Next Life

Next Life is a Norwegian progressive, electronic- and rock-based band led by guitarist and composer Hai Nguyen Dinh, together with Tormod Christensen on bass and Anders Hangård on drums. Biography Formed by Dinh in 1999 in Tønsberg, Norway, their first show was at The Royal Oak (now called Total) in which the band only used an electric guitar, synth and Amiga computer for drums, bass, and melody lines. The sounds derived, and what is partially still called a "chip-instrument", or precisely, the audio-chip of Amiga 1200 and Commodore 64. As Dinh described in many interviews, from early on as a child did he cultivate his love of computer sounds and Commodore 64. Though broadly classified as electronic, Next Life has self-professed roots in hardcore punk, metal and game music. They mostly cite music from games as their musical influences, along with bands such as Zeni Geva, Dazzling Killmen, Colossamite and Jean Michel Jarre, but combine their very aggressive, visceral sound with typical RPG/science-fiction themes such as digital technology, astrology, and mythology. Through the years the band has involved new contributors. The band has also been noted for use of live visuals in their shows—spastic video projections and an intensive, programmed lightshow. In 2010, the band toured the UK in support of Canadian composer Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy). In the same year, Next Life provided the opening act for Mayhem in Berlin, Germany.