Observers of
the goth/darkwave scene increasingly agree that Then Comes Silence is the best
new band to emerge so far in the twenty-first century, and the self-styled “Swedish
captains of post-punk” unleash their fifth album Machine on March 13th,
the first featuring new guitar duo Mattias Ruejas Jonson and Hugo Zombie.
Appealing to fans of both the original 80’s post-punk bands and those of the current scene, the two singles shared online in advance of the release of Machine (and featured here) have well over one hundred thousand combined views on YouTube, within a couple of weeks of release, and hint at a darker lyrical stance and a broader, colder musical style that retains the energy and melody that has made the preceding albums such an intense yet rewarding listening experience.
A third video, the visually stunning Apocalypse Flare, is released today, and again the fuller, more insistent sound resonates deeply, with Hugo Zombie's insistent rhythm guitar intersecting well with Mattias Ruejas Jonson's inventive riffing, over the pounding metronomic backbeat of Alex Svenson's bass and Jonas Fransson's drums.
TCS face what will hopefully be their breakthrough year with bookings at many of the big alternative European festivals this spring and summer and have just announced a short tour of UK dates in July to support the release of Machine. I am hugely grateful to founder member, bassist and lead singer Alex Svenson for taking the time and trouble to respond to my questions.
Machine and rest of the band’s essential
back catalogue can be ordered via Bandcamp.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
NIK
Your new album Machine is out on 13th March, but a lot has happened since your fourth LP Blood was released over two years ago, including the departure of both guitarists. Having worked with Seth in particular on different projects over the years, did you ever have any thoughts of ending the band at that point?
ALEX
No, I never had any intention of ending the band because of that. Of course, I will miss Seth and Jens as my friends, but if you can't keep pace with the band there's only one option and that's having to leave the band. The reasons for the departures of the former members including the ones from the early years, are quite dull and lame. They chose a different path which would lead to poor commitment or no commitment at all, and that doesn't work for the band. It's like any other work or teamwork. You can't win the game with a poor team. I am giving everything to music. I can't imagine a life without it. Being a bit cynical, of course it would have been a more mythical value if the former members had to leave because of rough living, drugs and shit... like it used to be in most bands in the 70's, 80's and 90's, but it's not because of that. I'm being silly, but the ones that might drink too much or go to bed last of all, stayed or joined the band!
NIK
You mentioned a “shelved album” in a recent interview, and when I asked you about a new album after the Edinburgh gig last summer you told me that it had already been recorded for a while. Have any of the songs survived from the aborted release, and was that recorded before you recruited the new guitarists?
ALEX
We kept only one song from the rejected album, which was actually only a demo. We never got so far as recording it properly. Hugo and Mattias joined right after the demo was smashed and buried for good. It was only me and Jonas, the drummer, who worked on the rejected tapes. Maybe that was a hunch that the other guitarists were already taking some distance from the band.
NIK
You were able to quickly find two amazing replacements, Hugo Zombie from legendary Basque horror punks Los Carniceros del Norte and Mattias Ruejas Jonson from fellow Swedish wave band A PROJECTION, who quickly added a new dimension to the band’s live performances. I would imagine that you would have known Mattias quite well already, being from the same city scene, but how did Hugo come to join the band?
ALEX
Hugo moved to Stockholm a couple of years ago. That was right after Los Carniceros del Norte broke up. He became friends with Jonas quite quickly. It was all good timing. At first he was hired as stand-in for Jens when we did a tour playing with Fields of The Nephilim and doing a German festival in 2018. Mattias was hired as a substitute too back in 2017.
NIK
With your background in design, Then Comes Silence album artwork has always been a key feature. The new album Machine has a stunning sleeve with a mask design, and you’ve said that by donning a “mask” to write from a different perspective, you’re able to broach subjects outwith your own personal experience. Is that more the case on this album than on the previous four?
ALEX
Yes, I believe so. To be able to rise from a knockdown blow, I had to try something else. I'm not the kind of guy who escapes or bows out. I managed to shake it off after some time. In hindsight it was an enriching experience even though it hurt.
NIK
The lyrics on Blood had a rather morbid theme – Into Death Alone, The Dead Cry For No-one and lyrics relating to your personal own family bereavement. Is this album more rooted in the darker side of contemporary life rather than death specifically?
ALEX
Uh hu, you can say that. These songs are more related to what was going on in my head at the time. More subjective than the other albums. I was pretty low at times. My discipline helped me work with things. There must be a spirit of a former boot camp sergeant that has taken aim on me.
NIK
The album colour scheme for Machine is a cold blue, very different to the warm red of Blood. Is the intention to match the changing mood of the music?
ALEX
I don't know. It's just something that comes naturally. I knew from the beginning that Machine was going to be a colder album in many ways.
NIK
To what extent has the change in the band personnel changed the band’s studio sound? Were you writing songs with Hugo and Mattias’ guitar style in mind, or do they have some freedom to add their own style to your basic song structure?
ALEX
Both. When I write the songs for Then Comes Silence I have the musicians in mind of course. It's like a play and we are the actors. I knew Hugo wasn't really the kind of guitarist fiddling around with the strings like that, but he is a very consistent guitarist and he never plays a wrong note. So the riffs were arranged with him in mind. We did it together sometimes. Mattias is more likely to be called the lead guitarist this time. He takes care of all the solos and melodies except for a couple that Hugo has. Mattias had the freedom to work with his guitar if he wanted to. So he did.
NIK
The well-received second single from the new album, Ritual, features Karolina Engdahl on joint lead vocal, and Hanna Carlsson provides backing vocals on the first single We Lose The Night (as she did on a couple of tracks on Blood). Do you envisage more collaborations in the future?
ALEX
Yes, well that's for the band to decide of course. There's one more singing on the album, Nicklas Stenemo from the fabulous band Kite.
NIK
In a recent interview you talked about the difficulty of breaking out of the very supportive but rather small global darkwave community. Last year Holygram toured with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Kaelan Mikla are on tour with Alcest at this very minute, as are Whispering Sons with Editors. Have you considered touring with a more mainstream act or a band from outside the post-punk scene?
ALEX
We have talked about it many times. We did some shows opening for Chameleons Vox and Fields of The Nephilim in 2018. Last year we were invited to support Cradle of Filth in London, but it didn't happen unfortunately. Long story, but we know Dani likes Then Comes Silence.
It's politics. There is usually a hype around the opening act. The big act get the proposals probably because sometimes agents owe each other favors. I don't know. Sometimes there's no money left for the opening act. It's taking a risk. Anyhow... We are up for it.
NIK
Last summer you toured the UK with 1919 for a series of small but well-received gigs and you’re returning this summer for another double-headed tour with them. Is touring with another band a financial imperative or is it just because it was so enjoyable last time?
ALEX
Two or three bands touring together on a small tour is a financial disaster and especially in the UK since the conditions are much harder there than the rest of Europe. Having said that, it was a beautiful memory and uplifting to meet so many nice followers and new-found friends. Honestly, we were taken by surprise seeing so many wearing our t-shirts and knowing about Then Comes Silence. It means a lot, so we have to go back.
Your new album Machine is out on 13th March, but a lot has happened since your fourth LP Blood was released over two years ago, including the departure of both guitarists. Having worked with Seth in particular on different projects over the years, did you ever have any thoughts of ending the band at that point?
ALEX
No, I never had any intention of ending the band because of that. Of course, I will miss Seth and Jens as my friends, but if you can't keep pace with the band there's only one option and that's having to leave the band. The reasons for the departures of the former members including the ones from the early years, are quite dull and lame. They chose a different path which would lead to poor commitment or no commitment at all, and that doesn't work for the band. It's like any other work or teamwork. You can't win the game with a poor team. I am giving everything to music. I can't imagine a life without it. Being a bit cynical, of course it would have been a more mythical value if the former members had to leave because of rough living, drugs and shit... like it used to be in most bands in the 70's, 80's and 90's, but it's not because of that. I'm being silly, but the ones that might drink too much or go to bed last of all, stayed or joined the band!
NIK
You mentioned a “shelved album” in a recent interview, and when I asked you about a new album after the Edinburgh gig last summer you told me that it had already been recorded for a while. Have any of the songs survived from the aborted release, and was that recorded before you recruited the new guitarists?
ALEX
We kept only one song from the rejected album, which was actually only a demo. We never got so far as recording it properly. Hugo and Mattias joined right after the demo was smashed and buried for good. It was only me and Jonas, the drummer, who worked on the rejected tapes. Maybe that was a hunch that the other guitarists were already taking some distance from the band.
NIK
You were able to quickly find two amazing replacements, Hugo Zombie from legendary Basque horror punks Los Carniceros del Norte and Mattias Ruejas Jonson from fellow Swedish wave band A PROJECTION, who quickly added a new dimension to the band’s live performances. I would imagine that you would have known Mattias quite well already, being from the same city scene, but how did Hugo come to join the band?
ALEX
Hugo moved to Stockholm a couple of years ago. That was right after Los Carniceros del Norte broke up. He became friends with Jonas quite quickly. It was all good timing. At first he was hired as stand-in for Jens when we did a tour playing with Fields of The Nephilim and doing a German festival in 2018. Mattias was hired as a substitute too back in 2017.
NIK
With your background in design, Then Comes Silence album artwork has always been a key feature. The new album Machine has a stunning sleeve with a mask design, and you’ve said that by donning a “mask” to write from a different perspective, you’re able to broach subjects outwith your own personal experience. Is that more the case on this album than on the previous four?
ALEX
Yes, I believe so. To be able to rise from a knockdown blow, I had to try something else. I'm not the kind of guy who escapes or bows out. I managed to shake it off after some time. In hindsight it was an enriching experience even though it hurt.
NIK
The lyrics on Blood had a rather morbid theme – Into Death Alone, The Dead Cry For No-one and lyrics relating to your personal own family bereavement. Is this album more rooted in the darker side of contemporary life rather than death specifically?
ALEX
Uh hu, you can say that. These songs are more related to what was going on in my head at the time. More subjective than the other albums. I was pretty low at times. My discipline helped me work with things. There must be a spirit of a former boot camp sergeant that has taken aim on me.
NIK
The album colour scheme for Machine is a cold blue, very different to the warm red of Blood. Is the intention to match the changing mood of the music?
ALEX
I don't know. It's just something that comes naturally. I knew from the beginning that Machine was going to be a colder album in many ways.
NIK
To what extent has the change in the band personnel changed the band’s studio sound? Were you writing songs with Hugo and Mattias’ guitar style in mind, or do they have some freedom to add their own style to your basic song structure?
ALEX
Both. When I write the songs for Then Comes Silence I have the musicians in mind of course. It's like a play and we are the actors. I knew Hugo wasn't really the kind of guitarist fiddling around with the strings like that, but he is a very consistent guitarist and he never plays a wrong note. So the riffs were arranged with him in mind. We did it together sometimes. Mattias is more likely to be called the lead guitarist this time. He takes care of all the solos and melodies except for a couple that Hugo has. Mattias had the freedom to work with his guitar if he wanted to. So he did.
NIK
The well-received second single from the new album, Ritual, features Karolina Engdahl on joint lead vocal, and Hanna Carlsson provides backing vocals on the first single We Lose The Night (as she did on a couple of tracks on Blood). Do you envisage more collaborations in the future?
ALEX
Yes, well that's for the band to decide of course. There's one more singing on the album, Nicklas Stenemo from the fabulous band Kite.
NIK
In a recent interview you talked about the difficulty of breaking out of the very supportive but rather small global darkwave community. Last year Holygram toured with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Kaelan Mikla are on tour with Alcest at this very minute, as are Whispering Sons with Editors. Have you considered touring with a more mainstream act or a band from outside the post-punk scene?
ALEX
We have talked about it many times. We did some shows opening for Chameleons Vox and Fields of The Nephilim in 2018. Last year we were invited to support Cradle of Filth in London, but it didn't happen unfortunately. Long story, but we know Dani likes Then Comes Silence.
It's politics. There is usually a hype around the opening act. The big act get the proposals probably because sometimes agents owe each other favors. I don't know. Sometimes there's no money left for the opening act. It's taking a risk. Anyhow... We are up for it.
NIK
Last summer you toured the UK with 1919 for a series of small but well-received gigs and you’re returning this summer for another double-headed tour with them. Is touring with another band a financial imperative or is it just because it was so enjoyable last time?
ALEX
Two or three bands touring together on a small tour is a financial disaster and especially in the UK since the conditions are much harder there than the rest of Europe. Having said that, it was a beautiful memory and uplifting to meet so many nice followers and new-found friends. Honestly, we were taken by surprise seeing so many wearing our t-shirts and knowing about Then Comes Silence. It means a lot, so we have to go back.
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