Alexander Bard: "Lots Of People Have Said I Look Like Lenin And I Like That Very Much!"
Короче,
интервью Александра Барда нашему маленькому,
но милому сообществу
(на английском).
***
?: Dear Alexander,
very best greetings from Moscow!
First of all,
our CONGRATULATIONS on release of your debut EP and the second video
"Religious"
that premiered on the 31st of August.
We were impatient to watch it and literally counted the hours...
It was EPIC!
Alexander: Thank you, all you lovely Russian fans of Gravitonas!
There is more to come.
I hope the Russian audience will love Gravitonas,
it is my most personal musical project ever.
Click to view?: Though, to be quite honest,
I so hoped the next single would be "Shameless" -
I so ADORE that song.
But community friends think "Religious" was still the RIGHT choice.
Alexander: This is why we love the new format of the digital EP.
It gives people more variety than the old style single, and it is not as massive as an album.
Also EPs can be released more often than albums so it is a great way for us artists to be happening and stay in touch with our audience.
Expect a lot more EPs from Gravitonas!
?: And secondly,
I would like to personally THANK you you agreed to answer our readers' questions and how quick and supportive and friendly your reaction was that it totally knocked me out of my feet.
Thank you Alexander!
Alexander: It is a pleasure,
we love the Disco 80 website!
?: And thirdly,
as I heard this morning Moscow is wrapped by the arms of the Scandinavian cyclone
which I found to sound very ROMANTIC and thought it would be a GOOD sign to make a bridge between Moscow and Stockholm today.
So, are you READY for some questions from our little greedy curious friends?
Let's start then!
Alexander: Sure, just throw them at us!
?: There aren't many questions about Gravitonas as I just have recently posted ALL news concerning a new EP and a video release and a BIG interview you had given to the FizzyPop!! -
most of the questions are quite personal and philosophic,
i hope it is OK with you, Alexander.
Alexander: Of course it is.
Gravitonas is still very early days and I understand if people still connect me with the previous bands and artists I worked with.
After all, I have been a public person and a musician now for almost 25 years, haha.
?: Do you still get those emotions from creating your music that you had got at the beginning of your career or has this "pleasure of life" turned to a routine duty or, in other words, to a boring shit?
(user: wfive, Moscow)
Alexander: I'm actually MORE EXCITED about making music now than I ever was.
I enjoyed all the previous bands and outfits too
but Gravitonas is closer to my heart than anything I have made before and these are also exciting times to make music since you can do so much now online,
such as staying in touch and comunicating with fans and other musicians.
I love this whole new internet environment for music.
And I also love working in the studio and performing on stage with Andreas from Gravitonas and our co-producer Henrik Wikström.
We three think so alike and have such a similar vision for the music we want to make.
?: Have you ever tried playing a heavy-metal music?
And what is your attitude to hard-rock?
During the Vacuum-period there seemed to be someting close to that,
if i'm not mistaken.
Alexander: It's funny you should ask that because Gravitonas is actually the first band I ever worked with that has guitars in it.
We put guitars on every track and mix the guitars with synthetic sounds.
It is a great and very modern mix for music, to mic pop and rock in this way.
I prefer to work with guitars this way.
But I'm not really interested in making hard rock as such since it seems to be such a dead genre with very little possibility of being creative and original.
I would bever dream of working with a band that was not electronic. I love electronics too much, it is essentially my own private instrument!
?: How is it possible to become a free and very unchained person
(which certainly you are) -
free from any rules and boundaries?
Alexander: I guess you become as free as you decide that you want to be.
Sweden is a tolerant country with democracy ingraved into the culture for some 1,200 years.
And I grew up in a very liberal family where my parents let us kids do whatever we pleased without being judgmental about our decisions.
But I believe freedom is something we decide to give to ourselves, not somehting we should wait for other people to provide us with.
?: Do you recognize some moral borders or "public decency" conventions?
(user: spb_zaika, Saint-Petersburg)
Alexander: I don't like people being mean and cruel to those who already suffer. In this way, I hate cynicism.
But other than that, the more freedom we accept in society the better off we all are.
?: Do you create such a phantasmagoric outfit yourself?
Alexander: Andreas and I have the original ideas for Gravitonas but we work with really talented people and encourage them to take their ideas to the extreme for us.
I worked very much the same way with Army Of Lovers, Vacuum and BWO too and I see no reason to change.
If anything,
Gravitonas is already more phantasmagoric than any of the previous bands I worked with.
?: Do you write songs for other artists?
Alexander: I have had over 170 hit songs in the charts internationally since 1985,
so I guess I do write quite a lot of hits for other artists than my own bands, yes!
But of course these hits become less connected to me in public,
since people always connect songs with the artists who perform them and not with the songwriters who write them.
But is is true that I'm primarly a songwriter, then second a producer, and then third an artist.
In that order!
I believe that goes for Andreas from Gravitonas too.
?: Are there any unreleased Army Of Lovers songs?
Alexander: Actually there are.
There are for example some songs from the 1990s that used sampled sounds that the record company never managed to arrange clearance for so they were never released commercially.
There is also a hysterical cover version by Army Of Lovers of Europe's "The Final Countdown" that for some strange reason was never released, haha.
The Army Of Lovers version was way better than the dull original by Europe.
?: Do you have friends among the world-known stars?
Alexander: Yes, sure I do.
But not because they are stars but rather because I have met them in person and enjoyed their company and we would probably have become friends anyway even if we were not both in the music business.
But I will not tell you who they are because I don't speak about my private life in public.
Let's just say that all the Swedish rock and pop stars know each other rather well.
This comes from Sweden being a small country but with a big and happening music scene.
?: What do you think of a Lady GaGa phenomenon?
Alexander: I think Lady Gaga is great!
The way she connects an extremely outrageous performance with catchy and direct pop songs
(all written and produced with Swedish producers)
is exactry the way I have always worked myself.
I love connecting pop culture with high art and make both more democratic and accessible in the process.
Lady Gaga obviously ranks Army Of Lovers as one of her strongest inspirations,
so I would of course admit that Lady Gaga in return inspires Gravitonas, even though bands like KLF and Sparks inspire us even more.
?: Do you know any of Russian singers?
(user: Pullda, 32 years, South of Russia)
Alexander: Yes, I know of quite a few Russian and also Ukrainian artists.
I go to Moscow and St Petersburg quite often to work and to visit friends and many Russian and Ukrainian artists also have a great presence online.
?: You attended a recent Polar Music Prize ceremony.
Were you happy (or maybe jealous) about Bjork and Ennio Morricone winning this year?
What's your attitude to that ceremony?
Do you think it plays a SERIOUS role among other music prizes?
(by me)
Alexander: Actually I never attended the Polar Music Prize Ceremony because I hate to talk about the music from the past and would find it boring.
I much rather talk about and make the music of the future.
But I did attend the Polar Music Prize Sessions where i debated the future of the music industry and gave the audience my vision for the future of music.
But that's quite a different thing.
?: Have you ever thought of the Army Of Lovers resurrection?
At least, for a while or just for another album?
Alexander: No, never.
Army Of Lovers is finished for good.
I have no ideas as to what kind of music Army Of Lovers would make today to feel relevant.
Gravitonas is much more the kind of music I want to make now, that I believe reflects the 2010s, the age we live in now.
Army Of Lovers personified a bygone era,
the 1990s.
?: How do you see the future of the modern cultures - their tendency, development?
Alexander: Now that is a BIG question that can not be answered in only the few sentences I have here in this interview.
But the key word is the internet and the dramatic effect it has on how music is envisioned, written, made, performed, distributed, shared, even financed.
The internet is like one wonderful creative medium in itself.
It's a very exciting time to live in.
?: Is a global cultural synthesis possible for the next 20 years?
Alexander: I believe it is already happening.
All the great cultures, such as America, Europe, East Asia, India and The Middle East are all now influencing each other to a dramatic degree.
Humanity is building a truly global culture without any specific center, which is great.
Moscow, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Stockholm are now as important as London or New York.
?: As you can observe already now some loss of the separate cultural self-identification.
(user: bwoparty, Moscow)
Alexander: Yes, of course, there is no such thing left as an isolated local culture.
But local expressions will remain for a long time.
For example, to be an INTERESTING Russian or Swedish artists to people from other parts of the world, you have to come across as even MORE Russian or Swedish, not less.
This is the problem with many Russian artists, they try too much to look and sound like American artists so they rarely expose any original sides that catch people's interest outside of Russia.
Except for Tatu and some Russian DJs,
Russia has still not produced a lot of internationally successful artists.
And I believe the problem is that most Russian artists are not Russian
(as in modern Russian)
enough to fascinate outsiders.
But this could of course all change very quickly.
?: Alexander what do you think of the nowadays music?
Has the general level of it grown in comparison to the 70's or, on the contrary, fallen down?
Alexander: Neither of the two.
There was great music but also a lot of bad music in the 1970s and the same is probably true today.
?: What are the artists from the past and present that you respect?
Alexander: Two bands that have clearly inspired Gravitonas a lot are Sparks and KLF.
They were both crazy male duos and they mixed high art with popular culture in a way that we do in Gravitonas too.
?: After the Army Of Lovers' final performance at the "Olimpiyskiy" stadium you said that here the point is put because all you wanted to say and do is said and done,
is there any slightly chance for AOL-fans you might change your mind?
(user: grace888, Moscow)
Alexander: No.
Music is something you make for yourself, to realize a vision you have.
Fans can appreciate music but they really can't decide whether you are going to perform or not, that would be absurd.
?: Until now you have 3 books published.
And I heard two are still being translated to English.
I can not help wondering how multi-talented you are, mister Bard!
What made you write those books? Were you satisfied with the public response to them?
Alexander: I have had two careers,
one as an artist and musician and the other career as an academic working with philosophy and sociology,
often tied to the Stockholm School of Economics where I have researched and given lectures since 1996.
I'm interested in new media technologies and in how people relate to them. So in this sense, my two careers are connected, they both deal with media.
Gravitonas personifies this, it is a music project using the internet as its main instrument and not just as a promotional tool.
?: Rumour has it you are romantically involved with all your bands' frontmen...
How does it impact your creativity and work?
(user: hunter21, Moscow)
Alexander: Haha, well that rumour is frankly not true.
Jean-Pierre Barda and I were never romantically involved,
and I was never romantically involved with Mattias from Vacuum,
Andreas from Alcazar,
Martin from BWO or Andreas from Gravitonas either.
I just like working with male artists, I really love to hear men sing. That's all there is too it.
?: Our community is divided into 2 camps:
the one belongs to Madonna-haters,
the other - to her devotees.
So, the next question, Alexander, goes like this:
What is your opinion about Madonna's current music?
Alexander: I prefer not to comment on other artists' music.
I concentrate on making great music with Gravitonas now and not care too much about what other musicians are up to.
Madonna has been one of the greatest pop stars and songwriters ever.
I especially love her more daring records, such as the "Erotica" album.
But I'm not sure Madonna is as relevant now as she used to be, now when there is Lady Gaga around.
For example,
Madonna was never interested in using the internet as an instrument of artistic expression.
?: And are there any International artist you would like to work with? (it is understood that first of all, you would like to work with yourself but still?)
(user: serenada1, Moscow)
Alexander: Not at this stage,
but Gravitonas will definitely work more with other artists.
For example, Dada Life, which is one of the best dance music acts in the world and have produced for example Tiesto.
Dada Life made excellent remixes of both the first two Gravitonas singles
"Kites" and "Religious".
Just as an example.
?: In my childhood there was a well-known novel called
"Hot Stone".
Basically, it's a story of a kid, who dreamed to find this stone which was a magical thing.
Whoever would touch it, will be healed and given a chance to become young again.
His grandfather was old and sick, so the boy badly wanted to find that Stone to give his Grandfather a chance to live.
He found it eventually and brought his Grandpa to it.
And old man started to recall his childhood and years when he was young.
He remembered all the difficult times he managed to came trough.
Hunger, war, diseases, deaths of friends and relatives...
And in the end, he refuses to touch the stone.
OK, my question is:
If you were given a chance to find such a Stone, would you touch it? And why?
Thanks!
(user: Alexei Romanov, Toronto, Canada)
Alexander: I would touch the stone if I could keep all my memories and my knowledge about life.
I wouldn't mind having a younger body again but I would never sacrifice my insights about life for being young again.
So if I would lose my old brain to be young again, then I would much rather stay 49 years old and ignore kissing the stone.
?: How do you feel about some 80's bands or artists to come back to life again?
Do you think they mainly follow a trend and try to earn up on it or it's a geniune move?
Do you support it or think they'd better NEVER do that again to stay remembered as they were?
Can you give a few examples whose comeback you DID like and whose DIDN'T
(don't worry - they won't know as they don't read our comminity)?
Alexander: I actually don't like comeback projects at all.
No band that ever came back were as good then as they were when they were first popular.
Most comebacks are just boring and uninspired.
?: When do you realize that one project has to be finished and it is time to start a new one?
Alexander: When I wake up one morning and realize I have become bored with what I do and need to move on to recapture the inspiration and willingness to make music.
That's when I quit one project and move on to and start a new one.
?: Where do you take you ideas from?
Alexander: Everywhere!!!
Other artists' music, films, art, literature, travelling, being with friends, new technologies, etc.
Everything I experience in my life inspires me more or less.
?: And can a new lead-vocal Andreas sing LIVE?
(user: botwa, Saint-Petersburg)
Alexander: You bet he can!
Andreas from Gravitonas has a magnificent live voice!
?: When was the first time in your life you experienced the fame?
Alexander: When Army Of Lovers had its international breakthrough in 1989.
I also wrote the Swedish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest that year and was suddenly famous and known by everybody,
at least in Sweden.
Thankfully I was already 28 years old then.
I'm grateful I was not a famous person when I was a child, that must be horrible.
?: Did you have something like a fame-struck
(or a star-struck)?
Alexander: Haha, not at all.,
I have met and I know too many famous people, and they are are just like any person once you get to know them.
Famous people are not different from others, they just have jobs and make careers that make them well known, that make them stand out.
That's all.
?: And were there ever moments when you felt like fame is leaving?
Alexander: I have travelled in countries where I'm not as famous as say in Sweden or Russia and it can actually be quite a relief not be recognized everywhere and by everybody.
?: And did anyone tell you that your current image looks a bit like Lenin?
Alexander: Yes, a lot of people have said that and I like that very much since I think Lenin looked great!!!
?: Some people hesitate to believe it is really Y.O.U. answering the questions.
What would you say
(or probably show)
to such sceptics?
Alexander: I have actually no idea.
Why not just let them keep guessing, haha???
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И Ленин - такой молодой, и юный Октябрь - впереди!
И снится нам не рокот космодрома
В огород иду за капустою. Может волк прийти - сердцем чувствую
Премьера клипа Religious
Лишь (поза)вчера мне мир объятья раскрывал...
Я в облака запускаю бумажного змея. Думает змей, будто сам он умеет летать
Задай вопрос Александру Барду!
You're In The Army Now Oh Oh
Швед сказал - швед сделал!
Если гора не идёт к Магомеду...