MP3: Alarma Man - Nightwolf
Our guest in this week's entry of our ongoing Göteborg Spotlight Series: the mighty Alarma Man! Not only were they kind enough to answer my questions, they also sent over the very first taste of what's to come on their new album. Read on...
It's been quite some time since we've heard anything new from you guys - why the long wait? What have you been doing these past few years?
Since the release of our 12" split "Duets" you mean? We continued working on songs for a full length album and got the chance to move from our old place to Dieter Schöön's Lablaza (the same place we recorded our debut album). Lablaza was both chaotic and a very creative environment for us. A couple of month passed by. In October 2007 we felt pretty close to start recording the album. December came up and our landlord got an offer he couldn't resist. We were threwn out of Lablaza and Bandidos moved in. So there we were. No rehearsal room, no studio.
A week went by and we found a new home. We moved in together with a bunch of other creative bands/people (URAN, Dieter Schöön, FBFOS).
We started building the studio, in which our album where going to be recorded.
During this 1,5 months we wrote a bunch of new songs.
At this time the idea of collaborate with Adam Magnusson as a producer/sound engineer came up and he became a part of the process.
In march we hit the studio. We all study or work so it took a bit longer than expected to get it done. Now when the album is done we're looking for a label that wants to release it.
Besides working on the album we've been on a couple of tours in Europe and we've helped friends on live gigs and studio albums. (C.Aarmé, Cut City, Uran, Boy Omega and Dieter Schöön).
How does Alarma Man fit into the "Gbg scene"? Does a cohesive scene even exist?
When I hear "Gbg scene" I think of Håkan Hellström and a bunch of bands started by ex-members from Bad Cash Quartet, but I'm not sure if that scene really exists. There are too many band in too many genres to say what would be a part of it. Alarma Man has never felt like we're a part of any scene... If you need to be a part of any, we choose the "good band" scene.
We do have the Koloni/iDEAL scene here in Gothenburg. It's really inspiring to live in the same town as Christian Pallin (Koloni) and Joachim Nordwall (iDEAL). They manage to bring us bands that I've never heard of before and those bands are always good or totally crazy. Either way I'm always satisfied when leaving the venue.
So do you think there's such a thing as a Gbg sound? Or would you say that bands in Gbg are brought together by other circumstances or ideas?
Nowadays you don't need a "real" studio and expensive equipment to make music. I guess the "Gbg sound" was killed by Cubase and ProTools. When comparing Cut City, Uran, Repoman and other great bands from Gbg, I find it hard to see any similarity except for that they make good music. Gothenburg is known in Sweden for it's "loose" and friendly attitude. Perhaps that's the thing with bands from here. Gbg bands focus on the music instead of looking good on stage... haha!
Okay, so tell us about the new album. How is it different/the same compared to what you've done before?
This album is the best music we've ever done (yes I know it's a cliche, but it's true).
Lots of people are asking if there will be vocals on this album. Yes. There will be. A lot!
Adding vocals wasn't a big decision for us. We made "Duets" as an experiment and liked the idea of working with vocals. It might seem a bit strange when you've been known as an instrumental mathpunk band, but we feel comfortable with it. We've never had a plan to be an instrumental band forever and we didn't have a plan to start singing on our second album. It's just the way it turned out.
Another big difference is that we worked with a producer. We needed an outside persons thoughts and vibes in the recording process. Adam has a big part in the arrangements and how the songs turned out.
Our first album was a lot of high speed craziness and big guitar riffs. 4 years has passed by and our new songs are slower, darker and colder. I think a held back fever is a good way to describe the album.
Got a song you'd like to share?
Here's a song from the upcoming album. Its a three-faced song about being chased, therefore the name "Nightwolf". Look out for the saxophones in the chorus, played by our friend Joel Westberg!
Alarma Man - Nightwolf