Two
of Denmark's heaviest and best upcoming Sludge/Stoner Metal bands
have joined forces to release a split album. The following details
from their BandCamp page will tell you all you need to know about the
album.
“Two
bands from opposite ends of Denmark. Slowjoint from the southwest and
Gaia from the eastern. The two bands have two distinctly different
sounds, but share a love for big amplifiers and heavy fuzz - as well
as a very loose approach to song writing, and a base in stoner /
doom.
Slowjoint
and Gaia have played together and supported each other for years now,
and finally they are putting out a a split. In addition to offering
new music from both bands, the music on the split is also the the
most accomplished from both bands.
The
Split has been released in a collaboration between Virkelighedsfjern,
Svensk Psych Aften, AUSI Records, Magisk Stat and the record shop
Vinyltrolden, where a reception is also being held on Wednesday,
November 1st, which is also the official release date.”
I
was asked to do an interview with representatives from both bands and
I've managed to catch up with Dennis from Slowjoint and Kriller from
GAIA.
I've
interviewed Dennis multiple times over the years as I'm a huge fan of
Slowjoint. I'm fairly new to GAIA's world. So I was pretty excited
what these two crazy riffsters would reveal.
Find
out below....
Hi
guys. How are things with you today.
Dennis
(Slowjoint) : Hi Steve, We’re
good thanks. The Danish fall is beautiful.
Kriller
(Gaia) : I agree, and perfect for this kind of music. Also, I'm
tired....always tired.
So
we are here to talk about your new split record coming out on
November 1st. Can you give our readers more info about this release.
Kriller:
Well, it's coming out on vinyl, which is possible because of the
Labels Virkelighedsfjern, Svensk Psych Aften, AUSI Records, Magisk
Stat and the record shop Vinyltrolden. They help with both money and
distribution, but it is still mainly a DIY product. We do all the
boring stuff our selves. Like vinyl pressing, press contact,
distribution (for the most part) etc. We put a lot of work into it
and are extremely excited for the release.
Dennis:
Actually you can preorder it on virkelighedsfjern over at their
BandCamp page. The cover looks fucking great in vinyl format. It’s
painted by NMAAR, you should check him out. Awesome hand painted
work.
How
did this collaboration come about. Did you know each other before you
recorded the record.
Dennis:
Yeah we’ve
known each other since we started the band. Played one of our first
shows together and been playing together here and there around
Denmark. They’re
good guys and we have kind of the same mentality about being in a
band and writing music. Gaia is hugs and doom in a perfect
combination.
Kriller:
Ha ha....thanks - I think. The main reason we are doing this
collaboration is that we know each other. Back when we started there
wasn't much going on in regards to doom in Denmark, so we found each
other pretty quickly. The family is growing now, which is great. That
also means more focus on this kind of music in our small country. And
well, as Dennis says we have a similar way of doing music. It just
makes really good sense to us.
Dennis:
It really feels like sort of a family thing. I know quite a few guys
from other stoner bands personally, only because we have the genre in
common. It’s great that way and makes it even more fun to do this.
Whose
idea was it to release a split record.
Kriller:
Well, Slowjoint sent us a bunch of songs that they wanted to put out.
At that time they weren't really sure how. This was about a year ago
I think. We really liked the songs and we wanted to help and since we
had already decided to enter the studio later that year,
we asked them if they wanted to put out a split. And they did.
Are
these entirely new songs. Or are you using old unreleased songs.
Dennis:
We recorded them late last year along with the “hashed
Potato” single
that we released back in spring. One of the songs have been around on
the internet but the rest is all new. It’s
our first recording with Tor, who’s
our 3rd drummer. They seem to wear down pretty fast, ha-ha
Kriller:
Yes, we do not bring our b-game to splits. We are really proud of
these two songs. The first one, Wound Gratuity, is actually a song we
wrote for this split. We had to, because we didn't have any other
song that were short enough to fit on there.
Dennis:
It’s an ongoing problem at my house. Never short enough to fit..
Who
is releasing the record and what formats will this be on.
Kriller:
As I said earlier this is mainly a DIY record but we are getting some
help. As for formats, it will be out on Vinyl and
pay-what-want-download at Bandcamp. Hopefully someone will throw on
pirate-bay and shit like that. For me internet-music is free. I like
the physical products. Maybe there will also be a tape later...
Dennis:
We’re all in for a tape release
What
does Slowjoint's side of the record sound like.
Dennis:
It sounds like us. Like three guys in a room. Compared to “Up
Shit Creek” it
sounds a
little different but it sounds a lot more like us. The last song
“Politicks” is
a one take jam. One of Tor’s
cymbals collapsed to the floor during the end of the song and you
can’t
even hear it cause everything is so loud! We sure had us a good time
with Jacob (DeadRatStudio) and we’re
returning there soon to record a full length.
Kriller:
To me it is the best I have heard them sound on record. Definitely
the closest
to their live sound. Other than that I would say this is
slacker/rebel-music. Love
it.
Dennis:
Haha, rebellion against well written music
What
does GAIA's side of the record sound like.
Kriller:
We got to play a lot of shows
just before recording, so it's definitely
our tightest
stuff so far. At the same time there is a looseness to it. It's also
heavier and slower than what we have done before. We really wanted to
get into some very minimalist stuff this time. Few and very simple
riffs, no solos (almost) and a lot of feedback. I think if you like
things like Toner Low, Floor and Harvey Milk, you will enjoy this.
Will
you be touring this record heavily. Or will it just be local shows
here and there.
Dennis:
We’ve
been talking about doing some German and Swedish shows as well as
some Danish
shows.
Kriller:
We are in the process of booking shows in Germany. Hopefully that
will work out. It can be hard to get out of Denmark and tour. I'm not
exactly sure why.
Dennis:
For a start you should tour with a bigger band than us, haha
What
are the future plans for both bands in 2018 and beyond. Any new full
length
albums
being released in the future.
Kriller:
We just recorded another split that will be out next year. We got
this stupid idea of putting out three splits in one year. Not because
splits are stupid, we love those, but because it is hard work and we
are slackers. We don't like work. But all kidding aside, we want more
Danish music to come out on vinyl, and this is our way of making that
happen.
Dennis:
We’re
planning to record a new full length album as soon as we find the
time for it. I have a lot of riffs, lyrics and kind of a theme
figured out already we just need to get together and jam the shit out
of it. Other than that we just plan to keep the grass growing around
here and maybe play some of the neighbour countries. We played
Flensburg in Germany last weekend and it went pretty well so
hopefully we will return to Germany soon. Hopefully with Gaia.
Slowjoint Live
You're
both from Denmark. What is the current state of play of the Danish
Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal scene. Is there an active community for you
to do regular gigs and participate with.
Kriller:
It's growing. Back when we started there was nothing and shows with
local bands where a disaster. Now more people are
showing up, and more bands are coming out of their rehearsal rooms.
We have a lot of good bands these days like Bethmoora, Dirt Forge,
the Quitters, Carcus, Drukner, Heathe, Konvent, Ordeal and more I
guess. It seem like there are a lot of new bands starting up. Which
is great.
Dennis:
Yeah it was a lot harder to get to play shows when we started and
it’s not even that long ago. Now I feel like a lot of the gigs we
get is because of a member or more from other bands passing the word
around. And I try to do the same even though it’s a little more
quiet around where I live.
What
influences you both when writing music.
Dennis:
I like old time blues just as much as I like sludge metal. Obviously
we’re
influenced by
Weedeater and Bongzilla, we can’t
hide that (why would we?) but I think what really influenced me with
those guys is the way they use the blues to create heavy music. I’ve
been in other faster heavy bands as a singer but when I started
Slowjoint I started writing riffs. And the only thing I had any
experience with instrument wise, was the blues so I think that’s
where the influence came from.
Kriller:
In terms of writing music we are heavily inspired by bands like SUMA,
Harvey Milk, Floor, the Melvins, Toner Low and Electric Wizard. Other
than that
I am also into stuff like drone and kraut-rock, which I think
influence the music quite a bit. In terms of lyrics I find a lot of
influence in negative feelings and philosophy. For instance the song
There is Nothing Left comes from the feeling of emptiness I got when
I was looking at pictures of old beat poets. I thought to myself who
will we remember from our time, and drew a blank. That made me feel
really empty
inside.
GAIA Live
Are
you all involved with different musical projects or is this your main
band.
Kriller:
All of the members of Gaia are part of the space-rock band called
Måneskjold
(Moonshield). That's a lot more up-tempo and fun, with lyrics in
Danish. We also have a lot of small projects. They come out through
Virkelighedsfjern. Well, the ones that don't completely suck.
Dennis:
Yeah you should check
Morten and Kriller’s side project God Dam. I guess it doesn’t
completely suck, haha. I
have a blues and country inspired solo project called No Teeth.
It sucks for sure. I’ve
made a few cassette
recordings and
plan to release it some time. There’s
this song about a mailman who
is also a
speed dealer which I’m
very satisfied with. Tor is playing grind and doom in Compassion
Fatigue and Black Acid Crystal
and Patrick
just made a YouTube channel where
he is
filming his adventures in the Danish nature.
Trying to find
rare species and stuff.
So that’s
kind of his “side
project”.
What
is your musical setup when performing or recording live. Is it an
advanced setup or a basis setup.
Dennis:
I’d
say we’re
pretty basic with one guitar, one bass and one drum set. But of
course we like big stacks and loudness. Patrick usually play a
Marshall full stack of one kind or another. I play a Sunn concert
bass with a peavey 2x15 cab. I sometimes run it parallel with a
yamahab100 and another peavey 2x15 cab, guess where I got that idea,
ha-ha It adds some extra fun and rumble even though the Sunn and
Peavey,
The Pocket Setup as I like to call it, do the job just fine on it’s
own. I brought it
when we played with Bongzilla in Copenhagen back in May. Cooter
played it too and he seemed to dig it. And it didn’t
break like the rest of the amps he borrowed on their tour.
It’s a tank.
Kriller:
We have the same set-up. Which is why touring together will be great.
Dennis:
I never thought of that. That’s fucking great. Stage shift in five
seconds.
How
hard is it for both bands to stand-out from the crowd. Or do you not
worry about things like that.
Kriller:
I think we stand out. We do things in our own way and plan on doing
that till we die. I'm not sure that everyone knows what to do about
us. A local booker once called us un-bookable. That was quite funny.
In terms of getting out there, in Denmark there aren't that many
bands, so we're doing alright.
Dennis:
We don’t
worry that much about it. Just try to be ourselves and have fun with
it. That being said I think all bands need to put a little effort in
getting the
word around but there are many ways to do so.
Before
you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.
Kriller:
We have very supportive fans, which is great. Keep being supportive
and we will keep making music, deal?
Dennis:
Thank you and fuck
you.
Words
by Steve Howe, Dennis and Kriller.
Slowjoint
Links
GAIA
Links
