THEN COMES SILENCE: The Fascination Of Human Behaviour

Then Comes Silence is a band from Stockholm, founded seven years ago. They have released four albums since and after several live concerts and festivals gigs, their latest album Blood has attracted attention more and more. The athmospheric, mystic and impulsive sound takes the listener to a journey of frightening thoughts and trancelike states. They have gathered a fanbase in several european countries in short-term over the past years. I love their music and I was happy to have been able to ask them some questions.

Bea:
How is the mood within Then Comes Silence at the moment?

Mattias:
The mood for us in TCS is wonderful, we are able to perform all over Europe, talk to fans and meet bands active on the same scene. It’s wonderful.

"You can´t write a song without personal experience."

Bea:
TCS was founded in 2012. The Nightshade team got a first impression of you at this year´s New Waves Day. How does it feel to play on larger stages?

Mattias:
It feels like we are supposed to be there, we love doing club gigs but it’s something special about being on a much bigger stage where your backdrop looks like a stamp on an envelope.

Bea:
How did the members of the band find together? And why did the line-up change meanwhile?

Alex:
Stockholm is a small town compared to Berlin, London and New York, so we all have a pretty good radius to keep track on everyone. We meet at concerts, in bars and social media. A friend of a friend etc etc becomes a friend. In the early days it was built on old friends that had played together before.
The line-up changed because some people got too old for rock´n´roll.

Bea:
The artwork of the albums and merch is very impressive, showing demons, and reminding me of nightmares. How was it created and what is the connection to the music?

Alex:
I illustrate and paint under my alias D.K. Griftegaard. It´s an important branch that will always be connected to the band. The main character to be featured on almost every artwork is Bengii. She is the band demon. We have made her as a doll, a mask and an animation etcetera. She appears on Then Comes Silence´s merchandise as herself, as Kid-Bengii and as a man.

Bea:
Several influences can be recognized in your songs, even 70s and psychedelic sounds. What is the musical background of the different band members?

Mattias:
My musical background is a all over the place, I’ve been playing a lot of different genres throughout the years. The last band I was in before joining Then Comes Silence was A Projection (a fellow Swedish band currently active on the scene) where I recorded bass for the second album and after a couple of months became the guitarist of the band.

Alex:
I have been playing music and in bands since the 90´s. As a singer, guitarist, keyboard player, producer and bass player. I have jumped from band to band, different genres and line-ups. I have played in Cuba in a latin rock´n´roll band, learned how to produce music in Radio LXMBRG and toured six times in the UK and Europe in Sad Day For Puppets. Jonas used to play in rockabilly and psychobilly bands and Hugo Zombie came straight away from the Spanish legends, Los Carniceros Del Norte.

Bea:
Except from music, which kind of influences have been important for you and your songs?

Alex:
In terms of art it´s film, silent film and graphic novels. Otherwise it´s just getting up in the morning til I go to bed in the night and what´s happening in between.

Bea:
Some of your songs offer space for interpretation, as for example Mercury which is a very dark and slow song. Can you explain your view of the meaning of it?

Alex:
Mercury is a misandric song. I believe the future is female. The world would be a much a more constructive place without narrow-minded, priveliged, conservative old men holding the wheel. That´s what the song is about.

Bea:
Your songs on the current album Blood and also on older material let the listener dive into very dark depths and sad moments. How much of it results from personal experience?

Alex:
You can´t write a song without personal experience. So, my answer is all of it.

Bea:
For this album you have changed from Novoton, a Swedish indie label to Nuclear Blast, a metal label. What was the reason for this?

Alex:
It was time to take a new step. We signed with a management at the same time as Nuclear Blast. The manager helped us with everything. So in that moment we kind of took another step up the ladder.

Bea:
Rumors are on the way that you are working on a new album. Can you give a hint about the musical direction and the time of release?

Mattias:
The rumours are true, we have been working on a new album, bound to be released early 2020. It’s going to be called Machine and it will be a colder album compared to Blood which sounds more organic.
It´s mixed by Stefan Glaumann (Rammstein, Killing Joke, Deathstars) and produced by Alex.

Bea:
Compared to the album Blood, is there or will there be any difference in your songwriting and working process?

Alex:
No, it´s the same working progress. It´s just like going to work with occasional coffe breaks once in a while. I start writing on a tune no matter the circumstances. I don´t have to be inspired by something to write a song. It´s the contrary. Too much inspiration makes me a bad writer. I lose the focus and get sentimental.

Bea:
You have been touring throughout Europe for quite a while now. What kind of experiences have you made regarding people (audience) and do you have any funny or interesting moments to tell?

Mattias:
The audience is always lovely, we try our best to talk to whom ever wants to talk to us after the show or take photo. We are working hard every week (even when not touring) to be able to put out a wonderful show for the audience, and they seem to enjoy it.
Funny and interesting moments happens all the time, but one thing which is going to be really funny is to play with our danish brothers The Foreign Resort in Hanover the 29th of November at Cafe Glocksee, there will be some surprises happening that evening and hopefully the audience will enjoy it.

Bea:
For a change we now come to a political issue. Since Greta Thunberg has started with "Friday for Future" demos, everyone is talking about the pollution of the environment and climate change theme. What do you think about it?

Alex:
I think about it everyday and I do think it´s got the highest priority. I can´t understand why some people get so upset about this. Greta is just telling us to start working on a change. It´s good that we all live with the awareness. Many will make a change in the everyday routine... but I think the big and main issue is the industry and the part of the world where they still ignore this matter. Sometimes it feels like... making a change in your daily routine such as eating less or no meat, avoid flying etc etc is like putting out a match in a garage. Turn off the car engines in the garage to make the air cleaner instead. That´s the hardest challenge, to make an impact on the corporations and make them change.

Bea:
How much do such political and social matters influence your musical work?

Alex:
It influences the music a lot. It´s a part of the human behaviour that fascinates me.

Bea:
And finally, what are your hopes and expectations for the future of the band?

Alex:
We want to reach out to the ones we haven´t met yet.

Websites:
thencomessilence.eu
facebook.com/thencomessilence
thencomessilence.bandcamp.com

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