I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Mikael Andersson, vocalist and guitarist of the Swedish Indie band The Confusions. The band has been creating music since 1994. If you want to learn more about them and their music visit their website.
Mikael, I would like to start by asking, how did you start in music? Is The Confusions your first band or you’ve already played before with other groups?
I started rather late with music, I got a keyboard for my 15th birthday from my father and things took off from there. I remember Patrik Engström and I formed the band in the early 90s, we talked about starting a band in school, that I would play keyboard and he would play the drums… it ended up with both of us playing guitar, but we did form a band, a band that would become The Confusions.
A great inspiration for me was my 19-year older brother who has played music since before I was born.
I have not played in any other group until now. A couple of years ago Zarah Andersson, Fredrik Hast and I teamed up with drummer Staffan Ljunggren (Trummor & Orgel) and we started a band called Kolbacken. That band is a mix of post-punk and indie and we only sing in Swedish.
Tell me about the origins of The Confusions as a band? Why did you choose that name?
To tell you the truth, our music was kind of strange and confuse from the start, we didn’t quite know what we were doing. But I do remember us playing a cover of Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower and there is a line in that song that says “… it’s too much confusions here.” I think our name comes out of that song.
A funny thing is that we have recorded that song for our new release, and it will probably be on a EP to be released this spring.
What type of music do you usually listen to?
All kinds of music really, but mostly alternative music. There are a lot of influences in our music.
What are The Confusions’ biggest musical influences (Swedish and foreign)?
Speaking as a songwriter there are a lot of main influences: 60’s pop, The Beatles (Revolver), David Bowie’s Berlin period (Low/Heroes), 80’s synth like Depeche Mode, a lot of bands from the 90’s, The Stone Roses, Suede, Radiohead… the list can go on and on. Other groups we like in the band are Air, Stina Nordenstam, The Doors, Wilco, Joy Division, Bon Iver, Ray La Montange, Nick Drake, Blur, Daft Punk, Sigur Rós, etc.
The Confusions – Strangers
The Confusions is a Swedish band, why do you sing your songs in English?
The music we grew up with and loved are mostly in English, there was no doubt that our songs would also be in English.
The band just released the single So Quiet, It’s So Cold. Are you happy with the response from your fans?
So far so good. We’re getting a great response right now, and that makes us feel that we are doing things right. We just love to be in touch with friends and fans of the band all over the world. The video we recorded for that song is great iwth friends and fans recorded all over the world.
The Confusions – It´s So Quiet, It´s So Cold
Do you have a title for your new album? When will we see it in the stores?
The plan is to release up to 4 singles before the album comes out. The next single will be out in April (we think) and it will be a four track EP with a single track called Oh God I Think I’m In Love, that is such a great pop song. No title for the album yet, but it might just be called The Confusions. The album will be out in the autumn, maybe September.
Are you planning to release the new album on CD and vinyl given the come back of vinyl editions?
Maybe we will do a vinyl, we did it with our debut album, Kolbacken. The thing is that the last song, called Music, is 12 minute long and that might force us to do a double album. We have to wait and see what the record company says.
Are you planning a tour to promote your latest album?
Yes, but we don’t know where we will travel. It would be fantastic to come to South America. A new thing regarding this album is that we will do shows with a lot of people on stage since we have a lot of friends singing and playing on it, The Confusions became a musical collective.
Thank you for your time. Would you have some final words for the readers of Subte Rock?
Thank you for supporting alternative music and thank you for supporting The Confusions.
The Confusions – The Perfect Plan
Suscríbete y recibirás por email cada artículo que publiquemos. Además, participarás en el sorteo permanente de discos, polos y entradas gratuitas a conciertos.
Tu privacidad está garantizada. No alquilaremos ni venderemos tu email a terceros.
