Since the release of Innuendo/Under The Sky back in 2003 INTERLACE are considered to be THE innovative-intellectual discovery of the EBM/Industrial scene. Not enough this Swedish quartet released a groundbreaking masterpiece with their sophomore Imago. INTERLACE manage to create an oppressive and bleak synergy of a conceptual story, musical perfection and visual performance. Lyrically suggested futuristic apocalypse long turned into reality, covered by a commercial intoxication and superficiality. Those who listen to INTERLACE already realized the fact, the other ones will probably never do …
Singer Oskar Wilkenson was ready to answer my questions – unfortunately just in an email interview. Unfortunately, because his answers demand for new questions which again need to be answered … Maybe, when they are on tour in the near future?

Dajana: INTERLACE is just one of few bands having released a profound, sophisticated and spiritual album in 2004. I personally could hardly name 5 albums (from this genre) … Is it not frightening being downright an “outsider” in this matter? Is the scene going gaga and losing everything worthwhile? If so, you are on a quite lonely position then …
Oscar: First of all, thank you for your kind words on Imago. In answer to your question, we never intended for INTERLACE to contribute to a particular genre. Instead, we have chosen a musical setting for INTERLACE that we feel accompanies the artistic and intellectual properties of the project, and that we’re familiar with as musicians. As for the question of being an outsider in the genre, I personally feel that this goes for basically everything we do artistically, perhaps because of our commitment to a vision rather than to the traditional boundaries of the subculture that we’re classified into.

Dajana: Nevertheless you got overwhelming responses, high-rated reviews and even 2 Scandinavian Alternative Music Award nominations (“Best Scandinavian Artist” and ”Best Scandinavian Song”). Do you see yourselves approved? Is it something you can build on as a band for the future? Do you see there a chance to influence the scene this way to turn them away from all these superficial and commercial stuff? Is there a need to do that? Do you think you get what you deserve?
Oscar: Approval is a weird thing; no matter the amount of external appreciation, it all comes down to your own impressions of what you have created and how you interpret your supposed success through this lens. Needless to say, we’re thankful for all the positive feedback we have received – that means that we have managed to touch people with what we do, and nothing could be more gratifying. Nevertheless, I think that this feeling is based on a satisfaction that our audience seems to appreciate INTERLACE for the aspects of the project that makes it stand out – the way we compose and produce, the conceptual dimension, the visuals and so forth – rather than just perceiving us as a decent band among many. We work hard to get an aesthetic and intellectual message across, and every sign that we succeed in doing so inspires us to continue.

As for turning our audience away from commercial culture, I suspect that most INTERLACE listeners discover us as a result of already having turned away themselves. But on a more fundamental level, we feel that it’s crucial that people start putting more focus on the things in life that really matter instead of allowing themselves to be distracted by phenomena that, at the end of the day, are void of a deeper meaning. As artists, we do indeed believe that we have a responsibility to encourage such a development by creating art that moves people and makes them feel part of a meaningful context.

Dajana: Lyrical wise you are following a narrow conceptual frame. Are you sometimes afraid to be limited too much? What happens to all these ideas and approaches you cannot use for your concept? Do you put them aside for possible future projects or do you just throw them away?
Oscar: I wouldn’t say that INTERLACE lyrics are particularly narrow conceptually. We decided from the very beginning not to confine the lyrical contents of the project to its purely conceptual framework, but rather to use the texts as a space for dealing with a broader array of themes. Nevertheless, you’re right in the sense that our lyrics follow a rather intellectual discourse, reflecting our interest in science and the human mind. As for the project as a whole, there’s obviously an abundance of ideas emerging during our work together that fall outside the concept, but since we all have other artistic obligations we never feel particularly confined by the well defined boundaries of INTERLACE.

Dajana: That’s a quotation of a band I really love for what they are doing: „It’s totally self-absorbed music, completely self-centered. We totally make it for us and the fact that anybody gets anything out of it is totally secondary. Since it is for ourselves and we don’t act on any of our expectations other than the fire to be creative, the need to express ourselves and our commitment to our sound, to each other, to the music has given us an extra kick in the ass.“ [Steve von Till/ Neurosis]
INTERLACE is known for having a similar attitude. How to balance things out between your personal priorities, musical self-realization and commercial needs? I guess you cannot live on your music, so how to handle the business?
Oscar: Artistic activities meet two basic needs: they function as an outlet for emotions that you harbor, and they allow you to communicate with other people. If you only have a need for the former, like the guy you quote imply is his case, then I honestly don’t see the reason to go through the tremendous amount of work that is required in order to record, produce and release albums. Why not sit at home and write for the drawer instead? Frankly – and excuse me for saying so – I feel that such statements are pretentious bullshit. Every artist cares what the audience thinks, because presenting your creations to other people is per se a means of asking for validation. Also, by releasing and promoting an album you request from people that they commit their time to consume what you have to offer, for instance by having your single played in clubs. I would personally find it quite insulting if someone cried for my attention without – supposedly – caring whether I was interested in what he had to say or not. We want everyone who buys an INTERLACE album or visits one of our shows to demand great things from us, and we do our best to give our audience good value for their money. To pretend otherwise would just be hypocritical.

[Here I guess I got a little bit misunderstood. Of course this quotation was meant in the way of creative working, focusing on the essence musical wise and the songwriting process. Neurosis really appreciate all kind of feedback they get from their fans and they care about what they think – Cal]

On the other hand, there is a difference between taking your professional role seriously and compromising your vision to satisfy others, and I suppose – and hope – that this is what your comparison is referring to. INTERLACE wasn’t created to generate profit but to fulfill an artistic vision, and this guides every decision we make. But there is no inherit contradiction between artistic and commercial success – if millions of people bought Imago and were moved by it, we would have accomplished both.

Dajana: I have seen you on tour with Suicide Commando and Tactical Sekt (2003). Great show, excellent performance, but I think you have been sort of misplaced between these bands since your music in fact gives you great possibilities for visual performances but is not necessarily something to fill dance floors. Have you plans for a new tour in support of Imago? Are there better band combinations imaginable? Which whom you would like to share the bill?
Oscar: We had a great time during that tour, but you’re absolutely right that our live show isn’t supposed to function as a mere setting to dance to. On the other hand, the Imago show is a more extrovert, up-tempo and aggressive than Innuendo was, so I suppose the dance-loving Germans would approve more of our new performance. As for a new tour, plans are currently being made, but unfortunately I don’t have any dates to reveal as of yet. There are a lot of bands that we think would make excellent tour company, but since there are a lot of label politics involved in these decisions I wouldn’t want to drop any names.

Dajana: As I read anywhere, you define INTERLACE as ”… a name, going back on a superior concept, namely the quest to interlace different forms of art.” You obviously interlace musical and visual aspects with dance performances, backed by a profound lyrical background. Which other forms of art are imaginable and practicable? In what combinations?
Oscar: We did a festival gig in Sweden the other week where we showed video projections on a big screen above the stage. We’ll try to incorporate this in as many upcoming shows as possible, as it is a great way of portraying the themes of each track as well as further illuminating the overall concept. Also, the theatrical possibilities are almost limitless, and we will continue to take advantage of this in the upcoming phases. So far, it has always been limited economic resources rather than creativity that have set the boundaries for what we can create performance-wise, and I hope that this continues to be the case.

Dajana: Do you notice interpretations of your lyrics? What thoughts cross your mind when you realize that people have definitely misinterpreted your lyrics, especially when they are published anywhere in magazines and stuff?
Oscar: It’s horrible, but since one of the core notions on which INTERLACE is founded is that people should think for themselves, I wouldn’t want to correct anyone. But I can honestly say that it worries me that people are so used to culture being void of content that they automatically assume that this is the case with everything they encounter. I mean, it’s OK to lack a particular piece of knowledge, but please don’t be ignorant about it – do your homework! On some occasions I can just laugh it off, like when journalists express confusion over Track Two being the seventh track on Imago, but the recurring misinterpretations of e.g. Soul Of A New Machine are just sad. In regard to your first question, what with the scene going gaga, I sometimes feel that the future looks grim.

Dajana: I know that you are living out your creativity in other artistic fields too. But you flatly refuse to answer all questions beyond INTERLACE. With this reservation you even stir up curiosity that wants to be satisfied. How can we learn more about the individuals behind INTERLACE?
Oscar: I sincerely hope that our unwillingness to allow focus to slip from INTERLACE onto our personal selves can – to some minor degree – contribute to a society in which we become better at processing information and analyzing messages without having to lean so much on our spontaneous, emotional impression of the source. Needless to say it’s necessary to look at the source to some extent when evaluating a message, but what we see today is charisma and physical attributes becoming more valued than actual content. I don’t have to refer to American presidential election campaigns for you to get the idea, because the phenomenon is all around us: in advertising, media, sports, corporate and commercial culture, et cetera. We live in a world of artificial relationships, where you’re supposed to feel like you know the guy in the car ad, like you can relate to Adam Sandler’s hilarious mishaps on the big screen, like you’re actually one of the friends at the Central Perk café – whether you actually need these fictitious bonds or not.

Now, with INTERLACE we present a number of themes and ideas within the context of a unifying concept. Either people appreciate what we offer or they don’t, but to the extent that we manage to stir an interest we wish to direct it toward the themes and ideas themselves. We appreciate that our messages might come across as ambiguous from time to time, but we‘ve always made sure to include references to the sources as to allow our audience to gain knowledge and make up their own minds. The four of us, on the other hand, aren’t sources in this regard – an understanding of who we are isn’t necessary to comprehend and appreciate what we present. Consequently, we see no need in contributing to the narcissistic craze of the Western world, particularly since our main objective isn’t to change people’s opinions but rather to stimulate them to actually reflect upon what they think, and why.

Dajana: I heard about you are living in a commune. Was that a necessary decision for the band’s best way for teamwork? Did you live in this commune before? How does the commune work generally and in matter of songwriting and band related stuff and how do you live in there? What happens if one of the current band members needs to leave and a new one must be integrated into this community?
Oscar: INTERLACE consists of the four of us, and no-one is replaceable. What with our relations, it’s true that we are very close. This has had a fundamental impact on INTERLACE, both in terms of art and concept and in regard to our work method, and I think that it helps us achieve a quite unified result despite the fact that we are all deeply involved in the creation process.

Dajana: Knowing that you likewise refuse questions about the next musical chapter and future plans I try it though, ‘coz some time passed by since Imago was released. So what would be the next conceptual step in INTERLACE’s music evolution and what to expect from upcoming show performances? Is there a time frame for the next level of the clone’s life?
Oscar: Although I sincerely value that you’re aware that we refuse to reveal the contents of future INTERLACE phases, I still can’t reward you by doing exactly that – but I respect your journalistic effort. On a more general note, the evolution will continue after Imago, and more of what we have presented so far will emerge in art and concept.

Dajana: Since I’m obviously a huge fan of your music I wish you all the best and I hope to see you anywhere on stage this year. Thanks for spending time answering this bunch of questions. Cheers!

Thank you!