Originators and sole proponents of Nintendocore, HORSE the Band have a reputation that precedes them. The question is - just how accurate is that reputation?
The Dreaded Press got the opportunity to exchange emails with keyboard player and 8-bit sample wizard Erik Engstrom, so read on to find out the recording of new album A Natural Death, how to alienate half of your hometown fanbase, what’s worrying about Dubai (and appealing about Turkey), and about the inspirational effect of Flashdance on HORSE the Band’s music.
TDP: Where are you right now, and what have you been doing?
Erik Engstrom: We’re in Melbourne and we don’t have to play until after midnight, so we’re filling up a sink with water and seeing which way the water goes down. It switches directions!
TDP: How did the recording of A Natural Death go?
Erik Engstrom: Haha, I don’t know. We recorded it. Recording is boring.
TDP: What goals or plans did you have before you headed for the studio?
Erik Engstrom: We wrote a whole bunch of songs that didn’t make the album. We were trying to make something kinda cinematic and dark and create lots of images just through music. Like actual places and scenes. We ended up with too many so we’re saving them for later.
TDP: What was influencing you (musically or otherwise) during the writing and recording?
Erik Engstrom: I personally was going crazy over Flashdance - the gritty, working class side of the American eighties. Love Is A Battlefield, The Karate Kid, fireworks, America … hahaha. And weird daydreams I tried to translate into music.
That and the insignificance of humanity and the futility of creation and destruction - the interplay between human effort and perseverance in the face of annihilation is really inspirational to me sometimes.
TDP: How does A Natural Death differ from your earlier material - what’s the first thing that’s going to leap out at an experienced HORSE the Band listener?
Erik Engstrom: It sounds better, it’s darker, and it’s played better. But I don’t really know, it’s gonna take like five years at least to get any real perspective on it.
TDP: I’ve just seen the itinerary for the forthcoming HORSE the Band tour, and it’s pretty fucking epic. What’s your biggest concern before you set off?
Erik Engstrom: The biggest concern is making sure we don’t get arrested anywhere or sent back when we arrive anywhere. Researching the laws and applying for all the visas we needed was really insane. I’m sure no one cares, but their was waaaay more bullshit to sort through than we expected.
Also we don’t want to get sent to prison for four years in Dubai for having a poppy seed from a muffin on our shirts. It’s actually really fucked up there. I don’t think we’re going to try to go there any more.
TDP: Which country are you most looking forward to seeing, and why?
Erik Engstrom: I’m really excited about Turkey cause it’s pretty much the crossroads of the entire planet and not too many people from the western world have made it there. I think it’s going to be my favorite place.
TDP: What do you miss about doing your own little random self-booked tours?
Erik Engstrom: Haha, nothing right now, cause we’re doing one again - although it’s not that little and neither was the last one!
Probably not having to deal with the bullshit and the weiners that make up the “music industry”. Such a total bummer. Anyone involved should love music, and it just isn’t that way at all once you get to a certain point.
TDP: What’s the worst aspect of touring?
Erik Engstrom: Not having a normal life or access to privacy when you need it. You lose your friends and strain your relationships. People think of you as an abstract figure rather than a normal guy. Long drives also suck. Getting stuck in a routine can be shitty. That’s why international touring is really good.
I guess the worst thing about touring is it changes who you are permanently and it’s harder to relate to certain people and you realize it. So it’s a little sad when you know that about yourself.
TDP: What’s the best aspect of touring?
Erik Engstrom: Seeing the world for free or even making money while being on vacation with your friends. Playing music! Beer!
TDP: What are the ingredients for the perfect HORSE the Band live show?
Erik Engstrom: Ridiculous kids, a low ceiling. A one-foot stage so everyone can see everything but still be face to face.
TDP: On the flipside, what was the worst show you ever played?
Erik Engstrom: First show supporting Dragonforce. Haha - sold out, 2600 tickets in our hometown. It was our first show ever with Baby Horse. He fucked up like 999999999 times and played every song quarter speed. He didn’t know what a monitor was and didn’t know you had to set up your drums before your set started!
Then some guys hated us so much they tried to fight me, and people threw toothbrushes at me on stage. Haha - I think we lost half our fanbase in LA from that show. It was totally our fault and we deserved it. There was nothing redeeming about the night whatsoever.
TDP: What do feel is your best piece of work?
Erik Engstrom: The very end of “New York City” when the fireworks come in. Flashdance mostly inspired that.
TDP: If you could delete one song from your back catalogue (and from the minds of mankind), which would it be?
Erik Engstrom: The Pizza EP
TDP: Which song or album of someone else’s would you erase from history?
Erik Engstrom: The new Foo Fighters album, ’cause every time I hear Dave Grohl’s voice I want to kill myself.
TDP: What do you feel is your biggest limitation as a band?
Erik Engstrom: I don’t know; I think we got pigeonholed and our “concept” and name sound stupid to some people, so they never even check out the music. But at the same time it probably helped us get a lot of attention.
By now in the US, our perception is probably holding us back but internationally it might still be getting us some attention. In the US our fans have mostly forgotten the Nintendo thing, whereas places we’re showing up to for the first time everyone is wearing Nintendo shirts and shit. Haha – weird.
TDP: What was the thing that tipped you over and made you decide to become a musician?
Erik Engstrom: I think Nirvana and Motley Crue in 6th grade. Haha – no, really we were just bored and wrote songs. We genuinely love creating music and doing something new.
TDP: If you could go back in time and visit yourself just after you made that decision, what’s the most important piece of advice you’d give yourself?
Erik Engstrom: I don’t think I would tell myself anything. We had a really innocent and honest experience. It was fun. All the bands that start after they’ve already been tainted by the scene and want “success” are doomed to shittiness and irrelevance. I’m glad we had no clue what the fuck we were doing when we started.
TDP: Assuming everything goes as well for you as you could imagine, where will you be in ten year’s time?
Erik Engstrom: I doubt our band could ever get “big”. Maybe HORSE the Band will still be putting out records once in a while, and I think we’ll all have lots of different crazy creative projects. We diversify and have waaaaay too many ideas. I hate when bands stick around too long, and we will be done the second we feel irrelevant.
TDP: Where do you think you would be right now if HORSE the Band had never taken off?
Erik Engstrom: I have no idea. Maybe Spain?
TDP: As you guys coined the name, I guess you’re the kings of Nintendocore. Which other bands are in the Royal Family?
Erik Engstrom: Nobody is in it except us, and we don’t want to be - although we do take credit for starting our own genre.
TDP: Imagine for a moment that money and logistics are no obstacle, and that you could set up the ultimate fantasy tour for HORSE the Band. Now - tell us what it would feature.
Erik Engstrom: It’s this tour we’re on. Logistics have never been an obstacle for us, haha!
TDP: In an insane universe, who (or where) do you look to for moments of sanity?
Erik Engstrom: Herman Hesse, John Steinbeck, F Scott Fitzgerald, Michel Houllebecq, Tragedy, Xiu xiu, From Ashes Rise, CSS, Ellen Page interviews, animals, niacintology.
TDP: Philosophical moment: will the human race survive the next two centuries, and does it deserve to do so?
Erik Engstrom: I doubt it. We deserve nothing - but I hope we make it, ’cause we are interesting artistically.
TDP: OK, thanks for your time and good luck with the tour!
Erik Engstrom: Take niacin. Circulatory health. Thanks for the interview!
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Posted in Interviews |
Tags: A Natural Death, electronic, Erik Engstrom, extreme metal, HORSE the Band, metalcore, nintendocore
