Katatonia and the Goth chicks
Anders finally found some time in his busy schedule to answer my questions and not just that, he also mentioned Bathory as one of the most important Swedish bands ever, this has been definitely worth the wait! For me, at least!
Those of you who had not seen Katatonia's goth chick video yet and have run to see it after reading this interview will not hold me responsible for their crushed hopes. Cheers!
Metalfan: Hello! It is a pleasure for me to ask you a few questions. Night is the New Day, your latest album, is coming after three years of silence (excepting Live Consternation in 2007) since The Great Cold Distance masterpiece. How was the creative process all this time? Did you feel any kind of pressure from Peaceville, fans, media?
Anders Nyström: Yeah we felt the pressure from everyone and everything. It wasn’t like we were sitting waiting for a divine sign from the sky to get going working on the album. We knew we wanted to make a fantastic album filled with dark wonderful music, but the whole daily grind put a temporary block on that for some time. When it finally loosened up, it was quite natural as always to let the album come into form and use the obstacles to our advantage by turning them into inspiration.
Metalfan: You recently said that that the track order on this album is very important and after eight or nine arrangements, you finally made a choice. Is this because rather than being a conceptual album is more a journey through a wide range of feelings and sensations and you wanted to keep the listener close to you?
Anders Nyström: For us the making of the albums works very well in a cathartic way. We’re just as much about to escape troubles of life as we’re drawn to portraying them. However, our message is not to wave a flag for solutions or bring answers to the table, its not quite that revolutionary. We’re just locking the focus on describing scenarios and emotions as they are in each moment on their own. It’s always been a crossfire somewhere between therapeutic and artsy and we’d like the listener to be welcomed into our thinking and hence the track listing is a very delicate thing to create the right balance.
Metalfan: What would you say to those that find similarities between Night is The New Day and the last Opeth or Porcupine Tree works? I am thinking of Idle Blood maybe…
It was a path I could see Katatonia go down to bring variation into the big picture. I’m a big fan of both Porcupine Tree and Opeth, so obviously it will come out in some way or another.
Metalfan: For the video Day and Then the Shade you have worked with Lasse Holie, a Danish visual artist who previously worked with Porcupine Tree. On your website are over 70, mostly negative comments regarding the video. When the final cuts of this video were done and you sat along with Mr. Holie and watched it, did you like it?
Anders Nyström: Well, we had no input or involvement in this video. I’m not trying to escape the fact that it’s still our video or make a lousy excuse for myself here, but I do understand why some of our fans might not think that video is representable for Katatonia, because it doesn’t go in hand with their vision of the band. Lasse’s vision was of a different kind. He probably felt the featured “goth chicks” suited his script and would add something strong to the video, but it feels like it rather went in the opposite direction. I still think Lasse is a magnificent photographer and video director with an amazing quality to his work. Maybe we can have the chance to do better next time, without the stress and deadlines affecting the majority of the outcome.
Metalfan: Last Fair Deal Gone Down, the name of your 2001 album is the title of a song composed by the famous blues singer Robert Johnson in his short life. Is this pure coincidence or you were aware of this?
Anders Nyström: That’s actually where Jonas lifted the title from!
Metalfan: I know that you enjoy the music of Radiohead and Jeff Buckley. Are you still listening to metal music also, or is it a distant memory? What bands or singers are an inspiration to you?
Anders Nyström: I probably listen a lot more to metal than any other music, always had, but I keep an open mind to good music and the genre it belongs to is of less relevance to me.
Metalfan: Tell me five most important Swedish bands of all time.
Anders Nyström: Bathory, Entombed, Opeth, Abba, Europe.
Metalfan: Which period fits most your aesthetics and vision and why? 60-ies? 70-ies? 80-ies?
Anders Nyström: I wouldn’t mind living my twenties in the 80’s!
Metalfan: What do you think about the social and political environment in your country? For most of Europeans, Sweden set a standard of economic and social wealth fare although it had some ups and downs in recent years. Are you a satisfied Swedish?
Anders Nyström: I’m a proud Swede and specifically a Stockholm citizen, as it’s my favorite city in the whole world. But even though our social and welfare environment is one of the best, we still have big flaws in our laws. Especially in the tax department, Sweden has one big ugly backyard when it comes to that.
Metalfan: What is your biggest fear when you have to play in a place you’ve never been before, working with people you know nothing about? How was your experience in Romania regarding this?
Anders Nyström: It’s mainly just exciting and interesting to melt new impressions. Romania was a good experience. There’s a possibility we’ll return there on the current euro tour as I just heard they’re trying to squeeze in a gig between two other dates.
Metalfan: Do you have any frustration working with Peaceville or is everything ok? Many bands don’t say a word for years and when finally the contract expires, the public finds out how difficult it was for them.
Anders Nyström: There were a couple of years were we did everything we could to get sacked from the label, but then came a turning point when new owners stepped into the picture and more employees got involved in specific working fields making it easier and more professional for everyone to benefit from. At the moment, Katatonia is Peaceville priority band, so unless that changes everything is fine.
Metalfan: Describe the Katatonia fans not as you wish they were, but as you think they are.
Anders Nyström: Stubborn haha!
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"Aud ca e posibil sa revenim, se incearca o programare intre alte doua date din calendarul nostru."
Din pacate, nu mai sunt sanse sa aiba loc vreun concert Katatonia in Romania in tour-ul asta. Too bad!