SOURCE – Congratulations on your new record Anesidora, I feel that this is perhaps your best record ever, how do you feel about this statement?
Jimmy Mattsson (bass and vocals) – Thank you very much! It sure feels good to hear that. Overall it seems like both the press and most importantly the fans really enjoy this one. Atleast I have not seen or heard too many negative comments. My favourites are the ones stating that ANESIDORA is our best work since 2009’s Silent Ruins which I myself regard as a peak in our discography. Creatively we are on a good streak right now.
SOURCE – With the current sad state of the music industry, how do you determine expectations for an album?
Jimmy Mattsson (bass and vocals) – We do our best to try and not overthink what the reception will be. We do this mostly for our own sake and if people like what they hear then that is great! But sure, there are always some hopes and wishes that every time we put a new album out more people will hear and buy it. But we are realistic. We know that we will never be Iron Maiden. Barely anyone ever reach that height anymore. But a few more steps up the ladder would be a nice.
SOURCE – As many bands in the rock industry appear to be releasing more and more EPs and singles rather than just albums, do you plan on going that route, as well?
Jimmy Mattsson (bass and vocals) – Early on in our career we did release an EP and a split single. I wasn’t in the band back then but as a fan I thought it was kinda cool. This was of course before the digital era so it felt a bit exclusive to buy some songs that were not available anywhere else. But we all really like and prefer the album format so I do not see us going down that path again. Atleast not in a near future. Singles are supposed to be a taster for an album to come. A standalone single could easily just not get noticed and by that not get the attention it deserves.
SOURCE – How important do you believe instant communication technology and social media platforms have been to the growth of your fanbase on a global scale? Do you enjoy the fan interaction through these mediums beyond building the brand of the band through live shows/touring?
Jimmy Mattsson (bass and vocals) – Isole as a band have been around since the tape trading days in the early 1990’s and we still have fans from that era. In a way I guess you could call that the social media of that time. I do believe that putting out new music and playing shows is a bigger key than anything an app does. Me and Crister actually had a conversation about this the other day. We are both so tired of this having to post anything just to stay in people’s minds for a few minutes thing that seems to be the standard nowadays. As a fan myself I would much rather have fewer and only important posts from bands that I follow than for example anything in the style of “Here’s a video of our guitarist changing strings on his guitar!”. But with that said I do enjoy to interact with the fans online. Even though I much more prefer to do it in person after a show.
SOURCE – Do you think that is a basic struggle for younger people – to have so much new music pumped out today compared to fewer releases back in the 80’s and 90’s?
Jimmy Mattsson (bass and vocals) – Yes. There is too much music being released nowadays when you don’t even need a label to get it out there on the streaming services. Especially now after the pandemic with all the “covid albums” dropping in piles every friday. That mixed with a shorter attention span and younger people do not even have a chance to reach that diehard level of fandom anymore.
SOURCE – How do you see the state of the heavy music scene stateside versus the world? What makes you happy, and what changes (if any) would you like to see for the greater good of the movement?
Jimmy Mattsson (bass and vocals) – Many new bands coming out and making it big comes from other influences than the previous generation and they’re really just not my cup of tea. In my opinion there really are a lot of things that don’t mix with metal. And this downfall has been going on since the mid-1990’s and the rise of the nu metal scene… The underground is thriving though with lots of great metal bands! Just the other weekend I caught a show by a young Swedish thrash metal band called Xion. Bands like them makes me believe in a future for heavy metal while some that appear in a more mainstream context makes me think that Gene Simmons was right and that rock truly is dead. As you can tell I am in a very divided state about the current scene as a whole. And yes, I do know and understand that most bands I really like will be gone within the next 10 years.
SOURCE – Sweden is a peace-loving country. How Sweden is responding to the war in Ukraine? Is there anything that individuals should do to prepare, for example in the event of possible attacks against Sweden?
Jimmy Mattsson (bass and vocals) – Yes, we haven’t been at war for over 200 years now. That’s a nice thing to be able to brag about. I’d like to keep that streak going forever. But we are warmed in the press on what feels like an every other day basis about a possible threat against Sweden. And we have been told by the government to atleast start preparing for a worst case scenario.
SOURCE – Is there anything else you have going on?
Jimmy Mattsson (bass and vocals) – We are in the final negotiations before we make a tour announcement for this coming winter. What I can tell you right now is that we will tour Europe as a headliner in November with our good friends Ophis as special guest. Other than that we are mostly waiting for summer and the festival season to begin. And I don’t want to say too much but there might be some songwriting going on already…
Contact:
Video: