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Defeating The Darkness With NIKLAS SANDIN From KATATONIA · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: M M. I'm Nikola Sandin. I'm playing bass and the
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: band Caledonia from Stockholm, Sweden. We play kind of like
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: melancholic rock metal if you like. And we're having a
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  Speaker 1: new album out soon, Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State,
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  Speaker 1: out on June sixth, the Swedish National Day. Actually, so
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  Speaker 1: it's cool to celebrations at once.
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  Speaker 2: Able celebrations like well done, congratulations and thanks for joining
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  Speaker 2: us today.
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  Speaker 1: Cheers, thank you, my pleasures.
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  Speaker 2: As you say, kata Chini, relate your thirty eighth studio album,
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  Speaker 2: Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State on June the sixth.
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  Speaker 3: Hey you feel a mate, She's not far off there.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it feels good, It feels good. We released two
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  Speaker 1: singles of Lilac and Temporo has been very well received.
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  Speaker 1: People seem to like it and and they think a
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  Speaker 1: fresh sound, but also kind of like that they can
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  Speaker 1: hear old stuff in it as well. I think that's great,
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  Speaker 1: and I think it's some great that it's something that
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  Speaker 1: they can reference to and you know, and I think
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  Speaker 1: that they're gonna like the whole album. I hope a
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  Speaker 1: little bit nerve wracking, so you know, in this time
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  Speaker 1: of leading up to an album release.
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  Speaker 3: I bet it is, man, I bet.
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  Speaker 2: Can you tell us a bit more about the album
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  Speaker 2: overall from a musical point of view and what you're
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  Speaker 2: doing for with it?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's it's like it's always been with Caledonia.
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  Speaker 1: It's a it's a dark, dark Kurt Gluey and but
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  Speaker 1: I think it's more like straightforward now. It's more kind
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  Speaker 1: of like you know, live, live driven songs and uh.
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  Speaker 1: And I think, like always, we're just trying to aim
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  Speaker 1: and Humanus is trying to aim on doing something that
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  Speaker 1: trumps the the previous record, something that's even better, you know,
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  Speaker 1: trying to elevate the views releasing with each release and
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  Speaker 1: and you know, and also release something that we all
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  Speaker 1: can stand behind. We really like ourselves, not releasing something
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  Speaker 1: as that's a calling card to go on tour, you know,
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  Speaker 1: but but something that really you know has a as
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  Speaker 1: a natural place and Catatonia discography. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Nice.
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  Speaker 2: The press release SES Nightmare is Extensions of the Waking
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  Speaker 2: State marks the next step in the band's musical evolution.
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  Speaker 3: So do you agree with that? And if you say,
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  Speaker 3: how does it mark that?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I kind of agree with that. I think I
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  Speaker 1: think mainly because there's two new guys in the band,
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  Speaker 1: Nick and Sebastian Sland, and they're both brilliant, brilliant musicians,
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  Speaker 1: and they aren lots to the band, not just with
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  Speaker 1: their skilled guitar playing, but also with energy and and
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  Speaker 1: you know, and what they bring to the table. So
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  Speaker 1: it's definitely definitely a new experience. And they both play
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  Speaker 1: on the record. They the one playing the guitar and
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  Speaker 1: you know, nailing all the fantastic solos and stuff. So
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  Speaker 1: so that way, it's a huge, you know, evolution in
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  Speaker 1: the sound and and how how we are as a band.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and the power image is awesome too, bro Like
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  Speaker 2: it's got a deer standing in a forest clearing it's
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  Speaker 2: hard of being burn alive or it's haven't it so
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  Speaker 2: ripped out of his body?
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  Speaker 3: I haven't figured out which one it is yet.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, me neither. I don't necessarily think that deers on
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  Speaker 1: fire are fun in real life and refreshing to have
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  Speaker 1: a new take, you know, there's been lots of birds
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  Speaker 1: on previous album covers and to head to have something
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  Speaker 1: quite quite quite new and different, I think it's it's
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  Speaker 1: been interesting and I was a little bit puzzled. The
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  Speaker 1: first time I saw it, I was like, Okay, well
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  Speaker 1: I didn't expect.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, what's it actually signifying? Is it signifying rebirth or
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  Speaker 2: good question?
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  Speaker 1: I haven't really aiming could be. I mean, it's kind
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  Speaker 1: of like with lyrical themes and with the album title
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  Speaker 1: as well. It's up to everyone's own interpretation and owning
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  Speaker 1: the music. It's kind of like Calatuna in that kind
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  Speaker 1: of sense. It's like with lyrical themes as well. Like
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  Speaker 1: I like I said some sometimes you see people discussing
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  Speaker 1: particular song on lines and you know, and take in
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  Speaker 1: interpretation of the song. And I think it's the same
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  Speaker 1: with the album covers as well. It's that's what makes
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  Speaker 1: Caltunia so so so interesting and intriguing. It's not like
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  Speaker 1: the twiggest hand you something and then like blue is
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  Speaker 1: blue and red is red. You know, it's it's more
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  Speaker 1: than that. It goes as deep as into your own soul.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Nice, But sot the ties in with the album chitle mate, Like,
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  Speaker 2: there's no song on the album called Nightmare's Extensions of
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  Speaker 2: the Waiting States, So that suggests to me that there
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  Speaker 2: is a deeper overall meaning the title.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I mean the way I the way I
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  Speaker 1: feel it and the way I see it is like, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: you when like that you're in this kind of state today,
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  Speaker 1: at least for me, where I feel like there's so much,
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  Speaker 1: so much things going on in the world and so
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  Speaker 1: much things going on in general that's heavy and that
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  Speaker 1: almost you know, tends to cross over to something that
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  Speaker 1: you would call a nightmare. That it's kind of like,
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  Speaker 1: even even though you're totally awake, you're still in some
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  Speaker 1: kind of you know, limbo between between a nightmare and
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  Speaker 1: and the and the reality you're finding yourself in. So
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  Speaker 1: so that's my take to the title. But it might
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  Speaker 1: be something different what Jonas was thinking and what other
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  Speaker 1: people read into it. But but that's what the how
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  Speaker 1: I interpreted. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Now you mentioned before your two new guitars.
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  Speaker 2: You've got Nica and Sebastian there, So going into an
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  Speaker 2: album cycle, like having one new guitarist to be a
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  Speaker 2: bit be a bit of a challenge, but having two
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  Speaker 2: completely new guitars there for an album like did it
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  Speaker 2: parly gift Cottage?
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  Speaker 1: Not really because they found each other, you know, like
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  Speaker 1: really really quickly, and they just clicked and they they
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  Speaker 1: they became this entity where where we were starting to
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  Speaker 1: call them father and son because they look quite alike
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  Speaker 1: and the h H gap and difference could suggest that
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  Speaker 1: they like technically could be a father and son. So
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  Speaker 1: they so they really really connected on a you know,
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  Speaker 1: French level quickly. So they worked out all the guitar
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  Speaker 1: parts themselves, and they they were very very professionally. Even
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  Speaker 1: I think that they put this spreadsheet on, you know,
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  Speaker 1: like right writing which should be played, who and who
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  Speaker 1: takes this soul and takes this We were kind of
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  Speaker 1: like just looking at it was almost like looking at
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  Speaker 1: some ai taking form, you know and doing all the
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  Speaker 1: work for you were kind of like, oh wow, this
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  Speaker 1: is like it's just going by like like automatic. And
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  Speaker 1: I mean Niko has been with us before. He has
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  Speaker 1: played a whole European tour replacing Anders and on that
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  Speaker 1: one standing in for him and one Danish gig. And
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  Speaker 1: also he's been down Under. He played with us in
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  Speaker 1: Tasmania in the On the Dark Mofo festival a few
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  Speaker 1: years back, so we have had plenty of experience with
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  Speaker 1: him and you know, bonding with him, so that made
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  Speaker 1: it also lots easier. So he was it was kind
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  Speaker 1: of like this natural progression, So it wasn't like two
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  Speaker 1: completely new faces coming in and you know, so it
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  Speaker 1: was no, it was really really really easy and we
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  Speaker 1: didn't really have to do all that much. They just
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  Speaker 1: kind of like sold it super professionally, and and before
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  Speaker 1: like before the first rehearsal, they they knew pretty much
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  Speaker 1: everything in the setlist. So and also and the same
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  Speaker 1: with as well, and they're like huge or any obstacles.
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  Speaker 1: They just came in and did their thing super professional
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  Speaker 1: and and they're great guys as well. They bring lots
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  Speaker 1: of good energy and new ideas.
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  Speaker 3: Helps.
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  Speaker 2: This is your fifth album since Journey Cata signing. You're
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  Speaker 2: in two thousand and nine, mates, so maybe do you
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  Speaker 2: think by now are you fully comfortable with your role
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  Speaker 2: in the band or are you still still learning it?
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  Speaker 1: Oh? I think I think I'm that a person that
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  Speaker 1: of course I'm comfortable with with the people in the
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  Speaker 1: band and everything I'm finding in my place. But as
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  Speaker 1: a musician, I don't think I will ever be totally comfortable.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's always something new to learn, and I'm
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  Speaker 1: always hard on myself, you know, keeping a high standard,
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  Speaker 1: I hope, hope a standard, but keeping some kind of
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  Speaker 1: standing you know, and so I'm always, you know, feeling
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  Speaker 1: that I want to push myself. It's always I like
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  Speaker 1: to keep up the on the on my toes and
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  Speaker 1: not be too comfortable, you know, putting myself in the
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  Speaker 1: armchair and not evolving. That would be that would be
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  Speaker 1: very very boring and not good or fair for anyone.
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  Speaker 1: So but but definitely, I mean, I've been It's been
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  Speaker 1: over fifteen years since I did the first live gig
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  Speaker 1: with Catatonia, so it would have been in awkward already
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  Speaker 1: if I didn't feel somewhat comfortable being in the band,
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  Speaker 1: it would have been fifteen very long years.
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  Speaker 2: So overall, would you say that night Man is his
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  Speaker 2: extensions of the Waking State? Is an album of hope
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  Speaker 2: or an album of despair?
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  Speaker 1: Uh? Good, good question, don't I don't think that. I
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  Speaker 1: don't think that Caledonia likes to portray and you know,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, actively see that people would like feel
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  Speaker 1: despair listening to the music that might feel, you know,
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  Speaker 1: the same things as I do. I'm going going through
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  Speaker 1: hardships and going through rough times and having self doubt
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  Speaker 1: and you know, just feeling utterly miserable and depressed from
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  Speaker 1: time to time. And then feeling hope and listening to
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  Speaker 1: the music, you know, being able to connect with something
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  Speaker 1: that you know that portrays something that you feel yourself,
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  Speaker 1: and then you don't feel alone in your hardships. So
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  Speaker 1: I think in that way, I think it wants to
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  Speaker 1: portray hope, even though it sounds very gloomy and depressive.
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  Speaker 1: You know, it's kind of like, you know when when
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  Speaker 1: people listen to death metal and about ripping your other
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  Speaker 1: people guts out and you know, and mutilating kids and stuff.
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  Speaker 1: You know, it's not it's not about like, oh, that's
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  Speaker 1: what I want to do, but it's like it's it's
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  Speaker 1: something that is so so different. It kind of like
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  Speaker 1: gives you a break as well from the every day.
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  Speaker 1: But in Catatonia's music, it's more kind of like it's
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  Speaker 1: more kind of like finding yourself being able to yeah,
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  Speaker 1: just sense.
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  Speaker 3: Sorry, nicholet's not. Thanks very much for you, Tom Might.
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  Speaker 2: It's been a pleasure speaking with your nightmares as extensions
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  Speaker 2: of the Working State is out to sick things. She's
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  Speaker 2: now the Cracker album from Catatonian, so bete to walk
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  Speaker 2: with it.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Chris, I wish you a good evening. Moving
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  Speaker 1: spons stream and by.
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  Speaker 3: Oh it's must Smith the dreams.
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  Speaker 5: Damie streaming now this sound night went a way to
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  Speaker 5: come back again, batter off, but I feel like well.
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  Speaker 3: The jow how you need the clouds like the starting now.
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  Speaker 4: Have fun swen see without the sound, take my heart
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  Speaker 4: dry way, I can wait till.
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  Speaker 1: The sun start.
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  Speaker 3: I got to drown.
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  Speaker 1: It's down up, I'm foun go on.
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  Speaker 3: It's a crime of pastures.
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  Speaker 5: Hard first to this charge.
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  Speaker 3: And I'm still on.
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  Speaker 5: Well the coward undernath The clouds to break the stout.
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  Speaker 4: Down have to follow the sun scene moving without the sound.
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  Speaker 5: It's time to take.
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  Speaker 1: So take try.
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  Speaker 3: Try cant wait to s the second and style to
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  Speaker 3: SPANX spy