Free Fall interview with Mattias Bärjed: "I didn't need internet to come across bands when I was a kid"

Free Fall is a Swedish 'retro hard rock' band which is going to release their debut album "Power & Volume" via Nuclear Blast in a few days. Given the quality of that album, we contacted the guitarist Mattias Bärjed and asked details about the band, the recording process and his opinion about the illegal downloading and the general situation in the music industry.

First of all, congratulation for your effort. I think that you came up with a very good hard rock album.
Thank you.

Give us a brief version of the history of the band, about the band members, how you formed etc...
We started playinng together in 2009. I’ve known Jan Martens (bass) since we played in the Nymphet Noodlers, before I joined The Soundtrack of our lives (TSOOL) and I wanted to play with in him again. I got to know Ludwig Dahlberg when he was a stand in drummer on a TSOOL U.S. tour. We found each other through our common love of Humble Pie and we became great friends. When I was doing the score, coaching actors and working as a musical consultant to a TV series ("How Soon Is Now") I met Kim Franson. In this TV series there was a fictionary band, I was the guitar player, Ludwig the drummer and Kim the keyboard player. I heard Kim do some background vocals and I thought he sounded incredible, so I asked him if he knew any songs by The Who. He started to sing "See Me Feel Me" and I knew that he was the singer I’d been looking for.

How did you come up with the band name?
A friend of mine suggested Free Fall. I had a list of different names, among them World Domination, Madman Martens and Straffaren .But Free Fall sounded very simple and direct. It just stuck. It also says something about our music. Free Fall without a safety line.

You are signed by Nuclear Blast to release your debut album and this is quite impressive. How did this happen and how does it feel to be part of such a professional label?
They got our demo through our management and they liked what they heard. Since then, everything has happened fast. We’re really satisfied that we’re working with NB. They are very supportive and they do a great job.

Does the title of the album stand for your music approach in some sort?
Yeah, Volume is a powerful thing and should be taken good care of. I also love complete silence, but Free Fall I would say is a pretty loud band.

Who is responsible for writing the songs? Could you describe the recording process that you followed?
For example, me or Jan Martens (bass) bring a song idea or a riff to the rehearsal room and we work on it together until we find the right feel and arrangement. We love to jam and play off each other. Often we come up with great ideas while jamming. In Free Fall the song writing process is very loose and we don’t really have a concept how we write. We want to be spontaneous.

Who was in charge for the production of the album? It sounds really 'raw' and 'old'.
Martin Ehrencrona is the producer, together with the band. We knew what we wanted and Martin was the right guy to do the job. He made sure that we played and sounded great.

The lyrics are about rock clichés (rocking out, booze, and women), or is it more than meets the eye ("Attila" perhaps)?
It’s different from song to song. "Attilas" is influenced by Platon, while "Top Of The World" is a horny story. It’s more to it than meets the ear and the eye.

Obviously you are influenced from the 70s hard rock scene. Can you name some of these bands that influenced you and what their music means to you?
The most obvious influences are bands like The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Stooges, Deep Purple, AC/DC (Bon Scott era), Van Halen (Diamond Dave era), Humble Pie etc. All those bands have made great timeless music that I never can get tired of. I listen to anything that turns me on and inspires me.

What would you say to people who think that you just copy music of the great 70s bands?
Well, I can just say that we’re not a copy of anything. You can hear the influences in every great band... read Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, AC/DC etc.

Are you considering going on tour to promote "Power & Volume"? Are there any touring plans?
Yes, we’re playing in London on Feb 15th. After that, we’re gonna do some shows with Graveyard and play our own headlining shows. We want to play as much as possible.

What is the feedback you get from people that already have listened to the album?
It’s been great so far, so I’m really happy.

What are your hopes and expectations for the near future?
I’m looking forward to tour with Free Fall and play the songs live. So far, the reactions on Free Fall have been great and I hope that a lot of people will pay attention.

Apparently, there is a 'hype' for old school hard rock. Why in your opinion this is happening? In a long term do you think that this is going to last?
I don’t have any good answer to that, but I think it’s great that guitar driven music is still popular. People seem to need it. It gives a good balance to the digital stressful world we’re living in.

The Swedish scene is currently very strong in the 'retro hard rock' sound. Why is that and can you name some of the bands that you think are good at?
I like Goat, Graveyard, Witchcraft, Ghost, Silverbullit, Side effects, Opeth, Svenska kaput. I believe they just do what they love and that’s why it’s good. A lot of the British and American artists have toured Sweden from the 60’s and onwards so I think the root is there.

What do you think about downloading music and how does it affect a new band like you?
Personally I don’t download stuff. I still love buying vinyl records. I think that most people who like Free Fall are people that also buy records. If people download our record, I can’t do anything about it. Fuck, I didn’t need internet to come across bands when I was a kid. All these talk about things music, films etc being so easily available doesn’t make sense. People aren’t being more creative or making better things because it’s easy to come across. A record is a piece of art, not only the music, the cover, lay out etc and that is something very, very valuable. I like the chase and sometimes it’s better than the catch.

What’s your outlook on the record industry today in general?
In someway there’s some development going on. It’s nice to see that the vinyl production is growing. It’s very different now comparing to how it was ten years ago. But a label like Nuclear Blast knows that the people that are into the music that they are releasing are also people who likes to buy records so they have a fine production of vinyl and goodies.

Do you guys have any other hobbies besides, obviously, making music?
I like to fish and to be left alone. Jan Martens is a clinical psychologist. Kim’s favorite food is white cabbage and Tabasco. Ludwig Dahlberg likes jogging.

Thank you very much for your time.
Thanks and I wish you all a great 2013.