A Talk With PELLE AKERLIND (Drums)
(Interview by Patrick de Sloover)
METAL TO INFINITY
Q: Welcome Morgana Lefay, which some of our readers will know as the band Lefay. Confusing if you start a band as Morgana Lefay, shorten it into Lefay and restart with the original name. Tell us, will Morgana Lefay remain till end of days?
Morgana Lefay will remain for all eternity! =)
Q: Morgana Lefay had some stirringly years since 2000. Can I say that the end was near, that the idea to abandon the band was vivid?
Well, I wasn't in the band at the time but I think for a time the band was disbanded. Fortunately they took the wise decision to get back together.
Q: Since Morgana Lefay played the major metal festivals in Europe (around the year 2000), there have been some line up changes as well. Why was Michael Asentorp replaced by Fredrik Lundberg, formerly Divine Sin?
That was also before I got on board but a band is much like a relationship and sometimes you strart to head in different directions and the best thing is to split up.
Q: You are also a new member in the band. How did you get in touch with the band and what bands did you play before?
I already knew all of them more or less. Peter and I had been talking about putting a band together for about a year. We got in touch when I was at Studio soundcreation mixing a demo with my other band Lednote. The studio is just across the hall from Morgana Lefays rehearsal studio so he droped by every now and then and he liked the music. We started to send text messages to each other, (mostly when we were drunk! =)) talking about getting together and try out some songs. When he called me to ask me to join the band I actually thought that he wanted to talk about starting a new band. =)
I play in a couple of other bands to. I am still a member of Lednote even though I don't have that much time to be involved at the moment. I am also a member of another band from bolln's called bloodbound. Just to make sure that I'll have no spare time at all I'm also in another band called Rocktools. We do around 80 shows every year all over sweden performing cover songs.
Q: Is joining Morgana Lefay your personal 'next step in your career', or is it just another band that you join in?
Yeah, it definitely is a step forward for me. I have always liked them and I think it's one of the best live bands on the planet.
Q: An absence for years can be deadly. Aren't you afraid that the fans did discover other bands in the same style as Lefay since the release of the album ''S.O.S.''?
Well, it's always a risk but on the other hand I think you can get some attention when you do a ''comeback''. And there is only one Morgana Lefay! =)
Q: That album was an actual S.O.S. for Lefay. The contract with Noise Records was terminated, so there were no options at that time...
That was also before my days so I'm not really the one to ask but it took 5 years before Grand materia so I guess it wasn't exactly the prime of the bands life.
Q: How comes that the deal with Noise Records ended over a cup of coffee and a biscuit with a bitter taste?
Once again it's something that I don't know that much about since I wasn't in the band. I think the band was kind of surprised that Noice didn't want to keep the band so that was the bitter flavour of the biscuit..
Q: Noise supported the band all the way, you got a lot of promotional support and tour support, but somehow, they didn't believe in the band any longer. What is the major reason for this distrust?
I don't know really. The rcord industry is a business as any other business so I guess they thought they would make more money working with other bands.
Q: I already mentioned the major festivals. Can you tell us something about the experience to play the Bang Your Head Festival in Balingen (Germany). It must have been real great to play for such an audience?
Well, for obvious reasons (also before my time) I can't give any personal view of it but I know the rest of the guys rate that gig very high. It sucks that I wasn't in the band at the time... =/
Q: Also the organisation of Bang Your Head is superb. I guess that you guys felt like real rockstars, isn't it?
They told me that everything was very professional and great.
Q: Is playing live the ultimate enjoyment; is that the reason why people start a band?
Personally, and I know that I speak for all of us, I love to play live. It's such a rush to get on stage and just give it all. I know that there are lots of musicians that hate to perform in front of an audience though. People that just like to record music or rehearse. Crazy bastards... =)
Q: A few years ago, Morgana Lefay was touring Europe as headliner, together with Angel Dust and Steel Prophet as supporting acts. How was that tour? Any amusing moments to share with us?
You have to ask the rest of the band that. I wasn't on that tour.
Q: Since 2004, the idea of a new album was taking by storm. Was it hard to find a record label that offered a nice deal?
I don't think so. I know that there was many labels interested. For a good reason... =)
Q: Morgana Lefay was with Black Mark in the past. Can I say that you had to take a step back; that the band needed a previous partner to get on the right track again?
I think it was more about getting the name Morgana Lefay back. Even during the years under the Lefay flag the band was always Morgana Lefay.
Q: For how many albums is the deal with Black Mark?
''Grand materia'' and the upcoming ''Aberrations of the mind''.
Q: In my personal CD collection I have a Black Mark Release called ''Morgana Lefay'' with tracks like ''Loaded Gun'', ''Crash And Burn'' and Prince cover ''Darling Nikki''. How comes that this album isn't in the discography of the band?
That album was done by previous members of Morgana Lefay. I think it's best that I don't make anymore comments about it. That's in the past now.
Q: It's like you want to forget this release, that this never happened?
Like I said, even during the years that the band went under the name Lefay that was the only true Morgana Lefay. The album had nothing to do with the actuall Morgana Lefay.
Q: Right now, there is a new album in the making. Originally it was named ''Primal Chaos'', but that turned into ''Aberrations Of The Mind''. Why ''Primal Chaos'' at first?
We had a real hard time to find a name for the album. I don't know why. We tried to find a name that worked with all the lyrics. And of course it had to sound cool... =)
Q: And what is meant by ''Aberrations Of The Mind''?
The songs on the album are all about different types of things that go on in a persons mind. It can be despair, hatred, loathing, love, dementia, whatever. Each song on the album represents different levels of human emotion that are sent from your mind... aberrations.
Q: It indicates that Morgana Lefay is into the dark metal style of music. If you compare the band nowadays with the band anno 2000, I guess it's totally diverse, isn't it?
I think it's kind of a natural progress of the Morgana Lefay sound. It is more agressive now but it still sounds like Morgana Lefay. Charles voice is quite unique so that puts a certain touch to it.
Q: The new album is set to be released on March 19th. on Black Mark again.
How is the cooperation with that label, do they treat you well and do you get enough tour support?
It's working fine. You always have different opinions from time to time but we all want the same thing in the end and that is to put out the best album we can.
Q: If you compare the support from Black Mark with the support that was received by Noise Records, is there a huge difference?
For obvious reasons I don't have an opinion about that since I wasn't around in the Noice days.
Q: The album is recorded at Studio Soundcreation in Bolln's, Sweden. How comes that you like to enter the same studio again?
It's a great studio and we have never been disappointed with the results. It's also just across the hall from where we rehears as I mentioned earlier. We can all go to our homes at the end of the day instead of spending the time at a hotell or something.
Q: Some bands declare that a new environment and place adds something to the result at the end. It's like the necessary fresh blood...
Well, I think there's two sides to that coin. When we enter Studio soundcreation we know exactly what to expect. It's easy to plan the recordings and there is no surprices. But who knows, maby we'll try another studio in the future.
Q: How is responsible for the production of ''Aberrations of the Mind''?
We were all involved in the production even if Peter is the one who spent most time in the studio during the mixing process.
Q: The band has been in the studio for 53 days before starting to mix. Did it go like expected, or have you got problems as well?
I actually think we started to mix on the exact day that we had planned so I guess it worked the way we wanted it. =)
Q: What is the main problem when you go into a studio. What's the major problems during the first hours and days of the recordings?
I think you need to be well prepared. If you're not prepared you'll run in to a bunch of problems. Maby things don't sound the way you thought they would, the songs may not be as good as you thought they were, you may find out that you haven't rehearsed as much as you should. There are so many things that can go wrong. The more times you are in a studio, the more you learn what to expect. It's a totally different thing to perform once you hear the studio engineer say the magic words ''ok, let's record''... =)
Q: There is a cool photo collage on the website of the band. It's a kind of visual diary and gives the fans an idea what was going on. I guess that you spend a lot of hours waiting, getting bored, working on each nerves as well, while you are in the studio?
One of the good things about recording in a studio in your hometown is that you don't need to be in the studio all the time. The vocalist don't have to be present when the drums are recorded, the drummer don't have to be present when the guitars are recorded and so on. But we are still working on each others nerves just for the fun of it... =)
Q: There are already two tracks on the website of the band. Are these songs the ones that fit best for the whole album, or is it just because they were already finished?
It's hard to tell. I have been listening to these songs so much during the making, rehearsing and recording of the album so it's hard to give an objective assessment. Listen to the album when it's released and let me know! =)
Q: There are some good times ahead of Morgana Lefay. In March, the band will play at the Rock At Sea Festival, together with bands like Budgie, Krux, Bullet and The Quill. Especially Krux is a cool band! Do you have a particular band that you want to share the stage with?
Hmmm... That's a hard one... There are so many bands that would be great to share stage with. Slipknot would be great. And Meshuggah. But that would make you feel like the worst musician on the planet... =) We will actually perform with Meshuggah on the Peace & Love festival in June. I have never seen them perform before so it will be great.
Q: Will the band go on tour again after the release of the album, or does it depend on the reaction from the press and how good it sells?
A tour is planned in march 2007.
22.03.2007 Osnabr?ck (D) - Bastard Club
23.03.2007 Bietigheim (D) - RockGround
24.03.2007 Schweinfurt (D) - Stattbahnhof
25.03.2007 Rotterdam (NL) - Baroeg
26.03.2007 Hamburg (D) - Headbangers Ballroom
27.03.2007 Darmstadt (D) - Bruchtal
28.03.2007 M?nchen (D) - Metropolis
29.03.2007 Uster (CH) - Rock City
30.03.2007 Villach (A) - Volkshaus Landskron
31.03.2007 Berlin (D) - Kato
Q: Tell us a little more about the songs on the new album. What can people expect, in what direction will they go, will there be surprising facts as well?
Like I said it's always hard to be objective about your own material but I think the sound is a bit more rough than the previous albums. Not that many overdubs but with a shitload of attitude. It's more ''in your face''.
Q: We know much more about the album and are longing to give it an honest review in our webzine. Is there anything else you want to add, to finish this interview?
Make sure to get a copy of ''Aberrations of the mind'' in march 2007, open a cold beer, turn the volume up to 10 and scare the crap out of your neighbors!
Q: Thank you for your time and hope to see you soon on Belgian stages!
Thank you and I hope that we get the chance to visit Belgium soon!
Remember: Death before disco!
MTI