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Into The Beyond: An Interview With Sweden's Cult of Luna By Chris Hawkins, Contributor Friday, June 13, 2003 @ 1:33 PM
CULT: Yeah, we did one show in Nottingham in December, but this was our first real tour over there. We have just been writing new songs and recording so the touring starts now. KNAC.COM: How did it go? CULT: Well, the shows did all right, more than all right, it was really fun, but we had some problems with bookings and stuff like that. KNAC.COM: You guys toured with Isis? CULT: Yeah, Isis and 27 and DJ Speedranch. We did four shows with them and three on our own. KNAC.COM: How was it going out with those guys? CULT: Incredible! On a personal level, everything just clicked. I really loved hanging out with all those guys. Isis and 27 are really amazing people. KNAC.COM: So what is Cult of Luna up to now? CULT: I don’t know really. (laughs) We’re playing a festival in Sweden soon, and we’re planning to do as much touring as possible next year. We didn’t play any shows last year so we were really excited to come out and play. That’s the plan, actually. About one and a half years ago, we had a meeting and decided we were going to focus on writing a new album and weren’t going to play any shows. That was the plan. KNAC.COM: You spent over a year on the album? CULT: No, it took probably 7 months to write, 3 months to record, and some months of just waiting for the record to just be released.
CULT: Thank you. Yeah, in the songwriting, we try to capture certain emotions and try to amplify them as much as possible. The tool that we try to use is dynamics as much as possible, and taking those different emotions to an extreme. The Metal part is really Metal, etc. KNAC.COM: Do you think bands miss the point when they play on 10 the whole time? CULT: Well, if you’re on 10 all the time, you’re on 0 really. Nothing happens. I’m not judging bands that play like that. I wouldn’t do it because I don’t like playing the same riff all over again. I’m trying to do something to give the song identity. We try at least. KNAC.COM: You’ve definitely been successful in capturing those peaks and valleys. It’s an album you can put on, listen to straight-through, and be taken to so many different places. CULT: Actually, that was the intent with the album because after we finished the first album, we already had all the songs done, so that album became some kind of discography of what we had done until then. We tried to mend all the songs together as good as possible. I think we did quite a good job. With the second album, of course I hope you can listen to it one song at a time, but the dynamics and everything are done in a sort of way that it can only be seen as a whole. That’s really the intent. I think that’s how we will write music in the future, too. KNAC.COM: I think Pelle Henricsson did a great job with capturing you guys on tape. CULT: Actually, didn’t. We did all the recording ourselves, and Pelle came into the production in the mixing process. He and Magnus (samples) did the mixing and did a great job. Pelle did a few amazing things for the record. He always had something good to say. KNAC.COM: How did you guys hook up with him? CULT: Actually, Magnus works at the studio. He works all the time. Right now they’re working with a band called Poison the Well. KNAC.COM: Describe the scene in Umea, Sweden. CULT: Where we come from is from the east coastline in the north of Sweden. It has always had a strong music scene and had a lot of different bands and clubs, everything from Jazz to Folk to our music. During the beginning of the 90s a big Punk scene grew and it spawned to be a Hardcore scene. A lot of great bands have come from here. I’m sure you have heard of Refused. That’s the scene that we grew up in and the scene that this band comes from. In ’94, every band sounded the same. There were a few exceptions, but mostly every band sounded the same. As time moves on, bands found their own identity. We come from the same background so you can hear how far the scene has grown apart. We’re all from the same seed. We have a lot of great bands from here like Meshuggah, Refused, and Naglfar. KNAC.COM: Coming from the Hardcore background, what was the spark of creativity that made you want to search deeper. CULT: I don’t know, actually. (laughs) I can only say from my musical writing. It was just a personal thing. It was what I wanted to do. What we are today, the music I write today, it’s something that held up through those years. I was into that San Diego Hardcore scene for a long time, and still am, actually. My all-time favorite band is from San Diego. Listening to them taught me how to write songs. KNAC.COM: What band is that? CULT: Unbroken. If you ever get a hold of their record “Lifelong Regret”, you should buy it! That’s THE record! (laughs) KNAC.COM: Throughout the record there seems to be a theme of self-exploration… CULT: In some extent, there is. The theme is I would say more of a self-exploration in the sense that you get to know your own faults. Actually, it’s the journey that takes place when you understand that you are not the master of your own actions. In a sense, you’re absolutely correct. KNAC.COM: What kind brought you to this theme? Where did you have to visit within yourself? CULT: Well, I just realized that I was under the illusion that I could control my own destiny and my own choices. I can choose between different things, but I can’t decide what I’m going to choose from. You can choose between Sprite, Pepsi, and Coke. That’s your choice, but you haven’t chosen those products. You make choices that others have presented for you. KNAC.COM: Do you think that you have to go down a dark path to see the light? CULT: Yeah, but I don’t think that I’ve seen the light yet, actually. Well, as soon as you think you’ve seen it…I think I read somewhere that the light at the end of the tunnel is an out of control freight train. (laughs) KNAC.COM: It’s definitely a dark record, but there seems to be an element of salvation present as well. CULT: Yeah, it depends. You’re on the right track, but we’ll see what will happen with the next record. You never know. When you think you’ve reached salvation, something just strikes you and fucks you up again.
CULT: Not as active as we should be. Actually, we’re constructing a new one that will be launched in the near future. It’s done by the same designer who did the artwork for the record so it will be the same theme as the record. KNAC.COM: Isn’t it an advantage being a band from Sweden that someone in Singapore or Argentina for example could check the band out? CULT: Yeah, that’s the plus side to it. Actually, we got a response from Iran. He said if he gets caught listening to our music, he gets punished. That’s so cruel. I don’t want people to get hurt. That’s really cool, though, and that’s a positive side to the Internet. I do see a negative side to it. I’m not Metallica with their fight against Napster. I just want people to understand that creating music costs time and money. As a musician and a struggling musician, you really need every little bit. Actually, music should be free, but that’s how things are right now. I just want people to know how many thousands of hours that have gone into this album. It’s cool that people that don’t have the money or live in other countries get the opportunity through the Internet. KNAC.COM: In Iran even! CULT: Yeah! (laughs) Doesn’t their hand get cut off or something? KNAC.COM: What rig are you using to get the guitar tone so up front and heavy? CULT: We’re using like 5 different amps. We found a little-known Swedish-made amplifier and some obscure Blues pedal that we used for most of the parts to get that right guitar sound. We spent a lot of time figuring it out. KNAC.COM: Do you find yourself constantly experimenting with different amps and effects? CULT: Yeah, and you’re never satisfied. (laughs) KNAC.COM: It’s the unending quest for the right tone! How would you describe the scene in Sweden as compared to your impressions of what’s going on here in the States? CULT: It depends on what scene I guess. People categorize us as a Metal band, and I have no idea what’s happening in the Metal scene. I don’t know about the Metal scene at all. KNAC.COM: How about the Hardcore scene? CULT: I don’t really know about that either because everything here in Umea sounds the same. There’s so much stagnation. Grindcore is not my cup of tea. Every band seems to be Crust-core or whatever. I don’t like it. In general, the music scene in America, it seems like the younger public seems to be more receptive to harder music. We don’t have that New Rock or Nu Metal scene here in Sweden. KNAC.COM: You’re lucky! CULT: Yeah, I mean I must say there’s a few good bands, but 80% of the ones I’ve heard are shit. It seems like a lot of Hardcore bands are being signed to major labels so it seems like the American public is more receptive to that music than here in Europe. As long as it’s not Power Metal. If it’s played by the 80s bands, then I’m ok with it, but those bands like Stratovarius, Hammerfall, they do reach a big audience but those of us who play Extreme Music are struggling still. KNAC.COM: Yeah, but you’re doing something new and fresh so you should definitely have a sense of artistic reward and satisfaction. CULT: Yeah, I mean we get a lot of emails, dude. People are really into us, and that’s reward enough to me. People come up and say the album’s meant a lot to them. That’s more than I could ever expect. I’m so honored by people that say stuff like that. KNAC.COM: It looks like you guys have a promising road ahead. Are there any plans on coming over here? CULT: We’ll see. I think by the end of the year, I wouldn’t be surprised if we would come over. We’ve had a few offers, but we haven’t decided anything yet. I think we’ll come over sooner or later. Be sure to check out www.cultofluna.com
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