BEARDFISH (Rikard Sjöblom) Interview
I rarely become truly hooked on an album these days, but Beardfish’s latest Prog Rock/Metal offering “The Void” has certainly proved to be an exception.
After having spent numerous hours enjoying layers upon layers of technically demanding and emotionally charging music, I decided to send the band my questions –which were kindly answered by the band’s multi-instrumentalist frontman Rikard Sjoblom.
This interview will certainly explain what prompted Prog Metal legend Mike Portnoy’s (ex-Dream Theater) to offer Beardfish a slot accompanying Flying Colors on their recently concluded European trek.
By Yiannis (John) Stefanis.
1. Hi, Rikard, and thanks for doing this interview with Get Ready To Rock. It is an absolute pleasure to be featuring the band on our pages as I am a great fan of your latest work. How are you guys doing?
Rikard: We’re good! Just got back from a two week tour opening for Flying Colors on their European dates.
2. I have no hesitations whatsoever in describing “The Void” as an absolute stunner and I know that many other fellow-journalists share my sentiments. How have you felt about the feedback you have received to date on the album? Has it all been praise?
Rikard: Feedback has been good in general, but of course there are some who feel that we’ve gone astray. We always think that it’s about making good music though and I love the direction this album went musically.
3. Beardfish are one of the few Progressive-orientated bands that I can think of who are as much Metal as they are Rock and the “Void” sums up this fine stylistic balance. When you went for the heavier sound, did you suddenly feel it was right for you – that it somehow balanced out your work or is it a temporary thing?
Rikard: I think that everything we do is temporary but I do however believe that whatever style we’re writing or playing it usually sounds like us (and I’m not the only one who thinks so).
4. Your previous studio effort, the quite impressive “Mammoth”, came out a year ago so it is a surprise, perhaps, to see you guys releasing a new album so soon. Does “TheVoid” contain any material/ideas that you had on the back burner or is it all new material?
Rikard: It’s all new (I think!) and it all came pretty fast too, but that’s how it is sometimes.
5. How much would you say has the band has evolved musically these last twelve months? Are your current goals different from the ones you set for yourselves a year ago?
Rikard: No, not really – still have our sights set firm on world domination, hehe! No, but seriously, we try new stuff all the time and I really think it helps us evolve as musicians too.
6. Most impressive about the album are the nuances and subtle influences on your music that fans can spend hours dissecting. Are there any particular bands/artists who you feel deserve special credit for providing the inspiration during the songwriting process for “The Void”?
Rikard: Too many to mention, I would say…! A couple of years ago we all listened quite a lot to Mastodon and Opeth so maybe those guys finally showed up in our music, I don’t know… Other than that I think we’re generally influenced by everything we listen to and that’s quite a lot of different artists and styles!
7. Rikard, the band consists of four very skilled individuals. Have you all contributed equally to the creation of the new material? How long did it take for these new songs to come to life?
Rikard: I wrote the songs as I usually do, but we all contribute to what you hear on the album. The process of creating a song is usually that I write a couple of parts and then I show them to the guys and I usually have a pretty good idea of what I’d like it to sound like or a feeling that I try to explain. Then they make it better! Everyone has ideas and input on the arrangements and where to place different riffs and stuff but I have a tendency to elbow my way around when we’re in the middle of that process.
8. There are some stand- out tracks on this album (although all are quality, in my opinion). Specifically, can you give us the story behind “They Wisper’ and ‘Note’?
Rikard: It’s kind of difficult to pick certain tracks out because the entire album deals with a tragic event and what happens after it, what happened before it happened and what actually happened (if you listen really hard) and the struggle to heal the wounds and to try and move on. But “They Whisper” has references to living with the person you went through these things with, watching the demons devour him/her completely and knowing there’s absolutely nothing you can do, because they’re in you too. Note came from an idea I had of writing a song that’s actually a suicide note.
9. In ‘Note’ Beardfish use some Jazz themes and light orchestral arrangements. Do you feel there are any limitations on how many different elements you would be willing to incorporate in your music?
Rikard: No, not really. We do limit ourselves but I think our limits are pretty sky high now.
10. What are the themes that “The Void” is dealing with on a lyrical level and what are they influenced by?
Rikard: I refer to question no. 8, sir!
11. Having already released five studio albums prior to “The Void”, you have a decent amount of recording experience. Was it a straightforward process this time round?
Rikard: It’s six actually and The Void is the seventh, haha! We tried some new tricks this time around AND we also chose to record everything separately (apart from “Where The Lights Are Low”) which we haven’t done a lot of. We told Jonas Hamqvist (the recording engineer) that we wanted a lot of evil kick and snare to work with in the mix and he delivered!
12. Bearing in mind the length and complexity of your songs, did any of them go through a metamorphosis – starting as one idea and ending up quite different?
Rikard: They all did (on every album) to some extent, but usually its small details that we change around. We rehearse and arrange quite a lot prior to entering the studio.
13. Do you guys get personally involved in the production side of things or do you leave that to a professional? Are you happy with the way “The Void” sounds or is there anything that, in hindsight, you believe you could have done better?
Rikard: We usually do almost everything ourselves and up until Destined Solitaire we actually even did the mastering, but with Mammoth we felt that we should leave that part to someone with fresh ears (and lots of knowledge in the profession). I love the sound of The Void.
14. What does the band’s touring schedule look like? I know that you are the opening act for Flying Colors this September, a great opportunity, but are we to see Beardfish headlining a tour anytime soon?
Rikard: We hope to be able to do a double headliner tour in early 2013 and we’re currently looking it up!
15. Normally bands with as many studio albums in the bag as you would release a DVD at this point. Is this part of your current/future plans at all?
Rikard: We have plans for that too!
16. Inside Out, your current label, is known to be quite in tune with all things Progressive. Are we to see many more Beardfish releases on this label? Do feel ‘at home’ with them?
Rikard: We are contracted for one more album with InsideOut. We’re on good terms with each other.
17. Now that studio album number seven is out, what is your program with regards the next few months? Do you like to plan ahead or do you tend to take things as they come?
Rikard: We’ve always been more of a ‘take things as they come’ kind of band but I think we’re gonna have to step it up a bit if we wanna get anywhere fast!
18. The times that labels spent vast amounts of money on promoting and assisting bands have long gone and with competition more ruthless than ever, it takes a lot of passion and determination for any band to survive, let alone succeed, in the music business. With that in mind, how do you perceive the band’s future and what is it that you eventually want to have achieved as an artist?
Rikard: We (or I at least, can’t really speak for the other three) mainly make this music for myself, but I love that others love it and I really wish we could do this for a living, but right now we can’t.
19. Would you say that the Internet is Beardfish’s ally or enemy? Where do you stand with regards file-sharing and downloading?
Rikard: I don’t know, man! If it helps spread the word, I guess it’s good but I don’t really believe that. I mean, who actually clicks the banners that say “hey, fuckin’ hey! Check this new cool band out, they’re awesome”? I don’t… And downloads is basically the 00’s-10’s version of a big double cassette deck where everyone is copying everything from each other. I’m on the fence with Spotify and other streaming services. It’s handy as hell (even if I’m a physical media man myself who would never trade holding a new album in my hands for clicking the facebook link to Spotify) but it generates minimal revenue compared to selling actual discs. Hopefully it’ll change if people start paying for it. I’m just glad if people come to our shows!
20. Rikard, I want to wish you with best of luck with regards all your current and future plans and to thank you once again for doing this interview with us. The last words are yours!
Rikard: No problem, it was fun! Cheers!
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