Following a crazy performance on the Bagatelle stage on the second day of the Solidays 2012 festival, we met the three danish rockers at the Press Area in order to got more details about their next album.
Is it the first time you’re playing at Solidays?
– Yes.
Are you touring this summer?
– We are actually finishing our second album, we’re having a single mixed probably next week. This is our first show here in almost a year.
– We’ve just been writing for the second album.
Is this show a part of a tour?
– No, we flew in from New York. We landed an hour before the show because there were delays on our plane. So we drove directly here, we played the show. We hope to get some food soon, some alcohol and some french women.
What’s the main theme on the new album?
– I honestly think it’s gonna be a lot of love related songs, because for us as a band we started off in Denmark, Copenhagen having girlfriends and stable life, whatever you want to call it. And we moved to the USA when we signed a record deal with Sony. and our life, a culture shock. We’ve been there for almost three years and we’re still having trouble adapting. We love America, and we love it since we’re small, it’s a very influential country especially with music and lifestyle. We’ve gone through a lot, a lot of change, broken up with girlfriends and what not, all three of us.
– He’s from the US, he got in the band about two years ago when our former drummer went back to Denmark, now he has his own life there, his own band. We had a few auditions and we got this videotape from him, and he seemed really perfect. Then we had a rehearsal and the first drum, the first hit he did we were like this is no doubt, this is the guy. No joke.
We can see on stage that you have a connection.
– Yeah, absolutely, it’s a vibe, an energy.
Is this album going to talk about this experience?
– I think we’re talking about everything , from being on the road… last year we played life 250 shows, mainly in the USA, then we did a European tour, a Canadian tour, 6 US tours. So the lyrics are like “so I packed up my bags, kissed my girl, goodbye. the road is my home, i’m a lonely guy. I bang at the music, play it loud. My lips kicks the drum, make the beat drop. Sail it down the road, i’m in control. Everybody knows music saved my soul.”
– So we’re talking about all these incidents. We went through a lot of stuff, it’s a lot of change moving from a country to a culture shock, losing a girl, someone you care for… so all of this is going to be a part of that, and it’s us. We write and we do our music, it comes from our heart and we’re looking forward also to develop and show other sides, come back and rock the places you know.
And the audience feel it!
– Yeah this is unbelievable, it’s music in its most essential sense, it’s communication beyond language. The barrier of language is broken
– When you’re a musician and you write songs and you play them and you go through a break, when you start rehearsing and you make them sound how you want them to sound and you get to play in festivals like this, even after a break while writing a new album and you see this reaction, you have to thank something, a god or something, it’s such an honor. There is always a kind of electricity between the band and the audience, when you capture that it’s very amazing.
Do you know the message behind this festival ? Related to Aids… no only in France but also in Africa. What’s the message you want to say about it?
– I’m not educated enough in this field and any of us are but just the fact that there is a festival where people are getting together and having a great time, to put awareness. People care and make an effort of some sort, it’s one step forward and i think it’s what is really important. It’s important that whatever you want to change in the world you live in you have to put an awareness to it, that’s how everything starts
– I was going to say a very cheesy line but “knowledge is power”. The more people know… yeah i know this sentence is horrible !
– Only our drummer could say that!
– That’s an issue that needs to be considered and confronted. And it’s our responsibility to do that.
Do you think you’re an engaged band?
– Absolutely. Even though when we wrote the songs we didnt think of it. Take a song like “New Generation”, we’re going to sum up the perspective of some of the things that we face and we deal with because what do we do as generation for our society. We do what we do but it takes an effort. The chorus of “New Generation” is : “don’t keep it or waiting”… i forgot the lyrics this is embarrassing, we’re so professional! “Don’t keep me waiting, the world is fading you’ve got nothing to prove, finally it all comes crashing down to the earth, finally we get what we deserve”.
– It sort of explain this is a situation where it’s up to you as an individual.
– That’s what we were speaking about earlier, as an artist you get to a point where you have a voice, it’s your responsibility to communicate some of these things to the public because if there’s somebody who have a connection i feel with what is real and what is not…and it doesn’t matter if it’s a musician or painters or whatever it is. It’s a very honest and very real impact. People only buy it if you mean it.
– And us as artists we don’t know especially what is right and what is wrong. We don’t know what the right example is because we’re no different than the persons who sing songs with us or jumping with us. When we’re on stage we’re just three guys who enjoy what we’re doing that comes from our heart and people relate to it, and we’re grateful for that. But that’s the effort that counts.
Our website is called “RockYourLife!”, so what is actually rocking your life?
– Living. And living is now, all around us. It’s the presence of movement right now. It’s being able to do, knowing that you’re alive. If i tell you the last 24 hours, setting this up, being on tour for a year and coming to this. Now we’re on a fucking cloud. Playing some of the new songs, the reaction that we’ve gotten from the new songs are amazing. And knowing we were delayed for 4 hours, we landed on a plane, got in on a car, drove straight here, that’s all real. And that rocks us. And what is real is that… what time is it now, 6 o’clock, we have a 5 AM flight back to New York.
So you’re staying all night long here?
– Yeah, we’ll see other bands and party, support the cause. And i wanted to say that we haven’t been in France once without having the most amazing experience. We met the nicest people and played amazing shows here and it’s insane. France is one of the countries that we love the most. Before landing we spoke about it, maybe we’ll write the next album here and maybe live here for a year.
with the help of Olidayyy
Website : newpoliticsrock.com
