By Ryan Meehan
It´s been a long, hard and winding road for mankind, but in December 2011 the moment we´ve all – yet unknowingly and yet unaware of our coming salvation – been waiting for finally saw the light of day. Elin Larsson, Cory Berry and Zack Anderson, all just in their early Twenties, formed a group which should quickly become one of the most acclaimed and interesting bands in music. Behold the birth of Blues Pills. This young American-Swedish-French quartet create unique, intense, and extraordinary rock. They have a music lovers’ appeal that takes you right back to the time of the band’s ancestors: The Original Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Cream, and yes, even Aretha Franklin. The driving bass lines, grooving drums, and solos from another planet by their 17-year-old guitarist are all harmonized and tied together with ease & delight by Elin’s voice, which proves itself experienced and wiser beyond its years. Taking soulful music and combining it with blues and rock ‘n’ roll to tap into a musical force of revitalizing intensity, Blues Pills’ blonde archangel & soul-savior Elin Larsson will gently guide you into an empire of soulful, bluesy rock where the still-warm breath of their musical predecessors can still be felt. Elin’s transcendent voice will take you on a journey beyond the stars through an infinite universe that is profound in its revelations. With lyrics full of powerful emotions, Elin’s jazzy-soulful voice never falls into the trap of pretentiousness and instead unfolds the strong beauty of its own inner-light. Blues Pills have dedicated their lives to the timeless and noble art of rock ‘n’ roll and seek to know the things kept hidden that touch your soul. Lead singer Elin Larsson is our guest today in 5 Questions.
RM: So how did you come to name yourself the Blues Pills? Which blues artists do you consider to be most influential when it comes to the songs you create?
EL: We got the name from a music blog that our friend Jens had. It had lots of obscure 60’s and 70’s albums, and we discovered a lot of good music through him. We just liked the name and it fit well with our music, so we asked him if we could use the name, and he was happy that we wanted to name the band Blues Pills. For me, the blues artists who inspired my singing are mostly African-American singers like Big Mama Thornton, and Etta James.
RM: You guys just signed a deal with Nuclear Blast – How did that come about and what are you most looking forward to other than getting your music distributed all over the world?
EL: We first started talking to Nuclear Blast by sending them an email with a couple of our Youtube videos and, to our surprise, they actually responded. After that we kept in touch with them, and finally they came to watch us on our last tour in Germany, and they signed us after that. I’m most looking forward to be able to just play music more, in more countries. It’s an opportunity to grow, and hopefully, make a living on music.
RM: What can fans in Europe expect from your November tour with Orchid/Scorpion Child? Have you guys done any gigs with them before?
EL: We’ve only played with Orchid once, at Desertfest Berlin. I think the tour will be pretty amazing because it’s rare to get 3 really great bands, on one bill. All three bands, sound very different from each other as well so it makes it more interesting. It’s going to be great vibes on stage and off!
RM: There seems to be an overwhelming amount of bands doing very well that have a very “retro” vibe going on (i.e. Ghost and Electric Wizard, amongst others) and I hear a lot of Fleetwood Mac and Janis Joplin influence in your voice and song structure. What do you think it is about that particular time period that musicians seem to be so obsessed with? And it is difficult to maintain such a classic sound with all of the recording technology that’s so easily accessible nowadays?
EL: I don’t know what has caused this style to comeback, but I’m happy it’s here. I think it’s a more natural and honest kind of music, which people are missing from a lot of today’s popular music. There’s a lot more soul to be see someone singing their heart out, or playing their instrument with all they’ve got, compared to a computer playing a drumbeat on a loop. (In my humble opinion) I wouldn’t say that it’s difficult to maintain a classic sound, but I will say that our last experience with recording digital, made us never want to record on a computer again. There’s still a lot of analog studio’s out there.
RM: How do you want Blues Pills to be remembered a hundred years from now? Are you concerned with simply putting out good records, or can you see yourself as becoming leaders of a certain movement or genre that spawned several other bands who were heavily influenced by your work?
EL: That’s a deep question! I haven’t really thought of it like that. At the moment, to be honest, I have only thought of putting out good records, and playing shows, doing what I love. It’s all pretty new still; a year ago I never would have seen myself on a label, and touring all over! It’s an exciting time for me and the band.
RM: What’s up next for Blues Pills in the remainder of 2013? Anything big in the works that we should know about?
EL: There will be a 4 song EP released by Nuclear Blast in the coming months. We are going into the studio in the fall to record our full length, which we plan to release in the beginning of 2014 as long as everything goes according to plan. Other than that, we just plan to tour as much as we can, and play in new countries.
Official Website: http://www.bluespills.com/
Blues Pills on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bluespills
Blues Pills on Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/BluesPills
Blues Pills on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BluesPills
Once again thanks for visiting First Order Historians and enjoying more of the internet’s finest in user generated content.
Meehan
Reblogged this on Official Ryan Meehan Website.
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