Interview med André Kvarnström

Andre Kvarnstrom photo by sam chadwick

I forbindelse med deres fænomenale tredje plade, Holy Moly!, fik vi forleden en kort snak med Blues Pills-trommeslageren André Kvarnström.

Jeres nye album, Holy Moly!, har fået karakteren 9/10 her på Heavymetal.dk. Kan du fortælle os lidt om pladen, og er der et bestemt tema?

Holy Moly! er vores tredje album lavet af os selv, og vi har selv indspillet det, da vi har vores eget studie i Sverige. Teksterne på pladen er skrevet af Zach og Elin, men jeg vil sige, at det er mere baseret på ting, som er sket i vores liv gennem de seneste par år, og det er hovedsageligt det, pladen handler om. Den har sine mere alvorlige passager, men der er også steder, hvor vi ikke har taget os selv så seriøst. Et af numrene hedder fx ”Bye Bye Birdy” og handler om en udstoppet fugl, der står i studiet. Det var en gave vi fik af en ven.

Hvad var den største udfordring ved at lave albummet?

Måske det at vi lavede det selv. Det var en udfordring for os alle sammen, men også en form for kreativ frihed, synes jeg. Det var mig, Zach og Elin, der sammen støttede hinanden og lavede sangene som et band. Jeg var ikke med, da de andre startede bandet, men jeg fik fornemmelsen af, at det var sådan, de første sange blev skrevet i de tidlige dage for Blues Pills.

Hvordan griber I sangskrivningsprocessen an?

Det starter som regel med, at en af os viser de andre en ide på vores computer eller telefon i studiet eller øvelokalet, og så laver vi det færdigt sammen.

Har du et favoritnummer på pladen?

Mit favoritnummer på pladen er ”Song From a Mourning Dove”. Jeg husker den første gang Zach og Elin viste mig den sang; det var så kraftfuldt, at jeg har været vild med den lige siden.

Hvilke bands – både gamle og nye – er I inspireret af?

Fleetwood Mac, The Black Keys, The White Stripes, The Beatles, Michael Kiwanuka, Alabama Shakes, Khruangbin, Aretha Franklin, Sharon Jones & The Dapkings, Charles Bradley, El Michels Affair, Dungen, Tame Impala, The Allman Brothers Band og mange, mange flere…

Holy Moly! er mikset af Andrew Scheps – hvorfor lige ham, og hvordan kom I i kontakt med ham?

Vi vidste faktisk ikke rigtig, hvem der skulle mikse pladen indtil sidste øjeblik. Pladen var færdig og vi manglede egentlig bare den rette person til at gøre det. Vores manager havde prøvet at komme i kontakt med Andrew Scheps tidligere, men uden held. Men lige pludselig svarede han, at han kunne lide pladen og gerne ville mikse den. Det var virkelig en drøm, der gik i opfyldelse.

Jeres første plade var meget blueset, Lady In Gold var meget soul-præget og Holy Moly! er ret groovy og en smule hurtigere. Hvordan kan det være? Skyldes det en naturlig udvikling i jeres måde at skrive sange på?

Jeg synes, Holy Moly! er en blanding af de to første plader. Men jeg er enig i, at den nye er lidt hurtigere, og efter min mening er der noget mere råt over den. Det virkede egentlig, som om sangene udviklede sig ret naturligt. Nogle sange som fx ”Low Road” er bare lavet til at opretholde høj kvalitet og høj energi gennem hele nummeret, så lytteren kan nyde noget tungt.

Og når det så er sagt, hvad kan vi så forvente næste gang?

Vi er ikke rigtig startet på noget endnu, men jeg glæder mig til at skrive sange igen. Men i første omgang skal vi fokusere på at komme tilbage på landevejene, så snart corona er overstået.

Hvad er planerne for Blues Pills i den nærmeste fremtid, nu hvor I ikke kan turnere pga. covid-19?

Lige nu kan vi ikke rigtig gøre andet end at øve. Jeg håber hele denne her situation er overstået snart, så branchen kan komme op at køre igen, og folk kan komme ud og høre noget live-musik igen. Også så alle dem, der arbejder i den her branche, kan få deres arbejde og deres liv tilbage.

Her til sidst – er der noget særligt, I vil sige til jeres danske fans?

Tak for støtten! Og vi håber, I vil nyde vores nye plade.

Your new album Holy Moly! received a 9/10 rating at Heavymetal.dk - can you tell us a bit about the album? Is there a certain theme? 

Holy Moly! is our 3rd album made by ourselves and we recorded it by ourselves, since we have our own studio in Sweden. The lyrics for the album is written by Zach & Elin, but I would say that it is more based on things that have happened in our lives during the past years, and that’s mainly what the album is about. It has its more serious parts but also other parts where we didn't take ourselves to serious. One of the songs called "Bye Bye Birdy" for example, is about a stuffed bird that is placed in the studio, it was given to us as a present from a friend. 

What were the biggest challenges making the album?

Probably the fact that we did it on our own, it was a challenge for all of us but also some sort of creative freedom, I think. It was me, Zach, and Elin together in the studio supporting each other and making songs as a band. I was not there when the guys first started the band, but I got the feeling that it was a bit like how the firsts songs where made, early days of Blues Pills.

How do you approach song writing?

It usually starts with one of us showing the others a song idea on our phone or computer in the studio/practice room, and then we just work all together to finish it.  

Do you have a favorite song on the album?

My favorite song on the album is ”Song from a Mourning Dove”. I remember the first time Elin & Zach showed me that song, it was just so powerful, and I’ve just been hooked ever since.

Which bands - from the past and the present - are you guys inspired by?

Fleetwood Mac, The Black Keys, The White Stripes, The Beatles, Michael Kiwanuka, Alabama Shakes, Khruangbin, Aretha Franklin, Sharon Jones & The Dapkings, Charles Bradley, El Michels Affair, Dungen, Tame Impala, The Allman Brothers Band and on, and on, and on.. 

Holy Moly! is mixed by Andrew Scheps - why him and how did you get in contact with him?

We didn’t really know who was going to mix the album up until the very last moment, the album was done and we where just looking for the right person to do it. Our manager had been trying to get in touch with Andrew Scheps earlier, but with no success.  But then all of a sudden he replayed and said that he liked the music and wanted to mix it. That was a truly a dream coming true! 

Your first album was very bluesy, Lady In Gold was more soul-sounding and Holy Moly! is very groovy and a bit faster. Why is that? Has it been a natural progression in your way of writing songs? 

I think that Holy Moly! is a mixture between the two firsts albums, but I do agree that this one is more faster and in my opinion it has more of that raw-power kind of feeling to it. It just felt like the songs came together very naturally. Some songs like ”Low Road” is just meant to keep that high quality H20-energy throughout the hole song which allows the listener to enjoy a heavy tune. 

And in context to that question - what can we expect from your next album?

We haven’t really started anything yet but I look forward to be making songs again. But first we should try to aim to get back on the road as soon as the pandemic is over.

What does the near future hold for Blues Pills now that touring is a bit difficult because of covid-19? 

Right now all we can really do is practice, I hope that this situation ends soon so that the industry can get back up and so that people are able to attend and enjoy live music again. Also, so that everyone working in this business are able to get their jobs and lives back together. 

Last but not least - is there anything you would like to tell your Danish fans?

Thanks a lot for supporting the band and i hope you will enjoy our new album!