I N T E R V I E W

Interview Feffe (by email)

For a start can you present Bombus and how the project got started?

I would say it´s a pretty straightforward ”getting a band together” story. Matte (the other guitarist/vocalist) and I (Feffe) started it out and pretty soon Peter (drums) joined. Back then we had another bass player called Ulf. He left the band and Jonas joined instead. Ulf still does most of the artwork He´s almost like a fifth member really. We have released four 7” and one album. Since we started out we have pretty much just played live as much as possible and tried to record and release as much good music as possible. I mean that´s what you´re supposed to do in a band I guess. And so far so good.

Can you say a word about the name of the band?

You know, your band has to have a name, and our band ended up with the name Bombus. It´s the hardest part of starting a band, giving it a name, writing songs, playing live and touring is the easy part. But it sounds good, it´s one word and it neither too long nor too short. We did not want a name that is ridiculously long that some bands have today.  

In my review of your album I was explaining that it's not so easy to grant you a given style. Something between Hard Rock and Thrash, with a touch of Punk maybe? How would you define your style?

You know, there´s nothing new under the sun, but still we don’t want to narrow ourselves to work within the frames of one specific genre or style. That would limit us in the songwriting and we don’t see the point with that. So yeah, we end up somewhere making a cocktail that includes equal parts Metal, Punk and Hard Rock. I like to think that we bring something new to the table in what we do, but still it´s all about heavy riffs and pounding drums. It´s Bombus Rock.

You released a number of EPs and your first album on your own label, how did this work?

It worked fine. I started Mourningwood Recordings with a friend to release Bombus stuff and then it grew and we released a bunch of other bands too. We did it much because we wanted full control and to not have to sit around and wait for another label to get interested. Right now we don’t have time to release anything new but if we stumble over something cool and we've got the time we´ll be at it again for sure. That shit takes time if you want to do it good however.  

Now you release "The Poet And The Parrot" on a famous label, tell us how this happened?

We recorded the album and then started to shop around for labels, because we wanted someone else to do all the hard work this time around. We spoke to a few labels but Century Media Records was by far the most interesting. They knew about us from before but thought we were signed to Mourningwood, but since we were not, it was a sealed deal right there.

And what did it change in the recording of the new album compared to the first one?

As we had recorded the album before we contacted any labels, the signing with Century Media was never in the picture while recording. However recording "The Poet And The Parrot" took like two years, recording our first album took two months, because we were in and out of the studio, touring, playing live and recording at the same time.

I reviewed and liked this album, can you tell us a bit about how it got composed and recorded?

Thanks, glad you like it! Well, since the album took so long to finish we kind of wrote new songs during the recording process. Some songs, like “The Poet And The Parrot” we wrote like two years ago and others like “Let Her Die” that came in late in the recording process we wrote a few months ago really. And when you get the chance to listen to what you have recorded for a long time before you release it you also (for good and for bad) have the chance to alter what you´ve recorded and re-do stuff. Jonas joined the band during this time as well so we redid all the bass. Other than that, in the studio we like to keep it kind of basic. I suppose we record in the same fashion it´s been done in for a long time. No computer plugs, we mike up amps and play through and on the drums we don’t use trigs and stuff. The album is also mixed “on the table” so to say and not in a computer. We like to keep it that way, even though we are not enemies of new technique, or believe that “it was all better before”, but it just seems like an easy way to record and it suits us, even though all you need today is a computer and you can record a whole album.

Both you and Matthias sing in the band, this is quite original, and provides a certain sound. How did this idea come up?

We came up with that idea in the beginning. Our voices are pretty similar and when you´re in the studio you pretty much always overdub your own vocals at least once to make it sound smoother and better. So we said – lets try this and we liked it. It kind of contributes to our own sound, and when I fuck up live and forget what to sing Matte is there covering up my mess. So I mean it´s a win-win thing!

I noticed a number of obvious influences in your music, such as Motörhead and Metallica. Do you take this as a compliment?

Sure thing bro! And it tells me that people like you actually have listened to the album and analysed it. Because there are a little bit of both Motörhead and Metallica on there, and many more. But we like to let our influences shine through in what we do, without making it too obvious hopefully. But it´s about paying homage to your own heroes and it´s also a cool thing to make your influences just obvious enough so the listener can hear it at times and go "Ahaaa... Bombus are W.A.S.P and Melvins fans!".

It's not on the press kit, but in some of the slower songs, the atmosphere is very dark, and reminds me a bit of Black Sabbath, do you agree with this?

Absolutely! There is definitely some Black Sabbath in the cocktail. I mean we off course love Black Sabbath, and the bands that WE are fans of love Black Sabbath, so yeah, amen to Black Sabbath.

We also really liked the sound of Jonas on bass, does he use a Rickenbacker?

Yes, did you hear that? Cool, yeah he´s using a Rickenbacker and a Thunderbird actually.

This is also what Lemmy uses, so was this a deliberate choice?

I´m sure it was. Lemmy, Geezer Butler and probably more than one generation of bass players use Rickenbacker. It is a cool bass.

I'm sure you heard about Lemmy having some health problems, do you want to say something to him?

Get well!

You also released a video for "Enter The Night", which is very well done, and quite original. Can you say a few words about how this was done?

Our former bass man Ulf has done it. He still does a lot of our artwork and is pretty much like a fifth member of the band still. He is a true artist, so we just shot on a green screen and then he locked himself up in his creative dungeon and a few months later he showed us this. Pretty cool, we like it!

Is such a video, a direct effect of the signing with Century Media?

No, they had nothing to do with it, but they really liked it and did a great job promoting it. They really did the video and all the hard work behind it justice.

We heard that you had a great reputation of "no bullshit metal" on stage; will we get a chance to see you any time soon in France?

Well hopefully soon. We really want to come back to France and play some ”no bullshit metal” soon. We have played in Paris and Marseille and they were both great!

Is the label also providing support for you to tour?

Yeah, we got some tour support if needed. It´s a good thing if you´re the support band, those tours can be pretty poor at times.  

What's the plan for you guys, in the coming months?

We just had our first show in our hometown Gothenburg since the album release and it was great. But this month we will do one off shows here and there and in October it will build up and in November/December we will do our own headline tour in Europe.

I'll leave you with a last word for our readers, thank you for your time, and all the best for Bombus.

Thank you, and well readers, if we´re in your town - come see us, and if you see our new album – give it a spin, you might actually like it. Until then, keep your pants on.

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