The Metal Resource – mauce.nl

Ulterium Records announced last March the signing of the Swedish female fronted melodic metal band End Of September to the label. Their self-titled debut album will be released next month on May 11th in Europe and on May 22nd in North America. Before the release of their debut album, the band recently released a music-video/digital single  for the song Isolated, which can be seen below. Here an interview with this promising band.

TMR: Hello to you from´The Metal Resource’ Holland, how are things going there in Sweden ?

It’s really great, just had a few days off during the easter.

TMR: Will you Introduce yourself and the band please ! [name and instrument]

End of September are Elin Redin on vocals, Johan Nöjd on bass, Johan Svensson on drums and me Erik Tordsson on guitars and vocals.

TMR: Tell us the brief history of ‘End Of September’

The whole thing began with me starting to write songs in 2009. I found vocalist Victoria Sundberg and recorded a two song demo which got us a deal with Ulterium Records. Victoria quit the band and I started the search for a new vocalist. Just when I was about to give up I found Elin Redin and that got things going. A few months later we were a full line-up. We finished the album last autumn and that’s where we are today.

TMR: Why the name ‘End Of September’ ? Is there a story behind it ?

Not really, the name just gave us the right feeling of the music.

TMR: Are you guys full time musicians ? If not what kind of job or study do you do beside the band ?

Elin: At the moment I am a stay at home mom and work part time at a local yarn and clothes shop.
Erik: My time is pretty much split in three between my own studio, Solid Mix Studios, the swedish postal service and a fruit and vegetable wholesaler.
Johan N: I´m studying to become a teacher in music and history.
Johan S: Studying music.

TMR: What is your musical background ? [for everyone personal]

Elin: Coming from a family of musicians I started early, singing with my mom in church. Music and singing has always been my main thing so I have done my share of studying and practising, and in all kinds of genres. It’s good to have been able to try a lot, but I have also found it hard over the years to really hit home with my voice. Until now that is!
Erik: I started out playing acoustic guitar when I was maybe 9 or so, just learning basic chords. I bought my first electric guitar a few years later and started to learn song from bands like deep purple, metallica and green day. But it was not until I was around 15 that I started to play in bands. The vocals I didn’t pick up until I was 19-20 or so. During that time I started to play in some more serious bands too.
Johan N: I started to play classical guitar when I was 10 years old and my mother forced me to join a children’s choir at the same age and today I´m grateful to that. Later, in my teenage period, I really understood that music was everything to me and I went to a music-highschool. At this school I broadened my musical skills and started to play the piano, drums and bass. Since then I´ve played in several bands in different genres. In fall 2011 I began to study music at a university to become a musicians teacher and also joined End of September.
Johan S: Started playing the drums when I was eleven years old and have studied music for two. Has played in a lot of different heavy metal, blues and cover bands throughout the years.

TMR: Who writes the music/lyrics in ‘End Of September’ ? .. how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influences you for writing music and lyrics ?

All songs except two is written by me, Erik. The other two is written in collaboration with the album’s drummer Daniel Berg. Getting in the right mood is a hard thing. I need to be completely relaxed. If I have anything hanging over me, I can’t get there. I think I get influenced by pretty much everything I hear in a way. But what I mainly listened to while writing the album was probably Breaking Benjamin, RED, Three days grace, Paramore, Alter Bridge, Creed, Katatonia and Daughtry. And of course life in general is a big inspiration.

TMR: How do you describe the music of ‘End Of September’ the best ?

It’s always hard to label a sound but I think in a way that it’s music for all senses. We see ourselves as more of a hardrock band than a gothic symphonic metal band.

TMR: How does ‘End Of September’ stands in life till events in the world, religion and politics and in which proportion stands that till your music and lyrics ?

All my lyrics are about life in some way. I write what’s on my mind and that can include both religion and politics. But mostly the lyrics are about different experiences and situations in life.

TMR: For a lot of bands the lyrics are just a accidental circumstance, but for some bands they use them to communicate ! ..can you tell us how that is for ‘End Of September’ ?

Most of the lyrics are about my own life experiences. So in a way they are written more for me than anyone else. Although I think many can relate to them anyway.

TMR: Name some of your favorite bands to play with live [past and future] and tell us why ?

We haven’t done any shows yet so there are no past bands. There are a lot of bands that would be cool to play with in the future though. RED really seem like cool guys, and they are amazing musicians, so I really think we could learn something playing with them.

TMR: First record you bought? [for everyone personal]

Elin: Robyn is here (Robyn’s debut album)
Erik: Roxette – Crash Boom Bang
Johan N: The first record I bought with my own money was Audioslave´s debut album, Audioslave.
Johan S: Kiss – Creatures of the Night

TMR: What makes you laugh? [for everyone personal]

Elin: A lot! I’m quite easily amused.
Erik: A lot of things. Family Guy is one.
Johan N: Bad jokes…I really like swedish stand up comedy, especially when they joke about us swedes and our cultural behaviour.
Johan S: Sick humour.

TMR: How do you promote your band and shows ?

Ulterium Records does a lot for us. And the rest is pretty much mouth to mouth.

TMR: How do you prepare for a show? [for everyone personal]

Elin: Nowadays I often tend to be in a handing-over-my-son situation before I hit the stage which doesn’t leave much time to focus. But I’m not much of a ritual person anyway, I just love getting up there!
Erik: There’s usually a lot of nervous drumming on my lap and I try to drink a lot of water which results in several bathroom visits. : )
Johan N: I try to think about something else and three seconds before entering the stage I take a deep breath and make gymnastic-like movements.
Johan S: Warming up, drink a beer and chill out.

TMR: Describe your show, visual and musically ? And tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.

Visual and musically it’s just a lot of “you need to be there”. ; ) Our first show, which is also our release show, will be in our hometown 1st june.

TMR: What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked? [for everyone personal]

Elin: “Are your parents home?” by a sales man at my door, just a few weeks ago. Oh my!
Erik: Can I ask you a question?
Johan N: There is only one dumb question in the world… The one that is never asked!
Johan S: Is the moon made of cheese…?

TMR: Do you have a life philosophy? [for everyone personal]

Elin: John 3:16
Erik: Never wait for something to happen,make it happen.
Johan N: Seize the day. Embrace and enjoy it.
Johan S: To earn respect you must give respect!

TMR: Are you visiting many gigs and what do you listen to these days? [for everyone personal]

Elin: No, unfortunately not a lot of gigs, for mostly practical reasons. I’m usually part of the gigs I manage to attend. I enjoy listening to Jeff Buckley, Alterbridge, Creed, Alison Krauss and the Union Station, Need to Breath to mention a few.
Erik: No I can’t say that I do. I think I prefer to be on stage too much. Lately I’ve listened a lot to Alter Bridge but it very much varies with what mood I’m in. I can listen to everything from Deep Purple to Bloodbath.
Johan N: Not as much as I´d like to, but I try to go to concerts, big as small. I really like to discover less famous acts and especially the local ones. I listen to music every day and night. I have a big spectrum of what I like. I use to say that I listen to music that is good. It can be everything from jazz to the most obscure black metal. But I think that I prefer heavy rock and melodic death/trash metal.
Johan S: I try to go at one festival at least in the summer, and if any good band playing nearby i’d gladly go. I listen to all types of music, right now on the metalfront I listen a lot to Lamb Of God, Facebreaker, Dream Theater and August Burns Red.

TMR: Tell us about the hardrock/metal scene in your area please?

Our hometown, Växjö, is known to be a metal town, but I haven’t seen much of it yet to be honest.

TMR: What’s your outlook on the record-industry today?

We’re going more towards singles than albums these days. And more digital and streaming than the psysical CD. I think that will continue. In the film industry we’ve gone towards better quality in both picture and sound, I hope we’re going there in music too as digital storage gets cheaper.

TMR: About your upcoming self-titled debut album ‘End Of September’, tell us about the songs, the recording process, artwork etc.

A: The main part of the songs were written between autumn 2009 and spring 2010. The album has been produced, mixed and mastered by me and recorded at three different studios. The artwork is done by Markus Sigfridsson (Harmony, Darkwater, 7 Days).

TMR: The album will be released by ‘Ulterium Records’, how did you get signed by them ?

They contacted me after hearing the first demo I did with Victoria, and they’ve been involved ever since. So the signing process has actually been extremely long.

TMR: What about your plans for this year or the near future ? [European Tour ?]

Right now all we want is to go on tour. We have a lot going on behind the scene at the moment and Europe seems like a possibility.

TMR: What advice would you give to fellow bands?

Do it because you love it and don’t let anybody or anything stop you.

TMR: What are the biggest obstacles for bands ?

It all starts within the group. Make sure that you are on the same page and are heading at the same direction, and even better, at the same speed. Then you just have to pass the obstacle that you think there are an obstacle.

TMR: Guys thanks for your time and the interview, we wish ‘End Of September’ all the best … Is there anything you wanna say at last? [any final statement ?]

Thanks you Eelco and The Metal Resource for this interview. To find out more about us and see our tour plans visit www.endofseptember.net or www.facebook.com/endofseptember