1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
-We have been working hard on getting photos, making videos, rehearsing and contacting hundreds (maybe thousands) of booking agencies, festivals and clubs. I work half time as a tattoo artist and the other half goes to managing the band.
2.In November you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ form the stuff you have released in the past?
- It differs a lot. Mainly because this is the first album as a band. Previously I did Jord as a one man band. Everything was recorded and mixed in my home studio. Now we went into Studio Soundport together with Mikael Andersson recording, producing, mixing and mastering the whole album. Besides that the songwriting have developed in a natural way for the third album. I’m much more sure of where I want to go with the songs. And the fourth album is already being planed.
3.A lot of your lyrics cover Swedish Folklore and Mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
- I’ve always had a fascination for mysteries, old tales and history. That with me spending alot of time in the woods alone makes it easy to chose those topics. There’s always a grain of truth to the old tales and mysteries. And I seek the truth tirelessly. The truth is always more exciting and interesting than the tale. And I need to explore that.
4.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?
- The need for power and control over people is something that comes back in my lyrics. Not my need haha, but the people in power. I have bit of a problem with authorities that misuse their positions. Sadly that is far to common and seems to get worse day by day.
Also I try to sneak in some positive as well. It’s not just doom and gloom you know. We need to get down in the mud to rise and prosper. I believe in freedom more than anything and that is probably my strongest message in the lyrics. Bad times and bad people will come to an end. And what is good, what is evil, that needs to be explored as well.
5.I know the bands name means 'Earth' in Swedish, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
- I wanted to take a name that was very basic and easy to remember in all languages that also sets the ground for where the band comes from. Jord also means soil. And I want to go back to the origins of music and folklore. Forces of nature. My inspiration mainly comes from nature. As I spend a lot of time there I sit and listen in solitude, quiet. If you listen long enough you start to hear melodies, powerful winds, birds, trees and water all together. I try to arrange the songs like that. Not all the time, but as often as I can. The forest is like an orchestra. It’s very magical to realize that. Then you start to understand where music comes from, really. So I try to make music from Mother Earth and the soil. I work hard to develop this way of discovering new songs.
6.Originally the band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind expanding into a trio?
- It was a no brainer. I wanted to do this since the first album. I was planing for the first three albums in the beginning already. Two albums to develop my own sense for writing and recording and mixing. And the third was gonna summarize all that I had learned and put everything I have into it. And for that I needed a band. And a professional studio with a really good producer.
I allready knew that I wanted to bring Sebastian “Hravn” Svedlund on guitar. Since we where playing together in black metal band Rimfrost a few years ago. Since I left the band we said that we must do something more together in the future. And I knew he is a killer solo guitarist.
Then I just needed to get Jansson on drums. We also played together in a band called Omnicidal that I left to realize Jord. When both of them said yes to joining Jord I knew we had something very special. Not only musically but also the chemistry. They are such good people. We are gonna have the best times on stage together.
7.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea?
- We have done two shows so far and are planing a lot more for next year. We have a few shows booked this fall in Sweden. But next year we will go abroad as well. Working hard on that right now. We want to do as much touring as possible.
8.The new album is coming out on 'Hammerheart Records', how would you compare working with this label to 'Northern Silence Productions'?
- It’s a big difference in the sense that NSP is a DIY label more or less. And that’s fine, I knew that in the beginning. It’s great to get your album out that way. And I was thrilled to just get a deal.
But for this album we needed to take everything to the next level. And Hammerheart have all the muscle and more for us to do that. I’m very happy where we are now.
9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
- Mainly very positive. The music seems to attract people to black metal who didn’t understand it before. A lot of people writes me that the latest song “The Fall” made them cry. A woman played the entire first album during child birth haha. I’m pretty sure there are a lot of purists out there that don’t approve of us using black metal to describe Jords music. But they are polite and keep their comments to them selfs mostly.
It’s extremely hard to put a label on your music and I wouldn’t do it unless I had to. We must describe it some how. And atmospheric black metal kind of wraps it up. I know that some of the songs don’t fit in there at all. But I would have to label each song individually and that is just to much haha. There is also some Blackgaze, doom, symphonic, progressive, post rock stuff in there through the albums. This up coming album will surprise a lot of people I’m very sure of. Its darker than before.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
- I see us touring and recording more albums for sure. And I can’t wait to write new songs, I have already started in my head. But it must wait. We have alot to do now for “Tundra” and it needs all the focus.
11.What ae some of the bands or musical styles the band members are currently listening to nowadays?
- Its a huge variation on what we listen to. I think all of us have equally a soft spot for classics as much as discovering new stuff. Everything from jazz to extreme metal. Bands like Royal Republic, Stallion and Katatonia. And many many more. We are all huge music fans.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
- First I wanna thank you for inviting me to this interview, much appreciated!
Then I hope everyone who reads this enjoys our new video/single “The Fall” and gets inspired to get the full album when its released. I hope to see and talk to as many people as possible around a live stage in the future!
Cheers!
Jurg/Jord
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