For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
The band was formed in summer 2009, but it was not before Ole joined the band in 2010, that we really found the sound and vibe we were looking for.
From the beginning it has been our intention to play long atmospheric black metal. Trying to recreate the sound of a grand storm. We started off quite well with the band and had some of our songs played on a national metal radio channel. In 2011 we played at the Copenhell Festival in Copenhagen, and last year we played at Roskilde Festival in Denmark. The first album came out in April 2012 and gave us a lot of positive response in our home country and probably lead to some of the bigger local support gigs.
According to the bandcamp page, you have a new album coming out in the middle of 2014, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the newer material and also how will it differ from the previous full length and demo you had release din the past?
Yes, it's true we have a new album coming up. It will be out on September 15th 2014. We have still managed to stick to the original sound from the first album, but it’s not difficult to hear that we have also moved in some way. You will probably hear a change in how we play our instruments and how the songs are written. It’s been two years since the first album so we have moved a bit since then. The new record is faster and more intense, but still have the long and immersive passages, keeping it true to the first album. But we think the new record has a better overall flow in terms of the musical and lyrical themes.
What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
There is an overall topic in the new lyrics. The lyrics are sort of written in ancient language and metaphors, refering to subjects revolving around the human quest for greed and power and the resulting corruption of the mind and the earth. How for instance the world is tainted with the influence from too much ridiculous TV, and from that the hunger and longing for false fame and mammon.
What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Solbrud'?
The name Solbrud has many meanings in Danish. We all have different opinions and we also heard a lot of different opinions on why we call ourselves that, so we like to let each one decide what the name should mean. In Danish some of the meaning would be sun blast or burst, a bride of the sun, or simply that light is breaking to shadows or breaking out of somewhere - shining through.
According to the R-A-B-M website the band is a part of the leftist and anarchist movement in Denmark, can you tell us a little bit more about your views on these topics?
It's true that we have a connection with the left wing and anarchist and punk movement in Denmark, but it does not have anything in particular to do with the band as such, besides perhaps our personal attitudes may shine through in the music to some extent, and our rehearsal room being located in the radical left sanctum called Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen.
What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We have had a lot of great gigs during the last couple of years. We played for approximately 2500 people at Roskilde Festival last summer. That was quite an awesome experience and amazing crowd. But we have also played a lot of great gigs at smaller venues. If we play at a small venue and it's packed, its often more fun to play for a smaller crowd, getting more intimate and sensing the energy from the crowd and vice versa. We seldomly address the audience in speak, and that is as much because we have nothing to say as that we want our music to speak for itself.
Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is out?
We are planning two release gigs in Denmark in september 2014. Besides that we will have a couple of shows around in Denmark when the album is out. In spring 2015 we will be touring Germany and eastern Europe.
The band is signed to Euphonious Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
The old label that signed us for our first record is a danish label called Euphonius Records. It has switched it's name some times i think, and also been co-working with some swedish and norwegian labels under VME(Voices Music), who released some of the Ulver stuff in the 90's, among other things. On the new record we've moved up to a somewhat bigger danish label though, Mighty Music which is a metal label under Target Distribution.
On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
We received a lot of positive response for the first album which we are were happy for. We have followers from alot of places outside Denmark and Europe, and alot of people asked if we could come play near them. We started the band because we all love this genre, so its really awesome to get this much positive feedback, and hearing that people appreciate what we do from far away.
Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?
We all have a couple of different side and solo projects, but nothing really going anywhere or releasing anything for the time being.
Where would you like to see the band heading into during the future?
We'll just take one step at a time and see where that leads us. Sure we'd like to do more records and do more gigs outside Denmark. But we're certainly not in this for the money or the fame, because then I think we'd have chosen the wrong thing. We just want to play black metal 'cause that’s what we love to do. And if other people want to listen to it, that's just great.
What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
It would be a long list if we started namedropping, we all listen to a lot of different music. Of course we all listen to a lot of different black metal bands, and each of us have got our own personal favorites and tendencies to other metal subgenres, but we also like alot of different stuff like old 70's rock, blues, country, medieval folk music and classical music.
What are some of your non musical interests?
Quite a few, but they’re not really so important in relation to our band.
Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for taking your time with us for this interview, and thanks to all the people who support Solbrud and listens to our music. We look forward to releasing our next album.
//Solbrud//
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/user/Solbrud
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