Viktor & Jonas & Samuel

I bet you´ve already heard about it. Samuel Giers the former drummer from Mando Diao is starting a new band. And he´s not alone in it. Actually there are two more guys. Both from Sugarplum Fairy. One of them is Viktor and the second is Jonas. The band´s name is VIKTOR & THE BLOOD. You should check their page or twitter or what so ever. 

Their first single called "Kicks out on a Saturday night" is about to be released! So hurry up! Write the date 22th April somewhere!
Plus there´s gonna be debut EP soon, 29th April. 
And that is not all. There´s more. TOUR dates.

10 Maj Göteborg - @ Sticky Fingers
17 Maj Stockholm - @ Debaser Medis
23 Maj Malmö - @ Debaser
29 Maj Helsinki - @ Semifinal

It´s definitely exciting and I´m looking forward to hear/see/know more.

Les Gordons - Born ready

Another part of the "Introducing new bands" series. This time I'm proudly presenting the Special edition including an exclusive interview with the band!

The Swedish group Les Gordons is coming from Örebro to take over not only Sweden. The band consist of Jonatan Renström - lead vocals and guitars, Albert Björliden playing bass, Andreas Persson - keys, guitarist Carl Ragnemyr and drummer David Runebjörk. 

The band is about to release their debut album  "I'm gonna leave this town", you can watch their official video for the single "She's Like A Hurricane" here plus read a really interesting interview made with the band!

ENJOY!

 

What was the very first moment when you realized that you wanted to start a band?

Well, the moment when I decided that I was going to be a rockstar was when I saw The Strokes' video to their song Last Nite. Before that I only listened to hiphop and Michael Jackson. That opened up my eyes for rock and I found a lot of music through that.

A few years later me and Albert, who had a similar experience with Ramones, decided to start a band. We later found Andreas, Carl and David along the road.

 

What is your biggest dream, what would you like to achieve with your music?

Our ultimate goal is to be as big as possible and always gain new grounds. If our music could mean as much to people like some bands do to us we have succeded. If we influence someone in any way that's a good thing. We would rather have someone hating us than don't care at all.   

Which artists inspire you as a band? 

Our strength is that we come from quite different musicial backgrounds but we share the same idea of what Les Gordons is. Some bands and artists that inspire us are The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Doors, The Kinks, Oasis, The Strokes, Blur, Håkan Hellström, Mando Diao, Broder Daniel, The View, The Libertines and so on. But we listen to a lot of music that isn't similar to our sound.  

Who writes the songs & lyrics? What’s your inspiration? 

Jonatan is the one that writes the songs but we arrange them together. The songs are not political but always important. They could be about anything but often they encourage you to think for yourself and to go your own way. Some songs are stories and others are just a point of view or a feeling. 

Do you think it’s an advantage to be Swedish when you want to start a band? Why (not)?

Yes, it definitely is, for a lot of reasons. First of all, Sweden is a country that spend a lot of money on culture so it's very easy to start a band in Sweden. You will easily get a rehearsal room and access to a studio. Second, there's a lot of good bands from Sweden so that makes kids intrested in music and new bands are formed. Just like with sports. A lot of swedes got intressed in football only because of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. and third, Sweden is cold and dark most of the year and that makes people creative. 

What are your plans right now? When can we expect some more songs to be released? 

2013 is the year of Les Gordons. We have just recorded our debut album and we will release it this year. We are also planning a tour in Europe. 

Do you think you are ready to face the crowds of screaming fans who are waiting to adore you deeply? 

We were born ready. The question is, are you? 

Oh I bet we're ready, aren't we?! 

Don't forget to check their official band page here and LIKE their facebook page as well. Next gig is set to 5th June in Uppsala, Sweden. Be there! 

And HUGE thanks goes to Les Gordons for the interview!!!

Touch new ground

"Sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it"... well yeah. This not happens that often, but right now...I miss you. It´s because I know so much about you and you mean a lot. I´ve just checked one band´s page, one band´s I recently started to adore, and I realize: "Man, I don´t know anything about these guys!" But more important is that I don´t even want to discover anything. Maybe I´m too old or too lazy or just it´s not possible to love another band that much like I love you. Give you everything. No, I don´t want to. I will just listen to the music. I don´t wanna know all those details about anyone else than you, Mando Diao. 

Feels like the circle is back at its very beggining. When I started with Mando Diao I only listened to the music, without faces. Then I discovered that unique page mandodiao.com and the obssesion started. Now I´m back. Back with the music. No faces. Or at least no details. No craziness. Travelling throught whole Europe for a concert. Nope. 

But now I miss you. Just because of all of that I mentioned before. Because of all of that I won´t have with any other band. That´s why I miss you now. But I can stand it. 

Let´s have some fun

Some of us know

Infruset Turné 2013 - Stockholm

You have it, Mando Diao. From all those bands I love you´re the only one who really have it. That thing I can´t name. It´s not that the other bands are less important or worse. Not at all. Sometimes on the contrary. It´s that feeling. So powerfull. Lifechanging. Yes, maybe I´m exagerating a little bit cause your brothers´ band, Gustaf, they have something very similar too. However still... there´s something I feel and see and hear once in a while on your concert, Mando Diao, that I´ve never felt or saw or heard before or any other concert I´ve been to. Maybe you understand maybe not... 

So now I´m floating in the air, Mando Diao. Floating on your music and I wonder how´s  possible that those guys I don´t know from the country which is not my homecountry in the language that is not my mother tounge are singing about place I love, where I grew up and when I want to return one day. How´s that possible? Have they ever been there? Do they know me? So far far away and so close. Those melodies... it´s in there, for sure. 

Stockholm. Älskade hemstad. Tack. 

Infruset Turné 2013 - Norrköping

I went there quite skeptical. And I was tired. My very first day in my new home. Stockholm. And the Infruset tour has just started. First there was a concert in Visby, then Norrköping, my destination. Another hour in the train, the dawn slowly coming outside the train windows. I’m thinking about the coincidence. The first thing I do in my new life is Mando Diao concert. It´s even more suitable because they were one of the reasons why I felt in love with Sweden. So now I’m here, heading Norrköping and my first official concert of MD singing in Swedish. The first time when I will hear ALL the songs from Infruset album. 

There´s no need to hurry, seats in the first row are certain; I bought my tickets already in December. And I’m not really excited. They don’t make me nervous these days. 

The concert takes place in a wonderful concert hall close to a river, the whole event makes impression of some theatrical performance or something completely different, definitely not Mando Diao concert. Where are all those girls waiting to be able to be in the first row? Where are all those young girls anyway? There are plenty of older people, dressed very fine and I’m feeling weird in my jeans and a T-shirt.

I see Carlos selling some merchandise and I buy good-looking magazine called simply Infruset Turné 2013 and after quick look I discover long interview with the band, photos and an article about Fröding. The magazine looks and smells good. (I´m not going to eat it, though...)

The whole feeling is very different from all my previous Mando Diao experiences. There were small venues, huge open air concerts, acoustic sessions played in music stores, unplugged, plugged... but never something like this. It feels certainly weird. Most of the guests are going to see Mando Diao for the first time, I suppose. What it will be like for them? And for me? 

It’s been a while since this band is not the same for me anymore. They started something I can’t stand and like, they changed a lot. I don’t even listen to the whole Swedish album anymore. I guess I’m more like the fan of the first episode of the series called Mando Diao. Ode to Ochrasy times, that’s what makes me shake every time I listen to it. I don’t adore Give Me Fire album and I deeply hate Caligola. But still. They are...Mando Diao. The reason, my answer for so many questions. They are still present. That’s why I’m here tonight. In Norrköping. However I’m not going to freak out because of them anymore. I’m more curious than excited like I used to be. 

I sit into the first row and wait. Prepared for everything. Then it happens. It got me from the first second, indeed. It’s little bit like theatrical act. It’s a game. And I love that it’s in Swedish, my new language I’m living with. During the first songs I still feel distracted because of the Caligola impression. It’s in the way Gustaf and Björn move, sing, act. It’s in them, the whole Caligola thing. I see it and feel it and I’m not sure if it’s appropriate in this Infruset situation. However then comes I Ungdomen. And I got lost. I cry and I forget everything else. I only hear the music and words. With Strövtåg i Hembygden and Snigelns Visa comes back memories. To Munich show when we heard Snigelns Visa at the soundcheck for the first time. Memories and thoughts. They made me smile, cry and even dance in the end. They gave me the answer. How did they do it again, for god’s sake?

When I’m leaving the venue I don’t feel empty like I used to feel after their show. I don’t feel high on music. But I feel I liked it. I feel I’m happy I was there. And most important of all... I feel I’m doing the right thing with my life, here in Sweden. I didn’t ask them and they didn’t tell me anything with proper words but it was there. It’s always there, Mando Diao. In your music. That’s probably why I will always like you.