THE EXPLODING BOY RELEASES NEW LYRIC VIDEO OF NEW SONG "THE DAY"
The Exploding Boy has released a new lyrical video of the song called "The Day". Check it right HERE.
Articles by "The Exploding Boy"
The Exploding Boy Releases New Song "Run Red" And Announces New Album "Alarms"
The Exploding Boy have released a new song titled "Run Red", taken from their new album called "Alarms",out this summer on May 18th 2018. Check out the album's artwork and tracklisting below with pre-orders HERE.
1. Fireland (The End Of Dark City)
2. Alarms In Silence
3. The Day
4. Run Red
5. Stop Time
6. Pointless Action
7. Danger Zone
8. Sign Oh The Times
9. O.H.M.Y.G.O.D.
10. Liars Roar11. 11:59
Check out the new track turned lyrical video right HERE.
The Exploding Boy's Counts to Four
Independent-pop-goth-post-punks The Exploding Boy have been hard at work writing and recording for their follow-up release to 2011's "The Black Album". Now that some time has passed their latest album simply titled "Four" takes their musical trait to a whole new level. A few of the band mates got together to discusses this achievement and future plans in-store.
THE EXPLODING BOY
JOHAN - VOCALS + ACUSTIC GUITAR
STEFAN - VOCALS + ELECTRIC GUITAR
NICK - KEYBOARDS
LARS - ELECTRIC LEAD GUITAR
1. You guys have released your fourth album to date entitled "Four" - what comes to mind?
JOHAN: Have we already made four albums? Fuck we're good!
STEFAN: Well done guys, now we just sit back and let the world be amazed.
NICK: The new great album, even greater than the last one!
2. So how does this release compare, differ, and evolve from "The Black Album"?
Stefan: The release it self differ in that way that we have a bigger record company backing it up this time, which means less job for us when the album was recorded - aka, good times.
Johan: I feel there is a bit from all of our albums in this one.
Nick: For this one we have a bigger budget and I think you can hear that in the sound.
Johan: It feels like a "best-of" album, but with new songs.
3. Is there any story or concept behind the "Four" title?
Stefan: Ramones, One, two, three, four... The best count-in a band ever.
Mick: There are no secrets hidden in the title this time. It´s our fourth album and we are four members, thats it.
4. Who produced "Four" and what was it like working with them?
Stefan: In all the process of recording, mixing, mastering and all of that we are slaves to ourselves. Lars is our producer together with Johan Syrén and Daniel Kaufeldt who are close friends of ours. We totally believe in our own opinions and taste and therefore don't feel the need of using someone from the outside.
Nick: But this is the first time we evolved Johan Syrén in the process. He´s got great knowledge in music and owns a top notch studio that we used this time.
5. Who did the cover art for "Four" and how much input did you have on it?
Nick: It´s all DIY.
Stefan: Me and Nicklas has done all the artwork through out the years.
Nick: We did one in black, one yellow, and one white so it was time for a red one.
6. How was the vibe in the studio?
Johan: I liked the vibe. It is always a process. And it is not a process if there aren't a lot of different feelings down the road.
Stefan: As always its a real shitty time in the beginning, knowing you have this marathon in front of you, but the closer you get to the end, the more excited you get. But in all i think this album was the most relaxing to make, it went pretty smooth throughout all of the studio
process.
7. Select two songs from "Four" and what inspired the lyrics.
Stefan: Don't know which one to choose, but i can say in all of the lyrics on this album, its not that much a state of a relationship that it was on earlier albums - its more of at state of life on this one.
Johan: Yes, Stefan say it well. I think the lyrics are also darker, but more realistic somehow. Comes from a place deeper than the old ones.
8. How would you describe the overall sound of the new album?
Johan: It is a journey through a lot of different places with different landscapes, but the road is the same.
Stefan: Its the perfect hybrid between the first hard hitting chords on Therapy?´s "Screamager" and the epic voyage of Depeche Modes "Behind the Wheel"...
Nick as I said before, we fill out the gap between indie pop and goth, with a punkish touch.
9. Do you any feel any pressure whatsoever to do this follow-up release?
Stefan: No.
Nick: Since we do this all for our selves there are no pressure. If somebody likes it it is just a bonus.
Johan: Not really. I have never felt any pressure when we release a new album.
10. Are there any surprises on the album?
Johan: As usual, surprisingly good songs!
Stefan: No. Or. Maybe. I was kind of surprised with the "bossanova" drums on "Get It Out".
11. Are there any collaborations on the album?
Stefan: Making music together in this band is a constant struggle and collaboration with yourself and the other band members...
Nick: Our close friend, and fifth member, Johnny has provided with some in-puts and also contributed with the lyrics to the last song on the album, Sacred To Death.
12. Whatís the writing and recording process for you?
Nick: I don´t do much. Johan and Stefan writes the lyrics, I just get call down to the studio when it is time to add some keyboards and stuff.
Stefan: A constant way of getting through the life....
Johan: Something that I just do to feel good. Works every time.
13. Is it important for you to paint visual pictures with the songs?
Johan: I don't think like that.
Stefan: No. Not at all. Music is more than just to paint visual pictures. Beside the obvious hearing the music, there is the feelings that it stimulates, there is perhaps a beat that knocks on your chest, its the feeling of knowing where a song might take a turn. There is just so much more that just painting a visual picture with music. So no. That is not important.
Johan: If someone else paint pictures with our help that's fine of course. I like the feelings inside me, as feelings not pictures.
14. Where is the new material headed?Johan: Where it is going, or what? Into the future..?
Stefan: Don't get the question. Do you?
Nick: It´s heading towards a wider audience.
15. What are the remaining plans that you guys have for the rest of this year?
Johan: Watching TV in my bed.
Stefan: Well, since Sweden is going in to five-six months of darkness from now, its all about surviving.
Nick: We are planning an European tour in January and then aim for the summer festivals in 2014 - See you there! Cheers, Nick
The Exploding Boy Releases "Dark City (Pt. II)" Single
The Exploding Boy is a perfect mix of post-punk and modern gothic-pop, and their fourth album (appropriately entitled Four) is their tightest and strongest record to date. Supported by a Johan Edlund (Tiamat)-produced video for Dark City Pt. II, Four is quintessential Swedish dark pop, with influences ranging from classics like The Cure, Sisters Of Mercy, Joy Division and Bauhaus to newer bands like Placebo and Editors. If you want a perfect re-imagining of the 80s new wave sound, check out what Natalie Perez (Revolver, Metal Maniacs) called a "force field of awesome music!"
"A reinvention of the music genres of Electronica, Goth, and New Wave, combined and refined."
-Jim Sells, Vivogig
"There is no stopping this force field of awesome music!"
-Natalie Perez (Revolver, Metal Maniacs), NataliezWorld
You can buy the single via iTunes HERE.
The Exploding Boy Explodes with Pride!
The Exploding Boy has been Sweden’s little secret for years. With this new release they are currently writing with their latest "The Black Album" still eyeballing the music scene, there is no stopping this force field of awesome music! 1. What type of band are you?
NICK: We are the best type of band, one of those who follow no trends or no rules.
JOHAN: A very special band, who's like no other bands.
STEFAN: We just prefers to party then being pretentious.
NICK: But always with a glimpse in our eyes…
2. Tell us the brief history of your band.
JOHAN: It´s just four nice, strange and different guys who found each other and started to make music together. And we also found out that through our differences we could make something bigger.
NICK: I was DJ-ing at a club called Vampire Lounge and Johan and Lars started to show up asking me to play their demos,which I did, and then they asked me to join their band. And at the same time me and Stefan had some jamming going on,so I introduced him to the band as well.
STEFAN: But the history is not that important, it’s the unwritten future that is interesting about The Exploding
Boy.
JOHAN: Personally I always feel like we are a new band, but since we've been playing together for 6 years and are releasing our 4th album pretty soon…we are old, and actually have a history!
3. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
JOHAN: I've had the name in my head for a long long time, and finally got a chance to use it in a great way. Always thought it would work perfectly as a band name.
NICK: I think Johan had it in the back of his head since he first read it on the back cover of the “In Between Days” single by The Cure.JOHAN: Yes, I do like The Cure, but when I named the band I didn't have the
slightest thought it was a song by The Cure.
4. Who are your musical influences?
JOHAN: I like pop. And any kind of music with melodies and preferable dark feelings. Everything from The Charlatans, Lloyd Cole, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen to Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Rammstein to softer tunes.
STEFAN: For me it’s the punk rock, and 90’s pop scene.
NICK: The influences change all the time. In the beginning you could possibly hear a little bit of The Cure in our sound.But now days it’s more of Placebo, Ramones and Depeche Mode maybe. My personal references must be the new wave sound from the 80’s with Duran Duran and stuff like that…Adam & The Ants!
5. Tell me where the title "The Black Album" came from and what does it symbolize?
NICK: All the demos for the album was called something with “Black”, like “Black night”, “Black umbrella”, “Black rain”…simple as that.
STEFAN: And since no band in music history haven’t really done a great "The Black Album", so we had to.
NICK: And, if you are in a band you always dreamt of doing THE black album, and we did.
JOHAN: And also being a black ink-spot on the white surface of life…..
NICK: Oh, that’s deep…
6. What are your songs about? What specific themes do they cover?
STEFAN: Love, hate and everything in between from a northern, cold, dark part of the world point of view….
NICK: I thought they was all about sex…!?
JOHAN: It’s about life in general, about you and me. Especially about me! The next album is going to be filled with songs about me as well, hahaha!
7. Do you write your own songs? Can you discuss the songwriting process in detail.
STEFAN: All songs we've done ourselves. Often it goes like this: somebody get an idea that we record. And from that first recording we do a song out of it.
NICK When we have like 15 rough demos we all sit down together and pick out the songs that we should continue to work with in the studio.
STEFAN: We never jam our songs together.
NICK: I just get ordered down to the studio when it´s time to add some synthesizers.
JOHAN: We are very blessed with four songwriting members. And I also think it is very refreshing to have two lead singers as we do, it gives our sound a certain and unique touch, and make us more interesting than bands with only one songwriter/singer. We are a very generous band, we always give the audience twice as much. haha!
8. What's the music scene like in Stockholm, Sweden?
NICK: The music scene in general is huge, but the alternative pop-rock genre are quit small.
STEFAN: The scene is quite boring and everybody wants to be “up to date” more than really making music from their hearts.
JOHAN: Yes, it’s pretty boring. It is just us and some of our friends bands that give this city some character….
9. Can you discuss the album artwork and what it represents?
NICK: For the first album we just wanted it dark, with a slight gothic feeling. Inside the booklet there is a picture taken at our local hang out, Carmen. For the “Afterglow” album we had the word “Cities” in mind, travelling around, touring. The cover picture is of Manhattan, we have the song London on it and the video was shoot in Tokyo. For the “Black Album” I don’t know what the hell we were thinking….hahaha!
JOHAN: It is just black ink-stains. They represent black ink-stains, and all the feelings that feels like itchy black ink-stains.
STEFAN: Actually it was mostly about simplicity, we didn't want it to be that much thought into it. And probably that’s what it represents. The simplicity in life…!?
10. Why did you want to go and combine the genres of pop-goth-post-punk?
JOHAN: It’s the perfect mix of everything we like.
NICK: That’s the four genres that influenced us the most.
JOHAN: It’s a perfect mix of the members different taste.
STEFAN: It’s not about what you want. It’s about what you like. And since all the four of us comes from different music backgrounds that’s just the way it turned out.NICK: We really fill up a huge gap between the pop music and the gothic music…and that’s what we like.
11. How would you describe the overall sound of this album?
JOHAN: It’s very well produced and well-done somehow. It’s an album for the market. Not in a bad way, but not in the best of way either….
STEFAN: The Black Album is bit more slick then our previous albums, “Afterglow” was an album made more on the run of life. On The Black Album we had slowed down a bit in our running. But not to a standstill.
JOHAN: The next album is going to be more rough and more laidback and more for the lonely people out there. Like a guiding light for dark minds…
12. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began?
STEFAN: Can’t remember actually. Did we?
JOHAN: Not really.
NICK: We have a very high lowest level….
JOHAN: Yes, our goal is to make the best songs. We would never release a bad or unfinished song. Our fans are much more important than that. A lot of band release crappy songs on their albums…
NICK: All our songs could be released as a single… Our main goal in the end is quality
rather than quantity.
13. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
STEFAN: Don’t think so…
NICK: No, not really. The only new stuff we use are updated versions of the computer software we use during each recording session.
JOHAN: I believe there was some more laughter in the studio this time.
NICK: Yes, that’s new!
JOHAN: All of us had ideas for the last 1-2 years.
STEFAN: After the summer 2012 we started recording. But i guess all of us had our own new song ideas since a while back. I guess we are talking about the album we are working on right now?
NICK: You mean our new upcoming album for 2013?
15. Can you go into one or two tracks on this release? If so, can you give us the track title and brief description of how the track sounds and how it came about?
STEFAN: I can just talk about the songs i have written. There is a lot of lyrics about catching the moment and giving it up. A sort of a life crises perspective. The working title of one of the songs, "Street Cliché" describes the way I've been going down….
JOHAN: "You're going to hell" is a new demo-track I made maybe a year ago, and it is about bad people,
including myself of course. I might look and feel perfect, but I also have some bad sides haha.
16. What are your expectations for this release?
STEFAN: Don’t know really. What are they?
JOHAN: The biggest expectation is that people will like it of course.
NICK: Hopefully this release will make some buzz in North America.
JOHAN: Another expectation is that it will get bigger than the previous ones with some help from our new booking agency and European record company. Until now we have managed and done everything ourselves.
17. Your plans for 2013 are what?
NICK: We have a new single coming out pretty soon and a new album, and
a European tour is planned for late spring.
STEFAN: Play more shows so we can party even more! JOHAN: Meet a lot of people and play the new songs, and maybe give them a hug afterwards. I really think it is going to be a great and fun year for The Exploding Boy. We want to continue to spread our music and happiness, in a dark way!
18. Anything else you want to say or add?
STEFAN: Sing Hallelujah! JOHAN: See you out there! Let's have a ball!
NICK: By the way, where is Lars?
JOHAN: At the bar, as usual…
Cheers!!!!