Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.29 03/00)
excerpts from an interview with Fredrik Lindqvist (Bass)
Most of 1996 was devoted to touring. But we also started to write new material in 96. In fact we started to write new songs as soon as the first album was recorded in the autumn of 95. Two of the songs on the new album, 'Lobby' and 'Do you want to see the sun' were, as you may know, part of our live repertoire when we toured in 96. So that was the year when we first met our audience and explored our music in a live situation. We were focused on playing live and supporting the first album. We played in Italy in May that year four concerts and we played in Germany, The Netherlands, Hungary, England, Norway and Sweden. In the first part of 1997 the members of the group were busy in different outside projects. Patrik, among other things, recorded and toured with the Swedish vocal trio Blond and also with a famous Swedish gospel choir called One Voice, Jon spent several months working abroad, Johan studied at the University of Stockholm. I myself became involved with a band called Improvisationsgruppen Altaír who plays totally improvised music on a variety of instruments. At the end of the summer of 1997 the four of us got together to play again, to try out new ideas. We realised that the band had gone through some musical changes since the first album was recorded. I guess we actually were a bit tired of the clichés and norms of the progressive rock genre. We wanted to try out new approaches to our music. What happened was that we became very fascinated by what is the essence or the core of a song. We tried not to "over-produce" songs by staring too long at detail arrangements, and in order to keep the spontaneity and freshness of the songs we worked very fast. Basically, we acknowledged simplicity and we made a lot really good songs. But somewhere along the way we got a bit lost, because most of the songs lacked that specific, unique and uniting Ritual sound. I think that we also maybe listened too much to what people outside the band had to say about our music. When you are looking for new influences and new perspectives this is a natural thing to do. But now we know that this was wrong because we lost some of our identity and self-awareness. So, in the late summer of 1998 we decided only to pay attention to our own instincts. No one but the members of Ritual know what is best for Ritual. We have got to be true to ourselves. We also decided that Ritual is a forum for musical experimentation and freedom where we can let the music itself decide which way to go. To sum up, I can say that we learned a lot and that the spirit of the band was strengthened through this process. We dumped a lot of the new songs we had composed up until then and decided to start afresh in this new adventurous spirit. At the end of 1998 we started to discuss the new album with our sound-engineer and friend Hans Fredriksson who is now seriously involved in the project. In early 1999 we had enough songs for an album and so, in March, we entered the studio Rommarö and started to record.
Comparing the two albums, the songs on “Superb birth” are more song-orientated and also less ‘over-produced’, being more straight forwared to the essence, the core of the song. Has this something to do with the change of your musical taste, the way of composing or what lead you to this decision?
I guess your musical taste and interest always changes and evolves as life changes and evolves. It's a law of nature; it makes you grow and it strengthens your self-esteem. Indeed the sound, the expression of our music is more direct nowadays. It is probably partly the result of our exploration of simplicity that I talked about earlier. It is interesting to try to cultivate the essence of a song. The result can be very focused. But most of the time the changes in our music is not a result of pre-decided or conscious decisions. We like to let the music guide us. We try to listen to our inner voice. Actually, a lot of the brand new Ritual material derives from improvisations. Most of the song "Dinosaur Spaceship", which is the newest song on the album, was adopted from recordings of the band improvising. I think our next album will be even more adventurous in this respect. The songs are in themselves perhaps more simple and "compressed" on this album, but we actually worked very hard on the production, to get the sound right, and the album was recorded and mixed in a quite unorthodox way. There was a lot of experimentation going on sound-production wise.
Also the sound of the band changed from a more folk-orientated, symphonically way into a more heavy, more rocking style. Has this something to do with your heavy metal / hard rock past or why did you become darker and heavier?
Well, regarding the influence of folk music, it may seem less apparent. There are ethnic instruments such as bouzouki and hammered dulcimer and traditional percussion on some songs, but they are more integrated in the total sound picture. They are not as "up front" as on the first album. Also, the geographical orientation has changed: on the first album I think the folk influence was a peculiar blend of older Scandinavian and especially British and Irish music. On this album the folk input is actually more "oriental/Arabic". Some of us have become fascinated by traditional music from the Islamic world and India. Ritual's music is more modal today than before. But, most important: the folk input is not as much in the actual melodies or the instrumentation as in the idiom or the attitude of the music. Like I've said before: on this album we have gone for a very organic, straightforward and up-front sound, with a "live" orientated feeling. The sound picture is generally more extreme, sometimes very extreme. If our first album had a very "clean" and hi-fi orientated sound, "Superb Birth" is more experimental and adventurous production-wise, and perhaps more demanding. The sound is generally "dirtier" and "nastier", but very organic. The whole recording process has been very experimental and the studio proceedings have been very unorthodox. The energy is the same and recognisable, but the appearance of our music has changed. The music is, as you say, a bit darker and heavier. I think this is partly because of our common background in heavy metal and hard rock. But it is also the result of what we have learned and realised through playing our music live. I think we are very much a live band. The element of improvisation has become stronger and more apparent. We let the music itself lead and direct us, to a much higher degree than before. In addition to this, most of our equipment has changed: new guitars, drums, amplifiers and other devices and the methods used to record the music are different.
Were all the 12 songs of the album composed over the last four years or did you even use older material, which didn’t found place on the first album?
The oldest material on the new album originates from 1995 when we were mixing the first album. I think the first versions of "Lobby" and "Do you want to see the sun" were composed in the second half of that year. But both songs has gone through several changes since then. The version of Lobby on "Superb Birth" is actually the 6th recorded version of that song!
The music of Ritual is stylistically very diversified, but you’re mainly regarded as being a part of the progressive rock scene, in which you’re well known. Do you try to break out of this, by creating a newer, fresher, less regressive sound?
Of course, we never sought to end up in the "progressive rock genre". We just wanted to play our music and make an album. Obviously Musea is a progressive rock label, and so we ended up in that genre. But really, the term "progressive" is so relative, so vague. What does it really mean to be musically progressive, to move forward, to break new ground? A lot of the bands in the progressive rock genre of today sound like Genesis did in the seventies or Marillion in the eighties. This can not be progressive, rather I would call this approach nostalgic, which is fine but it is not progressive in the true sense of the word. We don't see ourselves as "prog-musicians", at least not if "progressive" only refers to a certain genre. And I think a lot of music outside the prog-rock genre is truly progressive. We all sometimes listen to some of the great bands of the seventies like Yes, Genesis and Gentle Giant. But otherwise we really don't listen much to music from the progressive rock genre. There is so much great music in the world and we are all musical omnivores. After 1996 we grew a bit tired of the clichés and introvert norms of the progressive rock genre. For a moment we felt we wanted to break out of this and reach a wider audience. But now we really don't care if we are part of the progressive rock scene or not. It really doesn't matter artistically. Music should not be split up into genres or trapped under labels. We are mainly doing this for our own amusement and our own well being. We just let our music, our artistic instinct, guide us and try to stay open. I believe that if you are being true to your own vision and defend your self-esteem, people will eventually recognise this and respect you.
You usually start your gigs with the track “Vision quest”, unfortunately only available on the japanese version of your first CD. What’s the story behind this song, that every time I saw you live, did sound different? Are there plans for going on tour again next year?
"Vision quest" is a largely improvised piece of music about one of the oldest rituals used by tribal people to seek direction for life. It's about exposing oneself to the wilderness. The ritual, the Vision Quest or the Walkabout, has a lot in common with the act of performing music. The song has some phrases and modal melodic elements that always appear in one way or another. But since it's an improvisation it never sounds the same. "Vision quest" is very organic, truly alive, and a wonderful way for us to get in the mood for the concert. When we go on tour this spring/summer I think we will keep this tradition but it may sound very different from when we toured in 1996. Yes! Ritual will certainly tour in the year 2000, perhaps in May/June. If you know of any good concert arrangers or festivals, please don't hesitate to contact us! (at www.ritual.nu).
Can you tell me a little bit more about Patrik’s involvement and the story of the pop trio Blond, which took part at the Eurovision Song Contest?
Blond does not exist as a permanent group anymore, though its members sometimes sings together at different occasions. Blond was very much a project designed for the Eurovision Song Contest, though all its talented members had been working together prior to the Contest. Of course, participating in the Eurovision Song Contest has never been a dream of Patriks', but it certainly was an interesting and amusing experience for him. The group didn't write their own material and the whole project was in the hands of music biz people. So Patrik quit that "band". A creative and productive spirit like Patrik could never feel at home in such an environment.
Is there a chance that the material of Bröd, the predecessor band of Ritual ever be released, for example the 45 minute track “Going for a walk”?
We have some Bröd demos, but the sound quality is very poor. I don't think this will be released, not in the nearest future anyway.
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2000