SJM: Please introduce yourself and tell us what's your part in the band.
My name is Ludwig. I play guitar and some other stuff. Magnus plays drums and percussion. Johan sings and plays guitar. Joel plays bass guitar.

How long does the band exist and how did you get together ?
7 years. Magnus and Johan met in their teenages and have been in lots of bands together. Then, they felt like doing something new and different and formed then-Kevlar with bassist Toft Stade.

Did any of you play in other bands before ? Different Stlyes ?
Johan played in Shredhead, Starmarket and Kriminell Karamell. Magnus played in Shredhead, Starmarket, Honeymoons and Skarp Urin. Joel played in Brisco, Ellis The Vacuumchild, Truckstar. Ludwig played in Disa. The styles ranged from crossover to indie pop to indie rock to punk.

How is your relationship with the people at Sticksister / Stickman Rec. ? How did the cooperation start ?
Our relationship with them is great, we have similar wiews on the shitty music biz. We started just sending rough mixes to them while recording The great collapse, and we knew that Isolation Years were really happy with them as a label also… And as it turned out…they liked us.

Please tell us the story why you had to change the bands name.
The multinational corporation Dupont contacted us after they had stumbled upon our then-webdomain "kevlaronline.com". They did not appreciate the likeness of our band-name and their product, the polymer fibre Kevlar© and felt that we, an itty-bitty Northern Sweden indie rock group, threatened their product identity and their profit. They told us in the nicest way imaginable that if we didn't change our name they would present us with a world of pain. After thoughtful discussion, we changed our name. Some.

The latest release "on planted streets" is a compilation with older material taken from your first album and an ep. You said the main reason for sticksister to rerelease those songs was to promote the new name. Do you feel comfortable with that decision or do you think it rather confuses and disappoints your fans who might think it contains new songs ?
Well, it does contain one new song and the other tracks underwent minor remastering. For the better, I think. Those records were hard to get in Europe, the e.p. had even sold out, so it was a matter of making it available for european listeners. Other than that, it's really hard for us to make decisions based on consideration of our fans - we're not talking multitudes here. The ones there are, they probably share our perspective to some extent. That is to say, much good music has its roots in confusion and disappointment. I also think that people will know when checking out the CD that yes, these are old songs. The ones that know us from before that is. And for people that are checking us out for the first time I think it's brilliant. A CD for a normal CD price with one full album, one mini album and one new song.

In Sweden there seems to be a huge music scene. Tell me about it. Do you feel being part of a certain scene ? Do you know (or hang out with) a lot of people from other bands ?
We don't really feel part of a scene, we mostly keep to ourselves, but we do play with other bands and ofcourse hang out with other bands in our hometown Umeå, I mean…. Everyone are pretty much friends. It's a small town with lots of bands like Isolation Years, Valnadi-c, Komeda etc…

How was your tour going ? Unfortunately only few people came to your show in Berlin. Do you think it would be better to tour in a package with another band ?
The tour was lots of fun, we always meet so many nice people who have no reason at all to treat us nice… We know we are a small band so we don't expect a lot of people at shows, we just try to have fun on stage and do a different show every nighht. I'm sure things would be better in a tour package.

.. Which bands would you like to tour with ?
Shellac. Marvin Gaye and Sonic Youth. And …. Slayer….

Where did you get the biggest audiences ? Which countries are you the most popular in ?
I think its pretty much the same all over Europe, Spain is definitely more crazy and the crowds there are insane, but besides that… I think we are on a good and healthy level all over J

Do you recognize any difference between the audiences in different countries ? Different kinds of expectations ?
Hard to say. People in Germany are generally nice and rock out occasionally, which is always a good thing. In Holland they are very nice and hospitable, but they don't move or show any extended appreciation. In Southern Spain, people can go absolutely berzerk. The French… we haven't played in France, and we probably won't either.

What was your best and your worst experience on tour ?
The worst times are when the van malfunctions (or dies, like last tour), when tension builds up and we all go neurotic, when the show doesn't feel like it works out. The best times are when the show does, and we mutate into The Audial Volcano. That's a fine moment.

Which bands are your greatest influences, which are your favourites ?
Sonic Youth Swervedriver My Bloody Valentine Fugazi Blithe Bruce Springsteen Dinosaur Jr Meshuggah Chavez Hot Snakes Motorpsycho Nationalteatern And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead Slayer E Street Band Marvin Gaye Kiss Aretha Franklin Kim Wilde

What are your lyrics about ? More personal or political ?
I frankly don't understand the distinction. Some lyrics derive from personal experiences, often with connection to socio-political confrontation, as in "I hate my job and the structures that force me into this kind of employment", e. g. Others are only renderings of emotion. The music always directs the space in which the lyrics can reside. I try my best to fit sentences with actual importance into the meter. When music blows you away, the lyrics are nearly irrelevant, but it's a good thing if they hold for a closer inspection. There's too many crappy lyrics written already.

What inspires you most ?
Trouble and desire.

You told me, that you are going to record your new album this August. What can we expect from this album ? What will be different from "the great collapse"?
The melodies will be more melodic, the noise will be worse, the energy will be more intense, velocity will have higher torque. Less keyboards. On the whole, more dynamics and contrast.

What do you think about filesharing and the possibility to download music on the internet ?
It's the greatest thing. Seriously. Musicians who disapprove of filesharing are not musicians, they're merchants. I. e., greedy assholes. I. e., the enemy. They're like, "I gotta pay my staff", and I'm like, "Nuh".

Most Bands don't like being categorized. What do you think about it ? Do you feel it's ok or necessary being categorized (as let's say "postrock" or "indierock") so people get an idea of what you are about ? Or do you feel this is inadequate to your music ?
"Indierock" is fine with us. But inventing new genre names is always fun. Go right ahead.

How would you describe your music yourself ?
1. Energy 2. melody 3. composition 4. improvisation 5. chaos.

I guess the band doesn't earn your living yet. So what are you doing besides making music ?
Ludwig can't really describe his line of work. Magnus works with support on an ISP. Johan is becoming a student again. Joel works in the night.

Name a few albums you enjoy listening to at the moment.
Tom Waits: Small Change.

What are your further plans for the future ? Becoming famous and getting a major deal ;-) ?
Our plans for the future is to complete the new album, release it in a few months and tour. Then we will go fishing and get horrifyingly drunk.

(Stefan)