SOURCE – How exactly has Sweden been handling the pandemic situation? Because I know in parts of Europe and here in Brazil, it’s been a bit of a mess.
Aksel Holmgren (Drums) – It’s definitely been a challenge, as anyone would tell you. The government has caught some flak for being cautious, and some for not being cautious enough. All in all, my perception of the situation is that our government has handled the situation mostly based on the science available and made recommendations for the most part according to what that science dictates. Being a work in progress however with a completely new situation, mistakes are of course unavoidable. There has been a lot of public debate regarding restrictions and in what capacity they infringe on individual freedoms in the name of the greater good, which is a good discussion to have, but at the same time a very difficult one since the discussions between those pro or against vaccine mandates have their own “truths” (with no resonably demonstrated epistemological groundings) regarding the motives of vaccinations. Some discussions definitely seem to veer off the reasonable path and land in conspiracy land. Understandable for those who have vested interests and their lives severely impacted by the restrictions (businesses etc), in the same way that it is understandable that people who have lost family want even more restrictions. Difficult decisions, but I feel like Sweden did a reasonable job at keeping the worst disasters at bay. Some people will vehemently disagree as always, but I think the majority population in Sweden have decent faith in the capacity of the government.
SOURCE – Hopefully, things get back to normal sooner rather than later. But I do want to say congratulations on the upcoming album release, which is fantastic. And the singles have been getting positive feedback. How have you felt hearing such a positive response from fans?
Aksel Holmgren (Drums) – Agreed! And now we have to deal with the first war in Europe in a very long time. A lot of major shifts are happening right now to say the least.
Thank you for the nice words! We’re very happy it’s finally out as we’ve been working and sitting on the material for quite some time. There’s always an interesting phenomenon happening mentally when you release stuff, it’s almost like you gain a completely new perspective on something you know so intimately, just because you know it’s being perceived by others. You become vigilant of opinions of course, as any creative would tell you, but you also hear new things, just like that. “Oh so that’s what the issue with that part was, of course!”, giving you ideas and helping you hone your craft. Fascinating.
But like you said, the feedback we’ve gotten from our fans has been amazing, and we’re really grateful that we have so many people listening and connecting with us despite our decision to not have any commercial support (in terms of a label or PR company) for this release at all. Very proud and happy! Thank you!
SOURCE – The album is being described as being something quite different and marking a new era for the band. Would you agree with that assessment that this is the beginning of something new for the band?
Aksel Holmgren (Drums) – I would agree that it is different, but I would also add that it is a celebration of sorts of what TGD has become for us over time. It really is a coming of age album, a filling of the shoes, encircling and delimiting of everything TGD is about. It is also definitely an era marker like you say, and probably in more ways than you guys know right now. Stay tuned for more on that.
SOURCE – Some say that live streams are the next best solution to enjoy live music. But while this is not ideal, and while we would love to be at a show in person, do you think that there are, or have you experienced any benefits with setting up a live stream show?
Aksel Holmgren (Drums) – We have definitely toyed with the idea, but ultimately we have not gone down that route since in order to do the music and the visuals justice, it is a massive undertaking both financially and time wise. Some bands have done it beautifully, like TesseracT for example with Portals, and have set a good standard for how one should do it. Since it’s not really a live show when performing a streaming set as you lose so much of what makes a live show great, the visceral and embodied aspects, meaning you need to add cinematic value on top of just the band and some cool lights. You need to direct and plan more in that sense. This is something we might do in the future as something accompanying live shows, but nothing planned right now.
SOURCE – How important is it, and how much of the visual aspects of your concepts do you try to incorporate into other mediums, such as music videos or live performances, or even wardrobes or other forms of artwork?
Aksel Holmgren (Drums) – I’d say it’s very important. TGD has always been very exploratory and open, where we look for ways to express what we want creatively in a way that hopefully becomes somewhat clear for the recipient while staying true to the original intent (or lack thereof). These avenues have both been multiplied in the sense that we want to do so much of everything ourselves, and at the same time condensed since we learn as we go and run into restrictions. There is always a balance between what we want to do and what we’re able to do, and as we work we get better at finding how we can better express ourselves, (mostly) leading to more effective art. Art is communication, a language. It is deeply and fundamentally social, an alternate language we need to learn. As we learn, we get better at conveying what we mean, and the combination of visuals, music and wardrobe etc all reinforce this.
SOURCE – Your music falls somewhere in between heavier soundscapes and stunning melodic sections. What’s the trick when it comes to balancing the heavier aspects and the most soothing melodic sections in your compositions? Do you approach songwriting with a specific quiet/loud balance in mind?
Aksel Holmgren (Drums) – The approach has varied a lot for us, like we described earlier it’s largely been an experiment where intuition has been the main guiding force, always. For example, when I write stuff I tend to look for the emotional payoff right off the bat in order to establish why I would even care about whatever it is that I am trying to write. Now, this might be a chorus, a really angry, discordant riff, a section of melodically logical chords, or even just two repeating notes suspended in a chasm of reverb, with slight trembling alterations in timbre. It doesn’t matter, what matters, always, is the emotional connection. If it’s not there I’m not interested. And this goes very much for Fia as well. This is sometimes difficult when writing together as we all, by virtue of being individuals, have different emotional connections to different things. I think that me and Fia have been lucky in that sense since we share a lot of musical common ground and share a common language while talking about it, while at the same time being able to influence each other with new ideas.
The long and short of it is that the music just sort of happens. Intuition before intention. The approach is always emotional, and the planning and the carpentry of songwriting always takes the back seat, for better or worse :).
SOURCE – How important is the narrative aspect in your music compared to the purely instrumental/performative side of it?
Aksel Holmgren (Drums) – The albums have all had some narrative aspects to them, and this aspect has increased with every release. This is actually a side of things where me and Fia are not the same. Fia has definitely evolved into the narrator of the band, and the main driving force behind the band’s storytelling. This last album especially has Fia front and center. It’s not only because she is the storyteller of the group, but because she is a woman, and this album narrates a lot of female struggles, where she is the only one who can fully understand the subject matter because she has lived it. It is of course important to note that we, the guys, are committed to the struggle and consider ourselves allies to the fullest extent of the word. But we also believe that ownership of stories is important, and we are not its owners.
SOURCE – Any other news you’d like to share with our readers?
Aksel Holmgren (Drums) – As always, stay vigilant. We’re moving into somer new unknown territory as musicians and all we can say right now is that we’re very excited for the future.
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