December 29, 2003
Interview with Coastline
While Sweden itself is a relatively small country its musical presence has been felt world wide since the 80's with huge names like ABBA, Europe, and Roxette. Today we are featuring a new Swedish band that is continuing the tradition of great female fronted melodic rock. Coastline is a five member band from Malung, Sweden whose music is in the tradition of Survivor, Heart, Darby Mills and Tone Norum, but don't judge them by that alone! By following this link http://www.coast-line.nu you can sample the music for yourself. Be sure and watch this band as their musical prowess and catchy sound spreads over every coastline!1. To many of us Coastline is an invitation to stroll down memory lane, bringing back to life the great female fronted bands of years gone by; from where do you draw your inspiration and what are your hopes for Coastline in the years to come?
First of all, thank you Kathy for inviting Coastline to your homepage.
I think we are getting our inspiration mostly from the early bands in this genre. I've always loved bands like Europe and Heart and in the last couple of years both me and Lars Melin have been listening a lot to Survivor and Journey. When we are writing a song, the melody is the most important thing.
Regarding the future of Coastline, we are very glad that we've got this chance to put out records with our own songs and we really hope that the listeners will like it. To be able to tour around the world is also a dream for us, but it's a tough market and there's a lot of great bands out there. Right now we're just happy that we got our first record out on Vinny Records and we're very exited to see what the future might bring.
2. The biography on your website (http://www.coast-line.nu) shows a band brought together through determination and a little bit of luck; how would you describe the formation of the band and the turn of events that brought you all together?
It all started back in the year of 2000. Me and Lars Melin were working as songwriters in the middle of the week and during the weekends we were playing in our "coverband" together. On a private party-gig in Salen (in the neighbourhood of Malung were we live) Helena Rosendahl stepped forward and asked if she could sing the Anouk song "Nobody's wife" with the band. We were amazed by her wonderful voice and shortly after me and Lars asked Helena to sing on one of our demos. The song was called "We've Crossed That Line" and I think it will be featured on the next Coastline album. I hope so! We really liked the result of the demo and we asked Helena to form a band with us. She said, yes!
When we were choosing a guitarist, we were asking Thomas Hansson. Lars, Thomas and me had been playing together in different projects during the years and we were old friends. Thomas played the guitar on "We've crossed that line" and when he heard the result he really liked it. When the question of band membership came to mind he answered "Yes" immediately.
Tomas Munters was asked for the job as bass player. He had been playing with me, Lars and Thomas in different kind of band arrangements over the years. The band was complete. We got together for rehearsal and it sounded great.
I think when me and Lars heard Helena sing for the first time, we knew that this was something special. We really like her voice, you know.
3. This group has been together for over three years now and still going strong; what would you say is the key factor to your success and your ability to grow together as a band?
I think the key is that all of us in the band love music. But also the challenge to write as good of songs as possible is one key factor. You know, when we're rehearsing a new song and it's working out well, it's the best thing that could happen and it feels great. We have also got these positive reactions over the years and you're pushing your goals a little bit further so the band can grow together. We have experienced a lot of things together. From the first Coastline gig to the recording of the first Coastline demos. From signing our record deal to having our debut album out. And now we're working on our second album. And it has just started. It's amazing!!
4. In the years leading up to the first full length album we have seen Coastlines music included on "Munich's Hardest Hits; Volumes 3 and 4", "AOR Dreamzones, Always On Rock" and "LEKSANDS IF HOCKEY - VAGEN TILLBAKA" (a CD for a local hockey team), what would you say these experiences have done for Coastline while preparing for your debut album?
I think it meant a lot to us. If the listeners like your song then they start talking about it and then the ball is rolling. Maybe the listeners buy your album when it's released. We are very grateful to be featured on those albums. It's a great opportunity for new bands to show what they sound like.
5. We see that "Coastline" was on the market in Japan even before the European release, what are the reasons for that and why do you think the Japanese market is so important to today's bands?
The reasons for the album being released in Japan even before the European release, I don't know actually. But it's said in our contract that it should be released in Japan/Southeast Asia two weeks before the European release. They just wanted it that way and we're really, really happy that the record company Marpuee/Avalon wanted to release the album over there. I think there is something in the harmonies of the European music that the Japanese people like. Maybe they find it exotic in a sort of way. For us it's an honour to be out on their market 'cause all of our music heroes have done the same before. If we ever get to play there it's a dream come true.
6. As this is your first full length release we feel your insight and advice is very valuable to those musicians striving to get where you are today. We would like to hear what you would say to those individuals starting on the road to a record deal and release of their music?
Figure out what you want with your music and believe in yourself! Don't ever give up!
7. Could you tell us about the way the five of you work through the creation of an original song, what is the typical format from start to finish?
On the debut album me and Lars Melin wrote all of the material. The typical format from start to finish of a song is that we use to start with an idea. It could be a good refrain or a good verse. I always record ideas on a tape-recorder so I won't forget it, so does Lars. Then we're showing the ideas for each other and the working process begins. I love this part of song making. If we have an idea we usually finish the process with a new song without lyrics. We're working pretty fast with the music. You can say that me and Lars have almost the same goal when writing a song. Then the next time we're getting together we figure out what lyric we can sing over it. If the band is ready for a new song we show it to Helena, Thomas and Tomas on the next rehearsal. Then the whole band is part of the arrangement of the song. Everybody's putting their soul into it. Now you have an original Coastline song. On the next album also Thomas Hansson will be part of the song writing.
8. Is there any one song in particular that you could tell us about and how it came to be, is there one that has special meaning to you or the band as a whole?
Of course I have to say "We've crossed that line" which was the first song we ever worked with as a band. It sounds a little bit like a mixture between "Anouk" and Europe. I really like that song and I hope it will be part of the next Coastline album. Another song which was made almost at the same time is "Restless Heart, Restless Mind". It has this great rock/AOR feeling over it, with a catchy chorus. I was showing Lars an early idea of the verse melody and then he came up with the chorus idea. After that the working procedure began. I remember that Lars sang some funny words (as we always do) over the chorus when we were working on it. It's about breaking up and you don't know why. I'm very pleased with the final result.
9. In 2002 Coastline topped Strutter'zines ratings with a number one spot for both best song (Loves Not For Everyone) and Best New Demo Band; what would you say this did for your band as far as recognition and confidence in the future?
It felt really great. Gabor Kleinbloesem on Strutter'zine is a big fan of ours and we like his site a lot. It's always nice when someone likes what you do. When Strutter'zine is one of the most visited AOR/melodic rock-pages, I think this could mean a lot to the band. We need to be exposed so the listeners can find us. We're very grateful.
10. What plans do you have for touring with the new album? If you could tour anywhere where would you choose to go?
Right now we don't have any plans at all regarding touring. We're waiting for the response of the album. We're trying to get some small club gigs in Sweden in the meantime. Our dream tour would be Japan and the USA.
11. Bands spend more time together than many families, especially during recording and touring sessions, what do you five do to "Strike A Balance" during these times; how do you keep focused and positive?
It's a lot of laughs and jokes when we're together. Thomas, the guitarist, is a specialist in imitating people from our hometown. Sometimes we're all on the floor, trying to breathe when the next joke appears. When we are in the studio we are all very focused on what we're doing. We're trying to concentrate to make the songs as good as possible.
12. With the release of your first full length album being nearly complete what are the plans for the band now, what can we hope for from Coastline?
We hope that we will reach as many people as possible with our music and if the selling is good maybe we can go out on a tour. The work on the next album has already started and I can tell you it feels really great. We're working on some great songs for the moment. I also hope we can develop our own style more on the coming two albums.
13. Is there anyone that you would like to thank or give credit to publicly?
First of all we'd like to thank Vicente and Vinny Records for giving us this opportunity. And we'd also like to thank all the great melodic rock-aor websites, fans and artists all over the world promoting us and melodic rock! Thank you!!
14. Do you have a closing message for the fans, and those just discovering Coastline?
Yes, we are really glad if you like our music and we hope to see you on tour soon. Remember that AOR/Melodic Rock is still alive!!
Rock On! - Jan Hedlund /Coastline
Posted by Kathy at December 29, 2003 11:32 PM