Peachy Magazine talked to the Swedish dancefloor indie group Tribe Friday prior to the release of their brand new EP ‘Chasing Pictures’.
How did you guys come together as a band?
Me and Anton (drums) have been playing together for ages – since we were like 12-13 years old. I was looking for some people to play some songs of mine with, and we got in touch through my girlfriend at the time (I know, I was 12 – early bloomer, I guess). It’s been love ever since, pretty much. Isak and Robin joined the party a bit later, but we can hardly notice anymore.
What do you think the fact that you had your start on the Swedish music scene brings to your sound?
It definitely brings a touch of angst and, like, general sadness. Sweden is a depressing place for 8 out of 12 months a year, to be honest. Bad for your mental health, but AMAZING for songwriting. I think that’s why we have so many top 40’s coming out of here.
Listen to the ‘Chasing Pictures’ while reading the interview:
Could you guys share some of your reflections about your forthcoming EP, Chasing Pictures, in terms of the musical direction you wanted to go in?
Sure! I don’t think we started the project of making the EP(s… Shh) with any sort of vision other than ‘we just want to write good songs’. We just had fun and f*cked around in the studio for about 8 months, honestly. And I think it’s pretty audible in the tracks – there’s a lot of variety in genre, sound, melody, etc. We just wanted to make good, fun, energetic stuff, without self-imposed limitations or genre borders. So we did. I mean, of course, it’s all rock music, because that’s what we vibe with, but it’s a pretty mixed palette nevertheless.
Lyrically, all the tracks have a bit of a darker feel compared to the Trying Your Luck EP. There’s a lot of self-detriment and stuff going on in there. It’s been a rough year, man.
How does your upcoming material differ from your other material?
As previously mentioned, there’s a lot more variety to the sounds and the songwriting than our previous stuff. We’ve been a lot more daring with what we put on tape. There’s Freaky, which is pretty heavy, punk-esque, and chaotic, but also If I Were You, which is this really soft 80’s synth-pop ballad.
Other than that, I’ve grown quite a bit as a producer, and so has our relationship with Magnus Pejlert, who mixes our tracks. So everything just sounds better, ha.
How’s the process of writing a track usually for you collectively as a band?
It really depends from track to track – but usually, we’ll just be jamming until someone comes up with a cool riff, melody or bassline. And then we’ll build the song structure from there. In those cases, the lyrics are always last. I’ll sit down for about an hour and come back with a (pretty much) finished lyric sheet. And then we’ll usually do some last-minute changes in the studio.
Other times, the songs come from different places – either through re-working old material, someone writing something on their own, or what have you. It’s best to make sure things don’t turn into too much of a routine, I think. That keeps the songs fresh.
What else are you guys up to at the moment? Anything exciting coming up?
Loads! We’ve got a bunch more material to release after this EP, along with an amazing (like 11/10) video for ‘If I Were You’ that we’re working on together with our friend Charlie. We also have a German tour in the works that we’re excited about and will be announcing shortly, depending on the Coronavirus situation.
