascinated with Miami since I was a kid, my granddad took me on my first US trip. Also was a big fan of the Cocaine Cowboys documentary. And of course the Miami Vice TV series. So in a way the whole album is about cocaine. Aka Miami Murder to me is cocaine. The album cover is the murder of a lady of the night that gets killed after her shift in the hunt for cocaine. You can see cocaine residue from her nose on the cover. I also put the chemical formula of cocaine on the vinyl version.

What has it been like to record and release new music in the middle of a pandemic and so much social unrest in the world?
Actually I recorded the album back in 2018, but right after it was finished I had to start writing and promoting the next Mayhem album. Now I of course had the time to get it out and focus a bit more on it.

Did you have any Mayhem shows or tours cancelled because of the pandemic?
Mayhem cancelled about 90 shows so far, we were just finished with two days of pre-prod in Chicago at The Metro, on our way with the bus to the first show, when the Norwegian government told us to get back home. We just got out before it closed.

Who did the cover art for Miami Murder and how much input did you have on it?
I got my friend Christian Sloan Hall to do the cover art. I sent him a rough sketch and he came up with what now is the cover. I worked with him before, I knew I was in good hands 🙂 His mind is just as sick as me, had no doubts he could make a stellar cover.

If you were invited to cover a song on a Depeche Mode tribute album, what song would you do by them and why?
Maybe Precious, It has this cool melancholy feeling to it. That said I’m not very familiar with their discography, there might be some better songs. I guess I should check out more of their earlier stuff

Would you ever want to do any live shows with Bergeton?
Honestly I have no idea at the moment.  I’m talking with friends from time to time where we discuss how we could make it work live. I don’t want to show up alone with a laptop if you know what I mean. Also I would need more songs, but it could be interesting, that’s for sure.

What was it like working with Gaahl in Gorgoroth and God Seed?
It was fine. He is a good friend of mine.

How did you wind up joining Mayhem and what has it been like working with a band with such as infamous legacy?
They asked me to join and I said no the first time. I was busy with God Seed at the time. But luckily they asked me again when I quit that band. For me it was insane, Mayhem was the band that really got me to switch from Death Metal to Black Metal. I had listened to De Mysteriis to death, then some years later I’m on stage with them performing those songs live. Means a lot to me.

The live Mayhem shows are so creative and innovative. I saw the band a few years ago at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood. What were your overall impressions of Hollywood?
Not sure what it is, but I’ve always liked Hollywood. It’s dirty and posh at the same time. So many fucked up folks there, and also some great ones of course. I always enjoy coming back, either staying at shitty hotels or coming thru in our nightliner. Love it.

What is currently going on with Nidingr?
Not much going on I’m afraid, not inspired these days to write that kind of songs. Don’t want to force it either. No stress, we do not have any record deals at the moment. Nobody is pushing us.

Will there be any additional Bergeton material or even remixes of the current songs?
I got about 5-6 songs in the works, with some collabs. Prayers being one of them. I will most likely use the winter to cook up a new album. No remixes planned at this moment!

What’s up next for Bergeton and your other various bands?
Album launch today for Bergeton, so I will be doing some press. Otherwise I’m spending my time on building up my YouTube channel and nursing my members on my Discord server. Takes a minute to do those things. Other than that there isn’t much planned.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!
Thank you for the support and interview!

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Bergeton Official Home Page