Scenestar

ARTICLE BY CHRIS MOLINA

Sweden’s The Radio Dept. is currently touring North America in support of full-length Clinging to a Scheme, released last year, and more recent singles collection Passive Aggressive: The Singles 2002-2010. The band will end its U.S. jaunt in Los Angeles this Wednesday, Feb. 16, at the El Rey Theatre, before heading south to Mexico. But despite their busy schedule, Johan Duncanson and Martin Larsson spent some time talking with The Scenestar about their recording process, their 10-year anniversary, and the band’s plans for 2011.

SS: First off, congratulations on being included in the 2011 Coachella lineup. Is the band excited?
Johan: Thank you. Since we never had any relation to the festival, we don’t know what to expect.

SS: Hmmm… Are you familiar with Glastonbury?
Johan: Yes.

SS: Well, there are contrasting similarities with that festival, the biggest difference being the desert landscape, of course. So be ready to beat the heat!
Johan: Ha ha ha.

SS: I’d like to discuss the band’s approach to recording, specifically about how the band records without a producer.
Johan: We have a hard time figuring out why another person should be in the room with us.
Martin: It’s better for bands who don’t have an idea of what they want to sound like, but since we do, it’s easier to make it our own responsibility to get there.

SS: Has it ever been a challenge?
Johan: Yes, of course. At the same time, we like it when people say, “Is it really suppose to sound like that? The stereo must be broken. I’m turning this off.” Ha ha ha.

SS: I read that there were about 100 songs recorded for Clinging to a Scheme. How does the band choose the songs for an album? Is there a theme selected for the release beforehand? And if so, what is the theme for Clinging to a Scheme?
Johan: We had been recording for two and a half years when we decided to finish the album. Otherwise, we would have kept on recording forever, I think. We had loads of songs that were not finished, so we took our favorite 12 songs of the moment and decided those would be the album. It felt good as a whole. I suppose there is a theme; many of the songs are about the band in one way or another, but we didn’t have an outspoken theme, nor was it a concept album in any way. We wanted it to be cohesive but still have enough variety.

SS: It sounds like you’re using less primal instincts or intuitions and are focused on an emotional sense for the selection process.
Martin: We intellectualize a lot of the process as well between recording songs, talking about music and pop culture. At the same time, we start to follow an emotional or gut-feeling approach to music making. We’re not a super theoretical band, nor a jamming rock band either.

SS: Do the extra recordings explain the release of other EPs, including Never Follow Suit?
Johan: We actually use new songs for those. It’s more fun to write and record a new song than it is to use an old one.

SS: Speaking of Never Follow Suit, is there a backstory behind the track “Never Swallow (Fruit Dub)” by Pistol Disco?
Johan: Ha ha ha. It’s just a play on words. It started out as something funny with a friend of ours. Pistol Disco then made a mix and wanted to use the joke as the title. So it started off as a joke, and it’s still one, but the song isn’t.

SS: It actually feels indicative of your instrumental tracks, which tend to have some minimal electronic components to them.
Johan: We steal a lot of ideas from different kinds of music. What exactly do you hear in those tracks?

SS: I’m reminded of the Berlin minimal sound, or even more specifically, The Field.
Martin: Oh, he is actually Swedish, and he did a remix of “Pet Grief” back in the day.

SS: Damn it. What is it with Sweden lately? You guys are seriously on a quest to take over the music scene, and quite possibly the world. Are you assembling some sort of audio-driven army over there?
Martin: Sweden and China.

SS: That could be an idea for an independent film, with an intense noise-centric soundtrack! [Laughs] I also wanted to congratulate the band on recently celebrating your 10-year anniversary.
Johan: Ten years this year! It started back in autumn of 2001 when we started rehearsing and taking the band seriously. Martin and I had done some recordings before that as well, but it wasn’t really a band then.

SS: It seems like it was a form of creative output or self-expression at that point in time.
Johan: It was a way of just hanging out as well. We didn’t know what to do really. Apart from drinking coffee, there wasn’t much to do, so we started making songs.
Martin: Johan was a one of a kind personality. He’s the only one I know who’d call you up and want to record instead of just drinking alcohol.

SS: Is Johan kind of like the parental figure of the band?
Martin: Ha ha ha. Yes, in many ways he is.

SS: How does the band feel about what it has accomplished in these last 10 years?
Johan: I’m actually quite proud of what we have achieved. The fact that we record, hand the masters to the record company, record EPs… That’s what we want to do, and I feel that we never compromised anything.
Martin: And it has always been on our own terms. People have tried to force us into things, but it has never worked, so I’m really proud of that part. I’m probably more proud of the band as a whole than myself as an individual.

SS: It’s nice to hear the band has sustained its core values without, for lack of a better phrase, “selling out.”
Martin: I think since we never had that as a goal, making it big, we’re just really happy with putting out a record.

SS: What does the band have planned in 2011?
Martin: Touring and recording.
Johan: Yeah, that’s it. And hopefully getting a little time off.

SS: How would you define The Radio Dept. sound?
Johan: Rock-action. No, just kidding. I think it’s up to others to describe our music.

SS: I feel there are definitely familiar tones, but overall, it is unclassifiable.
Martin: Well, hopefully. It’s not up to us to say what it is really. Although every time I hear someone describe us, I want to correct them.

You can experience The Radio Dept. sound for yourself this Wednesday, Feb. 16, at the El Rey Theatre. Click below to buy your tickets.

BUY TICKETS: February 16th: The Radio Dept. at the El Rey Theatre