DARK TRANQUILLITY Frontman: 'We Have Never Cared About Money Or Fame'

MTUK metal zine recently conducted an interview with DARK TRANQUILLITY singer Mikael Stanne. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

MTUK: One other thing I have always wanted to ask about DARK TRANQUILLITY and gigs is that as a band you always seem to be in your element playing them. Every time I have seen the band you in particularly have a huge shit-eating grin on your face, can you imagine not playing, is this one of the highlights of your involvement of the music business?

Mikael: That and the beer, yeah! Well, I think when we perform the songs it's such a relief as writing and putting stuff together is constantly a struggle. It's challenging and you have to really dig deep in order to find something that is real, something that is worth recording and putting into songs. It's always such a long process where we constantly talk about music, different ideas, how to put things together, what's good and what's not. Then when you finally step on stage to perform your songs and you see the response to that, it's such an amazing feeling. Also we can do it with a totally clear conscience, knowing that we have not compromised one bit with anything we have ever done. We have never considered other people's reaction to our music, other people's thoughts on how we should sound, never listened to a record company saying we should do this or that, this is us exactly how we want it. When that works, it's beautiful.

MTUK: You have been with Century Media for almost a decade now, since the release of "Projector" in fact. What has kept you with CM for so long?

Mikael: What we really liked about Century Media when we first started talking to them, was that we got tough and said to them, there is no way you can influence us in any way. We take care of the artwork, photos, mastering and everything, you just put it out. They said yes and so that's one of the best things about them. They have always been totally honest with us, they never pushed us but just supported us and it's been great. We are not really the sort of band that needs much, we take care of ourselves. Once it's time for an album we start talking and that's it, it's very simple. We do what we do best, they do what they do best.

MTUK: DARK TRANQUILLITY are a band with four members having been in the group since you formed and recorded "Skydancer" way back in 1993. I take it you all get on very well?

Mikael: Well, we don't have any other friends, haha. They way things started, well, we all lived in the same street and grew up together, went to school together. We hung out together and had our first beers together, we got into metal together! So it's a case of friends and people who know each other well, me and Martin were at kindergarten together. One day me and Niklas were sitting around in his room listening to KREATOR we figured, we had to do something this is cool and we can't just sit around here. We were tape trading like crazy and reading Metal Forces, trading live tapes and demos. Then we just convinced the other guys. Anders, you have a lot of muscles, you play drums, ha. That was it you know. Yes, we don't have to speak, we have this secret language that nobody else knows. Honesty is very important. We want to be honest about what we do, we want to be honest with each other and want to be straight up in everything we do. We really love making music together, struggling for a year and then coming to the perfect conclusion, when something amazing happens. It has become such a huge thing in our lives that everyone is afraid to let go as well. I'm a totally useless, pointless person but I have something in my life that is amazing, that translates, that actually connects people. We have never cared about money or fame. If we can be together and play shows and travel, cool! Try hard to make music, sure, but don't try hard famous or cool. Forget about all those things and just focus and you can do this for 20 years.

Read the entire interview at www.metalteamuk.net.