Picture this, October 2002, a tiny flat somewhere far, far away. A group of four friends from England, France, Norway and Sweden are sitting chatting about how they each have strong skills in photography, illustration, design,video and web design. They decide that if they combine their talents they would be able to achieve something far greater and The Tundra Group was born. We caught up with the Norwegian connection, Espen to find out what makes the group tick.

Steal-Life.com - So when did Tundra start?
Espen Tundra - We got together in October 2002, so we're still freshers.

SL - Your collective comes from quite a spread of places; can you speak for the group?
ET - Yeah, I'm like the sticky stuff you catch flies with. We really enjoy the fact that we're from different countries. With each member comes a different set of influences and forms of communication.

SL - You where originally four, why the fifth member?
ET - We gradually got to know Ben as a friend, and quickly understood that he would boost us up. Daniel has been very busy with other projects, so we had to equal that out somehow. Ben works with video and internet design, he's also a DJ in a band which is another interesting area we would like to explore, using sound in our moving projects is very important.

SL - Are you the business brain? I notice your first work was for your fellow Norwegian, St Thomas.
ET - I took the initiative to start up Tundra, but I'm not the account manager or anything like that. Although I do tend to be involved in alot of the communication with clients. In Tundra we have a philosophy that we should all be involved at all stages, even if someone is not as experienced in that field. This is what makes every day organic and living and probably
not as static as being in a bigger company.

SL - Your work with St Thomas was shortlisted for the onedotzero7 festival, how did you feel about that?
ET - We were dancing in the street like squirrels in spring.

SL - Is music an important part of Tundra?
ET - Definitely! We're all very dependent on music in everyday life; to wake up, to draw inspiration, to get Karine to dance on the bar. We go through hundreds of CD's while we work. Having five people around means you get exposed to different music, which is always interesting.

SL - You've done music videos, illustration and web design. Do you have a preferred format to work in?
ET - We all have different backgrounds ranging from photography to illustration, print design to idents and web design. After doing a few videos we're very keen on this medium. For us it's all a challenge and we can really get excited about each new project having new experiences and learning as we go. The Tundra* curiosity gets us into trouble by creating a massive workload and steep learning curves, but that's how we like it.

SL - Some of us might not admit to knowing Thunder let alone shoot a video for them, how did that come about?
ET - Well, I personally didn't have a clue who they were so didn't have any pre-conceptions. We did some spreads and a website for the first issue of 125 Magazine. The online flyer featured a pixellated model walking the catwalk and splitting into 5 body parts to illustrate the issues theme; Fashion in 5 parts. Luke from Thunder saw this, was interested and contacted us for our first meeting in Soho's darker streets. Fuelled by dark evil liquid, we were on the hook. We struck up a good dialogue with the band and ended up doing a full live action video for them, which was pretty mad. We survived and learned a hell of a lot, even with the worst hangovers imaginable.

SL - The work you've submitted to us, tell me what the idea behind it is?
ET - Like many of the projects we do, it's about creating a new environment. One that makes use of the different qualities each member of the group can offer, then mix it in a cocktail, shake and stir. With this piece, we sat down and decided on the basic storyline, Nick and I then went running around in the dark alleys in Hackney with a digital camera while local gangsters looked on very curiously. Karine and Ben got involved later and added their illustrations during editing.

SL - What new projects have you got coming up in the future?
ET - We're currently working on an animated advert financed by the EU for Italian cinema and television. There’s a pitch to do idents for a big dance company. We're also working on some websites for Susy Harper, a clothes designer based in Islington, as well as several websites for a Norwegian curator in the media human rights sector. Finally, this has to fit around us moving to an office in Shoreditch, which will be fantastic for us.

You can keep up with Tundra's progress at:
http://www.tundragroup.com