by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Okay, you’ve been hearing all current hyperbole getting heaped on the White-Strokes-Vines-Hives-Trail-of-Dead blah blah blah—especially the Scandinavian stuff. Well, Sweden’s the Soundtrack of Our Lives have been around longer than any of these bands and if everything was perfect, they really would be your new favourite band. The Mirror phoned up singer Ebbot Lundberg at his house in rock city Stockholm.

Mirror: I saw your show at the MusiquePlus studio a couple of months back and people didn’t really know what to make of you guys.

Ebbot Lundberg: We got that a lot on that tour. Y’know, it was like a shock stage. We could really see people watching us and thinking, what the fuck is this? It was the same in England.

M: Your last record Behind the Music is just taking off now, even though it’s two years old. Is that weird?

EL: Kind of. When we record the songs we have a time-travel type of thing in mind. We make records that you have to be able to listen to in another 10 years, so it has to be good. I’m surprised that we’re still touring this record, but it doesn’t matter because we have so many songs from the other two records to choose from when we play live. We’re still writing a lot of songs but it will take another year until we do the next record, or maybe an EP until the next one.

M: Are you surprised that people are just getting into the record now, two years later?

EL: Not too surprised, as I have been in this business for 15 years now so I don’t really have any expectations. We’ve been hanging around for too long to destroy this thing we have built up, but I don’t know how far it will go. I think we will always have a following and that’s good enough for me.

M: How did your tour with Oasis happen?

EL: I think they just went to one of our shows and they told me I threw a coin in Liam Gallagher’s eye or something like that. They were fans before that, apparently, and were kind of shocked when they saw us because I don’t think they had seen a real rock band before. I think they asked us on the tour because they were going a little bit downhill and needed to get some new energy from somewhere. We had exactly the same musical influences and when you see another band with similar influences there is a little bit of competition. We got along really well though, and had a great laugh.

Norsin’ around

M: What is your take on the Scandinavian music explosion?

EL: I have this theory that the pop music from the U.K. seems to be more and more feminine and wimpy in a way, and America is more muscular and testosterone, like nu-metal. U.K. and America are really diverse and we are in-between. My other theory is just that everywhere else is just getting lame and people need another Viking era.

M: Bands like the Nomads and your old band Union Carbide Productions were doing this way before any of the current Scandinavian rock explosion bands. Does it feel good to know that you inspired a lot of these bands?

EL: Hellacopters and the Hives were all big UCP fans, so I kind of feel proud of that because I can see myself in their music. It’s fun to see what your seed is growing. We struggled so hard to be original, so it’s nice.

M: You seem to get a lot of your sounds from ’70s stuff.

EL: We really love that analog sound. There is a reason that people go back to that certain era for production and it’s because it’s so good, it’s timeless. I think the past talks to you in a different way. I think it’s natural for people to go back to get that native feel of rock ’n’ roll or jazz or whatever genre it is.

M: You’ve been slapped with a retro tag. Does this bother you?

EL: No. If you play this kind of music you have to expect that. Everything is retro nowadays. The whole world seems to be looking back now rather than looking forward. I think the whole world has been at a very low point, it’s been going down ever since we landed on the moon. Spiritually and artistically, it has been on a serious decline since then. Everything now is based on the surface and kind of a numbing feeling and no one wants to take things further. That’s what we are struggling against. I think Soundtrack represents something that is not over yet.

M: So you’re the last bastion of rock.

EL: Exactly. :

With the Cato Salsa Experience at Café
Campus on Friday, Nov. 8, 9pm, $17.50

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