There you go, my friends!
Dark Tranquillity Italia
Interview w/ Mikael Stanne
Gods Of Metal, Milan, Italy 03-06-2007
Hello Mikael! Thanks for coming back to Italy once again, and thanks for dedicating some time for this interview.
Oh, it's my absolute pleasure. We have been looking forward to this for a long time, because this is probably the best festival in the world for us. The bill they manage to create year after year is amazing.
1) One of the things that striked me most, when comparing Fiction to Character, is the great variety of songs. Do you think this is the most relevant difference between the two albums, or are there some others to be mentioned?
Yes! Variety is definitely a very important point, as this was what we had in mind during the songwriting process and we mentioned this in almost all inteviews. But I think there are some other differences as well. We actually didn't want to limit ourselves at all, therefore we decided to consider writing songs which felt really diverse from each other, no matter how fast or slow they were. We also tried to be more open-minded than before, leaving restrictions out. And this is another important difference, as the songwriting process for Fiction felt more like creative experience than ever before.
2) As we see from the credits on Fiction, it seems like Anders Jivarp has taken the role of Niklas Sundin as a co-songwriter, supporting Martin Henriksson as the main songwriter. Why is that? And what can you tell us about the songwriting process for Fiction?
Yes, this actually is true. Besides drum-beats, Anders writes a lot on his piano: basically melodies, chords and basic rythmic elements, and then Martin [Henriksson] usually converts that material into guitar riffs, adding his own melodies. Niklas [Sundin]'s role was different as he generated ideas and wrote music for Martin [Henriksson] to modify and "make it is own", is a way. But I don't see our songwriting as a matter of individual contributions - we don't really care about who gets the credits, as it's all ours in the end.
3) In most of your albums, Fredrik Nordström was the main producer, while on Fiction you teamed up with Tue Madsen - who, by the way, did a really great job. Why was that decision made?
Well, actually Fredrik Nordström was never our producer, in any sense. Probably the most producing he ever did for us was for Projector, as he was involved in the keyboard arrangements, and in recording the vocals as well. But, apart from that, he was never really around when we recorded, as we ratherered record on our own and then give our work to him for the mixing process. He always did a great job, but we never really worked with him: we did a part of the work, and he did the other - separately. And this time we decided to do something different, as we had our own studio [Martin Brändström's], but also because Fredrik Nordström moved his studios. In fact, having the studios so close was part of the convenience of having his work on most of our albums. But now that the situation has changed we felt like we should try something else, so this is why we decided to work with Tue Madsen. And as you said, his work on Fiction was fantastic, absolutely amazing: I actually think this is the best sound we have ever had.
4) Imagine this situation: you have a map and you have to connect Fiction with two other Dark Tranquillity albums. What would your choices be?
Well, Fiction is really aggressive and feels really fresh to us, so my first choice I guess it would be The Gallery. But Fiction also has a lot of experimentation in it, so I feel it has a bit of Projector in it as well. These would definitely be my choices.
5) As you just mentioned, "experimental" is a term that the media loves associating to your last few albums. Do you think that this definition is appropriate for Dark Tranquillity, or maybe what they call "experimentation" is just something different?
One one hand, I don't think we are creating something that never existed before, of course. I understand that when it comes to definitions, "experimental" is a term that is probably better applied to genres like Progressive than to our music. But it probably applies to us as well, on a personal level. For us, what we do it's experimental in many ways. I mean we always try new solutions, we try to have a different approach on each song, or, at least, on each album. We also try to figure out what happens if we add something new to our songs, that's why we are constantly experimenting new sounds, new ideas, new ways of writing our own music. That is our way of being "experimental".
6) It's now 18 years Dark Tranquillity is on the scene. If you take a look back at your past, what do you think about your career of musicians?
It's hard to answer to this question! We started the band because we wanted to write our own music together, because we wanted to have fun, because we wanted to create something different, really different. Things have just constantly been better for us, year after year, and we are enjoying this. We feel we are growing both musically and as a band. Musically, because what we create is getting better all the time, and this makes us very proud. As a band, because we are participating to growingly important shows and tours. Dark Tranquillity is not about fast success: we don't want to write commercial music, we don't want to be the most "in" band of the year. This is something we all agreed since the beginning: we make the music that we want, and eventually people will come to like it. And it seems we finally made it.
7) In the last few years, some Swedish band like In Flames or Opeth have managed to make their way into the US market, obtaining a widespread and significant appreciation. Dark Tranquillity, by contrast, seems to have trouble in doing that. What do you believe is the cause for this? Is it a matter of commercial vs. complex sounds?
Yes, probably our music is not as famous as that of the bands you mentioned, but I think it is getting better and better. For example, the last US tour we did with The Haunted [Metal For The Masses Tour] was fantastic, and the response of the public was really great. I believe that American audiences are catching up: this is probably due to the fact that people who are into Metalcore, are now discovering from where that comes from - the origin of it. This is why we can't wait to get back there and play, as it's a constantly growing scene.
8) Empty Me is a very special song to me, as it features some - I would say - progressive elements (i.e. the final solos and riffs). This is certainly very unusual for your style, so why did you choose to do it?
This song has been a real challenge for us. Anders [Jivarp] loves progressive, as well as Martin [Henriksson] and me - we are actually great fans of Progressive Rock bands [lifts his shirt to show his Rush belt buckle]. This is why we decided to try to make something different, and it took ages to record those parts. It was very funny to see Martin [Henriksson] being tortured by playing those parts, a real challenge for him and for all of us as well.
9) A question about "Icipher" [correctly pronounced as "I-Cypher", in the words of Mikael Stanne]: what is the exact meaning of this word?
Oh. Well, this is something I will disclose for the fans only, you will never find an answer to this question on magazines [lowers his voice]."Icipher" is actually a play of words, combining "I-C-Fear" and "cyphers". The meaning is connected to the lyrics: I see fear in others - friends and relatives - but at the same time I try to put that in cyphers, to conceal the true meaning of my lyrics. It's a bit complicated, as you can see. Actually, this song had a different title at the beginning, but then Niklas [Sundin] came up with this idea which made perfect sense to the general meaning of the lyrics, so we definitely agreed to call it "Icipher".
10) As we all know, Metalcore was heavily influenced by Swedish bands like Dark Tranquillity, and it is now becoming really successful. Does Metalcore now have a back-influence on you?
No, not really. I listen to some Metalcore bands, but Martin [Henriksson] - who is the main songwriter - never listens to this kind of music at all, so I don't think Dark Tranquillity is influenced in any way by Metalcore. But I want to stress a fact: whatever our influences are, whatever music we listen to in a certain period, when we consider using an idea which is inspired by another band we put that idea through a process of "filtering" that will eventually turn it into something else which is only Dark Tranquillity. For example, if we come up with some Jazzy guitar melody, when the process is over it could turn out to be a Grindcore/Death Metal riff. This is how it works: no matter what the input is, it is still going to end up being Dark Tranquillity anyway.That is how "narrow minded" we are.
Dark Tranquillity Italia
Interview w/ Mikael Stanne
Gods Of Metal, Milan, Italy 03-06-2007
Hello Mikael! Thanks for coming back to Italy once again, and thanks for dedicating some time for this interview.
Oh, it's my absolute pleasure. We have been looking forward to this for a long time, because this is probably the best festival in the world for us. The bill they manage to create year after year is amazing.
1) One of the things that striked me most, when comparing Fiction to Character, is the great variety of songs. Do you think this is the most relevant difference between the two albums, or are there some others to be mentioned?
Yes! Variety is definitely a very important point, as this was what we had in mind during the songwriting process and we mentioned this in almost all inteviews. But I think there are some other differences as well. We actually didn't want to limit ourselves at all, therefore we decided to consider writing songs which felt really diverse from each other, no matter how fast or slow they were. We also tried to be more open-minded than before, leaving restrictions out. And this is another important difference, as the songwriting process for Fiction felt more like creative experience than ever before.
2) As we see from the credits on Fiction, it seems like Anders Jivarp has taken the role of Niklas Sundin as a co-songwriter, supporting Martin Henriksson as the main songwriter. Why is that? And what can you tell us about the songwriting process for Fiction?
Yes, this actually is true. Besides drum-beats, Anders writes a lot on his piano: basically melodies, chords and basic rythmic elements, and then Martin [Henriksson] usually converts that material into guitar riffs, adding his own melodies. Niklas [Sundin]'s role was different as he generated ideas and wrote music for Martin [Henriksson] to modify and "make it is own", is a way. But I don't see our songwriting as a matter of individual contributions - we don't really care about who gets the credits, as it's all ours in the end.
3) In most of your albums, Fredrik Nordström was the main producer, while on Fiction you teamed up with Tue Madsen - who, by the way, did a really great job. Why was that decision made?
Well, actually Fredrik Nordström was never our producer, in any sense. Probably the most producing he ever did for us was for Projector, as he was involved in the keyboard arrangements, and in recording the vocals as well. But, apart from that, he was never really around when we recorded, as we ratherered record on our own and then give our work to him for the mixing process. He always did a great job, but we never really worked with him: we did a part of the work, and he did the other - separately. And this time we decided to do something different, as we had our own studio [Martin Brändström's], but also because Fredrik Nordström moved his studios. In fact, having the studios so close was part of the convenience of having his work on most of our albums. But now that the situation has changed we felt like we should try something else, so this is why we decided to work with Tue Madsen. And as you said, his work on Fiction was fantastic, absolutely amazing: I actually think this is the best sound we have ever had.
4) Imagine this situation: you have a map and you have to connect Fiction with two other Dark Tranquillity albums. What would your choices be?
Well, Fiction is really aggressive and feels really fresh to us, so my first choice I guess it would be The Gallery. But Fiction also has a lot of experimentation in it, so I feel it has a bit of Projector in it as well. These would definitely be my choices.
5) As you just mentioned, "experimental" is a term that the media loves associating to your last few albums. Do you think that this definition is appropriate for Dark Tranquillity, or maybe what they call "experimentation" is just something different?
One one hand, I don't think we are creating something that never existed before, of course. I understand that when it comes to definitions, "experimental" is a term that is probably better applied to genres like Progressive than to our music. But it probably applies to us as well, on a personal level. For us, what we do it's experimental in many ways. I mean we always try new solutions, we try to have a different approach on each song, or, at least, on each album. We also try to figure out what happens if we add something new to our songs, that's why we are constantly experimenting new sounds, new ideas, new ways of writing our own music. That is our way of being "experimental".
6) It's now 18 years Dark Tranquillity is on the scene. If you take a look back at your past, what do you think about your career of musicians?
It's hard to answer to this question! We started the band because we wanted to write our own music together, because we wanted to have fun, because we wanted to create something different, really different. Things have just constantly been better for us, year after year, and we are enjoying this. We feel we are growing both musically and as a band. Musically, because what we create is getting better all the time, and this makes us very proud. As a band, because we are participating to growingly important shows and tours. Dark Tranquillity is not about fast success: we don't want to write commercial music, we don't want to be the most "in" band of the year. This is something we all agreed since the beginning: we make the music that we want, and eventually people will come to like it. And it seems we finally made it.
7) In the last few years, some Swedish band like In Flames or Opeth have managed to make their way into the US market, obtaining a widespread and significant appreciation. Dark Tranquillity, by contrast, seems to have trouble in doing that. What do you believe is the cause for this? Is it a matter of commercial vs. complex sounds?
Yes, probably our music is not as famous as that of the bands you mentioned, but I think it is getting better and better. For example, the last US tour we did with The Haunted [Metal For The Masses Tour] was fantastic, and the response of the public was really great. I believe that American audiences are catching up: this is probably due to the fact that people who are into Metalcore, are now discovering from where that comes from - the origin of it. This is why we can't wait to get back there and play, as it's a constantly growing scene.
8) Empty Me is a very special song to me, as it features some - I would say - progressive elements (i.e. the final solos and riffs). This is certainly very unusual for your style, so why did you choose to do it?
This song has been a real challenge for us. Anders [Jivarp] loves progressive, as well as Martin [Henriksson] and me - we are actually great fans of Progressive Rock bands [lifts his shirt to show his Rush belt buckle]. This is why we decided to try to make something different, and it took ages to record those parts. It was very funny to see Martin [Henriksson] being tortured by playing those parts, a real challenge for him and for all of us as well.
9) A question about "Icipher" [correctly pronounced as "I-Cypher", in the words of Mikael Stanne]: what is the exact meaning of this word?
Oh. Well, this is something I will disclose for the fans only, you will never find an answer to this question on magazines [lowers his voice]."Icipher" is actually a play of words, combining "I-C-Fear" and "cyphers". The meaning is connected to the lyrics: I see fear in others - friends and relatives - but at the same time I try to put that in cyphers, to conceal the true meaning of my lyrics. It's a bit complicated, as you can see. Actually, this song had a different title at the beginning, but then Niklas [Sundin] came up with this idea which made perfect sense to the general meaning of the lyrics, so we definitely agreed to call it "Icipher".
10) As we all know, Metalcore was heavily influenced by Swedish bands like Dark Tranquillity, and it is now becoming really successful. Does Metalcore now have a back-influence on you?
No, not really. I listen to some Metalcore bands, but Martin [Henriksson] - who is the main songwriter - never listens to this kind of music at all, so I don't think Dark Tranquillity is influenced in any way by Metalcore. But I want to stress a fact: whatever our influences are, whatever music we listen to in a certain period, when we consider using an idea which is inspired by another band we put that idea through a process of "filtering" that will eventually turn it into something else which is only Dark Tranquillity. For example, if we come up with some Jazzy guitar melody, when the process is over it could turn out to be a Grindcore/Death Metal riff. This is how it works: no matter what the input is, it is still going to end up being Dark Tranquillity anyway.That is how "narrow minded" we are.
