SPIDERS (Eng.)
– Hello and first of all, thanks for taking the time. How is everything going right now with SPIDERS? What are you currently up to?
Hi, and thank you for YOUR time! At the moment the world is spinning, with the upcoming release and all. We’re having the time of our lives and are enjoying every moment. We’ve worked very hard for such a long time. And soon we’re gonna work even harder, all over Europe!
– You have jus released your second album, «Shake Electric». How are you feeling about it? What did you learn from recording your debut album? I mean, do you think this time you got closer to you actual sound or is it just an ever-evolving process?
We’re feeling great about it! Recording is always a struggle, I mean in a way it has to be. In the same time it’s the most exciting thing on earth, besides playing live. On our first record, Flash Point, had a bit more punk vibe to it. We’re still punks, but we also wanted to try something else, both sound wise and music wise. To combine harder parts with softer ones, cause I think it adds more depths and makes it more interesting.
– First off, as I guess some people won’t know about you yet, could you please make some history of the band?
The band was formed by John and Axel (from Graveyard) in 2010. They fooled around with some songs and needed a vocalist. They asked Ann-Sofie, who said yes, and then Matteo came along. After their first EP released by Crusher Records, Axel felt that he had to focus fully on Graveyard. That’s were I came in to the picture. Our first album was released 2012 on Crusher Records. We did some tours, both on our own and with other bands (Graveyard, Kvelertak). In the beginning of 2013 Matteo decided to leave the band. He wanted to focus on his own music. We are still good friends. He was replaced by Olle, a wonderful person and musician. I think this line up will last for a hundred years!
– «Spiders» is a really simple yet straight-forwad name for a band, is strange it wasn’t taken. How did you come up with it?
The name Spiders is kind of stolen from from Alice Coopers first band…it’s also influenced by The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
– I think things happened quite fast for the band; you were formed in 2010, then released some short-length recordings, played live and had some line-up changes. This said; how has the band grown since 2010? And how has playing live helped becoming a more solid unit?
Yeah, there’s been a lot of water under the bridge! I think it has making us stronger as a unit. Cause you are a unit when your in a band, recording, touring, carrying heave stuff through cold February nights in Finland or whatever. These things makes you stronger and are equally important as playing live. You have to be understanding with one another. We’ve done a lot of that: carrying, playing, driving, not sleeping. Of course it’s hard sometimes. But I wouldn’t change it for the world! We are best friends who loves each other and also happens to play together. As long as you have that, you can go on forever.
– As I said, you have just released your new album, «Shake Electric». Its title is a trick on what we can find on the album I believe. Was your idea to have as a title something that could capture the essence of your music?
Exactly! It’s the last song we wrote on the album. Shake Electric is really all about dancing and having the time of your life. Our goal is to make every one drop what they’re doing and start dancing when they hear that particular track. And that goes for the rest of the songs as well. To make some kind of reaction. Physically and mentally.
– Digging into this new opus, I think is less aggressive (or even rockier) than your debut album. Was this a chosen path or just how things went?
I like when bands has the guts to mix softer parts with bad ass ones, as I mentioned earlier. Take the band Ghost for instance. They mix a softer kind of metal with satanic lyrics and heavy riffs. I think it’s brilliant.
– It has different percussions and piano for instance, something that I think helps making certain moments in your music more mellow. Due to this I would like to know how did you approach the songwriting process this time around.
We were all involved in the songwriting this time. And I think it reflects the sound of the album. On some of the songs we wanted to add more layers with both choirs, acoustic guitar and piano. We had that in mind during the whole process. We also listened a lot to bands like Heart, who are a big influence.
– In general I think «Shake Electric» is more diverse than «Flashpoint». How important is to keep things interesting? Not just for your listener, but for yourself, both as musicians and songwriters.
I think it’s one of the most important things when you are a musician. To constantly develop both your individual sound and the sound of the band. That’s what keeps you going forward, without looking over your shoulder to much.
– It has also a lot of contrasts, being really heavy yet soft, a quite 70’s thing I think. Is it easy to get a good equilibrium without diminishing each part?
It can be, when everything feels just right. We like contrasts. It’s where magic happens.
– You draw a lot from Blues and the 60’s and 70’s. Nowadays there are a lot of bands playing rock with a traditional flavour, but aren’t that bluesy, nor 60’s, going more for a 70’s kind of sound. So, do you think this is a trademark that could make you stand out easier?
I think its good to go back to the roots of things and find new ways of looking at it. We like a lot of different kind of music from all over the world and times. Some one recently said we sounded like a mix of Kiss (on Love Gun) and the sound track from the musical Fame. I think it’s the nicest compliment we ever got!
– In fact the organic, with a live vibe, mix fits with these old influences. That’s why I would like to know how did you record the album like.
We recorded the album in two weeks at Kungsten Studios with Mattias Glavå in Gothenburg where we live. Its an analogue studio and most of the tracks are done live, even the vocals because Mattias wanted to catch us the way we are when we are on stage. We just added some overdubs and like backing vocals, solos and percussion and then the album was done.
– All this about «Shake Electric» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
Dance
Cry
Laugh
– You have already done a video for the title track. What could you comment on it?
Ann-Sofie wrote the lyrics to the song. Its about herself and her best friend Karolina who actually stars in the video. Its about all the good times they had and never wanting it to end. Its about being best friends forever. The producer Iain wanted to have a tragic element in the film so we had Karolina overdosing on some weird eyedrops that takes her into some shake Electric world before she dies haha. A lot of it is filmed in the bars and clubs were we hang out in Gothenburg. We just had an evening out and they filmed the video.
– You are hailing from Sweden, a country that has always had a lot of quality Rock bands and a great festival scene. What does that land have that gives birth to so many good Rock and Metal bands? What contemporaries are your favoruite ones? For instance I’ve always found similarities between you and BEAST.
I don’t know really. Some people says it’s something in the water we drink, Haha! No, but Sweden has a long history of giving birth to many great bands who made a musical foot print in the rest of the world. We got a lot of brilliant bands from Sweden right now: Goat, Night Viper, Bombus, Graveyard, Imperial State Electric, The
Vanjas, The Maharajas to name a few. Beast are great and has a really nice punk vibe to their music. We’ve played with them a few times. Great people.
– Later this year, in December, you will be touring Spain (and Portugal) so, what can we expect to see on stage?
A great portion of love, commitment, heat and a lot of Rock’n’roll music!
– And finally, what are your near-future plans?
Touring is never boring, as we use to say. We’re gonna tour till our eyes and ears bleed. Then we enter the studio to make a new record. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,as Bachman-Turner Overdrive once said!
– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
See you all wonderful people of Spain and Portugal in December! Don’t forget to bring your dance shoes!
/Ricard Harryson
