{"id":69315,"date":"2021-03-22T11:45:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T16:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=69315"},"modified":"2021-03-22T12:56:59","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T17:56:59","slug":"interview-with-conny-bloom-of-electric-boys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2021\/interview-with-conny-bloom-of-electric-boys\/","title":{"rendered":"Conny Bloom of Electric Boys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Alexandra Mrozowska
\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Probably a lot of people would have described 2020 as the moment when the world turned upside down. Consequently, the title of the new album by the Swedish rockers Electric Boys – Ups!de Down <\/em>– comes as no surprise. But was really the coronavirus pandemic the sole inspiration behind the new offering by Conny Bloom and his bandmates…? To have it explained once and for all, Conny checked in with Hardrock Haven to discuss it as well as his latest solo effort Game! Set! Bloom!<\/em>, the band\u2019s current situation and more…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credits: Sven Isaksson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: What was 2020 for you like, and in what way is it reflected on the album released at the moment when the world is still literally \u201cupside down\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: Well, obviously it was a really fucked-up year \u2013 and still is, actually. Although now, of course, with vaccines and everything it\u2019s like you\u2019re starting to see some kind of a light at the end of the tunnel… But it was a difficult year for everyone. We decided early on to try and stay creative and write lots of songs and record the album, so we kept ourselves busy. And the title was funny, because it was that actually my roommate has bought a bottle of Coca-Cola. And the bottle cap was laying on the table, and on some of these there\u2019s something like a little message. It can say anything. But it said \u201cUpside down\u201d and it was laying upside down. And that was supposed to be the cover, but then when we started brainstorming, this whole idea with this box with a shipping ticket and everything came up. But yeah, the world\u2019s been \u2013 and still is \u2013 pretty much upside down (laughs). Crazy times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Definitely. Speaking of themes utilized on the album, you\u2019re quoted as saying that \u201cTumblin\u2019 Dominoes,\u201d which is in fact the new single, is not only about the pandemic but also about social media and its influence on people. Are social media more of a blessing or a curse for you personally as well as for you as an artist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: It\u2019s a good question, but a difficult one to answer, because just like you were saying \u2013 it\u2019s good and it\u2019s also bad, you know. Of course, you need the social media if you do what I do. If you\u2019re an artist, a musician, whatever… then obviously that\u2019s how you stay in touch with people and promote your work and your music. But I think what\u2019s kind of scary nowadays is how it can affect people \u2013 so fast, and maybe sometimes in the wrong way. I mean, there\u2019s lots of times there\u2019s lies [there], to be honest. Somebody just posts something and then a lot of people believe it, and they share it and all of a sudden this becomes a big thing… while it might have started as a lie. And all these conspiracy theories and all sorts of stuff… I think it just feels kind of chaotic a lot of times and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s really good. It becomes kind of messy and I also find there\u2019s a lot of hatred on Facebook and stuff like that. I didn\u2019t see that before and I thought it was more entertainment and fun, but now people are getting more and more aggressive and everyone\u2019s like, \u201cNo, this is the way it is!,\u201d \u201cNo, this and that\u2019s bullshit!\u201d and so on. Like that, it can be negative, but then you need to promote things and there\u2019s a lot of good stuff out there \u2013 and a lot of laughter too, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely. And what was the inspiration behind other lyrics on the album?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: I think a lot of different things. Some of the lyrics were written before the pandemic and some I wrote during the recording. But some of them were inspired by that [what was going on] in a way… I mean, there\u2019s a song called \u201cSuper God\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s a second song as the album starts with an instrumental track [\u201cUpside Down Theme\u201d]. This song is us playing around with the idea from the old Superman<\/em> magazines, that Clark Kent would get inside a phone booth and change and come out as Superman \u2013 and save the world. And we were just saying, \u201cIf there was ever time when you really needed someone like that, it would be now.\u201d So we had this idea and that one was inspired by the pandemic, when all of a sudden there\u2019s this big crash and you don\u2019t know where to find help or where to [go] and you don\u2019t know who or what\u2019s gonna get us out of this. And obviously in this case it\u2019s doctors and all those kinds of people who are working to save people\u2019s lives as we speak… But then again, there\u2019s a song called \u201cIt\u2019s Not The End,\u201d which is a very positive song [stating] that this will indeed pass and we just gotta move on and live with it for the moment. So there\u2019s a lot of stuff and I think the inspiration for the songs and the lyrics can come from any place really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: What was the process of songwriting and recording the album like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: Usually most of the songs were written by me but two, co-written by two of the other guys. I make demos at home and then I would listen to them and then we\u2019d decide what songs we think are the best. We recorded [the album] as always in a big studio with the four of us in the same room, because that\u2019s the only way we know how to do it. And then we did some overdubs afterwards in my home studio and in the rehearsal place \u2013 stuff like that. So I guess it\u2019s pretty much like we normally do, but just because of the pandemic we were in this big studio only for maybe four or five days and then we continued working on it in smaller places and separately. So I was doing some guitars on my own while the other guitar player [\u2018Slim\u2019 Martin Thomander] did his on his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Ups!de Down <\/em>is really a diverse album stylistically. Was it any challenge to  make it cohesive at the same time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: Well, I think it\u2019s important to be quite varied and I wouldn\u2019t want our band to be predictable. I don\u2019t want people to know what to expect and to always get the same thing. It\u2019s good to surprise people a little bit, and especially nowadays when there\u2019s so much music and it\u2019s hard to reach people because there\u2019s so much stuff going on. So I think it\u2019s important to be diverse and to have a lot of different things going on, so hopefully people listen and they go, \u201cAha, what\u2019s this?\u201d and then, \u201cNow there\u2019s another song that\u2019s totally different.\u201d Because I think otherwise people would maybe listen to a couple of songs and then move on to something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: True! You\u2019re often quoted as saying the band is still rooted in the \u201860s and the \u201870s in terms of inspirations, and obviously it shows on the new album as well. What do you think was so special about music of that time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: Well, first of all, it was around when I was growing up, so it\u2019s my roots and it\u2019s impossible to take them away \u2013 even if I would like to. But I also think that back in those days, both Pop and Rock music were real and kind of new, and it was really exploding at that time. There was so much inspiration and so many great bands, and it was like on a high, so to speak. So I don\u2019t know… I just think that the level of a musicianship and songwriting as well as performing, singing, guitar playing \u2013 everything was just so good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: In the press release for the new album, we can find such names as Jimi Hendrix and Deep Purple, but are they indeed your biggest influences and is the album targeted at their fans?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: They are a big influence, absolutely, but I\u2019d say the album isn\u2019t targeted at anyone \u2013 if you played it to someone else, they would come up with some other names. But those two acts are [important] for sure, I mean, especially as a guitar player I was really inspired by them. But I\u2019m just too close to our own album and to our songs to tell anyone what they sound like. For me, it\u2019s just our new songs… But when you release an album, it\u2019s always interesting to hear what bands and songs people compare it to, and sometimes it comes as a total surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Recently you\u2019ve put together a Spotify playlist showcasing what\u2019s influenced you guys in the band\u2019s early days. Do you think it\u2019s actually easier to understand the band\u2019s music once you discover who they were influenced by?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: Yeah, I guess so. It can be and at least it\u2019s something that can be fun for a fan to listen to and sort of understand where you favorite band comes from. At least that\u2019s how I feel… Like it was when people I listened to, like Jimi Hendrix, talked about who they listened to \u2013 I\u2019d hear them and that made me wanna check that out too. And like with Jimi and Led Zeppelin, for instance, there was a lot of Blues [in their music], and the Rolling Stones too were inspired by a lot of Blues artists, so I listened to a lot of Blues because of that, you know. So yeah, I think it can be interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely, that\u2019s how it works. You collaborated with a producer and engineer David Castillo on Ups!de Down. <\/em>What do you think his input on the album was?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: This time around it was mainly the sound and the recording. He recorded everything and he mixed it \u2013 in terms of production, he\u2019s a co-producer on the album together with me and our bass player Andy Christell. On the previous album [The Ghost Ward Diaries<\/em>, 2018], he was the producer and we just took a step back, but like I said, this time we knew we were going to record some of the stuff away from the studio and we\u2019ve always been really involved with the production. I mean, when I make demos, a lot of them sound pretty much like a finished song would have ended up sounding like when it\u2019s on the album. It\u2019s just that the sound would be much better if [the song was] played by the band instead of me and some drum machine… But he [David Castillo] is great with everything \u2013 but I\u2019d say, especially the sound. He\u2019s amazing at getting a good sound out of all the instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019ve also welcomed \u201cSlim\u201d Martin Thomander, who played on Freewheelin\u2019<\/em> album years ago, back in the band. What is it like to collaborate again with someone who\u2019s been a part of the band such a long time ago but then spent so many years apart from it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: It\u2019s great! And also, he\u2019s pretty much my neighbor \u2013 where he lives is next to the next tube station and it\u2019s like ten minutes\u2019 walk from me, so we\u2019ve been bumping into each other a lot over the years. When I started releasing my solo albums, I involved him in some gigs. He\u2019s one of those guys I can be singing and playing [with] like I do and with him, even if I play licks and solos and stuff and he plays licks and solos, we never sort of step on each other\u2019s toes. It\u2019s always a really good combination. So just because I\u2019ve played with him with solo stuff, I thought that this would be great [if he returned to the band]. And obviously now we\u2019ve all matured actually, I think, and we\u2019ve developed as musicians and songwriters, so it\u2019s just great. Great there\u2019s some new blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019ve just mentioned your solo career. And even though your last solo album Game! Set! Bloom! <\/em>wasn\u2019t really a drastic departure stylistically from what we associate with Electric Boys, it was sung in Swedish \u2013 just as its predecessor Fullt Up<\/em>. What differences do you see between writing and expressing yourself in your native language and in English?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: I started doing it because I felt there was a challenge just to see [if it\u2019s possible] just to change my old sound I guess. And it\u2019s been said by the people \u2013 obviously those who understand Swedish \u2013 that the lyrics are a bit more open and very honest. But I actually think my lyrics in English are the same as well… I think it\u2019s probably just the fact that if I\u2019m singing in Swedish, the people who are Swedish will listen to the lyrics in a different way than if the songs were in English. That\u2019s what I think, anyway. And musically, I see Electric Boys more like a Hard Rock band, more like an Arena Rock band, and I think my solo stuff is a little bit more dynamic, more Rock \u2013 maybe a little bit more oldschool and closer to The Doors and Hendrix, and Cream, and stuff like that… It\u2019s not so much Hard Rock. That\u2019s how I know when I write songs, that I can feel where a song is gonna end up due to these differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Speaking about Game! Set! Bloom!<\/em>, it has this tennis theme to the title and the album cover and I believe you\u2019ve actually been a tennis player in your very early days. So was is for a bit of nostalgic trip to actually refer to that on the album?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: Well, I did play tennis when I was a kid. I started playing the guitar and playing tennis at the same time, but I never got that good [at tennis] \u2013 I never won the games. I was okay, but not a number one (laughs). At the same time I was playing the guitar behind my neck, you know (laughs), so I eventually thought that I\u2019ll continue with music instead. But I had that song called \u201cDags Att Vinna Wimbledon,\u201d which means \u201cIt\u2019s Time To Win Wimbledon,\u201d and it\u2019s not about playing tennis actually, but about just going for something, a goal in life… it can be anything. More an attitude song. But just because of that title, when we took a lot of pictures with a photographer, I brought an old tennis racket that I have at home. The pictures turned out so good and then I came up with the Game! Set! Bloom! <\/em>title \u2013 but there was never a big sort of thought behind it. It was just kind of fun, you know… But it was unfortunate because the album was released on the 13th<\/sup> of March last year…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: …the worst moment possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: Yeah, and it was actually right on that day when there was a lot of things changed in Sweden \u2013 like venue capacities… And in Norway, in our neighbor country, it dropped down to one hundred [people per venue] or whatever, and you just could sense that. It was like, \u201cUh-oh, this is gonna be bad.\u201d On that day, we were supposed to have a release party in a record store which had to be cancelled. So, we\u2019ve been joking and saying I released a solo album and a big pandemic at the same time (laughs). So it was really bad timing. It\u2019s out there, but I even haven\u2019t had the chance to do a proper tour to promote it. And that is kind of sad. But it\u2019s a good album, so I\u2019ll be playing more of it in the future.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And throughout the years, you\u2019ve recorded and performed with different bands, including Hanoi Rocks of course. Do you think these side activities had any influence on your artistic development?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: Yeah, I\u2019m sure. I mean, everything you do and everything you read, hear or see is gonna come out in some way later on. But it\u2019s difficult to say exactly how… Right now, if I thought more about it, maybe I could tell. But playing with Hanoi Rocks, for instance, was great and I was also playing with this guy called Ginger from the Wildhearts [real name David Walls, also known as Ginger Wildheart] in the UK and did a couple of tours in Japan \u2013 just like we did with Hanoi Rocks too. So obviously, those tours and those records and stuff were great moments. And you always learn \u2013 there\u2019s always something there to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Both when I interviewed you for the first time a decade ago, around the time And Them Boys Done Swang <\/em>was released, and also just a couple of minutes ago, you said the band members are older and wiser these days and you don\u2019t fight as much. Do you think maturing is the best thing that can happen to a band at a human level?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: Well, it\u2019s difficult to answer that, because all that fighting and arguing can also be good for the creativity… I don\u2019t know. I just think that right now we\u2019re in a good situation with the band. We\u2019re having a good time and we\u2019re being really creative. We\u2019re just waiting for the things to change so we can go on the road again. It was really unfortunate for Martin to come into the band when we can\u2019t do it, so all we wanna do is get out on the road and start touring. We can\u2019t, so the spirits might be low, but [it\u2019s gonna happen] soon and I\u2019m looking forward to it. And there\u2019s some other stuff that we\u2019re doing, like we\u2019re gonna record a concert soon and that\u2019s gonna be broadcast with us live in the studio \u2013 we\u2019ll do like a Q&A and maybe play a couple of tunes acoustically and watch this live concert. And there\u2019s a thing that was just announced and promoted today that we do for Sweden Rock. They do sort of the same thing [an online event featuring Electric Boys, Thundermother and Bombus on Friday, March the 26th<\/sup>] and we do like a twenty minutes show. So there\u2019s things to do anyway and there\u2019s a new video to be done and more singles to be released and stuff like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Something to look forward to for sure! Talking for the first time ten years ago, we also discussed covers \u2013 ABBA, if I remember well \u2013 and back then you\u2019ve mentioned you have some unreleased Joe Walsh cover recorded by the band years prior to that. Is it exactly the same one you\u2019ve released on the single \u201cThe Lion\u2019s Roar\u201d last year, or was it re-recorded?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: No, you\u2019re right. It\u2019s the same recording that I was talking about. It\u2019s been laying around since we were at the Abbey Road [Studios] in 1992 or something like that. We just had it around \u2013 it\u2019s not like it\u2019s the best piece of music we\u2019ve ever recorded, but it\u2019s a fun thing for fans. And also, it\u2019s the only one with the whole band actually singing lead… And yeah, it was just a fun thing for our fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: You were talking about all the restrictions on mass gatherings in 2020, but as they weren\u2019t as severe in Sweden as in other parts of the world, I\u2019d like to ask if you perhaps managed to play at least some shows in 2020…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: I was actually doing quite a lot of shows, but they were very different from normal shows because it was all outdoors and it was maximum of fifty people with distancing and stuff like that. But it was interesting, because people really enjoyed it \u2013 even though it was so different… You know, they couldn\u2019t believe that I was in their garden playing. They were like, \u201cWe go to Sweden Rock and watch you guys play where there\u2019s twenty thousand people and all of a sudden you\u2019re in my garden and I\u2019m standing here and talking to you playing.\u201d \u2018Cause I did these gigs all alone \u2013 some of them with one more guy \u2013 just because there was so few people and it wouldn\u2019t work financially to travel around [with] the whole band. But it was different and I\u2019m sure that people who were there, at these gigs, they\u2019re gonna look back and remember the summer… the Corona summer with all these little gigs that were actually quite a nice thing in the middle of all the shit. And I don\u2019t know what\u2019s gonna be this year… everyone\u2019s just waiting for the vaccine and this kind of stuff, so I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s gonna be any shows this summer, or if it\u2019s gonna be towards the spring… I don\u2019t know what\u2019s gonna happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: The earlier the better, so let\u2019s keep our fingers crossed! And as you\u2019ve already revealed the band\u2019s plans with a livestream and a Sweden Rock Late Show, is there anything else you\u2019d like to add in the end?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conny Bloom: I think I\u2019ve talked about the most things for now. It\u2019s hard times for everyone, so all we can do is just cross our fingers and keep the faith \u2013 and move on, I guess. I\u2019m really looking forward to play… I can\u2019t say it enough (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit Electric Boys online<\/a> and on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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