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Interview
by SashaS
26-4-2005
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| Husky Rescue: sublime in every dept. |
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Pure pop dreaming
Husky Rescue: UK tour in the offing
Husky Rescue is a brainchild of Marko Nyberg, native of Helsinki, Finland; the debut album, ‘Country Falls’, was one of the finest discs issued during 2004 - full of glorious, atmo-pop music that touched on many a genre but never plagiarized any… It was a record made by a pure pop-lover…
The third song, ‘New Light of Tomorrow’, was extracted from ‘Country Falls’ in mid-March. On a stopover from appearing at the Texas showcasing SxSW Festival and ahead of a full-scale nationwide tour with the Mayday date at the ICA, London [yeah, 01 May, working on the International Workers’ Day], Nyberg is seated in a central London hotel’s coffee shop and starts by telling us about the recent visit to the Lone Star State, Texas.
“I’m glad we went there because I never visited anything deeper than New York. This is more like real America. It was good, Austin was really interesting but its centre is rather compact. We didn’t have much time to sightsee because we had to have meetings, do interviews, rehearse, even got to do a gig at the BBC World Party. Didn’t have much time, which is the usual thing.”
Considering that you tour infrequently, do you have to rehearse intensely before each and every set of dates?
“We’ve tried to keep it organized and ready to roll but it is not possible… We are not rehearsing every week, and we should be; the thing is that there is no need to hurry, The Rolling Stones haven’t stopped touring, neither Iron Maiden… You know, I used to tell the record label I’d never do any interviews, wanting to concentrate on music making, full time.”
“The trouble is that I’ve had to do interviews and it interferes with the creative process. I also had to insist on there being a proper band and not just a girl singer and a laptop. That for me wasn’t really artistic and I’m glad I insisted on a band. It has informed me about possibilities and I feel the next record will be more band-orientated, with core musicians.”
A lone star
After visiting Moscow, for two nights, Husky Rescue will tour Britain, to promote their glorious tunes that are crammed on their debut album: from it’s arty-cover to the myriad tunes, it doesn’t confirm to any trends but it is well informed about Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, the grand legacy of film soundtracks, Goth-flavoured in part, hypnotic in others, ethereal in its entirety.
“I’m very pleased you are mentioning all these nice things; when I was producing this album I wasn’t thinking about how it would sound, I just went with my instinct. I don’t sit with a label and plan what would sell… I was a producer-artist, there was no one else around. I’ve listened to the music for such a long time and I’m so bad with names [of influences] but I’m concerned with feelings…”
“Atmosphere, that’s what interests me, an emotional content… I started learning cello when I was 3 years old; my parents weren’t pushy and I was let to develop musically. Playing cello and piano, by the age of 10 I was into guitar and drumming… I’ve been very lucky with teachers and when I just turned teenager - my teacher was a woman of 20 who toured with a band! That was really lucky because I didn’t end up with technique but with the sense of melody…”
“I’ve always been going to music school and I’ve been so blown-away with some classical music and I was certainly blown away by some pop music.”
Natural colouring only
Husky Rescue’s is pop music that reaches out to the classical legacy as much as it does with ‘Sonic Impressionists’ such as Eric Satie, French chansons and that nation’s [romanticised] soundtracks of the 1960s. This is European pop music with a touch of country [it is in its “airiness”, Nyberg insists], an album by a searcher for beautiful tunes…
“The industry has taken over and people are getting bored… I’m tired of Britney, Pop Idols and all other TV-shows… It has all become separated and some bands can only be played on the college radio but then they are taken out by major labels and presented to the mainstream market… It looks like every youngster is in a band, dreaming of pop fame, wants to make it…”
“They are not frustrated enough, not angry, there is no anarchy on the horizon… I feel that Husky Rescue can start a riot, I feel there is some Zen-power in the band!”
Some would call it idealism; have you been feeding off the muse?
“There was not much time but I’ve been itching to get back and do some tunes… I get so many ideas, everything inspires me, be it skiing or Texas, I have so many images in my mind, there is a feeling that the songs are really to come out as soon as I sit down. There is nothing planned but I find songwriting to be such a natural process for me.”
Tour dates:
01 May - ICA, London [broadcast live on XFM; Break Reform support]
02 May - The Komedia, Brighton [Ox and Hardkandy support]
19 May - University, Leeds [with Morcheeba]
20 May - Academy, Glasgow [with Morcheeba]
21 May - Academy, Manchester [with Morcheeba]
22 May - Colston Hall, Bristol [with Morcheeba]
24 May - Rock City, Nottingham [with Morcheeba]
25 May - Leas Cliff Hall, Folkstone [with Morcheeba]
26 May - Corn Exchange, Cambridge [with Morcheeba]
27 May - Shephards Bush Empire, London [with Morcheeba]
02 June - Mandela Hall, Belfast
03 June - Bud Rising, Dublin
04 June - Cuba, Galway
24 June - Tiscali showcase, Islington Bar Academy, London
25 June - Wireless Festival, Hyde Park, London
25 June - Moles, Bath
26 June - Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, UK
05 August - Big Chill Festival [TBC]
14 August - City Of Turku Festival, Puolalanpuisto, Finland
10 September - Bestival, Isle of Wight, UK
SashaS
26-4-2005
Husky Rescue’s album ‘Country Falls’ is available now on Catskills
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