Next week, exactly a week from now, will the full length debut-album ”Illt” from Amber Oak see the light. Therefor I hooked up with a nice person to ask him some questions about this and that. So here we go;
First of all, who are you answering these questions and what are your roll within the band, and who are the other members? I am Jonathan Eriksson, lead singer of the band Amber Oak. The other lads in the band are Alexander Hofverberg on bass, Joseph Dahlberg on guitar and Erik Ekersund on drums.
In three words, Amber Oak, what´s it all about, for those who don´t know? We are raw, medium and well-done.
I see, I see. Well at last, after various agonies, this is what I´ve heard, your debut full-length album is on its way out to the market. What can you tell us about the recordings and way did it take such a long time to get this far? We recorded the album in David Sandströms house in Brände with Oskar Sandlund (drummer of David Sandström Overdrive). The studio was located in and old barn, built by Oskar Sandlund and David Sandström themselves. The high ceiling and the different kinds of room mikes produced a really cool sound and atmosphere. It was really inspiring to record in the middle of nowhere with no contact with the outside world. Though we had a blast in the studio the recordings did take a long time to finish. We actually had several disputes during the making of the record. There were a lot of fights within the band that led to some unnecessary delays. Eventually the drama caught up with our lead guitarist sadly forcing him leave the band. Luckely it didn’t interfere with the making of the album.
As of no surprise at all, I really like your six-track album ”Your missing piece”, does this new one, ”Illt”, have any similarities with your previously one? Well, this album is quite like the opposit of ”Your missing piece”. ”Illt” has more of a clean and grand sound. We were able to play around with different instrument and sounds that made the tracks richer and more interesting.
Okay I see, but what about some personal reflection of the result of ”Illt”, any special details you can share with the listeners? Illt is a pretty dark and bare image of our thougts and experiences. Our songs are often based on our own personal experiences. This album is somewhat darker than our previous album. Some of the songs still makes me sick when I’m reminded of the lyrics.
Talking about the album, which song are your personal favorite and what about the name ”Illt”? My personal favoruite is the last track, ”Mother (I’m alright)”. The mix and recordings really captured the essence of the lyrics which, to me, made the song really powerful.
The word ”illt” is basicly a word for describing pain, in an outdying local-language descendant from the northern parts of sweden, where we all derive from. Both the word and the language summarizes the album and in a way even our heritage.
Aha, lyrics vise then, does Amber Oak have some special theme or does each song stand by it self? Please tell us something about your lyrics? Well, it’s quite alternating if you ask me. Some songs are pretty strong and deep whilst other songs on the album are more of an relief. The thing is that all the members are envolved in the songwriting and that leads to a big variety of lyrics. But in the end they all seemed to fit in with each other.
Last, Amber Oak has been around for a while, what, in your opinion, might be your next step? Innitially we’re focused on the new album. We’re looking for gigs and hopefully we will be able to put together a small tour in Sweden with our album. We also thinking about recording a new EP in the summer.
Okay that´s good news. Many thanks to you Jonathan and good luck with everything. You´re welcome!
