This Is Head

Swedish indie band ”This Is Head” will release their new album in 2019. With close to 10 years as a band we sent over some questions to see what 2019 holds for the band.

                                         Courtesy/Photo: This Is Head

First of all great to hear that a new EP is on it´s way. Could you tell us a bit on how and where you recorded the new EP?

It´s actually an EP with four long tracks, the EP was recorded live in late 2018 during three days in Studio Sickan, Kirseberg, Malmö. We had been working on these songs among others from time to time during several years, 2015-2018. We felt that these 4 instrumental songs were ready to be recorded and that they all worked very well together. When entering the studio we wanted to keep the live energy, that we always have when play together, so we didn´t want to change anything after the recording, no adjustments, no fixing, first time we do like that! Keep it, totally honest.

If you compare to your previous albums, did you take a different approach this time when planning and jamming songs for the new EP?

Well yes we knew when entering the studio that we will not mix these songs ourselves after they are recorded, and not add to much extra on them. So we tried to rehearse as much as possible before recording, but not too much cause we wanted to be inspired and improvise a bit in the studio, taking some last minute decisions. We wanted you as a listener to be touched by the live feeling. 

If we are not totally incorrect you will also reach approximately 10 years as a band this year. From when you started the band up until now, how has the journey been during all these years?

It´s been a lot of fun, we have been fortune enough to travel a lot, play cool places, visit beautiful cities. Win rewards, having dreams come true, played festivals we loved as young boys etc. We didn´t expect that in the early days. 

It´s always boring to label bands, yet you seem to fit well within “krautrock”, “proggrock”, “alternative indie rock”, “postrock”, “psychedelic rock” and even sometimes purely “instrumental rock”. If you would define yourself without listening to the so call “experts”, what would your own take be and why so?

That´s a very tricky question, but I guess the listener have to help us here, and maybe our music is harder than others to label. We listen to a lot of different music, and of course krautrock is a big influence, but also dance, disco, rock, lofi, hifi, psychedelic, hip hop, cinematic music, yes everything. I don´t think is so important to give music more than two labels - good music and bad music.

But of course that´s individual for everyone. ☺

You were quite hyped during your first years. Was that something that inspired you or was it more of a burden?

It´s was super good for us, from the beginning we created something that we wanted to do, with no commercial thoughts, no radio single thinking, just music that we liked. We didn´t listen to what others thought. And then after releasing the first songs we got some kind of hype, and of course we were so proud, and happy about that, cause we felt we had recorded and created from our hearts. It feels like we still have a little of that confidence in what we do, we do what we want to do. 

If we go back to your first albums for a while and start with the first one. You used “numbers” instead of “real songtitles”. What was the thought behind that?

Just an crazy/easy idea, when it was time to name the songs we named them in the order we wrote them. Easy, less to think about. ☺

 

Another early favorite song is “Staring Lenses”. Except for being really great musicians you seem to work well with creating “athmospheres” and the songs take on a “life of their own”. How did you come up with the idea of “Staring Lenses”?

We were in svenska grammofonstudion in Göteborg and found this very nice old moog synth that we liked, and we wanted to make a very dark, full of energy version of the Staring Lenses demo we already had been working on in Malmö. Together with the kick drum the moog felt so perfect, intense & deep. I think we were talking about the energy that Suicide often have in their songs. We were inspired and after that we recorded strings in Malmö, added some bass and guitar and vocals.

Another early classic is the composition “XVI” which you made a really great live video for. Where did you record that and was that a regular concert or only a video promo shot?

It was a concert we did at Dalby Stenbrott outside of Lund. It´s a beautiful place, very calm and special. It was a free concert that Lunds kommun arranged. A really nice memory, we had just finished the recording session of our second album, and this was the first concert we did with the new songs a half year before releasing them.

Seeing the band live some 3 times now, you seem to improvise quite a bit and the songs can have extended parts from time to time. Do you have passages where you improvise 100% live or do you for example agree with a “structure” on the soundcheck before each and every concert?

We do improvise sometimes yes, but we don´t prepare that too much, we have been playing together for such a long time, so we can feel when some parts are ready to be extended live.

You are based in Malmö in the very southern parts of Sweden with close connections to Denmark and Copenhagen. How has this influenced you?

We love Denmark and Copenhagen, and we been playing there much, especially in the beginning of our time as a band, the Danish people love music, art and culture. A great example of Denmark is Roskilde festival, probably the best festival in the world, interesting and great music, a lot of different people, art and orange feeling. We had a super experience when we played Roskilde 2011! Loved it!

As a musician myself it´s always interesting to hear what cover songs you would chose if you would ever do a cover album?

Haha that´s a hard question, we once played The Doors – Indian Summer on a friends weeding. Beautiful song, let´s choose that one to begin with! There is so many wonderful songs in the world. It´s hard to pick.

You have 3 upcoming concerts in Sweden this summer. What more does 2019 hold for the band in terms of live concerts?

Let´s start with those three concerts, we haven’t planned more for now, let´s see what happens. Would of course be great to play and revisit cities like New York, Los Angeles, Paris and London where we have played before, but we don´t know right now.

If you would arrange your own “imaginative” rock festival, which bands and artists would you chose and why? You are allowed to include those which have already departed up to heaven as well.

David Bowie — ESG — CSN&Y — Grouper — Cat Power — Lana Del Ray — Brian Eno — Suicide — Drugdealer — Cement — Daft Punk — Air — CAN — NEU! — Arthur Russel — Iceage — Amen Dunes — Joy Division — PJ Harvey — The Beatles playing white album — The Beach Boys playing Sunflower — Amy Winehouse — Nirvana — Stones — Primal Scream — Joni Mitchel — The Cure – Alice Boman — Golden Ivy — The Durutti Column — Caribou — Tornado Wallence — Yasuaki Shimizu — Julee Cruise — Massive Attack — Warpaint — Prince — Jai Paul — Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation — Goat — El Perro Del Mar — Ciccone Youth and Neneh Cherry.

Do you have any last reflections or words for your listeners out around the globe?

Listen when traveling by train or car.

Many thanks for taking your time to answer the questions for us!

More info here:

thisishead.com/

 

Tour:

2019-05-31 - Malmö, Sweden, Plan B

2019-06-01 - Gothenburg, Sweden, Oceanen

2019-06-06 - Stockholm, Sweden, Slaktkyrkan