There is Light (But it's Not for Me)
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| Thanks for taking the time out to talk about the band and the new album with me. How's everything going on your end? |
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Jakob:
Everything's going well. Since the new album was released 3 months ago we've already done 2 tours. 2011 has been and will be a busy year for us.
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| Well, first of all, congrats on Illdisposed hitting the twenty year anniversary mark (according to the dates I read on the internet)! How do you feel about what the band has accomplished up this point in it's career? |
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Jakob:
I'd say I'm happy that we're a band from the early nineties, that makes it a lot easier today. We have a name, at least here in Europe. It's pretty tough work to start up a new band these days, you gotta be lucky or extremely hard working to have success. So all in all I'm proud of what we've accomplished. We've been around the block, having some great adventures and even earned some money with it.
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| There's been a decent amount of change throughout the years with the band, and it seems like you guys are still growing. Do you feel the band still has potential to mature after such a rich legacy? |
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Jakob:
Yeah definitely. We're easily getting bored if we're doing the same thing over and over so we're sometimes doing something completely different. Mainly to satisfy ourselves. It's not that we're trying to be mainstream in any way, we're just doing what we feel like. And I like to try things off and go new ways when I'm writing the songs.
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| How do you feel the band has grown since the start with the material on your latest album [There is Light (But it's Not for Me)]?
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Jakob:
We've gone in a more melodic direction. Today we focus on writing good songs instead of having something to prove. |
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| Did all go well when the band began writing it and went into the studio, or were there any limitations or restraints that may have hindered the sound of the album?
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Jakob:
All went pretty well, we've found a relaxing way of doing things. And I've been building up my own small home studio the past few years so I'm tracking most of the music at home.
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| At this point with the band, is it easier to just write the material and go into the studio, as in the manner of the band becoming a well oiled machine and working smoothly with each other? Or are you finding it difficult to come up with fresh new material at this point in the game?
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Jakob:
For us it's easier that way. I'm writing all music alone and the other guys won't even hear it until a few months before we go to the studio. We've had our time at the rehearsal room writing songs together but it all ends up in big arguments and fights. We don't have these problems anymore now.
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| Did you happen to try anything new with There is Light (But it's Not for Me) that you or Illdisposed in general has no done in the past?
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Jakob:
We recorded the drums in Tue Madsens's swimming pool (yup, it was empty). Besides that we just did everything as usual. Well, there's more synth on the album than we ever had before.
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| Of all the albums Illdisposed has put out so far, which one or ones are your favorite?
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Jakob:
My absolute favorite is 1-800 Vindication from 2004. That's the most complete album we ever did and the fact that it was all a coincidence just makes it better.
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| Does There is Light (But it's Not for Me) compare to that or them in any way? If not, where does it stand in the band's discography as far as you see. |
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Jakob:
I think it does. The songs, the sound, the artwork. Everything is comparable to 1-800 Vindication without being just a plagiarism of course. But we've left some hints here and there, for instance the song "The Taste Of You" which is the 3rd song of a trilogy beginning with "We Lie In The Snow" from 1997. The 2nd part of the trilogy was "Now We're History" from the 1-800 Vindication album.
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| What have you and the other members of Illdisposed been doing since the album dropped? Have you guys been playing at or attending any of the festivals that have been going on or have yet to happen, or working on promoting the album? Anything like that?
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Jakob:
We started a tour in Denmark and Norway on the day the album was released. After that tour we had 2 weeks break and then we toured Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia. Now we're waiting to play a few festivals before we go on tour in Europe again in October.
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| Will Illdisposed be touring, and if so, is there any word on the band coming over the United States for some shows? |
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Jakob:
Strangely enough we've never really been promoted well in the States. Our record labels have always been focusing on Europe. But if we get a chance to tour over there - without having to pay like most bands do these days - we're game.
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| This is mostly out of my curiosity, but will there be any other companion releases from Illdisposed in the near future such as a more up to date compilation, DVD or Live CD, maybe even a documentary of the band? Perhaps something to commemorate the twenty year anniversary of the group?
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Jakob:
We've thought about it but it's very difficult because we've had so many different record labels. They would never come to an agreement. And with Youtube and all the other sites it's not worth it to make these kinds of releases anymore. Everybody can just get whatever they want there anyway.
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| Is there anything else you'd like to mention to the readers that I didn't get to touch on in this interview?
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Jakob:
Just check us out if you're into melodic and groovy Death Metal.
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| Thank you very much for taking the time out. It's been an honor.
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Jakob:
Cheers.
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