With a new album just out, what better time to get a few words from Fjords…?
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
While we all reside in the middle of England now (Nottinghamshire / Derbyshire / Lincolnshire ), we are originally from various places throughout the North of the UK. For one reason or another our lives have converged around Nottingham!
How did you meet?
Jack and Dav have been friends for a long time, ever since joining together in the first incarnation of this band (Onirica) back in 2009. Dan was also a member of that original project so nearly as long serving. Whilst Ben and John really came into the fold as we looked to finalise a lineup in becoming Fjords, Jack had been playing in Ben’s band Twilight’s Embrace for a number of years prior.
How long have you been playing as a band?
As this current complete lineup, around 2 years
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The music and lyrics are hugely inspired by the natural world and its manifestation in dreams and mythology. We wanted a name that represented both our soundscapes and those lyrical themes, “Fjords” felt like it fulfilled that.
What are your influences?
While quite wide ranging, with anything from classical and soundtrack composers to world music and folk, but the biggest influence is obviously from metal and progressive styles. We all have a deep appreciation for the 90’s European progressive death/doom metal scene (Opeth, Katatonia, Novembre) so there is a recognisable influence there. We do try to create a mix of atmospheric soundscapes and rhythmically interesting passages that incorporate a more modern sound though.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
I think every band would like to think of themselves as unique. We just write music that we would like to hear, we like to think that blends enough of our influences to contribute something new. To describe it, I would say the songs take you on a journey, a focus on atmosphere blending dark and light with some good ol’ riffs thrown in at times.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
On Onirica most of the themes on the album are based around myths, folklore and the imagery from dreams and how it is shaped by what we have seen and experience in life.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We haven’t played a huge amount of shows as Fjords, our intention was never to go out and play up and down the country. We have had the chance to play some great UK underground festivals like Beermaggedon and Warhorns though. Our live show is more about the music than anything visual, we hope that people can get lost in the songs and forget they are watching a band. Perhaps in the future we will experiment more with the visual aspect to support that.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
This is a question we could talk about for a long time so will try and keep it brief! From a guitarist perspective we both use ESP guitars primarily, though we also use Mayones guitars for recording. The two of us have different amp setups for live situations, Ben has a more modern approach with digital amp modelling in the form of a Line 6 Helix, I still live in the world of tube amps playing the brilliant Victory Super Kraken amp. Dan uses Dingwall bass guitars, along with his Genzler bass amp and various Darkglass electronic devices. John as an endorsed artist plays Premier drums.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We have just released our debut album on the 22nd November, just before our performance at the HRH Vikings festival in Sheffield on the weekend of 29/30th November
What are your plans for the rest of 2019?
While there isn’t too much of it left, it will be spent largely finally getting the album out there, taking the songs live and working on new material!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
A great atmospheric black metal act from Nottingham called Arx Atrata (just happens to be our guitarist Ben’s other musical project) to open for us and whilst it is hard to name any single one band we would like to support, Novembre being our biggest influence would probably top the list.
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