When I was a kid,
growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel,
the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a
moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It
changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphanies since
then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and
revolutionary to your ears.
What have been your
musical epiphany moments?
I grew up in a family where music was appreciated and we have
a couple of musicians who inspired me in picking up the guitar. Mostly we
listened to jazz, blues and a bit of funk and rock. But when I was about ten or
something I found Sepultura’s Chaos A.D. among my fathers’ CDs and it blew my
mind. The brutality was overwhelming and together with discovering Metallica’s
Black Album the path was set.
Talk to us about the
song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics?
How does it all fall into place?
Most often the riff comes first. We find a groove that we
evolve to something rich and back breaking and try to see how long we can hang
on that groove before it gets boring. If we make to the ten minutes mark then
we know it’s a killer groove.
But as the body of Cities of Mars is born from the mythology
about Mars and what has (?) happened
there for millennia the story is a big part in how we shape the songs.
Who has influenced
you the most?
That’s pretty hard to say. I guess that Tool, Pink Floyd,
Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and other epic bands from the past influence us
all but also newer bands like Mastodon, The Sword and High on Fire puts their
mark on us.
Where do you look for
continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
I like to blend in a bit of extreme music with the old
goodies to find inspiration for new riffing. The Dillinger Escape Plan, Ephel
Duath and Cult of Luna is something that always sets the creativity flowing.
Mixing that up with a bit of AC/DC and ZZ Top then you’re all set.
We're all a product
of our environment. Tell us about the band's hometown and how that reflects in
the music?
Johan and I are both born and raised in Gothenburg. Daniel
originates from the deep forests 200km north of the city (which explains the
lumberjack/caveman influences in CoM) and moved to the city as he grew older
and wiser. Gothenburg has been the origin of many great bands through the years
(At the Gates, In Flames, The Haunted, The Knife etc) and had a reputation of
promoting young musicians, talent or no. There were a lot of youth recreation
centers where kids could go and borrow instruments to practice and start new
bands with their friends.
Now days that has changed but back in the day it was a place
of marvel for kids with a musical interest.
Where'd the band name
come from?
It’s more of a proclamation then a name. It’s the untold
stories of Mars and the mythology of Atlantis and Bahb-Elon.
You have one chance,
what movie are you going to write the soundtrack for?
We are already writing it. When the adaptation of our music
is made real then there will be a sci-fi movie that will last through the ages.
You now write for a
music publication (The Ripple Effect?).
You're going to write a 1,000 word essay on one song. Which would it be
and why?
I would preferably do the essay on the mythology of the
Cities of Mars because the story behind the songs is a pretty massive and
thrilling saga.
But if one song would be chosen I would say “Celestial
Mistress” or “Doors of Dark Matter”. CM is a song about our Soviet cosmonaut
Nadia searching the ruins of the ancient city of Bahb-Elon and finding the
undying Lord, risen from aeons of sleep to the ancient prophecy of a long lost
love returning from the stars. DoDM is a multitude of songs describing the
journey from Atlantis on Earth to Mars and the foundations the empire to be.
Come on, share with
us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?
The first that comes to mind is when we did our first show
as Cities of Mars on the Wizard of Fuzz Festival. Daniels was so wound up as he
arranged the festival and all that comes with arranging something like that so
when we got on stage he walked over to me, looked at me with the stare of a mad
man and asked “How do we tune the bass?” Later he told me the entire show is
pretty much a haze.
We also had a show booked in the Netherlands together with the Swiss
band Echolot. When we entered the place we all got very excited as the venue
was really nice. Big stage, massive sound and lights and awesome technicians.
But as the night came and stage time started to close in the organizers came to
us and explained that no one, NO ONE, would come to the show. Because of bad
weather and stuff people just stayed at home. There were even a group of
people, maybe twenty guys, in the other room that didn’t want to enter the
venue because they were in the middle of a tournament of dart. I mean come on…
DART.
Tell us about playing
live and the live experience for you and for your fans?
It’s the best thing ever. The feeling when standing on stage
and playing songs you have composed to people who appreciate your creations and
sings along to your lyrics… It’s amazing. We have a couple of shows that has
stuck in memory a bit more than others, where the crowd has gone ape shit. Potsdam, Basel and Le Mans to mention a few
where we’ve had blast, not because of the venue itself but because the crowd
has been magnificent.
We always enter a show with the mindset that no matter how
big the crowd or the quality of the on stage sound we ALWAYS must be better
than the circumstance. We can’t get on stage and not give everything we got,
not ever. During our 2016 European tour Johan and I took turns getting a cold
for two weeks that messed up the throat and had some fever in it and all the
goodies but it didn’t matter. When we got on stage we gave everything.
What makes a great
song?
You need to have a groove. No matter genre you got to have
that something that gets it going. Groove and a little something that makes it
interesting. When things get to stiff or boring you lose focus on the song and
it becomes white noise.
Tell us about the
first song you ever wrote?
It was “The Third Eye” which is available online and
included on the “Celestial Mistress” vinyl as a bonus track. The song is about
Nadia on her first day after landing on Mars. How she wanders the red-sanded
wilderness of Mars, gazes upon the holy mountain city of Bahb-Elon and the ever watching eye.
What piece of your
music are particularly proud of?
Don’t think I can choose a specific piece. Every song so far
feels like it has its own important place in our saga. Though the new album is
a big step forward in our way of writing music. We have approached the songs in
a different way and added more layers in the soundscaping which makes the
entire album even more interesting I think.
We’re very excited to see how it will be received.
Who today, writes
great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?
Honestly I can’t think of one. There are a lot of good bands
and the underground scene is thriving but it has been quite a while since I’ve
been blown away by something. We Hunt Buffalo's Living Ghosts got close, as did
Marilyn Manson's The Pale Emperor. But that was in 2015. A lot of bands that did
awesome music back in the day gets a lot of credit for their newer stuff but I
honestly think that their new music is boring and unimaginative. Made for the
masses and not out of love for their own music.
Vinyl, CD, or
digital? What's your format of choice?
Vinyl always feels more real. Today when everything is
digital you seldom sit down and listen to an entire album and try to grasp the
entity of the art. You put something on in the background the fill the void
between your lines of thoughts.
But when you sit down with a physical album things are
different. You get involved in a different way.
Whiskey or beer? And defend your choice
Both. Of course. You can’t have one without the other.
We, at the Ripple
Effect, are constantly looking for new music. What's your home town, and when
we get there, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?
Gothenburg. Bengans Record Store is a classic which you
should absolutely visit. There are a couple of others ones as well but Bengans
has the biggest range of artists.
What's next for the
band?
2019 is going to be an exciting year. We’re doing our first
release with Ripple Music and we are very pleased with the album. With our good
friend Esben Willems from Monolord as our producer and engineer we’ve taken a
giant leap forward in our songs and sound. The record will be out in the spring
and following the release we’re hitting the roads for a couple of weeks with
another band that has had a great 2018. Can’t give you the details yet but it
will be sweet.
Any final comments or
thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?
We’re very happy to join the rooster of Ripple Music and be
part of the family that it is. The saga of Mars will continue to unfold during
2019.
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