Interview mit Christian Larsson von Gloson

Your last – and at the same time first – album „Grimen“ is now five years old. How do you feel about the album from today’s point of view. Do you still listen to it sometimes, and is there anything you would do differently today?
Well I think that album is still very important to us. Even though it’s five years old it’s still probably the biggest part of our evolving process. I think it’s quite important to get it into context from time to time, so I listen to it about twice a year.

Two years later you released an EP called „Mara“. What appeals to you about the EP format, why put time into a short release instead of working directly on an album?
„Mara“ was a project that we did with two songs only that we thought belonged together as an EP, both musically and as a concept. I think we had to go down that path to unravel the next phase, which would become „The Rift“.

In 2020, a purely digitally released live album followed. Live albums are a pretty genre-typical release in metal – purely digital releases, on the other hand, are still rather rare in the genre. Why did you decide against a CD or LP?
Well in general we don’t really see live albums or bootlegs as that much of a big deal. More as a tool for our listeners abroad to easily get a glimpse of what to expect from seeing us play live in the future.

Now „The Rift“ is your second album. Musically you have developed noticeably – do you also see it that way, and where do you see the main differences?
I would say that we came more prepared for this one in general. We recorded the whole album as a demo and then sent it to Ulf at Hoborec so he knew what we were aiming for. One other thing is that we turned every stone to make each song perfect (in our opinion) and fit together as one being as well as six smaller beings.

Personally, I feel the album is a bit more raw and aggressive, especially in the middle part. „Ultraviolet“ on the other hand is then really very versatile, even with clear vocals. How did this stark contrast come about, between the more straight songs in the middle part and this more experimental piece?
I think that dynamics have always been a cornerstone in everything we’ve done so far and that song in particular kind of shows it more clearly. When the early instrumental version of the song was done it kind of demanded that the vocals would shift between soft and harsh. It really is experimental and one of my favourite songs we ever made.

The songs are also a bit longer on average than on „Grimen“ – was that a conscious decision, or did it just happen that way? What appeals to you/you especially about long songs?
The idea was to make the songs shorter in general but we obviously failed on that behalf. I guess that it’s not in our nature to question the length of songs. The song is done when it’s done.

The mastering was done by Magnus Lindberg from Cult Of Luna. In general, the music – especially the vocals – reminds me a lot of this band. Would you describe them as a kind of musical mentor for GLOSON?
Not at all. I mean, Cult Of Luna is a great band and all but GLOSON is sort of a being made from everything we’ve been through in our as well as some influences from music, movies, video games etc. Magnus Lindberg is really good at his work, that’s why we picked him.

The cover illustrates the title very nicely – was the picture painted for the title, or was the title searched for an existing picture …?
Yes, it was painted for the title.

What is generally the thought behind the title, why „The Rift“?
Well „The Rift“ to me is loosely based on how humanity has turned itself over and is now more than ever split into pieces. How we’ve managed to undo a lot of good things that were given and turn them into trash. I don’t think it’s a political album. It’s more existential than that.

How do you go on now after the release, what are the next steps? Are you planning a tour, are you taking a break or are you already working on new material?
Well if COVID stays out of the way I hope we can hop on a tour and be out for a couple of days or so. Some new material has already been written and more is coming.

Thank you very much for the interview. Let’s wrap it up with our traditional brainstorming:
Food that always makes you happy: Burgers
Springtime: Beer
Doom Metal: Black Sabbath
Europe: Germany
GLOSON in ten years: Still experimenting

Once again thanks for your time. The last words are yours – is there anything left you want to tell our readers?
Take care of each other out there, it’s a harsh world and nothing should be taken for granted.

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Publiziert am 5. Mai 2022 von Moritz Grütz