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Exploding Rubber Band and Friendship interview with Magnus Kultorp

June 23, 2013

Exploding Rubber Band and Friendship interview with Magnus Kultorp

Scandinavian countries have in the last five years produced so many good bands, inspired by those 70s hard rockers. Exploding Rubber Band and Friendship is no exception. Releasing an LP and single back in 2011. Exploding Rubber Band is currently not together, but there is a new band called Friendship which is more improvisational rather than ERB, which is more straightforward rock. We spoke with Magnus and he told us a lot of interesting stuff behind their music.

What is your music background?
My music background is blues music, I have
spend hours listening to my fathers old records: John Mayall and Fleetwood Mac,
but also the acoustic fingerpicking style of Mississippi John Hurt. I was
living one year in Malmö, Sweden doing a lot of jamming with people influenced
by artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and the swedish blues singer Peps
Persson. Later I followed the tracks of the blues into bluesrock as Cream, Jimi
Hendrix and the Rolling Stones. 
Exploding Rubber Band started back in 2008
and in January 2011 you released your first LP. How would you describe it?

Recording a full LP for the first time was
special. The band was nervous and not knowing much about working in a studio.
Why we did a full record and not just a single, was to make the band noticed in
the music industry. It was expensive to do it, but we had a lot of fun.  
Like described on your page; you really
play straight rock’n’roll. How do you write new material? It must be pretty
hard these days, because of so many stuff already written…
Writing music has always been for me an
expression of feelings. I play what I feel. I never write songs from start to
finish, I bring ideas to a rehearsal and we fool around with the idea for a
while. I feel that jamming together with an idea is important in the process.
It brings together all the influences of the members in the band, and make an
original musical expression.   
What’s the current situation of the band? I
mean you have a new project called Friendship. Tell us a bit more about that
and what are some future plans?
Exploding Rubber Band was put to rest as we
was lacking the inspiration to write music together.
Friendship is my newest band. I started the
band together with Fredrik Skalstad and Kristian Berg trying to bring soul,
funk and rock together in powerful trio. The debut single was released November
2012, and a full album is planned recorded this year. We have just hired a new
bass player in the band, Per Tobro. He’s nicked Rude Boots and have a killer
groove…
What is the main difference between
Exploding Rubber Band and Friendship?
ERB was a straightforward rock’n’roll band.
The songs was short songs with a standard chord progressions and arrangements.
Friendship is about improvisation and high energy. I truly believe that people,
most of us not being aware, are longing for a live act like Grand Funk and Jimi
Hendrix. Friendship is all about giving this to the audience. Playing a
Stratocaster through a Marshallstack with a fuzzface and a wahwah is a
statement musically. Keep it simple and keep it groovy. 
How do you see the current rock scene? There are more and more bands coming out. The problem is that they are having
hard times to get any promotion at all. But I guess it was always like this. A
few lucky ones “explode”…
The current rock scene is mostly bands not
being able to play their instruments good enough and give the audience a proper
live show. That being said, I belive being a musician and make it, have always
been hard. The challenge is also part of the fun being in the industry.
Name a few less known albums you enjoy?
What are you currently listening to?
Currently I listen to jazz artists like
Miles Davies, Art Blakey and Oscar Peterson. My favoruite album at the time is
a concert of Jan Johansson live in Tallinn. Aretha Franklin live at Fillmore,
Fleetwood Mac live at Boston Tea Party, Jimi Hendrix (all records) and Rory
Gallagher live with Taste. A couple of cool old Norwegian bands: Junipher
Greene, Aunt Mary, Ruphus and Freddy Linquist.
A few less known albums I enjoy:
Elephant 9- Atlantis
Jens Carelius- Beat of the Travel
Freddy LInquist- Menu
Dungen- Ta det lugnt
Tobben og Ero- Ballader fra Bakgården
Elton John-Tumbleweed Connection
Any last words or perhaps a message for our
readers?
There is no way of spending too much money
and time enjoying good music.
Interview made by Klemen Breznikar/2013
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http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2013
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