Sweden’s Rotten Mind have just released their fifth studio album, Unflavored, and they have just embarked on a European Tour to promote it. Right before leaving, they answered a few questions for an exclusive interview. It turned out to be a very interesting one. Enjoy!
What should an old fan expect from this album? And what would turn someone into a new fan?
They will hear an album that sounds bigger and richer than any of the previous ones. Both because of the sound and because of more time spent on song writing than ever.
What’s your songwriting process like? What’s the balance in the band when it comes to deciding what a song should sound like?
Usually one of us has an idea which could be anything from a riff to a full song. We try it out to check the feeling and then we keep changing and adding stuff until it sounds good. Earlier we didn’t change so much in songs as we have have done when writing this album. Now a few songs were completely different after couple of weeks in the rehearsal room.
Is it possible for punk rock to sound “new” and “fresh” now that it’s been around for a few decades? Do you try to contribute to its evolution or you like to keep it in the lanes of what’s already been tested as effective?
Yeah it’s possible but it’s not very common. It’s easy to end up with overused concepts in song writing and sound. Everyone that plays music is inspired by other bands and musicians, which more or less affects your style of playing, and also how you write songs. Some influences you choose actively, and I think one way to make things unique is probably how you choose to combine those. An interesting combination of influences is more likely to be something that will sound fresh.
I think we have our own thing that we have shaped a bit different on each album. Then it’s up to listeners to agree or not.
What is it like for a Swedish band to tour Europe? Sweden is not really close to many other countries. Do you think that you guys being able to tour adds some sort of value to you as a band or your music?
Being on tour as much as possible is what we want to do as a band and we will continue with that. Touring is like traveling in general, it affects people and gives you experiences but I don’t think the music would sound different without the tours.
How do the long cold Swedish winter and the short but intense Swedish summer influence your music?
Maybe we blend it together into a combination of some dark melancholy and harmonic melodies.
You released some singles to anticipate your new album. They all have their personalities. Do they represent all of the different souls of the album or we should expect some surprises?
There are more souls! Lots of variations on this album I would say. Check it out.
If you could leave on a World tour with a band, what band would it be? Why them?
There are many bands of course. Right now I feel like picking DEVO. That would be pretty weird!
If you could change anything that your band did in the past, what would it be?I would have started to record more synths earlier.
You’re working with Lovely Records, a Swedish label. It seems that Sweden knows how to handle their music. What other Swedish underground acts should we check out?
Check out Svart Katt. That’s a brilliant band.
Tell us something nobody knows about your upcoming album!
We have recorded timpani drums on two of the songs!
