MESHUGGAH Guitarist: 'We Have A Sense Of Being Self-Indulgent'

Patrick Douglas of the Great Falls Tribune recently conducted an interview with MESHUGGAH guitarist Mrten Hagstrm. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

On the observation that it would be virtually impossible for another band to copy the MESHUGGAH style:

"We have a sense of being self-indulgent. It sounds weird but ... even early on, it was about finding a way to create something that we were excited about, that we were inspired about. We just have a way of being curious of where we can go with our sound within the confines of what we're doing."

On why other artists seem to be into MESHUGGAH's music:

"I know that every guy, it doesn't matter what type of music you play, everybody that starts to play in a band really feels that they wanna do something of their own. Just to have a calling card. I hope and believe that we might have done that."

On MESHUGGAH's music, which leaves aspiring musicians scratching their heads in wonderment:

"We come up with ideas and sometimes they're really tricky to play. A lot of focus, sometimes when you talk to people about this band, is the technicalities of it. Like, how weird it is and how hard it is, supposedly, to play. That just happens to turn out that way."

On the band's songwriting philosophy and approach:

"The people that are listening to us are listening to us 'cause we're doing whatever we want and whatever we feel like. If that's been the recipe for us, we're gonna keep doing it."

"We've been playing together for so long a time and sometimes when you hear an idea or a song that someone else has come up with, you can sometimes anticipate what (to do). Like changing into new clothes, you realize that this is the way it's gonna fit but you've gotta readjust a little bit.

"It's very important to us to have it not be a conscious thing. To have it be a natural thing. To have it flow out whenever an idea comes into play. That's the rush, the drug that actually makes you do this."