Interview THE GREAT DISCORD

"The Great Discord est un groupe qui nous vient de Linkoping en Suède (décidément il s’en passe des choses dans cette ville !). Avec leur premier album « Duende », sorti en 2015, il viennent raffraichir la scène metal prog avec un talent fou. Peu connu encore, ces Suédois vont faire beaucoup parler d’eux dans les temps à venir ! Et ils nous font le plaisir de répondre à mes questions."

Could you introduce your band ? How everything started and why you decided to name the band “The Great Discord”?

Hey! No worries at all, our pleasure! The band was initiated from an idea based of Fia (vocals and claviature) and Aksels (drummer) common musical ground, we had similar tastes in music, an amalgamation of different styles, but a focus on progressive acts and hard rock / metal. So we started to work on music and the idea eventually grew into a band. The name is derived from life in general, a paraphrase describing what life can be at times, The Great Discord.

I have read that you have grown up in a family of musicians; could you tell me more about your background in music? How and when did you start singing? Which bands mainly influenced you the most?

Yes, my father is a music teacher, my mother has always been active in choirs and my brother has sung in a lot of different bands growing up. I've always been surrounded by people living close to music. I can't even remember when I started, I heard that I started singing even before I started walking. As for influences, Peter Gabriel, Francis Dunnery and Kevin Gilbert have had a big impact on me both as vocalists and as musicians.

Could you explain the concept of your character? How did you create it?

Fia is the embodiment of the music. Not quite evil and not quite good. Kind of like life itself, there are always grey areas and things that cannot be explained with a simple two sided coin. Her visual aspect is what we see when we hear our music, an androgynous entity that tells the stories and guides the experience. You first album  Duende  was release one year ago in June 2015 and it received very good reviews actually. Plus, you recently passed the million streams on Spotify, it must be very rewarding.  Did you ever think your first album would do as well as it did?

Yes, we're incredibly proud of how the album was received, both critically and that people continually listen to it! That's the thing though, you can always hope that people will “get” your expression, but you can never count on it. In retrospect, given the fact that our music is a bit off-kilter and maybe even outlandish to some, we're very happy with the reception.

For those who haven’t heard Duende yet, what should  they expect to find in it? What does the lyrical content primarily focus on?

A set of songs based on metal / hard rock and experimental sounds. A big emphasis on melodies and moods. If you have an open mind this album will give you something if you listen to it with intent, if that's a good or a bad thing, we leave up to you.

Could you tell me how was the tour that followed the release of  Duende?

We have not toured on the album yet, but we have played shows here in our home town, in London and in Texas. It has been an amazing experience, the show has been developed into something quite special. Touring is planned for next year, stay vigilant.

Your voice is amazingly versatile; could you name your favorite singer of all time? Two or three if you want I’m a nice guy :)

Thank you very much! There are so many amazing vocalists in the world, but like I mentioned before, Peter Gabriel, Francis Dunnery and Kevin Gilbert are huge to me. And Christina Aguilera :)

Many bands are popping up in Linkoping like Dead Soul, TID, The Great Discord… The metal scene seems to be strong there, how could you explain that?

I think it's kind of like opening the flood gates, when something happens in a smaller town like Linköping and enough people get the confidence and the know-how to do their own thing, it's bound to happen. A really exciting place to live in right now when it comes to music, a lot of talented people!

Another band that comes from your city is GHOST. They received two awards and they have grown into a really big band now.  Do you ever think about having the same success with TGD?

We are very different when it comes to the music, but not completely different in terms of theatricality. Of course, a goal with our band is to grow into something sustainable and prolific, if not we would just sit around in the studio and make music just for ourselves. We're not interested in that, we want to create a show for people to enjoy!

GHOST invited you to lend your voice on their last EP “Popestar”, and lot of people have discovered you then. How was this experience?

It was a great experience, things went smoothly and I am very proud of the result. The fact that it helped people find our band is a welcome bonus of course!

Now TGD is getting ready to work on the follow-up to “Duende”. What's your frame of mind? What is planned for The Great Discord?

We're actually almost finished with the material. The idea is right now still under wraps, sorry. You'll know sometime next year ;). Other than that we can tell you that we will be playing live more next year, watch this space! Again I truly thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and we hope to see you play live in France soon!  ​ Thank you for the great questions! All the best – Fia