Swedish duo Smoke Spider make rock music with a difference, such as their amazing new track, Electrical Show. It’s got more than just a hint of psychedelia, sounding utterly unique in the modern day. We interviewed Göran Florström to find out a little more. If you’re into rock music of any kind, you need to check this band out – a full stream can also be found at the end of this interview.
By Jane Howkins
You released a single titled Electrical Show. What can you tell us about the track?
Smoke Spider is walking down different musical paths, you know – different expressions. Electrical Show is our take on something you might call electronica, or something like that, and that’s a soundscape we haven’t explored too much of late. And we like it like that, there are no stop signs in our workshop.
How has the reception to Electrical Show been so far, and where can the song be purchased?
Well, we’ve been drenched in love. A lot of nice words have been said about the single, like it sounds like “something from Bowie’s Berlin era”, which blows my mind… The track can be streamed everywhere, and if you want purchase it you’re more then welcome to on our Bandcamp. I believe you can buy it at iTunes as well.
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
Yeah, you know, we’re writing and recording all the time. So we started on what extremely likely will be our next single just the other day, recording vocals and some other stuff. We’re far from finished so there’s no release date or anything, but hopefully it’ll be out in a not-too-distant future.
Are there any plans to release a full-length album or an EP?
We’re not really thinking like that anymore. We’re writing, recording and releasing singles, song by song. Later we might just compile the singles in a certain order and call it an album – a compilation album or a best of. But we’ve already got a playlist with all the singles up ‘til now in chronological order, so the difference isn’t that big..
Do you have anything else exciting coming up this year?
We consider music to be exciting, so yeah, this year is going to be full of exciting things. New music, new singles, maybe a remix or two of previous stuff. There are so many musical paths to wander.
You’re a duo. How to manage to create such a full sound on your own?
As a duo you can’t go about things the traditional way in the studio. You have to do it layer by layer, and build the song brick by brick in a certain way. The other part of Smoke Spider, Johan Granat, is not only the producer but also a first class multi-instrumentalist, so that’s alright. He’s doing his magic in the studio.
Your music has a unique alt rock sound. What/who influences you most as artists? What have you been listening to recently?
Maybe it’s a bit late, but I recently discovered the Swedish band Viagra Boys. I just love ‘em. But my house gods have always been and still are Iggy and Lou Reed.
Johan is into Judas Priest and Ghost. And Muse. He seems to be re-discovering Sparks as well. Propaganda is the shit, he says.
You’re from Gothenburg. How is the local music scene faring at the moment?
Well, the Gothenburg music scene is quite famous, the Gothenburg sound and all that. Some of those bands are coming back together, like In Flames, and the underground scene is cooking as ever. So there’s still great music coming out of Gothenburg.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
As we consider ourselves to be a recording unit and not a gigging one, we’ve actually got no plans for tours anywhere. But who knows, if we feel like it and the stars are aligned, you might be able to catch us at a venue near you.
Any last words for the fans?
Keep getting your daily Smoke Spider fix! We’re on every streaming service there is, but you know that already. You’ll keep yourself satisfied and we’ll keep our rock and roll lifestyle.