Rockezine.com interview with Gadget on Feb 16, 2004

with William on Feb 16, 2004


		First things first. Where do you guys come from (I know you’re from Sweden) but all of a sudden there is Gadget. What happened, how did it happen and where will it take you? I guess even if it feels to me like we’ve been playing for a really long time, to most others Gadget is a new band. The band started in late ‘99, and was actually a solo project for the first two months, before I hooked up with Rikard. The reason I started the band was because I was tired of playing in crappy bands with people who weren’t serious. And if you can’t find people to play with that share that same attitude, I just figured I’d do it myself and get it right.
		Alright. In what part of the music spectrum do you operate? We are what people might call a ‘new school grindcore band’. There are certainly a lot of elements of death metal, mixed with punk and hardcore. But the main ingredients are D-beat and blast-beat.
		You grew from a one-man project to a full size band. Natural evolution or part of a bigger plan? After I hooked up with Rikard and started rehearsing as a duo, we decided not to take on any additional members just to fill the line-up, and instead to wait until we found people that were into the same thing, shared the same attitude towards playing music and also where serious musicians. This is why the line-up has been growing slowly. Emil joined 6 months after the first demo tape, and Nygge joined in as late as two years after forming the band. We are still looking for a drummer.
		How did the deal with Relapse come about? We basically sent some tapes out to different companies and got in contact with Relapse that way. The collaboration between us started with the release of a split 7-inch with Exhumed, and also 2 Contaminated comps as well as the Swedish Assault compilation. Then about two years ago we started talking about making the album, which ended with the recently released Remote.
		Your style of grindcore is a somewhat back to basics. Not the chaoscore math type stuff so popular these days. What bands influenced you along the way? Well yes I guess it has the primal elements of D-beat and grind, even if people still think of it as ‘new school’. But we have a lot more in common with bands like Nasum or late Napalm Death than Repulsion, so I guess it depends on how you define back to basics. My first grindcore record was Brutal Truth – Extreme Conditions… but otherwise, I have always been a big fan of extreme music in general. It has never been strictly grindcore. The great thing about grindcore is, for me, that it seems to be the perfect mix of crust, hardcore and deathmetal. This is why it leaves a lot of interesting musical opportunities. (if you ask me).
		What’s the ultimate secret in making music as furious and loud as yours? What does it take to do the job (and I don’t mean alcohol)? The big secret is: Hard work! There is no way you can get better without practising, and you really do need to get your shit together to make this kind of intense music. What your grandmother is referring to as “the sound of instruments being thrown down a staircase” is in fact years of hard work and loads of time and energy from people who are 100% focused on making really high-energy music.
		Please tell us everything about the album Remote. What can folks expect? Remote is a 21 track record that blasts by in 29 minutes and 57 seconds, full-speed grindcore in the perfect combination with crust and deathmetal. Sounds like Hate Eternal in a knife-fight with Tragedy!!
		Did the album turn out as you expected? I guess not really… but mostly because the production did not turn out as we had thought. Not in a bad way, just not like we had figured it before the recording.
		Are there tour plans in support of the album? Summer festivals we should check out? We have nothing booked for 100%, but there might be something coming up… If this ‘something’ doesn’t happen, we will probably try to book a small tour ourselves. And also we will try do as many gigs here in Sweden as possible.
		Any bands you know of that we really need to check out? Ambulance from Umea (Sweden)!! They are killer… new CD coming out on Purtrid Filth really soon. Haven’t heard them on disc yet, but they are totally awesome live!
		Thanks for the interview. Anything to ad? Thank you! Only grind is real!
(Marc Lochs)