Hemstad Interview (Part 2 of 2)
(8)While you're definitely a band, you seem to put a lot of work into making some pretty orchestral stuff. To do that sort of arranging, you need to have quite a bit of experience. What sort of musical backgrounds do you come from?
HEMSTAD: The only "schooled" band member is our drummer Manolo. Lead guitarist Karl is an amazing multi instrumentalist, Hemstad is Viktors (guitar) first band, Åke (bass guitar) is a mad circuit bender with lots of love for lo-fi, David (trumpet) is an old organist and I like to draw pictures. Having Manolo and Karl in the band is a real treasure, Manolo arrange beautiful harmonies and Karl can learn how to play any instrument in ten minutes. A good thing for us is that almost all of us got projects beside Hemstad. Manolo plays in five different bands, which is good cause he get much exercise so he can play faster with Hemstad.
(9)This always gets asked to musicians from Sweden, so I guess I've got to do it, too. What do you think about the gigantic interest in Swedish pop music in America? (I think it's totally justified, but it must be weird for you, knowing that a completely different country is so intrigued by your small country's output!)
HEMSTAD: I dunno really. Of course we think it´s better that people love music instead of hating it, but if Sweden is special I can´t tell. Much dirt comes from Sweden as well.
(0)Do you have any big plans for the future? Any collaborations or touring plans, or are you working on a new album? Anything ... ?
HEMSTAD: We are realeasing Kaserntorgets Charkdisco as a 7" vinyl single on Wigwam Recordings (UK) during fall and we will soon start recording our 2nd album. We are really looking forward to that. We got plenty of new material ideas that will be fun to experiment with. We've been busy lately with other things so it will be awesome to get toghether in the studio again.
(1)Okay, here's a question for every member of the band ... what is your favorite piece of equipment? You have such an eclectic array of sounds, so I would imagine you'd sometimes get a little overwhelmed with the all the possibilities at your fingertips.
HEMSTAD: Åke is our mad scientist, he bends, build and buy tons of instruments. For example he built a home made electronic handclap glove. You just put it on your hand and stick the cord to a sampler (Akai S1000) and when you clap your hands it plays a sampling. Åke also collects bassguitars and he got a really nice Teisco TB64 bassguitar that look amazing.
(2)And I've got to ask this question as well. What sort of stuff are you listening to now, and do you have any recommendations?
HEMSTAD: I dunno really, we got different taste but if I speak for myself I listen much to different studio recordings for inspiration. You asked earlier about Swedish music and I've listened to "Writers Block" (By Peter, Björn and John) and I have to say that the recording sound is pretty great. I like the "flat" sound and the high mixed percussion and short bass. They captured a "thin" sound very nice. Back to basics. Cool.
(3)Alright ... I think I'm out of questions here. I am absolutely amazed by you guys. You always cheer me up (even when I'm not feeling down), and your songs seem to get deeper and more complex and stunning on each re-listen. If only I had the talent and inspiration that you all do ... Thanks! Have a good day. (And consider coming to America! Los Angeles in particular!)
HEMSTAD: Thank you very much. Take care!
Hemstad - Sommar i Göteborg