Catrin Feymark - One Without

 

 Interview by Si Smith

 


Hailing from Gothenburg, Swedenmay imply a certain style of music, but 
One Without are not a band to be typecasted and labelled into a 
particular category. Their first album "Thoughts of a secluded mind" may 
have sounded like gloomy fare, but with recently-released album "Sweet 
Relief" they are keen to embrace the brighter side of life as well as 
dealing with some of the same serious themes as the last offering. Femme 
Hailing from Gothenburg, Swedenmay imply a certain style of music, but One Without are not a band to be typecasted and labelled into a particular category. Their first album "Thoughts of a secluded mind" may 

Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden may imply a certain style of music, but One Without are not a band to be typecasted and labelled into a particular category. Their first album "Thoughts of a Secluded Mind" may have sounded like gloomy fare, but with recently-released album "Sweet Relief" they are keen to embrace the brighter side of life as well as dealing with some of the same serious themes as the last offering. Femme Metal approached lead vocalist Catrin to find out more...

First of all thanks for talking to Femme Metal! It's a pleasure to speak with you!

Thank you for your interest in One Without!

Although "Sweet Relief" is only your second full-length the band has been releasing music for a long time, having formed way back in 2003. Having joined yourself in 2008, what was the band like when you arrived?

When I joined the band in 2008, I was also playing in an other band together with Kenny. But it didn't take long for me to leave that other project to put all my focus on One Without. In One Without I felt there was, and still is, such a strong drive and determination to always move forward. To always make bigger goals! Besides that, when I joined I was almost thrown into the recording of "Thoughts of a Secluded Mind", so there wasn't really time for anything else. And as time went on I felt more and more that One Without was the right band for me, it felt like coming home. So joining One Without is definitely the best thing I've done! :)

Originating from the fair town of Gothenberg, is there a pressure to sound a certain way or follow a particular musical path? How would you say Gothenberg has impacted on your music, if at all?
 
I don't know if you can call it pressure, but there is definately a certain music style, "the Gothenburg sound", that can be acknowledge in a lot of bands from the Gothenburg area. I think it's just a natural thing that the style can be found in many bands from here, because you get influenced by what's around you! In One Without I wouldn't say we have felt a pressure to follow that style, but still we also have influences from that sound. Just because we like it :)

The cover of the new album is very different from the last. "Thoughts of a Secluded Mind" was very grey and grim and indistinct, whereas the new album instantly sees an injection of colour and starkness and reality. Does this represent a new more colourful sound or is this just a result of artistic choices?

I think that the cover of "Sweet Relief" works really well with the tunes of the album! In "Sweet Relief" I feel there is more "hope" than in "Thoughts of a Secluded Mind", which cover gives a darker feeling. But I don't feel that our first album is dark throughout, it could have worked just fine with a more colourful cover as well!

"Pretender" came out as a single before the release of the new album: what was it about this song that made it great single material?

We actually found it hard to pick a single, because we felt we had so many good options. But when we picked "Pretender" we felt like it summarized the whole album, and therefore it was perfect to use as a single.

You have put the album up for free download before releasing physical copies - why did you opt for this strategy in particular?
 
As we stated in the comment about the release of "Sweet Relief", we feel that the music industry is changing with the possibilities of the internet. People download more and buy less CD's, and if they buy a CD they have often downloaded it before doing so. Therefore the record labels wants to have just about all the money coming from the cd sales. We felt that if we have to "give away" our CD to a label, we would rather give it straight into the hands of our fans instead! And as a matter of fact, since we had an option to donate (and also buy the album from iTunes), we have actually made more money in just one week after the release of "Sweet Relief", than we got from our one year cooperation with Lifeforce on "Thoughts of a Secluded Mind".

You have just recently found Oscar on drums - how is his baptism into the band going?
 
Yes! It works just fine with Oscar! He's a great guy and an awesome drummer :)
 

Touring-wise you have shared the stage with many great bands such as Evergrey and Katatonia - what is it like for One Without embarking on a touring schedule? What are the high and the low points for you?

Being on tour is exactly where we love to be! I feel that it's the reason why I play music,to be able to play live, to meet with the fans! I can't really think of anything bad with being on tour, because I love it so much that the bad parts are bareable anyway! :)But if I have to mention something bad, it would be that tourbuses can get really dirty and smelly! But it has its charm too! Haha!

Messages seem to come to the band from all over the world (I read one this morning from Nicaragua on one of your sites) - is there any plans to take the One Without live experience to the far-flung corners of the world? Or do you find yourselves largely restricted to local venues?'

We have no limits in where we can imagine ourselves playing! As long as there are fans that wants us to come, and there are the technical possibilities for us to do a good show!

I feel at this point I need to offer congratulations for winning Band of the Month for May 2011 on "Unleash the Furies". Apparently you took an early lead and ended with nearly 50 percent of the votes! It must be great to know that you have a fan base supporting you. How important is that to One Without?

Thank you! And a big thank to the fans that have voted for us!It feels absolutely great to know that we have such supporting fans! :) The fans are extremely important to One Without, without them it wouldn't be much point in playing music. If there would be no interest in the band, we would have no reason to put all of our time and effort in One Without! But that is not the case here :) I really have to say that we have very devoted fans that give us appreciation everyday, support us and help us spread the word! They are awesome! :)

Many people write on your facebook page that they are inspired by your lyrics. Where would you say your lyrics take the listener? What lyrical themes would you say are important for the band?

I would say the lyrics are mostly just about how it is to be a human. +Thoughts and emotions you may experience from meeting with other people, from being alone, and from other events in life that affects you. So maybe it's because the lyrics are easy to relate to that many people feel inspired by them.

One observation regarding the album is that many people already seem to have their favourite songs, and that there is an agreement that there is very little "filler" material on this work; all the songs have worth and value of their own, and offer something to the listener. How did you end up with the final tracklist for the album? Were some songs left out that we may hear at a later date?

With 17 songs on the album, believe it or not, we actually had more songs to begin with, that we chose not to use on this album. Those songs will probably not be used in a future album either, because we like to work with fresh material, and it's important to us that what we release can represent us at that very point.

As our time with you draws to a close, I must ask how you personally feel that you have grown as a person and a performer since joining the band a few years ago? It must be quite an overwhelming experience, especially considering the success of the band?

I feel that I and One Without as a whole has grown a lot, especially from the experiences of being on tour! It's actually the biggest drive for me in playing music, to always wanna learn more, always develop and try to be the best you can! Of course it can be overwhelming some times, when you get that much appreciation from the fans, but we work hard and feel that we are worth it :)

Have you any last words for our readers out there?

Since we released our new album "Sweet Relief" for free download, I want everyone who reads this to go to our website to download the album, it won't cost you more than a little of your time, and who knows, what you hear might be your new favourite band! :)

Thanks so much for talking to us, we at Femme Metal wish all succes with the new album and for the future!!!

Thank you very much! It was a pleasure talking to you! All the best to you!

 

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Photo Credit

Photo Band by Roberd Palm

 

Links

One Without : MySpace - Site - Facebook

 

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