Schon wieder hat Dennis Lyxzén eine neue Band. Ist das überhaupt eine neue Band? Irgendwie schon, irgendwie aber auch nicht. Nachdem er erst auf Solopfaden unter dem Namen Lost Patrol unterwegs war und sich daraus dann die Lost Patrol Band ergeben hat, war zumindest schon der Grundstein für das gelegt, was nun INVSN sind. Die Lost Patrol Band nannte sich aufgrund eines Rechtsstreits in Invasionen um und ließ gleichzeitig vom Powerpop in Stiff Records Manier ab, um fortan auf Schwedisch zu singen und den Geist von Ian Curtis wieder aufleben zu lassen.
So viel hat man davon aber gar nicht mitbekommen, da die Refused-Reunion viel höhere Wellen geschlagen hat und in aller Munde war. Nachdem dieses Kapitel dann auch beendet wurde, gab es auf einmal die Ankündigung, dass Invasionen nun INVSN heißen würden und das Debütalbum unter diesem Namen ließ auch nicht lange auf sich warten. Elektronische Samples und effektververfremdete Melodien lassen den Sound kühl, düster, irgendwie unmenschlich dystopisch wirken. Man muss gleichzeitig an menschenleere, schneeüberzogene Landschaften, an schwarze-weiße Industrieanlagen und einen dunklen, verschwitzten Kellerclub denken. Das Ganze wird von einer unheimlich treibenden Rhythmussektion nach vorne geprescht.
Nachdem INVSN nun schon die halbe Welt betourt haben, schaffen sie es beim zweiten Anlauf (das Konzert, das für Ende April dieses Jahres angesetzt war, musste leider abgesagt werden) endlich auch nach Köln. Am 10. September ins Studio 672, um genau zu sein. Tickets gibt’s hier.
SLIK hatte vorab die Gelegenheit, Frontmann Dennis Lyxzén einige Fragen zu stellen. Das Interview führte unser Autor Frank Hagemann:
SLIK: On the second Invasionen album „Saker som jag sagt till natten“ the songs are already in this dark wave pop style you‘re doing now as INVSN. It was released in Sweden with Swedish lyrics, but it was also announced to be released with English lyrics worldwide. Why did you guys never released it outside Sweden and never toured outside Scandinavia with it? The whole thing is brilliant.
DENNIS: That is correct. We actually did an english version of the record that ended up never being released. The english recording got us signed to our American label and we ended up using Inheritance on the new record. I also really like that record but as a restless soul and as a band with a partly new line-up sometimes it is better to move on. Maybe one day it will get it’s proper release outside of Sweden. If anyone is interested let us know!!!
SLIK: Could you please play „Sanningsenligt“ live in Cologne? It‘s a banger.
DENNIS: Maybe, I am not sure that I remember the English lyrics to it. I think that it would be a bit weird to do one song in Swedish in the middle of the set… but who knows?!
SLIK: I remember an Interview with The Vicious after their US Tour, in which they explain how strange it was for them to sing in a foreign language in front of native speakers. It seems to have had a deep impact on them because from then on Robert has just written songs with Swedish lyrics. After The Lost Patrol name changed into Invasionen, you did that, too. As far as I know you‘re still performing the INVSN songs in Swedish when playing in Sweden, while you‘re releasing you‘re records worldwide with English lyrics. Could you explain your own motivation to sing in English or Swedish?
DENNIS: I never felt it being weird to sing in English ever. I grew up with English music and American popculture so it was always very natural for me to use English. I started writing in Swedish cause we did a compilation on my label Ny Våg where all the band sang in Swedish. I tried it and I really liked it. Always been a bit worried to write in Swedish cause you can’t get away with the rock cliches that we get away with when we sing in English. But once I found my own language I found it very easy and rewarding to sing in Swedish. I still write the INVSN songs in Swedish first before translating them. My motivation for singing in Swedish is that it is closer to home and I don’t have to translate my thoughts. My motivation for singing in English is cause it is the language for rockmusic and there are only like 9 million people that actually speaks Swedish!
SLIK: The videos „#61“ and „Down in the shadows“ show the countryside of Umeå. You have the song „Vasterbotten“ which refers to the province in North Sweden. For me as a listener you give me the impression that the music style of INVSN and the place where you all live converge in the music. There is always a lot talk about cities and music. Just like it is with West-Berlin for Bowie and Iggy Pop, No Wave for New York, DC for Dischord etc. Do you think Umeå as a place to live affects your way to write music?
DENNIS: Of course it does. We live in a very isolated part of Sweden that has been pretty ravaged by urbanization the last couple of decades. Where all of us in the band grew up our communities are turning more and more into ghost-towns. People move to the big cities and trends and sounds are defined from these cultural centres. So, choosing to stay up here and to move out on the country side definitly has a huge impact on writing. I think that if you know our culture up here our music fits it very well.
SLIK: Most of you played in several bands at the same time in the last years. Since AC4 broke up all of you are just playing in INVSN, right? Are there any new projects coming up or any music styles you‘re excited to get into and write some songs?
DENNIS: Right now I am only doing INVSN as a real band. We are writing new music as we speak so I am pretty excited about that. But at the moment it is all that I have got going. After the last Refused show in 2012 we left the door a bit open so maybe that will happen sometime in the future. But for now INVSN is all I am working on.
SLIK: In interviews your answer to the question how young bands could be successful is to work hard. You‘re working hard, but what are your goals to reach with hard work? I mean musicwise.
DENNIS: My goal has just always been to create music and ideas that I can stand by and that will take me forward in life. Never really been interested in concepts like fame and fortune. Life is a very abstract sort of adventure and I just want to make the most of it. Write better songs, better lyrics, sing better, play more show. Making it is also such a vauge and weird term. Who has made it and when do we know?!
SLIK: You buy a lot of records. How many records you call your own? And what are you recently into?
DENNIS: Yes, I am bit of a nerd when it comes to record-collecting. I would say that I have somewhere around 5-6000 Lp’s and maybe 4000 7″. I haven’t counted in a while. Recently I’ve been really into the last 2 Rowald S Howard solo records and some french bands like Kas Product and The Rockets but also stuff like Fad Gadget and the new Afghan Whigs. It changes every week.
SLIK: Dennis, you sometimes get compared with Ian Svenonius because of Nation of Ulysses – Refused, Make up – Noise Conspiracy. I got into Nation of Ulysses and Make Up through Refused and the Noise Conspiracy. I found rumours about a letter Svenonius wrote you, telling you to stop doing the same like he does. Does this letter exist or is it just a myth?
DENNIS: I wish it did but unfortunately not. Both Refused and Noise Conspiracy played shows with The Make-up and they were indeed a great band but I think that people that think we sound the same has a very limited grasp of music and culture. Not that there is anything wrong with being compared to Ian, he is a very smart and charismatic guy. Way smarter then me!