Interview

When Saints Go Machine

Hoxton Bar & Grill, London

added: 4 Apr 2012
interviewed by: Russell Cook

Since its inception in Copenhagen during 2007, "When Saints Go Machine", along with its somewhat otherworldly, ethereal brand of electronic pop, has released a series of melody laden tracks built around a haunting melancholia, and a series of intrinsic beats vital to the ebb and flow of the bands' sound.

Upon hearing their latest album, “Konkylie”, the listener is bounced from pillar to melody-enveloped pillar, with grooves, like those in their track “Church and Law”, compelling an audience into uncontrollable rhythmic spasms, that are immediately calmed and brought under the control of Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild’s beautiful and touchingly fragile voice. It is this constant juxtaposition of energy and emotion that encapsulates the mesmeric sound of "When Saints Go Machine".

On Monday night, "When Saints Go Machine" performed an enthralling and absorbing show at London’s Hoxton Bar & Grill in front of a sold out audience; the first of a short tour that sees the band head off to their home country of Denmark for the remainder.

Upon the release of the first audible note, it was apparent that the whole room had become embroiled in the fantastic duality offered by the bands' unique sound. Throughout, "When Saints Go Machine" repeatedly proved their ability, to take an audience through a complex range of emotions; in the drop of a hat, the crowd frequently went from frenzied movement, to being rooted to the spot, as a result of their jaw-dropping appreciation of When Saints Go Machine’s symbiotic arrangements of synths, beats and heart rendering vocals.

Before the show, Music News had the chance to sit down with the band and have a chat about music, inspiration and, of course, condiment preferences…

Music News: So how did When Saints Go Machine get together?

Simon: Before we were "When Saints Go Machine" we did stuff separately; those two (points to Silas and Jonas) did stuff together, and I think at one point they heard some of my music and I heard some of theirs, and we were really inspired by each other, even though what we did was quite different from one another. We decided to do something together, and I knew Nikolaj could sing so got him involved - we just started collaborating from there.

MN : Is "When Saints Go Machine" part of a larger Copenhagen ‘scene’ at the moment?

Silas: No, because a lot of the bands in Copenhagen sound so different from one another; there is no real Copenhagen ‘sound’. But, a lot of Danish bands have achieved a lot of success recently. I think, more than anything else, we kind of inspire one another.

MN: The audiences at your shows in the UK seem to be made up of quite a diverse range of people. What do you think it is about your sound that caters to such a disparate audience?

Simon: We are all inspired by lots of different stuff, and somehow it all comes together in When Saints Go Machine.

Silas: It’s actually kind of funny, because some people really like some tracks, whilst they don’t like some of the other stuff. You know, if you like The Strokes, you like The Strokes. You probably like all of their stuff; they have a sound. I think we have a sound, but the tracks can appeal to many different people with taste in a varying range of genres. We have an overall sound, but the tracks can vary quite a lot.

Nikolaj: If girls like your music, then everyone is into your music [laughs]

MN: So, if I asked each of you to describe "When Saints Go Machine" what would you say?

Silas: We always start by trying to write a big pop song, but then we’ll f**k it up on the way. We call it alternative pop music. We would like our type of pop music to be appealing, but also to challenge the listener. You hear it the first time and experience something, then you hear it half a year later and experience something else. There’s a lot of work put into the detail.

Jonas: I think our process is really complicated sometimes. We don’t always agree on all levels, and maybe that can explain why some people like one track, whilst other people like a different one.

Silas: Yeah [laughs] – that’s why half of the room will stay for some songs and then other people will come in for others [laughs].

Nikolaj: I think what Jonas is trying to say is that working together is like trying to run a marathon in a spacesuit. Hard work. Sweaty [laughs]

MN: What inspires you to write?

Nikolaj: Whatever we’re experiencing. It’s hard for me to write something, or a story I am not a part of. It’s hard for me to do that. For me, it’s just about experiencing stuff.

Silas: For me, I just want to create. Sometimes it works out, but I’ll always have an urge to create. If it’s not music, I’ll just want to build something.

Nikolaj: We can never get enough music done, because Sila is always into Lego and stuff [laughs]

Jonas: He’s gardening all the time [laughs]

Nikolaj: He’s growing loads of tomatoes at the moment [laughs]

Silas: He’s joking, but I kind of have a thing for tomato sauce. It goes with everything. I could eat it for breakfast. I can’t get enough.

Nikolaj: I really hope you’re writing for ‘Lifestyle’ magazine or something… [Pointing at me, laughing]

MN: Ok, so, if "When Saints Go Machine" was a condiment, what would it be?

Silas: Tomato Sauce!

Simon: I think it’d be a salsa - a good mix of flavours there.

Nikolaj: If the band only consisted of Jonas, it would be tzatziki [laughs]. Jonas is a real man. Just smell his choice of cologne.

MN: What music are you guys listening to at the moment?

Silas: We just played this guy, when we DJ’d, that we all got really excited about, called ‘Death Grips’.

Nikolaj: I quite like a lot of noisy rock stuff.

Silas: Nikolaj always has to pick something nobody knows [laughs].

Nikolaj: Like a lot of slow, noisy rock. Like Sunn, for example.

Jonas: But hey, we’ll listen to a lot of “crappy” music.

Silas: We don’t only listen to small, independent bands. Actually, this isn’t crappy, but the new single by Bobby Womack is really good!

MN: So, your latest album is called “Konkylie”? Why?

Nikolaj: It’s just a beautiful word.

Silas: When you have a name like When Saints Go Machine, which is really out there, and quite heavy, a more subtle title for the album seemed to work nicely. Also, it is a Danish word that is really quite closed.

Nikolaj: Also, it is our word. We are releasing this album all over the place and no one knew what to make of it. It’s private to us.

MN: What unique qualities did your choice of recording location – your parents’ summerhouse - offer to the recording process for “Konkylie”?

Nikolaj: Well, there is nothing else to do but record and write. You don’t have any other appointments. That’s the most inspiring thing. There were also lots of other unique spaces to record in.

Silas: We actually set up a microphone around 20 metres away from Jonas and turned up the gain so high that the noises are just as loud as Nikolaj’s voice. We couldn’t do that in the city. Out there, you can do whatever.

MN: Do you have any plans to do a full tour of the UK on your own?

Jonas: Yes. If the demand is there we’ll be here.

Silas: In Denmark, the government gives all the venues a certain amount to pay the bands, regardless of how many people are at a show. So touring in Denmark, is much more sustainable, but there's no doubt we'll be back because we just love playing here in the UK, so I am sure we’ll be back with more shows soon.

Based on the response of Monday night’s audience, "When Saints Go Machine" has great things waiting on the horizon for them, here in the UK. They’re album “Konkylie” is available right now, and if you want to catch the band live, they are due to play this year’s Great Escape Festival, in Brighton. For more details and video clips of the band, follow this link:

http://whensaintsgomachine.blogspot.co.uk/

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