"The Only Thing That Matters Is That I Like What I’m Doing"

My son found three Breach records in my record collection a month or so ago, and we listened to them together. I’d forgotten just how good they were. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that Per Nordmark’s new band, GORMA, were playing at Riche Fenix the day before yesterday. I rushed over there but managed to miss the show by just two minutes. I think it’s great that bands stick to their scheduled times, because standing around waiting for hours can be pretty tedious. But on this particular occasion, I really wish things had turned out differently! :)

Q: How did the idea of starting GORMA come about?

A: I (Nordmark) initially had this idea of making a really challenging record with nothing but bass and drums. I haven’t made metal in 25 years, and the last time was Kollapse with Breach. I started working on a few riffs, and that eventually became GORMA. I came up with the name once the first song was finished.

Q: Is a full-length album coming out soon?

A: Yes, it’s being released on January 29th via TNO. It was the first song we wrote, and it’s called Eat The Sky, which is also the album title.

Q: There’s quite a hardcore revival going on right now. What do you think is behind it? Something in the planets?

A: I don’t know. Maybe people want to see and hear energetic music again.

Q: You have your own very distinctive and exciting sound, just as you did with Breach. How does the music come together?

A: The only thing I care about when writing music is that I enjoy it and that it feels good to me. I’ve been involved in so many different projects, and one thing I can say is that I’m completely free to do whatever I want. The only thing that matters is that I like what I’m doing.

The process varies a lot. Sometimes it starts with a riff, but for Down By, I actually recorded the drums before I’d even written the song. I had this idea that it should stay on a single chord throughout, but of course I failed at that – it ended up having two chords.

It’s been a long time since Tomas and I wrote music together, but it feels completely natural. I write all the music, and I came up with the idea of having him involved. I’ve always liked his lyrics, and our lyrics work really well together on this album, which is about a journey.

We recorded The Thicket, the latest single, as a duet when he was down in Stockholm.

Q: I spotted quite a few familiar and interesting faces when you played live, including Johan Öhman from the excellent Sphynx, whom we’ve interviewed before. Who else is in the live lineup?

A: Sphynx are fucking amazing.

Niklas Fredricksson, aka Nirre, plays a Fender six-string bass. He’s from Section 8 and Jehova Eyes.

Mattias Franzén from Kriget and Johnossi, TT Cell on bass, Patrick Alvarsson from Low Res on synths and percussion.

PG, aka Per Eriksson, works at Södersjukhuset, which is pretty cool. Jesper Hättander is an amazing drummer who also plays with Deki Alem.

A bunch of border-crossers. Nobody is from Stockholm.

Q: What’s your favourite guitar setup? Which pedals, guitar and amp do you use? :) Does it make a difference, or do you think you can just use whatever you like?

A: I don’t really have a favourite setup. Most of the guitars on the record are played on a Fender six-string, which is actually a bass that I run through a Thall Amp that I got from Calle Thomér of Vildhjarta. All the guitars were then reamped in the studio.

Q: What are your favourite spots in Stockholm if you’re going to spend a day or night out on the town?

A: Zinkens Krog used to be my place because I lived nearby. These days it’s Duvan or Honey Honey. I like pubs. The old-school, brown kind.

Q: If you were forced to record a cover song, what would be the one thing you’d least want to cover?

A: Hovet or some shit like that. I get all those bands mixed up. Way too obvious and completely worthless. There’s an ocean of bad music out there.

Q: Why has so much great music come out of northern Sweden? Is it physically possible to make music just as good in Stockholm?

A: If you were into making music, you could rehearse pretty much anywhere. For a while, there was a really thriving scene up there, and that obviously played a part too.

But loads of great music comes out of Stockholm as well. I love Dygna, for example.

Q: What other projects are you involved in besides GORMA, and what does the near future look like?

A: We’re going to play as much as we can with GORMA. I’ve already started working on the next album. Then there’s another album with Kriget. I’ll also be touring with Familjen this winter. And of course, Nordmark Pod will continue, so you can keep listening.