The Search: Out of Sweden

What more can you say about The Search but that it´s one of the most exciting Swedish music exports of the last decade? Many more! This awesome band knows how to impress. On stage, on record, as human beings... Not long ago the guys have finished the first part of their tour through Germany 2012 and it was all cool, as I was with them for one weekend.
Short after, the new album The Search For Connection Contact And Community was released, a great record full of powerful and emotional tunes. The Search mastermind razmig and me talked a little about the new material, the tour and the things coming up.

Otti:
Hey Razmig, first of all, thanks for answering my bunch of questions again. To start with a simple topic: How do you feel at the moment?

Razmig:
Like we’re at the top of our game! The gigs in Germany have been a great way to meet new people and to remind ourselves why we love playing live.

Otti:
Finally your new album Staying Alive In A Country Industrialized is officially released now. You´ve done many records in the past, are you still excited when a new one is coming up?

"I must quote Dee Snider and say that love is for suckers."

Razmig:
Yes, since a band’s latest album is the one most representative of the band, I feel it’s very important to release music continuously. The three year gap between saturnine songs and CCC is unacceptable.

Otti:
Besides the new line up, how would you describe the steps taken between the new album and the last one, The Search For Connection Contact And Community?

Razmig:
We wanted to record the new album fast and not delay the process and overproduce it. We spent some three days in a big house and recorded mostly everything live to maintain some form of live feel. Whereas the old line-up was more into well-produced albums, the new one prefers a live-sound. So, the recording process was fast, thankfully, since I hate recording albums. There’s nothing more boring than that.

Otti: Staying Alive... is opened with a potential hit, Staring Into A Screen. What do you think about the modern multimedia world we live in? Razmig: I’m not too happy about the way I’m always stuck at the television and the computer on my free time. It’s addictive to the degree that I feel as though I’m missing out on life. I remember when I was younger and didn’t have a computer, all I did was write songs and listen to music. It’s a personal self-indulgent song basically. Otti: The new album has more changes in mood than the last one, there are still melancholic songs, but also powerful uptempo songs like Amanda or Let´s Make Babies. To be honest, which ones do you like more? And for what reason(s)? Razmig: It’s a cliché but the albums are all reactions to the previous ones. CCC was very mellow and all the up-tempo songs rehearsed for that one were scrapped. We had many songs, but mostly only one type of songs ended up on the album. I very much missed playing songs with danceable beats, so Amanda is an important song in that sense. Also, this time I tried to write songs that I wanted to perform live, which is a major difference between CCC and Staying Alive. Even though I love the song Kuchisake Onna, I would not want to perform it live. Otti: Let´s talk about baby making... What is the best about love in your eyes? Razmig: I must quote Dee Snider and say that love is for suckers.

Otti:
And generally: What gives you the power to always stand up and stay alive in a world industrialized?

Razmig:
The title of the album refers to the theme of some of the songs, such as the last track, this bird doesn’t sing anymore, about the emptiness a parent may feel when their children leave home and start living on their own. I think the reason why the album is named Staying Alive is because I feel that staying alive is not only a question of economy but an existential question as well, and the songs are all aspects of that theme. Still, sometimes I feel that I should have called the album something else...

Otti:
I might be wrong, but in some way it feels like you dealt with some dissapointments on CCC, now on Staying Alive things seem more full of hope. How far away am I from truth?

Razmig:
Musically, yes, if you compare the major/minor key of songs ratio. Lyrically, well perhaps. That’s hard to say. It’s very much a continuation of the previous album but with lyrics that are a little easier to understand I think.

Otti:
The first part of your tour this year in Germany is over now. What feelings and impressions have you taken over to Sweden from that trip?

Razmig:
It’s just fed my hatred towards the Swedish music scene which is purely disposable youth culture and it’s always good to be reminded that Sweden is not the world. The age diversity at the gigs in Germany has been different than Sweden’s and I feel it’s genuine to appeal to fans of all ages.

Otti:
If you compare mentallity and industrialization of Germany and Sweden, which differences and similarities could you figure out on your visit here?

Razmig:
I wouldn’t know, but in Sweden we send our parents to nursing homes when they get old, which is very different from many other cultures. It must be hard to even want to stay alive when your children are too busy to visit you.

Otti:
There are always things you can do better, what are you going to change until the next gigs you will have? Are there any special plans right now?

Razmig:
For Germany we decided to play songs from all our albums. Although it was very fun to revisit old songs, in the future I think we will play the songs we like instead.

Otti:
Let´s talk about... the future: Is it right, that you even have plans for the next album? Tell me about that... Please!

Razmig:
I think the next album will be called "Tell me stories that I can relate to". Lyrical subjects include spouse abuse, single mothers, school bullying and opportunistic people. We will start recording at the end of this year and hopefully have it ready for next year.

thesearchsweden.wordpress.com

Weitere Beiträge zu The Search: