Photo by Jonas Fransson and Kalle Christiansson
Um alucinado e gutural mix de Killing Joke, Sisters of Mercy e afins, trata-se dos suecos do Then Comes Silence.
Basta os primeiros segundos de seu Nyctophilian, álbum lançado em Março desse ano pra sentir que a escuridão e o barulho do Then Comes Silence fazem todo sentido, principalmente se for escutado em altíssimo volume e como se não houvesse o dia de amanhã dançante em algum inferninho escuro e esfumaçado.
Grande banda e um poderoso álbum.
Q. When did Then Comes Silence started, tell us about the history...
I started Then Comes Silence in 2012 after finishing the first demo that I had worked on for a year. Everything was quite busy in the beginning. The label Novoton signed the deal and I asked some of the best to form the band with me. The first show was in October 2012 in our hometown Stockholm where we opened for A Place To Bury Strangers. At that time we had only five songs that worked fine live, so it was a very short gig of course.
We did a turn around the south of Sweden and Denmark. The Roskilde Festival invited Then Comes Silence to play in 2013. Unfortunately some of the members left the band, so I rebooted Then Comes Silence with a new excellent crew, Karl and Jens. We started preparing for the next album and Roskilde. We’ve been the same team from then on.
Q: Who are your influences?
I grew up absorbing all kind of music, but some bands and gods stayed forever.
Dead Kennedys, Ramones, Killing Joke, The Doors, Magazine, Pixies, The Runaways, The Stooges and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
My bass player influences are almost all women except for Cliff Williams in AC/DC. They are very good at what they are doing and keep it simple. For example, the brilliant Kim Deal, fuzz queen Debbie Googe and noise conquistador Kim Gordon. No showing off or gooey swank.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
This list might look different tomorrow, but here you are.
Top 5 ever:
Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Switched-On-Bach by Wendy Carlos
Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
And Don’t The Kids Just Love It by Television Personalities
The Doors by The Doors
Q. How do you feel playing live?
I’ve played live for a long time. I’ve been in many bands, some are totally forgotten and others had some small success.
It’s with joy and energy I take the stage. No matter the size of the venue.
And it’s also the only time I get some exercise. I usually hate sports and workout.
Q. How do you describe Then Comes Silence sounds?
Some like to tag the music as post-punk, goth and coldwave. Well, that’s OK with me. It seems you need at least three tags on a band to work around it. In the beginning we played it loud constantly, the word “dynamic” didn’t have any value. And if you listen to the first album you notice that the sound is gritty and mixed with skew frequencies. That’s the point. It creates a sense of insecurity and unbalance. It’s the sound of the apocalypse. The new album “Nyctophilian” has got a nice punch instead. We stripped a couple of layers.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
I’m the engineer and we record it in our own place. We do it all by ourselves. It’s not an economical issue or pride. This is strictly how it should sound like. I don’t like long recording sessions, so we always work quite fast in the studio. Maybe one day we will consider asking for someone else’s opinion and advice, but for now we have a clear and strong idea of the music and the sound.
Q. Which new bands do you recommended
The British newcomers Spectres, Prayers from the US, the Danish hard working band The Foreign Resort and Hemgraven from the north of Sweden.
Q: Which bands would you love to make a cover version of?
Well, hard to say. I don’t know. I need some more time to think .
Photo by Jonas Fransson and Kalle Christiansson
Q: What´s the plan for the future....
The plans for the band are gradually taking form. There’s not a big machine behind us pulling the strings. Well, at least not yet. We’re playing here and there, mostly Germany, Sweden and Denmark. Our label, Novoton, puts out the music and we follow up where it’s starting to grow. A basic do it yourself strategy. We will go back to Germany again for sure. This year we have plans to introduce the music to the UK and Spain.
Q: Any parting words?
Make sure you do what you want to do. Eventually it might be so cool and good that others will follow.
*
*
*
Thanks
***** Interview with Alex Svenson from Then Comes Silence *****
Photo by Jonas Fransson and Kalle Christiansson
Photo by Jonas Fransson and Kalle Christiansson
Q. When did Then Comes Silence started, tell us about the history...
I started Then Comes Silence in 2012 after finishing the first demo that I had worked on for a year. Everything was quite busy in the beginning. The label Novoton signed the deal and I asked some of the best to form the band with me. The first show was in October 2012 in our hometown Stockholm where we opened for A Place To Bury Strangers. At that time we had only five songs that worked fine live, so it was a very short gig of course.
We did a turn around the south of Sweden and Denmark. The Roskilde Festival invited Then Comes Silence to play in 2013. Unfortunately some of the members left the band, so I rebooted Then Comes Silence with a new excellent crew, Karl and Jens. We started preparing for the next album and Roskilde. We’ve been the same team from then on.
Q: Who are your influences?
I grew up absorbing all kind of music, but some bands and gods stayed forever.
Dead Kennedys, Ramones, Killing Joke, The Doors, Magazine, Pixies, The Runaways, The Stooges and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
My bass player influences are almost all women except for Cliff Williams in AC/DC. They are very good at what they are doing and keep it simple. For example, the brilliant Kim Deal, fuzz queen Debbie Googe and noise conquistador Kim Gordon. No showing off or gooey swank.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
This list might look different tomorrow, but here you are.
Top 5 ever:
Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Switched-On-Bach by Wendy Carlos
Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
And Don’t The Kids Just Love It by Television Personalities
The Doors by The Doors
Q. How do you feel playing live?
I’ve played live for a long time. I’ve been in many bands, some are totally forgotten and others had some small success.
It’s with joy and energy I take the stage. No matter the size of the venue.
And it’s also the only time I get some exercise. I usually hate sports and workout.
Q. How do you describe Then Comes Silence sounds?
Some like to tag the music as post-punk, goth and coldwave. Well, that’s OK with me. It seems you need at least three tags on a band to work around it. In the beginning we played it loud constantly, the word “dynamic” didn’t have any value. And if you listen to the first album you notice that the sound is gritty and mixed with skew frequencies. That’s the point. It creates a sense of insecurity and unbalance. It’s the sound of the apocalypse. The new album “Nyctophilian” has got a nice punch instead. We stripped a couple of layers.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
I’m the engineer and we record it in our own place. We do it all by ourselves. It’s not an economical issue or pride. This is strictly how it should sound like. I don’t like long recording sessions, so we always work quite fast in the studio. Maybe one day we will consider asking for someone else’s opinion and advice, but for now we have a clear and strong idea of the music and the sound.
Q. Which new bands do you recommended
The British newcomers Spectres, Prayers from the US, the Danish hard working band The Foreign Resort and Hemgraven from the north of Sweden.
Q: Which bands would you love to make a cover version of?
Well, hard to say. I don’t know. I need some more time to think .
Photo by Jonas Fransson and Kalle Christiansson
The plans for the band are gradually taking form. There’s not a big machine behind us pulling the strings. Well, at least not yet. We’re playing here and there, mostly Germany, Sweden and Denmark. Our label, Novoton, puts out the music and we follow up where it’s starting to grow. A basic do it yourself strategy. We will go back to Germany again for sure. This year we have plans to introduce the music to the UK and Spain.
Q: Any parting words?
Make sure you do what you want to do. Eventually it might be so cool and good that others will follow.
*
*
*
Thanks
