HARD
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 7th April 2010.
Part Hungarian, part Swedish band HARD - Björn Lodin on vocals, Balazs Hornyak on drums, Gabor Mirkovics on bass, plus Zsolt Csillik and Zsolt Vamos on guitar - recently released a new album Time Is Waiting For No One on the Escape Music label.
We caught up with Björn and Gabor to find out more...
Hi Guys, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Gabor: Hi Jon, we're fine over here!
Congratulations on the new record. I assume you are proud of it?
Gabor: Yes we are very proud of it. In my opinion this is the best HARD album to date. Björn's vocals and overall input has taken things to another level.
Happy with the reviews so far; or do you not take a lot of notice of them?
Gabor: Reviews? We don't get to read western reviews here… Sorry, I couldn't help myself… The reviews and feedback has been what can be expected, I suppose - heaven and hell. We know what we have done and we feel good about it… I'd say most reviews I've seen agree with that. We're a very enthusiastic bunch of people and when we made this album we set out to make musical history and ended up with a record that was beyond our initial expectations… Now, how's that for being proud of your stuff? :) Everybody is a reviewer nowadays and that can certainly be entertaining :)
Could you give us a brief history of how the present HARD line-up came about?
Gabor: Well, we started searching for a new singer last spring, after the Z-Rock gig in the UK, and our publicist recommended us to to take a look at Mr Lodin. This was the best recommendation we could get - cheers Nicky! We contacted Björn and came to an agreement with him and so far we've got no regrets. We also assigned him to be producer for the album. I am very happy with this line up.
Why is the name now HARD and not, as it used to be, H.A.R.D.?
Gabor: HARD was our original name but when we made the first English language album we decided that we'd use H.A.R.D. abroad and HARD in Hungary :) You see, in HARD we had a lead singer called Kalapács József, singing in Hungarian and in H.A.R.D we had Bátky Zoltán (our previous singer), singing in English… Before Björn joined he said: Take the fucking dots out of there and I might consider it, haha… Even if we someday will perform in Hungarian we will use the name HARD. We're all waiting for Björn to learn Hungarian so we can start doing this for real :)
Are you officially the first part-Swedish, part-Hungarian rock band in history?
Gabor: Yes, I think so :)
What has Björn brought to the band that wasn't there before?
Gabor: Many things… besides having a great sense of humour he is very enthusiastic and reliable - he always delivers. He brought great know how to the band in terms of composing, engineering and production skills. We're lucky to have him in our camp!
Have the distances involved made writing and recording difficult, or is that one of the benefits of existing in the computer age?
Gabor: Flights are fairly cheap and since Björn keeps us disciplined we get stuff done when we meet :) So far it's been no problem… and like you say - computers do the trick.
How has the creative process worked? Has it been a case of lots of lyrics and riffs flying back and forth across the net, or did you get together to make the record?
Gabor: Both. First we locked ourselves in for 3 weeks then the bouncing back and forth over the internet started. Finally, we recorded and mixed at Björn's studio in Sweden.
Did you discuss what direction you wanted the new line-up of HARD to go in, or did you let it develop under its own steam during the writing process?
Gabor: Well, the writing was a very dynamic process and song ideas took strange directions and found their way back… but I'd say we got most of it figured out during the first 3 weeks. However, it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings...
How do you think the band's sound these days compares to earlier albums like Traveler?
Gabor: Like a unit. This is how we should sound. Thanks to Mr Lodin's vision.
Are there any good stories behind the songs? Where do you look for your writing inspirations?
Gabor: Well, of course we had a lot of ideas before we even got together the first time, but during these 3 weeks we really worked our asses of… following up all the riffs and ideas that came along, exploring all possibilities… This was a new experience to us but we knew we had a time schedule and even a deadline for the album so everybody was tuned into being creative. Once your mind is set to 'creative mode' you're likely to find inspiration all around you. Just sit on your ass and do it.
How long did Time Is Waiting For No One take to create from start to finish? It seems to have come together quickly
Gabor: About 7 months from start to finish.
Where did the album title come from?
Gabor: We had some set backs that were slowing us down and we decided to act on it. We wanted to keep the schedule and...there was the title.
What was the time in the studio like? Was it fun, hard work, or a bit of both?
Gabor: Hehe, I hardly remember the recording part since we were doing so many other things… chopping wood, searching for mushrooms in the woods, long walks in the great surroundings of Dalecarlia (where Björn lives and has his studio) Early mornings and early nights :) Hard work and arguments for sure, but that's the beauty of being in a creative environment.
Did you use any special techniques or instruments to get your sound?
Björn: Hi Jon! Not really :) Straight forward arrangement and planning. No sampled drums or expensive ukuleles.
Did the record feel special as you were recording it?
Björn: Yes, it did. I felt comfortable with this material… it is a mix of all styles and sounds I like and grew up with. This was a great opportunity to get to do it this way - to just let things blend.
How did the deal with Escape Music come about?
Björn: By accident, like everything else… wasn't at all meant to be. But again, our mutual publicist Nicky did more than he was supposed to :) and 1 track ended up at Escape...
H.A.R.D. was one of the biggest rock bands in Hungary was it not? Is "HARD" with a new line-up and new album doing equally well?
Gabor: Yes, I think we even gained more awareness now with Björn in the band. But the most famous bands sing in Hungarian. For us the true challenge is to attract a bigger audience in Hungary, while singing in English. So far our old fans have been very kind to us :) At our release gig in Budapest we had full house and the crowd was giving both us and Björn their approval.
Are you getting plenty of airplay across the world?
Gabor: Yes, radio play lists keep showing up. A lot of regular FM radio but most being internet rock stations. It's a great boost knowing people like our stuff enough so they'll play it at their stations!
Are you planning to play any live dates on the back of this release? Any chance we'll see you play the UK?
Gabor: We're likely doing an arena gig with an international major band in Budapest this spring, and I really want to scream it out to everybody, but it's still to be confirmed so…but it rhymes with what comes out of a penis :) We're also looking at some other festivals in Europe and even the US.
Are there already plans for the next album, or is it all about Time Is Waiting For No One at present?
Gabor: Actually, I'll give you the release date for the next album: Nov 6 - 2010. We're writing new material as we speak. Björn producing and recording like before.
Any question you love being asked that I've missed? If so, what's the answer?
Gabor: The answer would be: Thank you! We are very honoured to receive this award. We feel very good about taking part in stopping all illegal downloading and making it possible for artists to make records again!
What are you up to once you've finished answering these questions?
Björn: Oh, I'll be trimming my apple trees tomorrow, picking up dog shit from the garden and getting on with the regular spring cleaning I suppose :)
Thanks again to Gabor and Björn for their time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of HARD's latest album Time Is Waiting For No One by clicking here.
http://www.myspace.com/hardhungary
