BURST Bassist Discusses Upcoming CD

Lambgoat recently conducted an interview with BURST bassist Jesper Liveröd about the group's upcoming CD, "Origo". A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:

Lambgoat: What are some changes your fans should expect on "Origo"? Are you keeping the noisy/ambient passages of the other releases?

Jesper Liveröd: "The differences…well, it's hard to say. 'Origo' is better. The production will be better, organic and clear. It is heavy and intense without being annoyingly ‘math’. It's melodic without being complacent. It is more emotionally intense without relating to the rather corny definitions of the word 'emotional.' It is set in a very explicit minor key.

"But that's all blabla. What I've learned from the last album is that you cannot tell people how they should regard your music. I think it is enough for me to say that it makes us turn ourselves inside out to squeeze every bit of our energy and emotional intentions into the recording. How other people will regard it is up to them.

"A general change this time I guess lies in the fact that we consciously avoided 'Origo' getting a conceptual feel, as was the case with 'Prey on Life'. We have gotten oh-so tired of the tendency lately that a lot of albums are based on grand, pretentious concepts that just feel contrived. 'Origo' is basically just a varied collection of songs, all related to each other in some way, but not bound by a certain structure or lyrical theme.

"The mellow and ethereal passages have come to be a large part of what we are as a band, so they're definitely still there, along with more percussion and use of acoustic instruments to heighten the different elements. But making heavy music and involving mellow parts in the midst of the intensity isn't really a conscious decision from us. We usually build a song around a basic idea, and just kinda go with the flow of the song. Ambience should be included if needed, not only for the sake of anybody expecting it to appear in a BURST song. At the same time, there are some really straight forward songs too on this one."

Lambgoat: Are there any consistent or reoccuring themes, lyrically, this time around?

Jesper Liveröd: "As is the case with the music we make, I guess we try to avoid cliché or generic themes as much as we can. I have a strong affection for stark lyrics, so I really try to take it seriously, as does Jonas, who writes the other half of BURST's lyrics. I want to be personal, but I don't want to rant about how dark my soul is or how I am so filled with angst or something like that. Those kinds of lyrics feel too self-contained and forced. I want lyrics not to say something specific, rather evoke some sort of feeling or personal impression with the reader/listener. I found that for my part, the lyrics I've written for 'Origo' in a lot of ways are about trying to feel connection with something, about trying to find where you belong. Guess that's the best description I can give.

Lambgoat: How is working with Fredrik Reinedahl? He's a good friend of the band, correct?

Jesper Liveröd: "He is a very close friend of our band, and has been forever. I would say that he is an integral part of what we are, working not only as a producer and a mixer for us, but helps with the administration part of BURST to some extent. He is a great guy to throw ideas at, and can give educated advise on the progression of the music — he probably knows BURST better than we do ourselves. A creative soul, who is not afraid of experimentation or trying new angles to the music he produces. He records and produces all kinds of bands, but with BURST it is more like a companion type relationship."

Read Jesper Liveröd's entire interview with Lambgoat at this location.