What has been the most direct influence on you for the new album? Art, life, or a mix of the two?
Jonas: Definitely life. No "artistic" shortcuts this time around.
Anders: The constant moment of aging. Also the urge to step up for a musical challenge was strong.
Fredrik: A mix of both.
Daniel: Art.
Mattias: A mix of the two.
Around the time of 'Brave Murder Day' , it was said that the song 'Day' was possibly going to represent the future 'shoe-gazing' style of the band from that point onwards. The style progression has been fairly natural & gradual since 'Discouraged Ones', but do you feel that 'Day' did end up as a significant turning point?
Jonas: Indeed. It was a natural first fearful glance into the world of clean vocals. A small step for mankind...
Anders: I think the song 'Scarlet Heaven's two years earlier was a turning point, but the song 'Day' showed more skill and convinced us what we could do and where we could go from there.
Fredrik: More a proof on our flexibility and wish to explore for us new grounds.
Daniel: Of course.
Mattias: I wasnt in the band back then, but I do think it opened up new ways for the band.
Do you still find the recording of each album an exhausting experience or does it get easier over time? When an album is finally completed do you feel fulfilled or empty?
Jonas: If I got this question just after the last album, I would have said that it was gradually becoming more and more easy to make albums, but after the writing and recording process of 'Night is the New Day' I have to say that this time it was pretty much the opposite. I feel totally emptied, but I count on this album to make me feel fulfilled over time, definitely.
Anders: Even if there are no bigger obstacles or distractions, it's still massiviely draining. Somewhere at the end of the process you tend to lose perspective on what's objective because things are so personal and you need some time off to get the distance back in the picture and also grow back the love for the music outside the studio walls. At the same time, somewhere beneath the surface you have this calm peace of knowing you "delivered" and that defines the fulfillment.
Fredrik: Recording is exhausting but it´s a nice feeling when an album is finished. you can put the songs aside and continue with new ones.
Daniel: Recording is always exhausting for a drummer. When the recording is done I feel empty, in a fulfilled kind of way.
Mattias: It's definately not easier as the songs are more complicated. Fulfilled.
You are known to offer some unusual imagery & phrases to express what a part of a new song wants to be like, or represent. What's the most unusual description you have given during an in-progress song on 'Night is the New Day'?
Jonas: I remember one song being described during the writing process as "an abandoned nuclear power plant in Belarus", hence the working titles "Minsk" and "Vitryss" (swedish for "white russian") . I also feel weird for giving a song the working title "Franck Lanier", named after a character in the book "Monsieur Papa" which was one of my favorite books as a kid.
Anders: I guess we weren't as clever and goin all out creative on the working titles this time as on previous albums, but one of my faves is for the song "Nephilim" that had the working title "Centan". That's a nick name for the central station of Stockholm. A place that people have as their meeting spot, but also a notorious place you prefer to avoid at night. Lots of misery intertwined with this place back through the years, the last exit for people with broken dreams and shattered lives. However, the final lyric took another turn.
Fredrik: ...
Daniel: Can’t remember.
Mattias: ...
If you could give a stranger a song from the new album that says the most about you, which one would it be & why?
Jonas: 'New Night', because of the lyrics. "Departer" because of the overall feeling.
Anders: Not easy to say. One song on it's own will not be able to deliver all aspects, but all of them together from start to finish i believe will give you a perfect picture and say the most about us. I also think the album as a whole has the impact of stirring up things, change your state of mind and alter your mood accordingly.
Fredrik: ...
Daniel: Liberation pretty much sums up both the hardest and the softest parts of Katatonia. But I’d rather give him/her the album.
Mattias: I really dont know...
Are there any topics too personal to cover through lyrics, or is it all part of a healthy cathartic experience? Is Katatonia therapy?
Jonas: It depends on how obvious you want to be. If something feels way too personal, and I still want to write about it, I try to do it in a more abstract way. It's definitely a kind of therapy for me. I can glance through old lyrics and put the finger on exactly what kind of issue I was dealing with at the time, something I had no idea about when I was writing them.
Anders: It's a lifestyle, escapism, entertainment and therapy grinded together.
Fredrik: Music is therapy.
Daniel: I have no good answer on the lyrics, but is Katatonia therapy? Sure!
Mattias: ...
If you could give your younger self a piece of advice, what would it be?
Jonas: Don't give up drums, otherwise you'll end up as a vocalist.
Anders: Learn how to manipulate the system, or stay out of the system.
Fredrik: Practice more on the guitar.
Daniel: Grow a beard!!
Mattias: Speak more, think less.
This album marks a 10 year recording partnership with Peaceville. How do you feel the industry has changed in this time?
Jonas: I guess we've been through one of those massive changes that comes from time to time. In 1998, the Internet wasn't a virtual record store with free music up for grabs. Everybody knows what has happened since then. But I don't feel that we are particularly hurt by that. Katatonia fans are music lovers and most of them wants the whole package and give their support, I think.
Anders: I think we're caught right in the twilight zone of whole music industry. A transition of platforms. Compared to the 80's and 90's this is not the best time to release your album on a format that has been declared to be dying. I think it's more beneficial if you focus on flowing with the stream and not against it. Utilize the inventions, be part of it, seek new ways.
Fredrik: I guess the downloading has affected the industry. this could also mean that the industry should think different.
Daniel: ...
Mattias: ...
And finally...Ghost Ward studios - an ideal place to be alone in at night?
Jonas: One of the worst, actually.
Anders: If it doesn't kill ya...
Fredrik: Sure, but i prefer playing live with the band at night.
Daniel: Never been there...but I’d say *NEJ*!
Mattias: No.
Interview taken from Terrorizer, issue 187, Summer 2009
'KATATONIA ALBUM EXCLUSIVE!'
With an agonising wait and a series of false starts over the follow-up to 2006's 'The Great Cold Distance', heartfelt progressive death/doom crew Katatonia are finally on track, with a new cut due October. Guitarist Anders Nystrom gave Terrorizer an exclusive update.
This album's been a long time coming, what's kept you so busy?
"Taking care of biz you know. It's madness how time flies these days. If I compare 1990-1999 to 2000-2009 I get scared, for real."
What point did you start writing it? Did it all go smoothly once you got cracking?
"I guess we've been meaning to write this fucker at several occasions over the last two years. We even cancelled the studio bookings twice because the pieces didn't fall into place and we simply refused to rush something together that wouldn't top the last album. Personally, I've had a phase of the most uncreative time in my life, but it's not like I've been away from the scene or anything, on the contrary I've been right in the heat the whole time, but as the role of the band's manager. Handling nothing but all kinds of business matters totally blotted out the musician within me and I couldn't get the inspiration going. The writing took off really serious this spring when we teamed up with Frank Default who would step into the picture as a collaborator on all the 'synth-esque' side
of things. Armed with tons of Jonas [Renkse, vocals] demo sketches and a few of my 'leftover' ideas we headed out to the countryside for one week and put the whole thing together. This was back in May.
"It was like previously we had tried to kick our machinery back into gear without filling it up with gas, but once we oiled up that motherfucker all greasy again it kinda flew down the road on its own
wings again you know? There's this magic that often once you get one idea down for a song, all the other parts come together and build themselves around it and then you just enter your Mozart mode and try to arrange it the most clever way you can."
What's it sounding like?
"It's sounding massive! The sound picture is much deeper, which might have a lot to do with atmosphere being basically the red thread through the album. If our former albums have been a bit one dimensional this is definitely very 3D, if you know what I mean? We also have our most
versatile and varied song material all onto the one and same album. There's some real contemporary elements, some very progressive stuff, some really aggressive and heavy shit in a couple of angry songs with distortion as cruel as the plague. There's a pure doom metal song on
it, a folk music ballad thing, yeah there's all kinds of different stuff all stamped with the Katatonia seal of approval."
Anything unexpected in store?
"Definitely. We're doing a few very daring moves and touching some musical territories that might not be everybody's cup of tea, but that's where our minds are at and we have to embrace our calling."
Thanks to Terrorizer for permission to use this here.
