Nordic Union (Erik Mårtensson/Ronnie Atkins) - s/t

[The Rocker]

Awesome \m/

[tts42572]

Been spending some time checking this out as somebody that's a big H.e.a.t fan and recently started getting into Eclipse....Although, never have gotten into Pretty Maids so need to warm up to the singer a bit. I kinda wish Martensson took the lead vocals on a couple songs on this...

 

Musically/sonically, it sounds pretty fantastic though and is right in my wheelhouse of taste. However, the songs/lyrics themselves aren't really grabbing me much. I think the themes in a few of the songs are a little dark or something.

 

I think part of the problem too is that I just have a personal aversion to projects like this. I guess I just like investing in bands/artists that are really invested themselves and in what they're doing. I like knowing bands will be playing concerts, touring, promoting, updating on social media, etc, etc. If the project is really good though (W.e.t) I can still buy into it. I just proceed with caution and it really has to grab me. I know it's probably dumb...it's just a personal pet peeve.

 

Will be checking out reviews and songs on this though and seeing if it sticks enough for me to buy it.

[Glen]

From what Ive heard of this its like WET crossed with Maids....perfect to my ears and my pre-order is in

 

:-)

[kourosofsteel3]

Ha, when I've listened to my beloved "Go" from youtube I tagged Martensson with the link and after some very short time the account associated with it was down!

[Glen]

Yep as soon as they find out the links are removed.

 

Too easy to rip from you tube

[The Rocker]

From what Ive heard of this its like WET crossed with Maids....perfect to my ears and my pre-order is in

 

:-)

Yes, pre ordered about a month ago and can not wait for it to arrive!

[tts42572]

Sample of Go sounds really good...Also liking Falling...

 

As I said above, I was trying hard not to get taken in by another project like this but not sure I'm going to be able to avoid it...

 

I'm finding myself wanting to go back and listen to these songs....And they'll sound even better on CD....

 

Project be damned I might have to just get this anyways.

 

Ha, when I've listened to my beloved "Go" from youtube I tagged Martensson with the link and after some very short time the account associated with it was down!

[The Rocker]

 

Sample of Go sounds really good...Also liking Falling...

 

As I said above, I was trying hard not to get taken in by another project like this but not sure I'm going to be able to avoid it...

 

I'm finding myself wanting to go back and listen to these songs....And they'll sound even better on CD....

 

Project be damned I might have to just get this anyways.

 

Ha, when I've listened to my beloved "Go" from youtube I tagged Martensson with the link and after some very short time the account associated with it was down!

 

Go and Fallen are my 2 favorite.

[tts42572]

Another new song posted...sounding pretty good although it's probably my least favorite of the ones I've heard. Plus, H.e.a.t just used the same exact song title and I like H.e.a.t's Point of No Return much more...

 

It rocks though....not bad by any means.

 

[Glen]

Completely different band to HEAT.

 

Martensson wrote these songs with Atkins in mind - ie akin to Maids.

 

In that vein it is great - showcasing the more melodic side of pretty maids.

 

You cant compare everything to HEAT cos whilst i love the band my god the last album had its weak moments.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

You cant compare everything to HEAT cos whilst i love the band my god the last album had its weak moments.

Haha. Yeah. As much as I love Tits 42's passion, he does seem to compare everything to H.e.a.t.

[tts42572]

LOL...

 

I wasn't purposely trying to compare Nordic Union to H.e.a.t....I know they're two different styles. All I was trying to point out is that the new song title isn't really all that original since H.e.a.t just had a song by that title...I know titles get used over and over sometimes though and the songs themselves are completely different.

 

Yeah...I kinda do compare a lot to H.e.at though. I mean, for me they are probably my measuring stick as they're far and away my favorite band going at the moment and their last 2 albums especially match my tastes pretty perfectly. They sorta cover the whole spectrum of styles I like.

 

Not to take anything away from Nordic Union though...keep going back to the samples and tracks that have been posted and really growing on me....it's highly crankable

 

I'll try to tone down the H.e.a.t comparisons....until at least the next H.e.a.t album comes out

 

 

 

 

 

You cant compare everything to HEAT cos whilst i love the band my god the last album had its weak moments.

Haha. Yeah. As much as I love Tits 42's passion, he does seem to compare everything to H.e.a.t.

 

[tts42572]

Cool interview I saw with Erik Martensson talking about Nordic Union as well as plans for Eclipse in the near future. Pretty excited at the news of a deluxe version of Armageddonize coming with a new track and a second bonus disc of a live show from this past summer.

 

http://www.themayfairmallzine.com/

 

Here is the text from it...Sorry for the lengthy post but think it's a pretty good read for Nordic Union and Eclipse info...

 

MM: Hello Erik, how are you doing?

 

EM: I'm fine thanks.

 

MM: It's been nearly a year since we last spoke. Last time we spoke about Eclipse and 'Armageddonize', this time another fantastic album with 'Nordic Union'. This new album is absolutely superb. Tell us how you and Ronnie came to work together.

 

EM: Well the whole thing started from Frontiers who put us together and suggested that we could maybe do something together. They had been talking to Ronnie to see if he would be interested in doing some kind of solo thing or a project. The great thing with Ronnie is he hasn't done anything like this before. A lot of singers in this genre sing on everyone's album, whether it's good or bad, they just sing for the money, but Ronnie is working constantly with Pretty Maids and he's stayed away from all of this stuff. So when Frontiers asked me if I was interested in working with Ronnie, I went nuts, because Ronnie is one of my favourite singers and Pretty Maids, as a band, has made a huge impact on my main band Eclipse. So I said ... "Yeh, I have to do it!". After I'd spoke to Ronnie I did two songs, 'When Death Is Calling' and 'The Hypocrisy', and I sent them to him, so he would know what I was thinking the project could sound like. He really liked it, so we took it from there.

 

MM: Did you write the songs particularly to suit Ronnie's vocal style, with a heavier sort of vibe?

 

EM: Yes, all of the songs have been written around Ronnie's vocals. He has a softer voice and also a tougher one. He's not a typical melodic, hard rock voice. He's not as smooth and he has a rougher edge, which I think brings something extra to the songs. It's not a voice that you are already familiar with hearing with this type of song. I think he did a fantastic job.

 

MM: When did you first realise that it was actually going to work?

 

EM: When I got the first track back, I think it was 'When Death Is Calling'. Some people when they get older, they don't work as hard as they did when they were 25. But Ronnie always gives his all and he is such a hard worker. He did everything on every song to try and make it as good as possible. I have to admire him for that.

 

MM: I think the album is something a little bit different for both of you. I know the Eclipse material can have that little bit heavier edge to it at times and Ronnie's Pretty Maid's songs are sometimes similar to that, but the pairing on this album seems to have worked out really well.

 

EM: Yes, absolutely, I think it is the perfect combination to be honest.

 

MM: Was Magnus (Ulfstedt) the obvious choice for drummer?

 

EM: Yes. When I heard him for the first time playing drums, I could not believe how good he was. It's like the old saying, why cross the river to get water. He is a great drummer, so I just gave him a call because I knew he would give 100%. There was no second choices in my mind.

 

MM: There has been much said in certain circles about this type of project being put together, but you seem to have had great success with it. What would you say to the critics out there who say these aren't proper bands and that they are just put together projects.

 

EM: Well I can understand the criticism of the projects and although I would not say I am a huge critic of them, some of the studio projects sound kind of forced and maybe they are made just to release something. My biggest criticism of them is generally there are too many song writers involved in them. There are too many people performing on them and there's no thinking about the big picture of the album.

 

That is why I think I differ from that, perhaps not all of that, but most of that. When I do stuff like this I really give it 100% and I try to write the best songs I can. I have a plan and I want the album to have a big identity. With Nordic Union I had a plan of how I wanted it to sound and I think I stuck with that plan. That was the same thing that we did with W.E.T.

 

That's the thing when there are too many writers involved, when you pick songs from all over the world it become a mess. It's like when you are cooking food, if you just take all your favourite ingredients and put them in an oven, it won't be a good dish. You have to think before you start cooking.

 

MM: Yes, a lot of these projects feature a song from this one and then a song from that one, then the next song has someone else, and sometimes that can make it sound a little disjointed. When there is just the one song writer, then you know what you are writing and how you want the album to sound. It's your vision as opposed to a lot of different people's vision.

 

EM: It makes it more like a band instead of a project, even if it is just a project, at least someone has been thinking about it before they do it. But that being said, I do think there have also been a lot of great projects coming out of Frontiers and other different labels, and there is so much different music happening because of them. But people love to complain as well. (laughs)

 

MM: Serafino seems to have a Midas touch when it comes to putting bands and projects together, he knows what will work when putting different artists together and he knows the scene and what the artists are capable of.

 

EM: Yes, it's great thinking of his matching the artists from different bands together. The label has done very well, they have gone from a small label to a really successful label. They are hard rock and melodic rock fans from the beginning and they do this because they love the music.

Of course there is a business involved as well, especially now that they have grown so big now, but they still do it because they love it. All the guys at Frontiers are fans of the music first and foremost, and I think that is the key to their success.

 

MM: They were fans before they were businessmen and their love of the music had shone through.

 

EM: The reason I do music is because I love doing music. When I first picked up guitar and starting singing and writing, the last thing I ever thought was that one day I would be able to make a living from it, or be able to make any money from it. It comes from the heart, this is what I want to do. It is important that you always stay focused on why you are doing this.

 

MM: Magnus Henriksson guests on the song 'The War Has Begun', was that a similar thing where you just gave him a call and asked whether he'd like to do a solo on the album?

 

EM: We actually wrote that songs together, so it was a natural thing to see if he wanted to do the solo. I did most of the writing on this album myself. Ronnie did a couple of lyrics and I co-wrote a couple of songs with others, but 90% of the stuff you hear on the album is my ideas, my words and my melodies.

 

I wanted to bring in some extra people, especially with the solos, because even if I can do the solos, I get tired of hearing myself all of the time. (laughs). So sometimes I think it is useful to have some extra input.

 

MM: If we can talk a little about Eclipse for a moment. 'Armageddonize' was one of my Top 10 albums of last year. Your show as HRH in Wales last year was also one of my top gigs as well. That was a really great show. What are the plans for Eclipse at the moment?

 

EM: There's actually a lot going on with Eclipse at the moment. We're going to release a new single and we're going to actually participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, in the Swedish contest. On the 27th February we're going to be on Swedish television. We're going to be giving them 3 minutes of Hard Rock at prime time on Swedish television. It's a big thing for us. You rarely hear that! (laughs).

We're also going to re-release 'Armageddonize' as a deluxe edition. It will include the new single and we're also going to put in an extra CD with a full live concert from this Summer. It was recorded at the Vasby Rock Festival. It's 11 tracks long, the whole concert from beginning to end, and there's also going to be some bonus tracks that have been released on some smaller, limited editions. It's going to be a great package with new music on it.

 

MM: Are you looking to tour with Eclipse this year?

 

EM: It's going to be a lot of festivals and also a lot of touring as well, especially in Scandinavia. Then we are going to release a brand new album in exactly a year's time at the beginning of 2017. We've already started working on the songs for that album, as we have to work hard to make it better than 'Armageddonize'.

 

MM: Well as I said earlier, 'Armageddonize' just blew me away from start to finish.

 

EM: Well the next album will be even better! (laughs) Well we will do our best. We never thought we could do a better album than 'Bleed And Scream', but people seemed to like 'Armageddonize' even more, so we will just have to work harder. The day you start releasing bad albums is the day it's time to quit.

 

MM: Back to Nordic Union, as well as the two Magnus's we also saw Thomas Larsson and Fredrik Folkare do solos on the album. Was that the same again, just giving them a call and asking if they'd like to get involved?

 

EM: Well Fredrik is also a good friend of mine. He's playing guitar regularly in a death metal act called Unleashed. They are a pretty big death metal act and one of those acts that kind of started the whole Swedish death metal scene that went famous all over the world. He is a great guitar player and he he loves everything, he's not just into death metal.

 

Thomas, he played with Glenn Hughes in the 90's. I kind of discovered him when I was a kid. He played on an album called 'From Now On' with Glenn Hughes and he also played on a live Japanese concert album called 'Burning Japan Live' I think it was. He is a really well kept Swedish secret, but he is a fantastic guitar player and he's been a huge influence on the way I, Magnus and also Fredrik all play guitar.

 

MM: The whole Scandinavian scene in Hard Rock and Melodic Rock has really taken off in a big way in the last 5 or 6 years. They seem to have embraced the scene which at the time was actually dying away in a lot of countries, Britain included, whereas Scandinavian bands have actually embraced it. It's great to hear and you are actually keeping the scene alive. Stockholm has become the new Sunset Strip.

 

EM: Yes, great bands are coming out of it and from that they breed more great bands. When we release an album, or when HEAT are about to release an album, they want to have an album that sounds better than our album, and we want to sound better than their last album.

It's like a snowball effect, as we're all influencing each other in a very good and very positive way. There's a very positive vibe going on in Sweden between the bands and the music. I think it's fantastic as there's never been so much fantastic music coming out of Sweden before now, especially in Hard Rock. In the 80's there were a few of them, but nowadays there are a lot of great Rock bands. It's not just Melodic Rock, it's everything from Pop to Rock to Death Metal. It's like a fungus, it's growing everywhere! (laughs).

 

MM: I think the music education in Sweden perhaps plays a big part in encouraging people to take up music more so than in other countries.

 

EM: Yes it was definitely like that in the 70's and 80's, and even early 90's, but it's kind of disappeared a bit now. In the school where my kids went before, there was almost no music education at all. Now in their new school everyone is learning it. Every student in a class will learn to play the violin one year, then the next year they're all be learning to play guitar. Just to try it out and to have a good time with it. So I think that will influence them for the rest of their lives, knowing that there are actual real instruments and kind of knowing how they work.

 

MM: Back to Nordic Union, has there been any talk of perhaps doing a second album?

 

EM: No not really. It's only just been finished so we haven't even discussed live shows or anything yet. First of all we didn't know whether people would like it at all, or whether they would hate it, but the reviews of it have been great so far and people are saying some really nice things about it.

Let's hope people will like it and buy it, then if there's enough interest in it then who knows if people want to hear us live then yes, we will start talking about it.

 

MM: Well it would be a great coup to do a W.E.T. , Eclipse and Nordic Union tour, a three headline tour.

 

EM: Go on tour for a month and do three shows a night you mean! (laughs)

 

MM: You've been touted as being one of the best singer / song-writers to come out of Sweden in the last few years, how do you feel about that compliment?

 

EM: I have a hard time believing it as I'm still just a kid trying to do good songs and the biggest critic of all is myself. When people say good stuff to me it's like water on a goose, it just falls off and doesn't stick. So I don't have a big head going around thinking I am a great song-writer, I just try to do my best all the time and that goes for everything that I do in music.

 

MM: You've been involved with some of my favourite albums over the last couple of years and every time I see your name appearing on an album, I know the quality is going to be there and that it's going to be something special. Do you set yourself a standard when writing a song and if it doesn't match up to that do you reject it as you know you can do better?

 

EM: Of course! You know I throw away a lot of stuff. I always want a song to be exciting and a song that I myself would enjoy. If it's not something I would enjoy then I know that it's a shit song and I either have to throw it away or start re-writing it.

 

Every single part of a song, the riff should be good, the verse should be good, the bridge, the chorus, everything has to have a meaning. It can't be a one and a half minute wait to get to a great chorus, it has to be good all the way.

 

I always try to push myself and I can go absolutely nuts writing songs. If it's not good or if an albums not turning out to be as good as I think it should be, then it drives me insane and I have to start all over again. I have to re-do it all until it is something that sounds good and something that I can say ... I like it now.

 

MM: The phrase "all killer, no filler" comes to mind with this album. There were no fillers on the 'Armageddonize' album and there are no fillers on this 'Nordic Union' album. From start to finish, it's all of the highest quality.

 

EM: Well the time that I could surprise someone with a high quality production is now over, and so now I have to keep that quality up as that is what people have come to expect. It's one thing to impress people the first time, but if you want to keep making that kind of impact on people, then you have to keep pushing yourself even harder.

 

I am going to keep trying to bring the quality with every record and it's like being a carpenter, the more kitchens or other things that you do, the more you learn how to do it perfectly. You don't do the mistakes that you perhaps did in the beginning. I try to learn from every product and from everyone that I work with. Even if I mix other people's records then I learn small tricks and I think ... ah!, I can do it like this ... then I can bring that with me in the next production.

 

MM: Do you have any other projects that you have lined up for the next 12 or 18 months that we should look out for?

 

EM: I am currently putting together the new record with the singer from Wig Wam, the new Ammunition album. We've actually wrote a couple of songs already, which we did earlier this week, and we continue with that next week. The singer is coming over next week so we can continue with the writing. So that is in the pipeline and that is going to be released next year.

 

Then we have this Eurovision thing with Eclipse coming up, so that's going to generate quite a lot of media interest and gigs in Scandinavia. We're also going to go tour in Japan and Australia. We're going to go to America and we're going to open up for The Scorpions this Summer for a couple of gigs as well. So that'll be cool.

 

We've also got the Sweden Rocks festival and the Heat festival in Germany, there's also some other festivals coming up, so it's looking to be a very busy year ahead for us.

 

I Also have a number of projects that I will be working on as producer, so I will have a lot of input on those as well.

 

MM: In the 80's records tended to be really polished, but you have an edge to your production work that works really well.

 

EM: Yes I try to keep it in your face and I want it to sound exciting. It's so easy to make a record that sounds boring, they can sometimes sound like the mix engineer is tired and like he just wants to go home and watch TV. I think it has to be exciting all the time and that's where I have been influenced by mixing engineers, I go to people that make me feel something when I hear the album, sonically.

 

MM: Well thank you for taking the time out to talk to us again and best of luck with the new album and with everything else you have going on.

 

EM: Thank you very much, it's been a pleasure talking to you.

 

Interview by: Barry McMinn

[Glen]

Nice read. Shame hes not writing for Toby Hitchcock...or not mentioned at least.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

That's a lengthy post. I'll read it later.

[kourosofsteel3]

Yeah, thanx for the intie, buddy. I will read it later, had to leave for work. While on it, though, I thought to share this from FB, because I never thought that Erik is in the Neo-Luddites' wagon...

 

 

[KarpetRydOFunk]

Yeah, thanx for the intie, buddy. I will read it later, had to leave for work. While on it, though, I thought to share this from FB, because I never thought that Erik is in the Neo-Luddites' wagon...

 

 

 

How does that make him a Neo-Luddite? Do you realise how phukking ridiculous the royalties on those streaming sites are? The artists make phuk all.

[Glen]

Still an odd comment to send to fans. If fans listen to Spotify they may support the artist in other ways - attending gigs buying merchandise etc

[Nightrain]

or perhaps a sarcastic message ?

[Geoff]

Not sure what to make of this one yet. I still find it odd hearing Atkins outside of Pretty Maids. The other odd thing is, Martensson is generally - 99% of the time - writing for, or with guys who either don't write songs themselves, or don't write good songs.

 

What I mean, is the likes of Jimi Jameson (RIP) had not been on a decent album since 'Too hot to sleep' until he teamed up with Martensson. Toby Hitchcock has recorded nothing but garbage his entire career, except for the album he did with Martensson, which is fabulous. The once-brilliant guy from Wig Wam had completely lost touch with decent song writing until he teamed up with Martensson (and imo that project is still questionable at best) etc. I hope my point is made.

 

But the difference between all these other guys he's worked with, and Ronnie Atkins, is that he has been and still is in a magnificent band and is a prolific song writer himself. He's not the kind of guy who needs songs written for him.

 

That said, I like the album. I think it'll grow into one of the highlights of the year. My only one minor issue on first spin would be the "Harem Scarem debut factor." The songs are all great (and magnificent on the HS debut) but they all basically, more or less, have the same drum beat through every chorus...

 

Still, very nice disc.

[Glen]

My disc not arrived yet but hope to have tomorrow.

 

What I have heard (quite a bit) is excellent imo. Immediate, catchy, hard hitting - like a perfect cross of WET and Maids.

 

Unless there are some major clunkers in the songs I've not heard then I would be amazed if this didn't feature very highly for me this year.

[kourosofsteel3]

 

Yeah, thanx for the intie, buddy. I will read it later, had to leave for work. While on it, though, I thought to share this from FB, because I never thought that Erik is in the Neo-Luddites' wagon...

 

 

 

How does that make him a Neo-Luddite? Do you realise how phukking ridiculous the royalties on those streaming sites are? The artists make phuk all.

 

 

 

Buddy, I'm not in the mood for lengthy debates on this, but hic Rhodus, hic salta. If he doesn't like it, he can remove his music from spotify, since he decided to follow a Manichean path, if it's the case that he actually manages himself his FB page.

 

Because the other day he posted this which, for the moment, I find it to be kinda odd.

 

[Stefan]

[tts42572]

Got this album today...damn fantastic!

 

I know its early but will be shocked if this doesn't wind up as my favorite album of 2016.

 

It's basically some combination of Bleed & Scream and Armageddonize with Ronnie's vocals giving it a little extra grit.

 

Awesome

[Glen]

 

Well might not be my fav but its pretty great!!