Profile: Closer
Name: Closer
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Sounds like: Dark and heavy intelligent rock.
Listen: Open casket
Discography:
2006 - Tokpela EP (Closersounds) [BUY IT]
Links:
www.closersounds.com
www.myspace.com/closersounds
People love to bitch about how useless and overwhelming myspace can be, but I'm here to tell you that it is not all for naught. I first discovered Closer on myspace and was immediately blown away by the samples they had posted. The evocative cover image from their EP that they use as their avatar was enough to catch my eye and get me interested and their compelling music made me an instant fan. Being one of the first people to "discover" the band is even more exciting, as it makes even more fulfilling for me to share my enthusiasm with the world.
Who are you and where are you from?
I (Joachim Dahlberg) sing in a progressive rock quintet called Closer, and I am, as is the rest of the band, from Stockholm, Sweden.
Why should anyone care about Closer? What makes you special?
Don't really have a good sales pitch here, it's music, not a used car. But I can say this; don't expect the hoi polloi to praise us; our music is, as Andrew (of Aversionline) so eloquently put it, "much more involved than cursory listens might reveal".
How do you pronounce the band's name? Like closing a door? Or as in nearer?
It's either - just a short, simple, sweet sounding word, or has some profound deep meaning too complex for words... We almost named the band A Pile of Dudes.
The band crash-lands on a deserted island and is forced to survive by turning cannibalistic. Who gets eaten first? Why?
Jesper, our muscular drummer; it's all about the proteins.
What was the first record you ever bought? how do you feel about it now?
1984, Twisted Sister - "Stay Hungry"
I wanted to buy this Kiss album, "Creatures of the night", but my brother, who is older than me, said "Kiss is my favorite group, get your own... how about Twisted Sister?" - and so I had a favorite band. Still a kick ass record... [ed: agreed!] Then I discovered Aerosmith.
Since it's almost midsummer, what's the best thing about this time of year? Or the worst? What's one of your best summertime memories?
There really are few places in the world that can hold a candle to the Swedish summer, so I'll go with the disrobing of all the beautiful people - or maybe sill - for the best thing about this time of year. And the blazing, blinding, constant sun in my eyes for the worst, I really do like clouds.
One of my best summertime memories would be on one of those mornings, I'd rise, rise up singing, I'd spread my wings, child, and take, take to the sky. Lord, the sky. Me and Janis.
And finally, what does the future hold for Closer?
The immediate future holds working on some new, intricate, extended, exciting songs and rehearsing. A more distant future holds magazine features, and it may or may not hold a video for the song "Open casket" because the production seems to have been postponed indefinitely at the moment. We're also shopping for support and hopefully we'll manage to put out a full length at some point. And of course we're always looking to do shows and to better ourselves.