With Desertfest just a couple of weeks away, Midlands Rocks has been busy speaking to a few of the acts heading to Camden Town in London over the Coronation weekend. The latest band to join us are Swedish act, Gaupa, with singer Emma Näslund engaging in a Q&A with Paul Castles.
MR: Hi guys, thanks for chatting with Midlands Rocks – How are you doing and how has your year been so far?
Hello! Thanks for having us! So far it’s been good, lots of planning for May.
MR: So Desertfest is coming up, how are you feeling about that?
Super stoked! It’s a dream come true to have a slot there!
MR: Have you ever been before?
No, I’m afraid not, but I’m sure it will be a blast.
MR: Do you feel it’s a festival that you will fit naturally into?
Hopefully yeah!
MR: After London you’ve a run of dates across Europe supporting Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats – how are you looking forward to that?
We are really looking forward to the tour, it’s an honour to go out with Uncle Acid and Blood Ceremony. Sure, we will spend a lot of time in our car, but we’re so happy to finally go on tour in Europe!
MR: So, your latest album Myriad has been out a few months now; how are you feeling about it?
I’m really proud of that album, I think it came out well. And we’re humbled that people seem to enjoy it.
MR: Was it an enjoyable album to work on?
For sure, yeah. For me it was the first time we entered the studio and I had every piece of lyric and melodies done, so it was less stressful. But as always, we improvise a fair amount in the studio as well.
MR: The single Exoskeleton is great… what’s the story behind it?
Thank you! Well, when it comes to the form; Jerka wrote the verse, Daniel the main riff and I the chorus. Lyric wise it’s inspired by the book The Metamorphosis. I was intrigued by the idea of turning into a beetle or a cockroach and I imagine it would start with the nails. The nails would start to grow and eventually cover all flesh. One can imagine it’s quite painful and eventually you will start hearing other beetles communicating, and by this point you’ve come too far in the transformation so there’s no going back.
MR: Is the album made up of separate tracks or is there a connecting thread running through the album?
I guess we are the thread stitching it together. But it’s not a concept album.
MR: How did you look to develop your sound following the release of your debut Feberdröm in 2020?
I guess it comes naturally. We had a bit more time in the studio this time round, which helps. But since all of us are songwriters there’s usually lots of ideas to try out and put together. Hopefully you level up.
MR: You’re now with Nuclear Blast Records – is that partnership working well so far?
We’re very happy with them. They let us do what we do without changing anything, which is always nice. Thanks to them we’ve reached more people as well.
MR: You’ve taken on a new guitarist, Herman, while Daniel focuses on his new baby – has he settled in well?
Extremely well. He’s very able. And a nice person. We are very grateful Herman could step in. He brings a good vibe to the team.
MR: You’re playing at The Underworld quite late on the Sunday. Will you try and catch anyone else earlier in the day?
We would have seen Boris, but they play at the same time as us. Mars Red Sky, King Buffalo and Gnome would be interesting to catch. But most likely we’ll be busy trying to park the car on the wrong side of the road. We have to come back and just watch the other bands in the future!
- Gaupa on Facebook
- For all the very latest ticket and line-up news for Desertfest click here.
