SOURCE – So before talking about your record, I would love you to introduce your band. You are hailing from different countries Luxembourg, Denmark and Nigeria (Christine from Luxembourg/Denmark and Angel from Nigeria), so how have South Haven actually come together and what’s the story behind your name?
Stefan Leth (Bass) – Well hi there everyone! We’re South Haven – a Danish heavy rock band! We are Christine and Angel on vocals, Mathias on guitar, Sebastian on drums and Stefan on bass. We love long walks on the beach, playing kickass live shows and writing catchy heavy rock songs with a ton of dynamics and melodies that will get stuck in your head.
The guys had been playing in different constellations before South Haven became a thing. We were searching for a female lead singer for the project and wound up having 2 really cool girls for audition. Instead of choosing between them, we just asked them if they were up for being co-leadsingers. Luckily they were!
This all happened in our old rehearsal room in a part of Copenhagen called “Sydhavnen” (South Harbor) – that kinda inspired the name of the band. Both our manager, Mirza, and us, were brainstorming names independently, and when presenting names for each other, both of us had South Haven on our lists – the rest is history.
SOURCE – Your new album Motion was released this April and it didn’t disappoint! How did the whole process go and what was your inspiration for this album?
Stefan Leth (Bass) – Thank you so much! We’re really happy with how the album turned out, so we’re glad you like it!
The process was a long one – it started way before we were even a complete band. The guys had started writing songs and went through several different constellations before the songs and the lineup of the band was in place. The inspiration was drawn from a lot of different places, but the focus was always on writing good, catchy melodies and trying to put our own egos aside to better the track itself.
A lot of the lyrics revolve around some kind of heartbreak – ’cause we all know how that shit feels like, right…? But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll also find songs questioning the state of the world and mental issues. On the surface it might be catchy rock songs, but if you look a little closer, there’s actually a lot of different topics and hidden meanings and messages in there!
SOURCE – How important is the vocal contrast between Angel Jemegbe and Christine Nielsen? From a vocal perspective, yours are pretty quickly identifiable. Do you feel that you’ve done anything particularly distinct for Motion?
Stefan Leth (Bass) – It’s really important to us. It’s definitely one of the things that set us apart from other bands in the genre. Sometimes it’s all about working with contrasts, and other times, it’s about making harmonies that would otherwise be impossible. Having two lead vocals was an inspiration for us, when recording the songs. You feel less confined to doing one thing and more free to change things up. Sometimes, a verse or a bridge kinda “calls for” either Christine or Angel. They each have their own unique voice, that is really fun to play around with. It’s also something really different when we play live shows. We have two lead singers that can create unique dynamics and interactions on stage – and people really seem to like that.
SOURCE – You have just done a video for the song Dancing in Nightmares. Can you tell us about the video and its themes?
Stefan Leth (Bass) – The video and the lyrics symbolize how it can feel to be stuck in something you know is bad, but you keep trying to find a positive note amidst the darkness.
It’s also about finding yourself in a situation where you aren’t as committed to a relationship as the other person. Trying to keep up with the idea of a relationship rather than accepting what you actually feel.
Oh, and we got access to one of the coolest old buildings in Copenhagen and a really cool lightshow and light-guy. And light masks. And more cool lights. So it looks freaking cool, OK?!
SOURCE – Most Danish metal bands either fall into the heavy, thrash or death metal category, so it is it all difficult playing music that doesn’t fit the style of your country mates?
Stefan Leth (Bass) – Well spotted. Sometimes, it can be a challenge. We’re not “pop” enough for the big mainstream, and we’re not “heavy” enough for some of the metal scene. But actually, we have had great reception by the metal scene in Denmark. When we play alongside bands that are a lot more heavy than us, people still seem to dig what we’re doing. We really appreciate that people have an open mind. We like to consider us the “guilty pleasure” band of the heavy scene in Denmark.
SOURCE – What have you been doing now to keep yourself busy during this time of quarantine? Once things start to slowly reopen, what do you think our new normal will look like?
Stefan Leth (Bass) – We have each coped with quarantine in different ways. Some of us have worked from home, some have been bored AF, some have been enjoying nature and some have just been day drinking and binging Netflix. We’ve tried to the best of our ability to keep some sort of workflow around the band, planning for the future, fixing stuff that was overdue, creating a webshop for our music and merch – go check out southhaven.dk – designing new merch, perfecting live setup, etc., etc.
Hopefully there’s not gonna be a new normal. Hopefully the old normal returns again at some point. We kinda liked the old normal. But people having a bit more focus on hygiene and handwashing probably won’t ruin the world…
SOURCE – Obviously any sort of immediate touring plans have to be pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic – what are you trying to do in this downtime, and how do you think the scene will be for live shows when we get the all clear?
Stefan Leth (Bass) – We had of course hoped to play a shitload of concerts, but with the current state of the world, that’s probably not gonna happen… We have done a lot of practical stuff behind the scenes and we have begun writing some new stuff and brainstorming new ideas. The live scene will be tough in the beginning, but as with a lot of other things, it will return to a normal state again. At least we hope so.
SOURCE – Finally, what’s the rest of the year looking like for South Haven?
Stefan Leth (Bass) – We have a concert in November, celebrating the release of our album – better late than never, right? Other than that, we will be writing new material and perfecting our live set for when we will be able to play live again! Hopefully we’ll see you all out there sooner than later! Stay safe everyone – and keep listening to music!
Contact:
South Haven
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