The Washington Post Express talks to Watain: https://www.expressnightout.com/content/2008/10/blackest_black_watain.php
Tag: Interviews
It's official: Gaahl of Norwegian black-metal act Gorgoroth is out of the closet: https://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=107859
We Heart Music interviews Firefox AK in their latest podcast: https://weheartmusic.vox.com/library/post/whm029-and-030-firefox-ak-the-midway-state-and-kate-lara.html
MP3: Tobias Hellkvist & Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - White/Grey/Black
The original concept for this netrelease was modest. Tobias Hellkvist and Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words are two sides of the same coin; both operate within the vast realm of drone, yet both are also quite distinctive and totally within their own spheres of sound and emotion. I figured: why not get the two together for a split netrelease, something to promote their new records -- for Tobias, that would be "Sides" and for Dead Letters aka Thomas Ekelund, that would be the forthcoming "Lost in reflections". A song from each, perhaps even an original composition if they were feeling generous, that would have been enough. Different, but completary. Yin and yang, even. But no, the concept immediately took on new life. The idea of previously released material was instantly nixed and then the idea of a collaborative track came about - something to tie the two sides together. And then, unbeknown to me, the collaboration became the project; a three-part epic spanning twenty-five minutes. The result of which I give to you today as a free download.
I am always proud of every netrelease as I take great pains to ensure the It's a Trap! name is not lent out lightly, yet this breaks new ground as it is of my own initiation. I couldn't be prouder. So please, if you like what you hear, spread the word and support the artists. Their names and their work deserves to be known and appreciated.
As much of the actual planning and composition happened behind the scenes, I asked Tobias and Thomas a few questions to gain more insight into their approach and the music itself. Read on...
Tobias, had you every heard DLSODW before this? What did you think of the idea to work on a piece together?
TH: I had heard a few songs online, but not a whole album. When I later listened some more, I discovered that he was generally darker than me, which was interesting when being asked to do a collaboration. Mixing two different personal sounds into something new really felt like something I wanted to try out. So, when you asked me about this, I was totally stoked from the beginning. I'm glad you had me in mind!
Thomas, this isn't your first long-distance collaboration, is it? How you approach a project like that, especially with someone you don't really know?
TE: That's correct, Avi. I've had quite a few long distance projects in the past. Right now it's only one though, Dead Violets, together with two Americans, Jeffrey Surak and Bethany Moore. The process has varied a lot, but with Dead Violets we usually discuss ideas and themes, then either Jeff or I get the ball rolling with a basic track or a collection of sounds for the other to mangle into some sort of structure. It's not really a big problem, with all the modern technology at hand to do it like this.
Tobias, did you guys throw around a bunch of ideas before settling on the one long-form piece? Whose initial concept was that or did it evolve as you went along?
TH: I think it was Thomas who came up with an idea to link our sounds to colours, where mine was white and his was black. By mixing it up in the middle, sending tracks back and forth, the idea was to end up with a grey piece which reflected both our sounds. I think it worked really well. With inputs and comments on pieces along the way, we formed a new sound that I really couldn't imagine from the start.
Thomas, how well do you think your individual music styles complemented each other? Was it ever a struggle to get pieces to fit?
TE: The concept of white/grey/black was something I had been pondering for a while. Partly because it ties in with my ongoing obsession with balance, and partly because of the ambiguous symbolism of Black and White.
In traditional Western culture they represent death and life, the negative and the positive, the carnal and the divine, impurity and purity, whereas Eastern culture look at them the opposite way. Both black and white are also very significant in alchemy, where black symbolizes purification and white symbolizes enlightenment. In additive color systems white is the sum total, where as in subtractive color systems black occupies that position in the gamut.
I originally intended to use this concept myself, but when this collaboration arose I thought it would fit perfectly. To an untrained ear I am sure Tobias and my music can be lumped together under the ambient/drone umbrella, but it's quite obvious to the more experienced listener that we inhabit quite different sides of the spectra. In my ears Tobias makes very calm and uplifting music, white music if you will, where as I have always focused on unsettling and morose atmospheres, i.e. black music. The grey part of the suite, the middle, the balance is the result of trying to meld our two styles into one.
Tobias, I always like to think I learn something from every music encounter, both good and bad. What do you think you can take away from this experience?
TH: Since this was my first musical collaboration of this type, I felt that whatever happens, I'll get a new experience. And that can never be a bad thing, no matter if the result is amazing or horrible. In this case, I learned that being open-minded expands your boundaries and that could lead you into places you've never been musically. Somewhere, you'll put your own stamp on it, unaware of how it's done. That's cool. So I will definitely do something like this again, if the opportunity appears.
Thomas, likewise, did you experience any self-discovery during the course of the project? How do you think it turned out compared to what you expected?
TE: I have to confess that I am not very good at collaborating. Most of the time it just fizzles out, but in this case everything fell in to place right away and things turned out a lot better than I could've imagined. It's too soon to say whether I take any new self-discoveries with me from this experience or not, but if nothing else, I had the opportunity to work with Tobias and make a solid piece of music to share with the world.
Any last words from either of you? What else can we look forward to from you guys?
TH: I'm always working on new material, we'll just have to wait and see what happens with it. I have started to put together a new, quite laidback album. I guess it could be finished in a couple of months. Since I'm unsigned, I'm hoping to find interested labels to release it. Also, me and my friend Ola has been writing songs together for over a year now, and we're in the middle of rehearsing and putting a band together. Hopefully, we'll be playing shows sometime next year. This is a rock/pop project and it's new to us both, so we're quite excited! I also want to thank you Avi, for putting this together!
TE: I've got quite a bit of stuff going on right now. My new 7"+LP set "Lost in reflections" will finally hit the stores during November. It's a co-release between iDEAL, Fang Bomb, Release The Bats and When Skies Are Grey.
I am also doing a cassette with Teeth entitled "Black Hole Heart" on Klorofyll Kassetter which probably will be released in November, too.
The coming year most of my artistic focus will be on the above mentioned Dead Violets (deadviolets.org). We have a couple of releases planned. First up is a cassette entitled "St. Vitus Dance" on Fukk Tapes Lets Erase. That will be followed by a 7" and a new long player during next year. If things go according to plans, we're going to do a European tour this spring and a US tour in the fall.
Download cover: jpg
Tobias Hellkvist & Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - White/Grey/Black
Antenna interviews Dregen from Backyard Babies: https://www.antenna.nu/?p=605
Pitchfork is running a two-part interview with Björk: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/146670-interview-bjrk-part-one
The Washington Post Express on Finnish viking/folk-metal act Ensiferum: https://www.expressnightout.com/content/2008/10/swords_sonic_sorcerers_ensiferum.php
Worth reading, if just for the epic metal war question near the end.
Killing the Legacy interviews Finnish hardcore act Third Man Down: https://killingthelegacy.blogspot.com/2008/10/interview-third-man-down.html
New interviews at the Washington Post Express: Hello Saferide / Ane Brun
HS is at the House of Sweden tonight with Firefox AK and Ane Brun performs tomorrow (October 21) with Tobias Fröberg and Theresa Andersson.
MP3: Thee Gutted String - Feeling small
Hopefully you've heard of Viktor Sjöberg by now. If not through his involvement with Jens Lekman as a member of his backing band, perhaps you saw this recent feature in Dagens Nyheter? Or maybe you've been following all the praise being heaped on him on behalf of folks such as myself and other corners of the interweb like Digfi and so on. Through it all, let me say this: he deserves it. He's not only a superb musician who excels in every genre, he's also a perfect gentleman and I'm honored to be of his acquaintance.
When I set out on this Gbg Spotlight feature at the beginning of 2008 Viktor was at the top of my list - it was never matter of "if", only "when". And that time is now.
You moved to Gbg for school, right? How long has it been now? Think you'll stick around once you finish your dissertation?
Well, not exactly, I grew up in Pixbo just outside Gothenburg so I have pretty much always been here. I lived down south for little over a year though, which is where I met many of the people that are my closest friends today. Some of them has since then moved to Gothenburg, such as Johan (Gustavsson, aka Tsukimono). I have been living in central Gothenburg since around 2004 and I don't think that I would want to live anywhere else in Sweden, at least not in any other city. I am finishing up school right now (for real this time!) and who knows what the future holds? But I can safely say that if I were to leave Gothenburg I would go to California rather than anywhere else in Sweden or Europe.
What do think is the most charming aspect of Gbg? On the other hand, is there anything about the city you wish you could change?
My mother, my dog and a lot of my dear friends live here. That's fairly charming. I think it has a lot of possibilities and it can certainly be a beautiful place when it wants to be. I could get into a discussion on how right now I think that we probably have more things going on musically than Malmö or Stockholm, but that feels kind of irrelevant. It rains a lot and it's very windy and more than often overcast. These conditions make for creative indoor activities and good friendships.
As far as music goes, you seem to be involved with both the pop and experimental scenes. Is there a lot of crossover between the two? What characteristics do they both share, if any?
I don't what to say, really. I guess there are a few artists that walk this line separating "pop" and "experimental". Personally, I think that this a hard thing to do and I think very few people succeed. Thinking more about it, I find that I generally think it works best when so called "experimental" artists incorporate popular music into their work, rather than the other way around. (If this is done in a non-ironic manner that is.) Pop music with an presumably experimental edge is generally just a bad make-up job and one of the worst things in the world. One big exception that actually lives in Gothenburg is Erik de Vahl, who to me is an excellent pop artist that not only writes beautiful songs, but also is sonically restless. It seems to me that he explores new areas because he needs to, not because he wants to make up for something that isn't there. I have been listening to his unreleased new album for almost a year now and I think it's the best thing he's ever done. I hope he decides to put it out some day.
You always seem to have a ton of amazing projects going on all the time - what are you currently working on now? What about stuff your friends are doing; got any tips on artists I should be paying more attention to?
I am finishing up my follow up album to "On a winter's day", entitled "Breakfast in America". I have been working on it for pretty much two years and it's definitely my most fully realised project so far. It is very much a pop album and it is inspired by the feeling of greatness that pop music can provide you with at certain points in your life. It's about seeing America out of a train window with your oldest childhood friend, catching all those youthful dreams and finding new ones. It's about finding love in people, in the landscape and in the golden sunshine. Basically, loving life.
I am working with my New Jazz Ensemble in different ways, we just did a show as a quartet last week and we are doing another one as a septet this week. After that there'll be a small tour with Malmö popjazztrio Auton. We are playing Copenhagen, Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm. I am also putting out their debut album on my label, Structures Sonores this week, so there is a lot of work going on with that.
Gothenburg artists that you should check out? Well, I hope you listened to the song "Feeling small" by Johan Gustavsson's Gutted String project. He has another one that is called "Ferry from here" that is also fantastic and I know that he is working on some spectacular things. There's more things going on I guess, but that's the last thing that seriously blew me away. Oh yeah, and I like Madamm. She has the best guitar sound in town.
So do you have a song to share either from yourself or another artist you admire? Tell us about it.
Johan sent me this music while I was in California over the summer. I was sitting at the Escondido Public Library working on a paper when I suddenly got a hold of the library wifi and checked my email. I found this song in my inbox and I began listening to it over and over again. The idea of Johan singing his heart out on the other side of the globe was very appealing, but even more so it was a completely brilliant song. That the key line is dealing with drowning in noise is very fitting in so many ways. I hope to hear more things from Thee/The Gutted String asap.
Pitchfork interviews Sigur Rós: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/146223-interview-sigur-rs
Finnish artists Paavoharju contribute to this week's "Listed" feature at Dusted (along with Mi Ami, one of my friend's bands): https://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/770
Rise and Subvert has a brand new interview posted with Dadde of Wolfbrigade: https://riseandsubvert.blogspot.com/2008/10/wolfbrigade.html
MP3: Fantasikrig - Lovisa och David
We're not the only ones commemorating a birthday this week; Göteborg-based booker/show promoter Parapluie turned 3 and celebrated by throwing themselves a party and Jonas Lyckander also took the time to answer a few questions as part of our ongoing Gbg Spotlight Series.
So it was your birthday this week - how was the celebration?
We had a great night at Pusterviksbaren in Gothenburg! The Deer Tracks, Jonathan Johansson (just signed for Hybris) and We Are Soldiers We Have Guns gave us the best of pop!
So you've been booking indie/pop shows for 3 years now - how healthy do you think the scene is in Gbg? How do you think it compare to the way it was 3 years ago?
I think the indiescene in Gothenburg is pretty good right now. We have lots of nice venues and a bunch of dedicated club/promoters that bring nice bands/DJs to town.
Three years ago the scene for indiebands was smaller. Now there are shows almost every night where you can go and hear new music. That's good.
Likewise, how do you think the Gbg scene compares to other cities in Sweden or elsewhere? Is there anything in particular that makes Gbg special? Is there anything it is lacking?
I like Malmö. Malmö is the Swedish Berlin! Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö have tehri own scenes and they are pretty different from eachother.
The scene in Gothenburg is open and friendly for new acts. Not too much attitude.
Who's your favorite local act right now?
My friends in Fantasikrig are great! They will do a show at Klubb Populär @ Storan in Gothenburg next saturday. It will be nice.
Do you have a song from them you'd like to share?
Check them out at myspace: https://www.myspace.com/fantasikrigThe new myspace music is a total shitsystem, but I did manage to grab a track for reposting. Check it out below.
Fantasikrig - Lovisa och David
Swedish drone artist Jasper TX does the Listed thing for Dusted: https://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/769