It doesn’t happen much that I get hooked and blown out of my socks by a band, but Beseech did both with their new album and as it can be seen as a comeback, time to have a chat with Klas Bohlin …
First of all what’s the idea behind the bands’ name (begging for something?)?
To us, there is no deeper meaning behind it or any specific reason why we decided to pick the name. Morgan Gredåker, our original drummer came up with it, after hearing someone saying ”I Beseech you” in a horror movie. We were quite young back then, but thought it was a cool name for our band. I still think it sounds pretty cool 24 years later.
Beseech has gone through though years, losing members. It must have been a painful period?
It’s not that anyone died or so... but yes, there has been many members leaving and joining the band throughout the years. Actually I’m the only one left from the very beginning. I remember that I was quite sad about Morgan's departure from the band – an amazing guy, but unfortunately not as committed to the band as the rest of us. Otherwise there’s not been any bad blood between us or any of the ex-members.
Due to all these changes, the sound has been differently, how does the fans react to it?
So far the response has been really good! I think that changing members, now and then, has been a good thing for Beseech. Slightly we have explored new ideas and developed our sound for each album, and therefore also members according the present sound. The main core within Beseech has never been about individual musicians. Me and Robert are not only the creators of the Beseech sound, but also the main composers throughout the years. So I guess that either me or Robert must be in the band, in order to maintain the gloomy atmosphere. For this album I also got myself another songwriter partner in crime, Manne Engström who was my replacement as a guitarist in 2003. A great guy, with many riffs.
Gig wise it will be less female fronted than before, but imagine that a festival asks you do work out a more female fronted sound for once, would you accept this challenge?
We are what we are. It’s not that we do gigs on demand. Maybe we can listen to some ideas and then make adjustments in the set-list for a specific concert with different material. We are not searching for that kind of challenges though.
If you could invite a few guest to sing a few songs together or play a few songs with you, who would it be and why?
Then I would probably chose some legendary occult singers, like Arthur Brown or Jinx Dawson while they are still alive. I also admire singers like David Gahan, Glenn Danzig, Jeff Martin, John Garcia,Paul McCartney and Ian Astbury, but to do something together with either of them, feels very, very distant.
I just reviewed your new album and really loved it, I compared it with Blue Öyster Cult (music and vocal wise) and with Tindersticks (emotionally), how do you see it?
The connection with Blue Öyster Cult, damn... It’s probably the nicest thing anyone ever said to me. For this album I have spent lots of time experimenting with vocal background layers. In some songs, especially in the chorus, there could be like over 10 channels with soft backing harmony vocals in order to create a deeper atmosphere. This is also something that you can hear in the Blue Öyster Cult masterpiece classic song, Don’t fear the reaper. Bands like Midlake, Fleet Foxes and The Moody Blues are also great examples how to make this kind of vocals properly done. The Tindersticks sounds promising, I have to check them out more further.
Do you accept a link with the 69 Eyes and their vampire gothic rock sound?
Can’t say that I have listened much to The69 Eyes. I’ve heard of them, but can't mention any of their songs, but a vampire is always a vampire, in which is cool.
I also called in Chris Isaac and Type O Negative as possible influence, do you agree with that?
I like them both. I don’t think that we are consciously influenced by any band or so these days, perhaps we are too old? The surroundings and certain events that occurs to us, feels more like a natural source of inspiration. When we started to play, in the early days we were much more easily affected by music from others. When I first came across The Bloody Kisses album, it was of course something over the ordinary. Wicked Game with Isaac is totally amazing by the way!
Was it hard to find the right person for the studio work?
Not really, our new bass player Johan Örnborg and our long-time friend Christian Silver has produced and mixed the album. Also me and Manne have been deeply involved in this. Then during the studio sessions, we have done arrangements with impact from the entire band. Both Johan and Christian has years of experience in making albums. Today Johan is also one of the guys at Fascination Street Studios.
What is so special about your favorite recording studio?
All the proper recordings which I have been involved in since 1995, some with Beseech, some with other projects, are related to StudioMega. This place is also the connection and the reason why our new members Håkan Carlsson (drums) and Johan are in the band. I can still remember when I first met Johan, it was during my temporary departure from Beseech. I was at StudioMega recording with my new band Depressive Art (garage/psychedelic stuff) and Johan was the new talented guy at StudioMega. I was totally amazed of how creative he was with adding new ideas to our sound. Then a few years later, me and Håkan also went to StudioMega with another band (with a totally different sound) to do the final mixing with Johan. Also Robert and Manne have spent much time over there with their band Lavette among other projects. So there was plenty of stuff going on at StudioMega during the years when Beseech was put to rest. Today Manne is also the main owner of the studio, which of course was to our advantage when we made this new record. The studio is not as active as it used to be, but sometimes they still make great albums over there. I also enjoy the environment and the good vibes from our dinners and drinking wine while listen to music all night. That kind of atmosphere is sometimes much more important for the end result, than finding the prefect settings on the amplifier.
Who did the artwork of the album and did you had a hand in it?
The cover art is made by Alexander Jansson. He has not yet made so many album covers for bands, but is quite famous for his art with over 500.000 fans on Facebook. Since we went back to our roots and the old era of Beseech, at first we thought of using Travis again, who also has made the covers for Black Emotionsand Souls Highway, but then we got a tip about Alexander, so we contacted him. At first we didn't know that Alex was a fan of Beseech, so this became a perfect match for everyone. Most of our graphic material on the other hand is made by Robert. He is our art director and web master at the same time. Then I have also been involved making layouts.
Check him out!
https://www.facebook.com/Alexander.Jansson.art
I love The Shimmering, how was it to work on the video?
In this matter we decided to put our faith into the hands of the director Albin Glassell at Stellar Void. We gave him the lyrics and the story behind it. The Shimmering is about tragedies and the emotions that comes when destiny takes a unpredicted way towards darkness. The song is also dedicated to those who are going through a tough time, while finding their way back.
What is Bloodline Fever exactly about and could it be a single?
It says that some people are born with tragedies in their blood. To some people this might be unfair, like if you are raised within a miserable family with lots of problems. How can we blame the innocent, for real? Everything that surrounds us has an effect on us, so our first years in life are really important when you look back and eventually reflects over the person in which you have become.
How did you come to create a song like Highwayman, with a very American kind of a sound?
The original version is written by the legendary American songwriter Jimmy Webb. This song is larger than life and deserves nothing but very deep respect. I first discovered the song from a live version with Johnny Cash and was totally blown away! Many bands before us have recorded this song. I do think that some artists seem to have a lack of respect for country music. A cool thing about our version, is that Jimmy and his manager actually loves our version. We got in contact with Jimmy’s manager through a common friend, and on the 1st of January, Jimmy shared our video at his Facebook page. Great start for 2016!!!
The Johnny Cash version
Over the years you also changed labels, what attracted you to Despotz Records and why not Napalm Records or Nuclear Blast Records for example?
The one thing that we like about Despotz, which makes them quite different from our previous labels, is the personal connection. They have a really humble and close relation with their artists. They have succeeded with being music lovers and businessmen at the same time.
Another band on the same label is Crucified Barbara (I loved their previous record), have you ever played or spoken to them? I feel like it’s possible to work something out between both of you, what do you think?
Not that I can recall. When it comes to creative projects, I’m always open for suggestions.
You answered my tweet with see you in in the fall in Belgium, can you already tell more about it (as I really hope to see you)?
We have to see what happens. We would love to visit Belgium again, that’s for sure. Last time I was there was in 2001 touring with Theatre of Tragedy and Lacuna Coil. An amazing tour that brings back lots of great memories.
What else can we expect over the next months?
Our main goal right now, is to make a good impression with our new album. If this will be achieved well by our old and new fans, the possibilities to get back on the road increases.
Is there something you want to talk about before ending this interview?
Thank you so much for your interest in Beseech. Check out our new record My Darkness, Darkness, out on the 4th of March on Despotz Records. And of course, we hope to meet you all on the road.
For those who haven’t heard Beseech before, check out our videos!
The Shimmering:
Highwayman
