When Norwegian songwriter Henning Andersen heard the progression of sound throughout SUSTO’s albums, he was impressed, and wanted to know who was responsible for the recordings. That’s how he stumbled across Charleston-based producer Wolfgang Zimmerman, and his Montford Ave recording studio, The Space, birthplace of albums from Band of Horses, Futurebirds, his own band, Brave Baby, and of course, SUSTO and many more.
Soon, Henning and multi-instrumentalist Marius Lien had booked a flight to Charleston to record the upcoming folk rock album, Montford Ave, due out on October 17th with album release shows in Oslo and Halden over the weekend.
Wolfgang will fly over to join them on drums, and perform some solo chillwave electronic material to open the shows.
Henning picked up songwriting during the pandemic, after spending years building up an event organizing business in Norway that collapsed when COVID shutdowns began. He had always played guitar, but during this time, he learned to piece together songs, and began his artistic development.
“The reason why I really wanted to go is the things that he [Wolfgang] said,” Henning explains. “He said, some clients come to him looking for that signature Band of Horses sound, but he tends to push back noting that everyone has a hidden sound, and finding it is a quest. When we’re done, I want people to say, wow, I never thought we could do that.“
This led Henning to Charleston on the quest to find his hidden sound on Montford Ave. He brought the talented Marius Lien, whom he met through organizing local festivals in Norway, and together they created the album during a week of creative synergy and connection with the South Carolina lifestyle.
Marius is a young blues musician who has established a name for himself as being among the best of Norweigian blues players, and he lent his talents to this album both as a songwriter and instrumentalist.
Listen to the single, “I’m Not in Control” below, and keep reading to learn the full story behind the upcoming album.
Henning Andersen – “I’m Not in Control” (2025)
Arriving in Charleston before a Hurricane
When the time came for their weeklong recording session, Charleston showed its true personality with the arrival of Hurricane Helene. For Wolfgang, a longtime Charleston resident, this was par for the course during the fall, when hurricanes are a near-annual occurrence.
“The night they flew into town, the phones were going off about tornadoes and stuff within the vicinity where they were staying,” Wolfgang recalls. “It initially felt bad, but everything cleared up within about a day and we got to recording and it was just super fun.”
When they would get done recording for the day, it was time to explore Charleston.
“I felt like I had to be the ambassador of Charleston,” Wolfgang says. He took them out for oysters and hibachi. They even managed to catch some of Daniel Donato’s three night run at the Charleston Pour House.
A neighbor at the AirBnB where Henning and Marius were staying even invited them to come play with some friends in the local church, and later into their homes to meet their families, so they got to experience true southern hospitality.
Writing in the Lowcountry
While much of the material for the album was written in advance, the end result was completely different than the expectation at the start, in a way that the group is very happy about.
For example, some songs on the record have Charleston-inspired references, and were written during their weeklong stay. “Don’t Forget” and “Sullivan Island” were both recorded on their cell phones on Sullivan’s Island on their final day in the Lowcountry.
“I came to Charleston with a totally different set of songs in my head than I left with,” Henning says, expressing gratitude for the contributions of Wolfgang and Marius. “Because they did magic to those songs for me and created rhythms.”
Wolfgang played the drums and handled percussion, while Marius played almost everything else, from guitar, to bass, to piano, and more.
“I would say something about these guys personally,” Wolfgang says. “It was just so much fun being around them because they carry such a joy. Sometimes people will get bummed out at some point in the session, like doubting. That just never happened even one time.”
Completing the Circle
Now, to complete the circle, Wolfgang travels over to Norway to join Henning and Marius to celebrate the release of Montford Ave.
While he’s there, he’s looking into opportunities to record with Justin Osborne from SUSTO in Norway, potentially in April of 2026.
Stay tuned for the new Henning Andersen album, Montford Ave, dropping this Friday, October 17th, and more news on the potential SUSTO recording sessions there in the future.