SOURCE – Black And Gold in the fifth studio album for Thundermother. Where do you see this material sitting in the catalog of albums for the band – and did the pandemic allow the band to dig deeper into the details of songwriting, recording, and production values differently than if you were under the gun time-wise due to impending business or touring obligations?
Emelie ‘Emlee’ Johansson (Drums) – I think that for every album we release, we’ve developed as a band, as musicians and as songwriters. So B&G is definitely our best album so far, in my opinion. We are super proud and happy to share our music with the world, and hopefully the world will enjoy it too. We had more time to be creative and wrote a lot of new songs during the pandemic but we also managed to do a lot of touring, so these last two years in our lives has definitely effected the themes of the lyrics. We’ve had time to reflect over our situation and life and made some changes and ”Watch out” for example is about standing up for yourself and take control of your life and dreams, and don’t take shit from anyone.
SOURCE – Tell us about the video shoots for Black And Gold and Watch Out. What do you enjoy most about expressing yourselves through this visual medium – does it give the music listeners and followers more insight into the concepts you wish to get across?
Emelie ‘Emlee’ Johansson (Drums) – It’s always fun to make music videos, I think people really enjoy to see the people behind the music and that it helps people understand what Thundermother is about. High energy and good vibes!
”Watch out” is a very energetic song, so we needed a high energy video to match it. We did the video in early March, driving in an old car and it was sooo cold, haha. The performance shots were filmed in a big green screen studio outside of Stockholm called Virtual Star Studios. We had so much fun, and the video turned out great and has a lot of views. The video is made by Mattias ”Sulan” Sulander.
Black and Gold was captured on a tour we did in June this summer, by photographer Gustaf Sandholm Andersson and edited by Kristian H. Reuter. It’s filled with documentation from our lives on the road, so you get a really nice insight in what rock n roll tour life style with Thundermother is! And it really fits the song, because it’s all about being part of a community. And we want everyone to feel welcome in the Thundermother Family!
SOURCE – Do you feel overseas audiences have been receptive to your work because of the type of tours you’ve been a part of – and are in general more open-minded to the various styles you incorporate, compared to many listeners domestically?
Emelie ‘Emlee’ Johansson (Drums) – We haven’t been touring overseas yet, but we will go on a big North American tour with Scorpions very soon. To get this opportunity is a dream come true, because we really believe and hope that America will love us, and apparently the people who gave us this chance believe the same, haha. And we can’t wait to go on tour in South America, our singer Guernica has her roots in Uruguay, I have some Chilean connections, and Filippa loves Mexico! And we would of course wanna come and play in Brazil too, one of our biggest dreams is to play at Rock in Rio!
SOURCE – Being a part of the AFM Records roster since your fourth album Heat Wave, how would you assess their work and the promotional aspects they’ve given to elevate the status of the band on a global scale?
Emelie ‘Emlee’ Johansson (Drums) – AFM has been amazing to us. They have believed in us and supported us from the start. And most important of all, they have always prioritized us and put so much effort and hard work into Thundermother. We are so happy with them and now they are expanding to North America together with us and it’s just super exciting! We love AFM Records
SOURCE – When looking at the vast discography for Thundermother, what do you consider the one or two essential releases where you felt very confident and established yourselves as a premiere act in your style? And if there is a record that maybe is underrated that you think your listeners need to reintroduce themselves to, which record would that be and why?
Emelie ‘Emlee’ Johansson (Drums) – Well I have to say our most essential albums are our two latest albums ”Heat Wave” and ”Black and Gold” because with these two albums we have really leveled up as a band and our way to express ourselves. ”Heat Wave” took us to a higher ground in our career and I’m super excited to see where ”B&G” will bring us, hopefully to the top, haha.
SOURCE – You’ve already announced a lot of touring and festival action across the world to support the new record. What else is on the agenda for the next year or so, and how long can you see Thundermother continuing forward?
Emelie ‘Emlee’ Johansson (Drums) – We’re opening up for Scorpions in a big North American tour August – October. Then we will have some rest, and in the beginning of next year we will go on a big European tour, hopefully we can announce the dates and venues soon! We just started to work with a new booking agency and future is looking bright! Stay tuned for more…
SOURCE – What’s on the bucket list for Thundermother to achieve – or yourself personally as a musician? Are there specific musicians you would love to work with in some capacity down the line?
Emelie ‘Emlee’ Johansson (Drums) – Thundermother has one goal, and that is to conquer the world, haha. No but seriously, we feel the urge and need to spread our rock all over the planet and that it is our mission to fight for rock n roll.
I would love to open up for Iron Maiden, because I am a big Maiden fan and it has been a dream since I was a teenager. To play arenas for sure, and to be a role model for other young girls and women out there, so we can make this music business more equal.
SOURCE – Any last thoughts or special message that you want to address to your fans in Brazil?
Emelie ‘Emlee’ Johansson (Drums) – Hang in there, we will come to Brazil! Hopefully soon, we really look forward to it! Until then, hope you guys enjoy our new album and stay healthy and happy!
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