Wenn man an Schweden und Musik denkt, fällt den meisten wohl als erstes ABBA ein, dicht gefolgt von Roxette, Ace of Base, Avicii oder die Cardigans. Demnächst wird diese Aufzählung in der internationalen Wahrnehmung um eine großartige Band reicher – Tribe Friday. Der Musikstill ist eine Mischung aus Indie mit poppig rockigen Elementen oder auch „swedish bubblegum emo“. Die sympathischen Newcomer befinden sich aktuell auf Tour durch Deutschland und haben sich nebenbei die Zeit genommen und uns ein paar Fragen über ihre Geschichte, die Tournee und das kommenden Album „Bubblegum Emo“ zu beantworten.
Frontstage Magazine: I heard that the story of how you met each other would be great – so please go ahead and tell it.
Noah: Honestly, I sort of stole Robin and Isak from their respective previous bands…
Isak: I met Noah for the first time at a hardcore show in Gothenburg, and then once more at a venue afterparty, where I ended up tattooing his leg (after many bottles of wine). A few years later, I got a call saying „hey – want to join my band? We’re heading to the US in 4 weeks!“. Guess I couldn’t say no to that, hahaha.
Noah: As for Robin – I recorded a some songs for his band after meeting them at venues around Örebro. I was blown away by his bass skills after seeing him warm up in the studio, so it was an easy call to make once the need for a bass player came up. He’s also one of the kindest people around.
Frontstage Magazine: How is your tour through Germany going? Were there any funny events already?
Noah: It’s going great, thanks!
Robin: A highlight for me was definitely our Berlin show, because we had quite a few friends & fam come down from Sweden to visit.
Isak: The shows have been great. Also, so far, I’ve broken multiple strings at almost every single gig…
Frontstage Magazine: How do you like it here? Do you have a favorite city?
Robin: We love it here! Except for the fact that I always get really bad allergies as soon as we cross the border for some strange reason. My favorite city so far is probably Berlin, I took a scooter through the city at night and it was awesome.
Noah: I actually really like Hannover, which seems to be an unpopular opinion? Oh, and Würzburg! Würzburg is absolutely beautiful. I prefer slightly smaller cities. Berlin kinda stresses me out..
Frontstage Magazine: How is the respective audience different from your home country Sweden?
Noah: German crowds are awesome. People here are always super nice, and I feel like germans dance a lot more than swedes do. We’ve had at least one ‚zugabe‘ per show, so I think that speaks for itself!
Frontstage Magazine: How is it to be on tour abroad again and that before the release of the first album together?
Isak: Honestly, we’re just super thankful that we’re able to tour again. And it’s really nice to test out some of these new songs live before releasing them
Frontstage Magazine: Recently your single „Forward Is The Way Out“ was released. What does the song mean to you?
Noah: The song is about the annoyingly positive comments you recieve from happy people when you’re depressed. Or something along those lines… I wrote the track when I was in a pretty dark place, so it’s kind of weird to talk about. As for what value the song has to me – it’s the first song released from the best body of work we’ve ever made, so it definitely holds a special place in my heart. In all of our hearts.
Frontstage Magazine: Next year your album „bubblegum emo“ will be released. In my association „bubblegum“ is rather sweet and pink, while „emo“ is rather gloomy. What does the title mean and how would you describe it?
Noah: I think you described it fairly well actually! It’s all about that contrast between the upbeat, happy, possibly dishonest („bubblegum“) sound and the depressive, dramatic lyrical content („emo“) – something which has been at the center of our music since the very beginning. Even if it took until now for me to find a term for it. More than anything, I think the title will describe itself once the record is out.
Frontstage Magazine: What’s your favorite track on the album and why?
Robin: My favorite is the last track on the record – mostly because it has a lot of that contrast between upbeat sounds and depressive lyrics. Oh, and also because it has a brass section!
Noah: I love every single song on this album like my own child, so I could never choose. Sorry!
Isak: My favorite is the only slow song on the record – song no 6. It breaks my heart everytime I hear it.
Frontstage Magazine: Did the Corona Pandemic influence you, your songwriting and/or the production of the album?
Isak: Yeah, we wrote it at the beginning of the pandemic, and us being exiled in our house in the woods definitely had an impact on the sound.
Noah: This past year has also allowed me to spend an insane amount of the time in the studio, and that’s definitely contributed to the quality of the record. There’s not one unintentional choice of sound on there.
Frontstage Magazine: How do you see your musical development from the EPs “Chasing Pictures” or “Waiting For A Sign” to the album „bubblegum emo“?
Noah: I’d definitely say the songwriting has improved a LOT. Not to mention the quality of production and cohesion between songs. There’s just no comparison, honestly.
Frontstage Magazine: How do you go about songwriting? Is everyone involved? Do you write the lyrics first or the music first? Do you have certain topics in mind that you want to write about?
Robin: It depends!
Noah: For some songs, we’ll jam something up in the rehearsal space or in our living room. For others, I’ll write the whole thing and then bring it to the band. It’s honestly different for every song. But usually, I’ll write the lyrics side-by-side with the music, so the themes and sounds evolve together.
Tourdates
06.10. Hildesheim
08.10. Braunschweig
09.10. Nürnberg
23.10. Köln
24.10. Bremen
Fotocredit: Miranda Fredriksson
