In October we were visited by a Norwegian band, who's name may sound quite exotic and hard to remember – Hopalong Knut. Their first Polish tour consisted of 7 gigs including one in the Kloster Pub in Tychy. Thanks to coincidence, I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time on the 9th of October and have had the chance to experience the sound of ska straight from Norway first-hand. Ladies and gentlemen, here they are: Hopalong Knut, slightly incomplete, but the line-up is still impressive:

The gig was supposed to start at 8 pm, however it is almost customary for Kloster to run behind schedule. Even the audience was late, since at 8 it didn't seem as if there was anything going on tonight. Eventually, a few minutes after 9 a large group of artists has marched through the room. I was honestly afraid whether the 7 musicians will ever fit on this tiny stage and not end up in stitches. Luckily, the band set up on the stage very swiftly and started to play at once.

Despite the language barrier and the fact that Hopalong Knut is not a recognisable band in Poland, the nice Norwegians have quickly connected with the audience, who started dancing after the first few sounds. Hopalong Knut were playing quickly, cheerfully and it was clear that playing was a real pleasure for them. What's more, their fun was contagious and quickly spread on to the audience. The sound of Hopalong Knut was interspersed by a rarely seen brass trio. Kristin, who surprised me by her beautiful voice, sounded even better live than on record. Due to my weakness for pretty and musical women, I completely fell in love with her!

I get the impression that Hopalong Knut won the hearts of the crowd immediately. Every song finished with applause. One thing that seemed to be missing was even basic knowledge of Norwegian. Even though I've learnt one word – skål (cheers) – this was not nearly enough to understand the meaning of what the beautiful Kristin was singing to me. And maybe this is why the band, for people like me, prepared a nice surprise. At the end of the gig Hopalong Knut played a Polish-Norwegian song by De Press – Bo jo cię kochom. I must admit, that Norwegian singing in Polish, better, Highlander Polish, is absolutely amazing!

This year, apart from Frank Morey gig, that one was the most interesting event that I've attended in Tychy. By the way, Kloster deserves praise as well for bringing such an interesting band. Live, though incomplete, Hopalong Knut presents even better than on records, which I began to truly enjoy thanks to the gig. I have no idea if the band is ever going to visit Poland once again, but if they are, I absolutely won't be missing there. I'm inviting you too: come round and taste the Norwegian ska!

I always pay great attention to lyrics. Hopalong Knut sing in Norwegian, which was a difficult and irritating situation for me. I wanted to know what at least one song means. I was helped by a friend – takijeden – from a Norwegian discussion board who agreed to translate to Polish an extract from lyrics which I really appreciate. (The English translation is from the original Norwegian text – translator's note). The translation may not be perfect, but if you want to find out what the song is about, I think it will satisfy your curiosity a bit.

Feilkalibrert Tidsmaskin Her e det ingen som snakke språket mitt Forstår ingenting, faktisk itj en dritt Æ bane mæ fram mellom gnål og skrål De innfødte her virke ganske snål Aill virke rimelig engasjert Det e visst viktig å ikke bli neglisjert Her prates det stort sett tøv og tant Og det virke som aill finn det interessant Feil sted, feil plass, feil rom, feil tid Æ har ein feilkalibrert tidsmaskin Her boble det over av adrenalin En skapning berette om mobilen sin Det e visst ingen som drømme om revolusjon Hær e det full tillit te evolusjon Feil sted, feil plass, feil rom, feil tid Æ har ein feilkalibrert tidsmaskinRolf Johan Bye

Miscalibrated time machine No one's here to speak my language I can't understand their shit I find my way through loud talking and shouting The natives here seem pretty weird Everyone here seems reasonably engaged It's important not to be neglected They talk mostly nonsense and cash And it seems as if everyone finds it interesting Wrong location, wrong place, wrong room, wrong time I have a miscalibrated time machine Here it bubbles over with adrenaline A creature talks about his mobile phone It's certain no one dreams of revolution They have full confidence in evolution Wrong location, wrong place, wrong room, wrong time I have a miscalibrated time machinetłum. Magdalena Nowak