The Awesome Machine - the making of "Under The Influence"
I had the pleasure to visit The Awesome Machine in the studio while they were making their new fullength album "Under The Influence" last summer. It�s always interesting to see a band at work in the studio, to see the songs take form.
I thought I�d start of with a little Awesome Machine history lesson. There�s been some minor changes in the lineup since the band started out in `96. But the lineup with Lasse, Christian, Anders and Tobbe have been active since `98. They released their debut selftitled 10" vinyl in `98 as well (it was with this release I discovered this band).
The Awesome Machine
@ Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg, Sweden
March 16th, 2001
(Click photos for larger versions)
In the spring of `99 they unleashed their " Doom, Disco, Dope, Death and Love"- demo, with this demo they had established themself in the Swedish underground scene... and more and more people discovered that Awesome Machine is a killer live band (they always play to packed houses in their hometown, Gothenburg).
Before `99 was over they had signed a contract with German label �People Like You� Records and also recorded their first fullength at Los Angered Studios (owned and operated by Andy La Rocque from King Diamond). The album was titled "...It�s Ugly Or Nothing" and it was released in April - 2000 in Europe (and July - 2000 in Scandinavia). The rest of 2000 was spent mostly on the road...
The Awesome Machine
@ Short Valley Bar `n� Grill in Kortedala, Sweden
December 3rd, 2001
(Click photos for larger versions)
Which brings us to the summer of 2001 and the recording of the just released "Under The Influence" album. For this album they decided to produce it themself, and the recording took place at the �Nacksving Studios�... which is holy ground for all Swedes into the music of the Swedish "progg" movement of the 70�s.
During the two days I spent in the studio with Awesome Machine I got to see parts of the album take form. My first visit was right in the middle of their recording period and the other was towards the end. First of I gotta say that this is the most relaxing studio I�ve ever been to, some studios almost feels like a hospital or a high-tech factory or something... lotsa technical equipment and a very clinical look. But �Nacksving� had a lot of the original wall and roof paintings from when the house was built a hundred (?) years ago (see the studio photos).
The Awesome Machine
@ the "Nacksving Studio" in Gothenburg, Sweden
Summer of 2001
(Click photos for larger versions)
The rest of this "feature" will be done in interview form...
Hogfeldt: How was it to produce yourself, as you did with this album?
Tobbe: There�s pro�s and con�s... but the total freedom is definitely something positive. No one is meddling with our creativity in the studio, you�re free to try out any idea that comes along. The hard thing is that even though there�s four productive minds in the studio you�ll end up getting stuck sometimes anyway. At times like that it�s kinda nice to have someone say "Let�s do it this way, it�ll be for the best". But all in all it�s been a great experience producing the album ourself...
Christian: It was damned great to keep the production within the band, without any "know-it-all" meddling in every thing. It worked out great with asking the studio engineers if we wanted a second opinion. And we came prepared which makes it a whole lot easier... not like Def Leppard...
Hogfeldt: Any thoughts on recording in the legendary Nacksving studio? I was only there for two days, but I really liked the atmosphere in that studio...
Lasse: An amazing studio (without windows, a good thing when it�s 25-30 degrees outside and full on summer weather. I�m not big on the "progg" thing, so it didn�t mean that much to me on that level. But both Isak and Anders were cool to work with, each in his own way, and they�re VERY different. Personally I suffer from "studio-fear" and severe performance anxiety, but it felt pretty cool none the less.
Christian: A damned great atmosphere... and if you wasn�t in the right mood some day (or night) you could always take a stroll down town and come back with the batteries fully charged later.
Anders: Awesome... couldn�t been better, especially when taking into account that the summer was in full bloom... no windows, which meant no sunshine or no hot babes outside that stole the attention from what we were doing. And the studio in itself gave of good vibrations.
Tobbe: Dame great vibes... you�ll feel totally relaxed in that environment and no "the tape is rolling" anxiety, which usually is the case. There�s vibes from old war-history and from the "progg" movement during the 70�s... A lot of the technical equipment still lives on from those days... like the mixer-table, and that really sets a mark on the whole production.
Hogfeldt: Any difference in how the songs took shape on the new album vs. the "...It�s Ugly Or Nothing" album?
Tobbe: Hmm... I can hardly remember how we wrote the songs on the "Ugly" album... but I think the were written, as always, in our rehearsal room. Usually we start out with a guitar or bass riff, then I come in with the drums and then we all arrange it. When the song is beginning to take form Lasse starts to try out some lyric/vocal ideas... What�s different on this album is that we had more time in the studio. On the last album we just had time for the "important" stuff, we had no time to try out different ideas and so on. Having this time on our hands made it possible for us to dare to try out stuff like trumpet and saxophone.
Christian: Lasse and "Ankan" have composed stuff together on this album (Still Got No Share Pt. 1 & 2) which I guess is the biggest difference between the albums.
Hogfeldt: Which of the songs on the new album means most to you personally?
Anders: It�s just like with the last album... each and every tune has been a favorite at one time or another, and it also depends on the mood I�m in at the moment. But I�m damned pleased with all of the tunes.
Lasse: "One", the lyrics means a lot to me, this was the tune that others thought least of before we started recording... so I had to fight real hard to make them understand that it was a killer tune.
Tobbe: It varies from day to day... Most of `em have been favorites like "Cure Me", "Tomorrow", "Kick", "God Damn Evil" and so on. At the moment it�s "Emotion Water" and "One", both these tunes have a "feeling" I really like and the recordings turned out great... just listen to those drums! =)
Christian: Favorites are "Tomorrow" with it�s full on groove and tasty solo. "Emotion Waters"; a very emotional song with attitude... we show what�s what with a tune that�s almost 9 minutes long built on only two riffs... "One" is a great tune to play live, which also goes for the live favorite "God Damn Evil".
Hogfeldt: You had a few interesting, and unexpected, guests on this album... horns wasn�t something I�d expect from you guys. Was these guests something you planned for from an early stage in the development of the tunes, or was it something that came up later on?
Tobbe: We wanted a few guests on this album, that much was clear, but who and on which songs was decided during the recording. We tried with all sorts of musicians from Josh Homme to Nicke in Hellacopters, but in the end we choose to stick with Jesper and Bj�rn from In Flames and Anders Iwers from Tiamat. It was very cool to get a chance to work with these musicians, in part because of their of professionalism and also because their music and ours are quite far apart stylewise. The "horn-guy" is the joker in the deck, a complete unknown who used to work with Anders and Christian.
Hogfeldt: What�s your influences, from today�s scene or classics?
Lasse: Tool, Unida, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Cult, P.J. Harvey, Brant Bjork, A Perfect Circle, Sublime, Deftones, Pink Floyd are stuff that I listen to often, these are the kind of bands I really like. Then there�s the classics like Iron Maiden, old Metallica, Dio and stuff like that. Like you see, a lot of music and over a broad spectrum.
Ankan: On this album you can hear a few of `em, but mostly classics like Thin Lizzy, The Doors, The Ramones, Black Sabbath, Kiss, AC/DC, ZZ Top and so on. I�m not afraid to admit that I (we) have a lot of influences (check out the album title), but at the same time I think we have managed to create something from our own hearts. It�s not like we reinvented the genre, but it�s damn genuine and good.
Tobbe: As far as my personal influences go, I take a little here and little there... since we all have quite different tastes when it comes to music. But I think we have stuff like Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin and MC5 in common and also Hellacopters, Iron Maiden and The Cult.
Christian: Influences? Not much from today�s scene `cept for Hellacopters, those guys can make me real "riff crazy". But there�s a few good ones from the 60�s and 70�s... like Derek & The Dominoes, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Blind Faith, ZZ Top, Kiss, Thin Lizzy, The Ramones, The Damned, The Lords Of The New Church, Bob Dylan, James Gang... this list can go on forever.
Hogfeldt: What�s your thought on today�s "stonerrock" scene, and especially the Swedish?
Christian: The stoner scene of today? Shure there�s a lot of crap, but there�s also a few gems like Generous Maria, Five Horse Johnson, Atomic Bitchwax and Karma To Burn.
Tobbe: Here we go again... it has been a lot of debating about the label "stonerrock" for a long time now. I have no problem what-so-ever to be labeled this or that, it has always been like that and it will always be like that. Man has some kinda need to label things. But it�s not like we set out to do everything to be labeled as a stonerband, it�s the other way around, all we do musically is what we feel like doing at the moment. The scene have become overflown with bands trying to be as "stoner" as possible, and that doesn�t feel real honest it�s more like you set out to copy someone as much as you can. At the same time I think it�s sad when people like Josh Homme and John Garcia, who was a big part in creating the scene, more or less condemns the whole scene. I mean, they should be proud instead! But shure, there�s a few good "stoner" bands in Sweden, like Mustasch, The Mushroom River Band and Boogieman.
The Awesome Machine
Release party @ Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg, Sweden
February 1st, 2002
(Click photos for larger versions)
Hogfeldt: Any plans for an European Tour? Any chance for an American tour? Any festivals this upcoming summer?
Tobbe: We start our European Tour on the 24th of April in London. This tour will take us through countries like Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. We don�t have any plans for the U.S.A. at the moment, but if opportunity comes knockin� we�re there! We�re hoping to do a few festivals this summer, but there�s a whole lotta competition for the festival spots so at the moment there�s nothing booked... but if the new album starts to really sell it�ll be a whole lot easier!
