I want to thank you Simon “Siirpo” Forsell for taking the time to do this interview, it’s greatly appreciated. Let’s begin.
1- How did you come up with your band name, that must be an interesting story?
Well, Pressure was kind of easy for us to come up with. We wanted something that reflected our lyrics and the music that we are playing. When we looked for something that was present in all our music like a red thread we found Pressure and that’s why we use it!
2- For those who don’t know much about you, how would you describe your music and sound?
We are playing what we are calling Story Metal. It’s a sub-genre of Metal and Hard Rock where we start with the lyrics. Our lyrics are always based upon a true story and when we have the story we want to tell we find the right music genre for it. So that’s why Pressure doesn’t have one sound or one genre. We fit our music to tell the song! So some songs you will love and some songs you will think “meh”! For us its important to give people tools through our music and our lyrics to handle the pressures of daily life. So our sound is a mix of a lot of genres and our music are a storytelling music with its root in Hard Rock and Metal.
3- You formed in 2018. Your debut album “Path Of A Shadow” came out 2021. What was that time frame like? The three years that went into making that record?
We did practice and experimented a lot. Back in 2018 we came from being a coveract and starting to write, starting to experiment with sound and stage shows. We also formed our team around us, with our producers, PR, social media and really tried to make every part of the puzzle being there! So we worked really hard for the first year on these things. Then we started to record the album and releasing singles. It took it time but we were really happy with the results. For us being the inventors of Story Metal, we need to take it where we want it. And now we are much closer. But the concept never stops developing. So the short answer is yes, it took three years to develop, write and produce that album but during this time we have also written a lot of the upcoming songs as well!
4- Since the release, the pandemic happened. How did that change your world?
As all musicians we took a blow! We had recorded most of the material for the album and had booked a lot of shows. But all was cancelled, and we couldn’t tour to promote the album. But we tired our best to cope with the situation. I mean we worked on our stage performance, added a lot of effects that will be seen in upcoming Pressure shows and we wrote more material. We worked a lot with digital releases during the time as well. We have had the good fortune to be able to continue to work and when anyone of us had the least symptoms we were able to continue the work from home! We have our own rehearsal studio so we don’t share with others. So we have been able to be safe during this hard time. Well we are still in a hard time Sweden has not opened up yet.
5- You started as a trio and now have added a female vocalist Olli Violet. Why the change? Olli is a great addition. And the idea to add another vocalist came when we saw the concept behind the next album. The concept will be Relations. What is better than two voices a strong female and a strong male to portrait relations? We have always built a lot of the songs around strong and cool harmonies and when we added Olli we were able to extend this so much further! Its great to work with the vocal arrangements and Olli is really something extra. One of the Strongest metal female vocalist if you ask me!
6- How do you think she will impact the band?
She already has impacted us a lot. She helps with the song writing and with the vocal arrangements. Its very good to have one more mind that works so well with what already is in place. Olli will bring a whole new dimension to our band and she will add to the hard rock and metal scene overall. I am very happy that we found her.
7- What do you think of internet radio and podcasts? Is that the new way to get your name out there?
Yeah, I think that is the new way to go. People like to listen that way and the podcasters and internet radio DJs are very close to their listeners. They have much more of a say than big FM stations that only plays the big labels stuff. If I go to myself, I rather discover new and exciting music from a good host/DJ that you can connect with. It’s a growing and a great way to network for musicians and band in all stages.
8- How do you feel about the state of the music business today?
Today´s state is kind of hard for the whole business with the pandemic and all. Here in Sweden many clubs has been closed, and a lot of venues also. The landscape is repainted and when everything opens open again it will be something new to explore. But one thing is for sure! Metal will never die and we will be around and ready to go out there when everything is back to normal again. We must all help each other to get the scene back and strong again. Support your local bands and help each other and soon we will all be back in the game again.
9- I understand you will be putting out a new album later this year, what can you tell me about it?
Yeah, as I mentioned earlier it will be a new Story Metal concept album telling you about different relations in your life. We all have relations, lovers, families, co-workers, friends or just the people that we meet out on the street. This album will tell different sides of relations. It has all the elements of a good Story Metal album. It has some heavier songs than there was on “Path Of A Shadow”, and even some funkier songs! I can tell you that we even have some Bass solo from our amazing session master of the bass Mr. Ignacio Arrúa.
10- With the pandemic still going on are you planning any live shows?
We have not been able to book anything with the venues not taking bookings right now. We are planning some live streams!
11- What is your live show like?
They are full with energy. We live the story that we tell through each song and we give everything that we have. We try to include a lot of modern tech in our shows as well. We tell the story behind us with a synced video. We use backgrounds for effects and other instruments and we implement different things to tell the story like smoke, light and other available effects! A live show with Pressure is always something extra and something to remember.
12- Anything you want the fans to know about the band, as we close out the interview?
Well, thank you so much for having us! If there is anyone out there wanting to have their story told through a metal song. Please reach out!
Check out their latest single “Am I Too Old” below.
Here is some links for you to follow us! Stay metal!
Instagram //www.instagram.com/pressuresweden Facebook //www.facebook.com/pressuresweden WWW //www.pressure.band Youtube https://www.youtube.com/c/Pressuresweden Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/7a9rKp03MYJv4leDN7Mm8k Twitter https://www.Twitter.com/pressuresweden Merch https://shop.spreadshirt.se/pressure Bandcamp https://pressuresweden.bandcamp.com
Comentários