Wild Bill Ketelhut provides the "blog" to this anti-blog
He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
The Concretes are a popular Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm whose music focuses on simple melodies embellished with heavy orchestration. One of their songs from their debut album The Concretes, "Say Something New", has been featured on a number of television advertisements in the United States for Target and the single "You Can't Hurry Love" has been heavily used in major motion pictures and other films. The band will be in town on Sunday the 16th at the Magic Stick.
He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
The Concretes are a popular Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm whose music focuses on simple melodies embellished with heavy orchestration. One of their songs from their debut album The Concretes, "Say Something New", has been featured on a number of television advertisements in the United States for Target and the single "You Can't Hurry Love" has been heavily used in major motion pictures and other films. The band will be in town on Sunday the 16th at the Magic Stick.
My readers know I don’t usually like sending typed answers, preferring to talk with the band but scheduling issues with their tour prevented that from happening this time around. I sent some questions off to Per Nyström & Ludvig Rylander and here are their replies.
1) For people not familiar with the band, how would describe the Concretes and your sound?
Per: We are and have always been a pop band. However, on the new album we tend to focus more on rhythms so I guess you could say or sound has become more "danceable". But even the more discolike songs on the album have a dark and quite moody atmosphere, which I think always have been a trademark for us. And even if the new album is largely built upon rhythms the melodies and lyrics are still very important of course
2) Over the years, you had gone from a trio to having up to 8 members. How has the departure of Victoria and the addition of these new members changed the sound/dynamic of the group?
Per: We have been eight members for over 10 years now and I think we have changed sound for every new album, so I don´t know if you can say its the adding or changing of members that is the main reason for creating a new sound. But of course Lisa has a different voice than Victoria and Dante plays drums in another way than Lisa. And we have also deliberately made the sound of WYWH album more clean and rhythmical than our former albums.
3) What can your fans expect from the new album WYWH? It has been three years since the last album and the rumor is the album has a bit of a disco sound to it. In today’s digital climate where a lot of music fans are expecting more quickly, was there any worry about taking so long to get a new album out?
Per: We didn't really worry about taking so long to make this album, I think we needed some time to do other things than playing with The Concretes. Almost all of us have been making other music the last years and some of us have had other jobs too. But I think we have found a sound we all really love now!
4) Do you notice a distinct difference on the music industry today in Sweden similar to what’s been happening in the US and if it’s different, why do you think that is?
Per: I don't really know what is happening with the music industry in the States but I suppose it’s the same all over the world. People download more music which makes it harder for bands to sell records. On the other hand the new technique also makes it easier to record albums of your own without having to invest thousands of dollars on fancy studios. I think we are witnessing a new D.I.Y.-scene all over the world, especially when it comes to electronic music.
5) What does WYWH (name of new album) stand for?
Ludvig: It's open for for your own interpretation but what we had in mind was Wish You Were Here.
6) I found a website with this picture of a barren tree at the seaside which I believe is your new album cover which is quite lovely. Could you tell me a bit about the history of that picture?
Ludvig: It's a view from the top of a hill in central Stockholm. You can see the south side of town, the old town and the harbour from there. It's hard to say what is most beautiful – the painting or the real thing.
7) Speaking of pictures, going through your website, the one thing that stood out was the image posts. I noticed a lot of different types of posts from pictures that look like they were taken on tour to various paintings and pop cultures items. Who puts those on the site and how do these pictures relate to the interests of the band?
Ludvig: A picture says more than a thousand words. Yes, it's true! The world of The Concretes revolves around pictures.
8) Here in Detroit, we are the home to Motown. As a big music fan who currently has no money for traveling, if I ever did raise enough money to go to Sweden, what places would you suggest checking out?
Ludvig: Stockholm in the spring or early summer. When you get tired of being in the city you can catch a boat and discover the beutiful archipelago.
9) After this leg of the tour, do you have a basic idea of the direction the band will be going (either new album or more touring, etc)?
Per: We will do another US tour on the west coast later in February/March and in the summer we will do some festivals. After that we'll see!
Here are some of their dates in and around Chicago and they are playing
Jan 15 Schubas, Chicago, IL
Jan 16 Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
Jan 17, Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, TN, Canada
Jan 18 Mavericks, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Their website is http://www.theconcretes.com/