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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Interviews
Forum Description: Original interviews with Prog artists (which are exclusive to Prog Archives)
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82888 Printed Date: December 23 2024 at 03:31 Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: My Brother The WindPosted By: toroddfuglesteg
Subject: My Brother The Wind
Date Posted: November 19 2011 at 17:07
Swedish outfit MY BROTHER THE WIND consists of Nicklas Barker (of Anekdoten fame), Mathias Danielsson (Makajodama, formerly of Gösta Berlings Saga), Ronny Eriksson (Magnolia) and Tomas Eriksson. The foursome were not too familiar with each other when their debut effort was recorded at a concert held in May 2009. The venue for the occasion was Drop Out in the Swedish city of Åmål, the latter a small place that made it's name in the history books following the Swedish motion picture f**king Åmål, a movie about teenagers living in a place where nothing ever happens.
I got in touch with the band. Both Nicklas and Mathias answered my questions.
My Brother The Wind is a spontanous combustion of members from Anekdoten,
Magnolia, Gösta Berlings Saga and Makajodama on a stage in a city in the middle
of nowhere where nothing ever happens besides of the local cats chasing elk.
Please explains how you guys got together and whose idea this was. Why did you
choose that name ? Is your band now a permanent band
?
Nicklas : I think it was Ronny & his brother Tomas who asked Mathias
and then they asked me if was interested in a jam session. Ronnys friend Love
has this great analog studio in Åmål. We went there one afternoon in 2009 and
recorded some improvisations during a couple of hours. It was one of those
really rare moments when you just start playing and everything falls into place.
We knicked the name from a Sun Ra vinyl that I have in my shelf. We think it
suits the mood of the music we make. I definitely consider this a permanent
band. One of the most interesting musical projects I've been
in.
Mathias: Yes, Ronny and I had talked a while about making an psychedelic
album like they did back in the old days. Finally we decided it couldn't wait
any longer and Ronny's brother Tomas was interested as well. We wanted twin
guitars and we agreed that we should ask Nicklas. The album is made in a
recording studio, not an stage though.... I believe this band can go on forever.
It brings us so much joy!
Over to your two albums. Please tell us more about Twilight In The
Crystal Cabinet from 2009.
Nicklas
: It was recorded at our first meeting at Drop Out Analouge during two
hours in 2009. We didn't know what to do really and didn't even discuss any
musical ideas. We just started playing and first piece we played was recorded on
to tape and became the first track of the album, Karmagrinder. I really don't
remember much of the recording but I remember being happy. We used a 16 track 2"
machine which gave us the right warm sound. So everything is improvised recorded
live with no overdubs. We mixed the tracks the day after in real time adding
some compression, tape echo and phaser. That's it.
Mathias
: Everything about this band is so free, we don't have to live up to
anything or we don't demand anything from each other. The music is a offspring
of how we feel and what mood we're in. It is a very relaxed environment in Love
Tholin's studio, and he keeps to himself in a good way. Just asking us how we
want things but he also contributes to the creative atmosphere that always seems
to be there when the five of us meets. It makes everything so
easy.
You returned earlier this year with I Wash My Soul In The Stream Of
Inifinity. Please tell us more about this album.
Nicklas
: Well we basically did the same
thing as we did with ”Twillight”, spontaneous improvisation recorded live in the
studio with no overdubs. It turned out a bit different. We focused more on the
creating an atmosphere together and less on guitar solos. We also used some
more instruments this time as Mellotron, 12 string, organ and an Electric sitar.
It sounds quite different to ”Twillight” and you can hear that we have done some
gigs together. This time we used up maybe 4 hours in the studio recording and
another 4 hours the day after doing the mixes. We used the same old 16 track 2"
tape machine. It's much easier recording analog I think. Everything sounds good without
using compression or much EQ. It's
not like recording digital when you
come to the mixing with a bunch of computer files that you have to glue together
to some music. We made sure that we had the right sound before we recorded and
kept that during the mixing. Basically we just added some overall compression
and some tape delay. I am so pleased with this album and so far the reception
has been very positive so I hope it will do
good.
Mathias
: When you record analog you get the
vibe and characteristics from the gear that you use, it becomes part of the
music. That's what you end up trying to recreate when you record digital and
sense the lack of ”life” in the recording. I like when you can hear in the final
result that the spirit of the gear is present, a digital delay can never sound
like a tape echo for example. And one great component when recording without
overdubs is that you play with a clarity and focus, like when you're speaking
and every word counts. That is something that people don't mention that often,
how the endless possibilities that digital recording provides affects the
playing.
For those of us unfamiliar with your music; how would you describe you
music and which bands would you compare yourself with
?
Nicklas
: It's improvised psychedelic rock with a "kosmische" touch, I guess
with influences from the music we listen to like Bo Hansson, Gong, Amon Duul,
Träd, Gräs & Stenar, Sun Ra, Grateful Dead, Cream and so
on.
Mathias
: And a collective energy that could
be compared to the one of John Coltrane and his
band.
What have you been up to since the release of your new album, what is
your current status and what are your plans for this year and beyond
?
Nicklas
: The year after we released ”Twilight” was pretty hectic. We did
concerts in Sweden, Finland, Denmark & Belgium and recorded this new album
”I Wash My Soul In The Stream Of Infinity” which was released on vinyl, cd &
download a week ago so we haven't done much since then but we are booking gigs
now and doing promotion. Our main plan now is to do as many gigs as we can and
later next year enter the studio again.
To wrap up this interview, is there anything you want to add to this
interview ?
Nicklas: We are always looking for gigs so don't hesitate contacting us if you
want to arrange something. Also check out the album on Spotify or iTunes and If
you like it get the cd or vinyl. It sounds so much better, especially the double
vinyl sounds amazing. Also be sure to check out our Soundcloud page where we
constantly uploading concerts and unreleased stuff. We don't have a band
website yet but visit our Facebook page where you can find almost everything you
need to know.
Thank you to Mathias & Nicklas for this interview
Their PA profile is http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=5692" rel="nofollow - and the homepage is http://www.myspace.com/mybrotherthewind" rel="nofollow -
Replies: Posted By: avestin
Date Posted: November 19 2011 at 18:04
I love their first album and will definitely check out the new one. Thanks for the interview, I was interesting in learning more about them.
Posted By: Eetu Pellonpaa
Date Posted: November 20 2011 at 08:06
Hopefully more concerts!
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: November 22 2011 at 20:57
------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.