Stockholm Perspectives #2: New Decade
Almost immediately after hearing New Decade's "Hush", I wrote the band to ask if they would ever be interested in doing an interview. Over the next few weeks, I heard from various members of the band, was sent new songs they were working on, and through our correspondence I developed the idea for the Stockholm Perspectives series.
There is something infectiously youthful and honest about New Decade's music. As I wrote in the review I did for "Hush" last year, "New Decade have a near flawless delivery: their songs are timed and tempered almost perfectly, waters are muddied and built up before allowing the waves of distortion and delay to consume the compositions. Emil Lundblad's voice is as powerful an apparatus as the beautifully entangled guitar lines or the backline power of the drums and bass, never having to strain to exist alongside the augmenting storms of instrumentation." As a music journalist, I was curious about the 'stories behind the stories' of the band's efforts, especially a band who so impressed me with their early recordings.
Some of the happiest years of my life were spent on the peripheries of the Stockholm music scene. I remember playing shows at Kafé 44 and the upstairs section of Mondo, seeing Tiger Lou for the first time at Debaser, being taken to a Damien Rice show at the China Theater near to Berns, sliding about in the mud and rain at my last Popaganda Festival, religiously attending every Mono show in Stockholm for the four plus years I resided in Stockholm. New Decade remind me of those years lost to memory or trapped in blurry, fading photographs. While it was bands like The Clash and Joy Division that made me fall in love with music as a teenager, I find myself returning more and more to my time and experiences in Stockholm when I reflect about my near fanatical relationship with music. It's bands like New Decade that make being a music journalist worthwhile; that remind you of an early affiliation with music, and of the time when a piqued interest became an obsession.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
How did New Decade come about? Did you guys meet in school? Through friends? Did some of you (or all of you) live near each other? What attracted you guys to each other?
Ludvig: My oldest friend and neighbor started 7th grade in the same class as Emil and the three of us started the band. And there was a fourth member as well. It was [this fourth member] that Henning replaced nearly a year later.
Henning: And Matilda started 10th grade while Emil and I were a year above. Me and Emil have been friends since kindergarten and are almost neighbors.
Ludvig: When we started the band, we all lived quite near each other. As Henning said, Emil and he are still kind of neighbors, and like I said, I lived next door to the guy who was in the band from the start. When it comes to attraction, I don't think that we have thought about how one another looks or something like that. We are not like a pretty band [laughter]. The thing we care about is how we work together, that's why some people had to leave the band. It all comes down to cooperation and supporting each other.
Where do you guys rehearse? Where have you rehearsed in the past?
Matilda: We rehearse in Henning's parents basement and we've been doing that for a couple of years. Before that we rehearsed at different youth centers.
What inspirations are present on "Hush"?
Ludvig: Unrequited love and requited hate; [a] longing to exist in ways we don't.
How much would you say living in Stockholm impacts you all as individuals and collectively as a band? Does Stockholm feel like home?
Ludvig: I think Stockholm is home. I can't see myself living anywhere else. Not now anyway. But it hasn't been an inspiration to our music. The best thing and the worst thing is how cold people in Stockholm are. Everyone minds their own business.
What bars, coffee shops, dance nights, 'must see places', osv. would you recommend to a foreigner visiting Stockholm for a week or so?
Henning: Their are no things as coffee shops in Sweden. But we really like "Söder".
Where do you guys typically hang out?
Ludvig: We don't go out that much. We usually hang out at each other's places. But when we go out we end up at different places. But we really like a club called "Vänner och bekanta", it's like "Friends and Familiars". It's held at Kolingsborg at Slussen.
On a Friday night, would you guys rather go out to bars/clubs, or to a house party? Why?
Matilda: We really like house parties the most! Because then you get to hang out with all your friends and you can choose the music you like.
Ludvig: It's cheaper, too.
What clubs have you played at in Stockholm? Which were your favorites and why?
Ludvig: We have played everywhere. But our favourite so far is a place called "Landet" ("The country"). The crowd was fantastic.
Where have you played outside of Stockholm? Do you have any good/tragic tour stories?
Emil: We have only played in Uppsala once. And that was a quite harmless trip. But our goal right now is to get some gigs in other cities and other countries.
Which bands inspired you guys? Are there any Stockholm-based bands that inspired you?
Ludvig: There aren't any Stockholm-based bands. In the early days Placebo was a big inspiration, but nowadays [there's] so much inspiration from a lot of bands so we can't really write all of them, sorry.
What does the future hold for New Decade?
All: We have NO idea. We'll all see!
LINK: http://www.newdecade.se/
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/newdecademusic