Daniela Patrizi recently reviewed the new album Sjätte Vansinnet by Swedish band Scraps of Tape (read her review here). When she got the opportunity to ask the band some questions she didn't hesitate. Find out more about Scraps of Tape and the new album.
(((o))): Hi guys, how is it going? What did you do this past weekend?
We've been touring Germany to promote our new album Sjätte Vansinnet. It's been great being back on the road again, and meeting our German friends/fans!
(((o))): How’s life in Malmö? How is the music scene there?
Malmö is a fantastic city to live and work in. There's a very diverse and open-minded cultural output and you can find top notch bands/artists in almost every genre and art form. It's very inspiring.
On the other hand there are many problems with segregation and recently during the 8th of March-party "Take back the night" two people were stabbed and assaulted by neo-Nazis. The reaction after this incident has been huge. In a city of about 300000 inhabitants, 10000 took to the streets to protest against racism and intolerance.
(((o))): Do you live close to one another?
Some of us do, but most of us live pretty far away from each other. Two live in Malmö (which we refer to as our hometown), one on the countryside in Skåne, one in Stockholm and one in Gothenburg.
(((o))): You have been recording music since 2001. How long have you been knowing each other?
The band started around 2000 with only Johan and Marcus being left of the original members, but most of us has gotten to know each other first through the band, and then as friends.
(((o))): How did you get into producing music and how did the Scraps of Tape project come about?
Marcus and Johan had a smaller project that developed into Scraps of Tape. Before that all of us has been involved in various musical projects, but Scraps of Tape was the first where we played together.
(((o))): Where your band name come from?
From the linernotes of a fantastic fucking record.
(((o))): I listened to Sjätte Vansinnet countless times and I really like it. What I like most is the mix of different music genres and the outcome is really unique. How would you describe it? How come you choose to use lyrics in some songs only?
Sjätte Vansinnet is the logical next step in our sound. We've always mixed various styles and never had a streamlined sound in the original sense, but our strength has been in combining a lot of influences in to something that is our own. The vocals have always been just another instrument/sound in our band, not something that is more important than anything else, so we've only used lyrics/vocals this time when we felt the song needed it.
(((o))): Pick a song and tell me something about it!
'We, the Leftheaded' was actually written around the time when we recorded our previous album Resident Flux, so it's the oldest track on the record.
(((o))): How was the recording of the album for you – fun?
Well, recordings are always a love/hate thing for us. We all have pretty strong visions of what we do, and we have VERY different tastes in music and sound, so at times there were hard words back and forth, but most of the time we all just did our part and tried to do our best. It's an amazing thing to see an album materialise out of thin air on to tape.
(((o))): How did the cover art come about?
The cover art was made by our member Johan G. Winther, and was made early on in the process of the album
(((o))): Who are your favourite musicians? Would you like to collaborate with any of them in the future?
That's too big of a question to answer here. But we've already gotten to collaborate with two very important influences to us, Mattias Alkberg and Cecilia Nordlund.
(((o))): Which band would you say you are most like?
Sonic Youth, Bob Hund, Refused and Mogwai. We are basically a mix of all of those bands.
(((o))): Do you guys have other projects in addition to Scraps of Tape?
Yup, there's a bunch of them. Jerker has Lymland, Marcus has Vädret and a couple of other projects, and Johan has a solo-project as well as Blessings, The Silence Set and more...
(((o))): Have you ever thought, "this is what life was made for"?
Life was made for living. That's super-cliche but also true. Our families and children are the most important things to us, but also working on creative projects such as Scraps of Tape.
(((o))): What is your favourite thing to see in the audience while you are on stage?
The best thing is to see the audience really into the music, and to have a feeling of the audience being a part of the show more than passive on-lookers. We want to connect with people when we play, not just perform for them.
(((o))): What distracts you while you're on stage?
The worst thing is definitely technical troubles. That can throw you off more than anything else.
(((o))): Thanks very much for your time; it was a pleasure reviewing your album and I love your style. Any last words?
Thank you for your interest in what we are doing! Keep up the good fight!
