Since forming in the early ‘90s Sweden’s The Quill have been through plenty of changes and new beginnings, but none quite as significant as their recent reformation with new vocalist Magnus ‘Magz’ Arnar. The resulting record ‘Full Circle’ is a fine showcase of the band’s talents, and looks to open up a lot of new doors for the four-piece… We caught up with the heavy rock titans ahead of their UK date in Camden to talk new hopes, new directions, and why the latest record is closest to their hearts.
Planet Loud – Cheers for your time today… How are you doing, and how’ve you been finding London?
The Quill – We’re well thank you – we’ve been having a wander around Camden today, which has been enjoyable. It’s great to be here.
Planet Loud – How’re you feeling about tonight’s show? You’re here supporting your ‘Full Circle’ record, a significant release for you… are you drawing quite heavily from that album at the moment?
The Quill – Yes, most of the songs that we’re playing at the moment are from that album. We really consider ourselves to be a new band these days, though we do still play a few of the older songs. Before this record we were pretty much on hiatus – it took quite a while for us to find the right guy to become our new singer. We’ve developed new aspects of our sound, but it’s been a natural evolution, stepping up from the old Quill, if you like. Some of the songs on our new record are a bit more straightforward than people might expect from us, as we took a very straight-up approach to this new album, but it’s still built upon the same foundations as ever. Our musical priorities haven’t drastically changed: we still want to make simple and lively rock ‘n’ roll music, as has always been the case. For a while after Magnus (Arnar, vocals) joined the band we toyed with the idea of taking on a new name for the band as so much had changed, but ultimately we decided to keep it, as fundamentally we were coming from the same place. We’re the same, but different (laughs).
Planet Loud – Did it take a while for you to gel with the new line-up, prior to writing the latest record?
The Quill – Not really, we actually got into things quite quickly. Nowadays we all live in different cities anyway, so we can’t get into a rehearsal room together as much as we once could. We all came up with ideas individually this time and shared them with each other, but the songs didn’t really get finished until we had time to get together and jam around with them, as we did before going in to record.
Planet Loud – Are there any tracks from ‘Full Circle’ that you feel particular showcase your development as a band, where you might be going?
The Quill – It’s always difficult to say really. As clichéd as it is, it’s true that picking your favourite out of your own songs is a bit like picking your favourite child – you love them all for different reasons, you know? But I think that in terms of development, one of the big changes is that now, all four of us are writing lyrics, whereas before Magnus (Ekwall, former vocalist) would handle all that side of things. In that sense there’s a lot more of all of us in this record. These new songs are closer to our hearts in a way, they represent us much more than our older music. We feel very strongly about this album actually, all of us. We’re very proud of it, and we’re excited to see where it can take us as a band.
Planet Loud – Have you had much chance to tour the new record as yet?
The Quill – Sort of, though we’ve had a few setbacks along the way. The record came out in July, and we were supposed to go out on tour in October, but it didn’t work out, and that’s been postponed until spring of 2012. We visited Spain a couple of weeks ago, and we’ve been playing quite a lot in Sweden as well . We’re here for our only UK date tonight and then we go on to Holland. In February we have a German tour… and, one or two very exciting things where the details haven’t been nailed down yet. 2012 is looking like a really interesting year for us. We’re absolutely focused this time around, and we can’t wait to get out there to play more countries, to do some bigger tours.
Planet Loud – Do you have quite a strong fanbase back home in Sweden?
The Quill – I think so, yes… we always see a lot of familiar faces coming out to see us. The difference recently has been that we’ve been away for a while, for a couple of years, so we’re seeing a lot of new people coming down to watch us. This new record seems to be drawing in a lot of new people, which is obviously great for us, and that’s not just confined to Sweden.
Planet Loud – What kind of elements do you try to inject into your music, or admire in the music of others?
The Quill – Well, we definitely take a lot of influence from older stuff. Our music is really rooted in that of the sixties and seventies, the bands that inspired us when we were growing up, and when we were starting as a band. We do draw from a wide range of stuff though, and that seems to show when we do interviews, or when we read reviews of our records… we’re asked ‘oh, were you listening to Soundgarden when you were writing this record’? And yeah, we were. The same goes for AC/DC, and Alice In Chains, and a lot of other bands: and generally yes, we do listen to those bands and take influence from them. It’s interesting that people seem to hear different bands and different styles of music in our records and shows. Most of that is music from a while ago, though, a lot of the great rock ‘n’ roll bands through the years, from Led Zeppelin and AC/DC to bands from the nineties like Soundgarden. When it comes to new music, we don’t really have anything to say (laughs). Of course, there are a lot of good bands out there, there’s no doubt about that, and I think we’ve seen a few who’re included in that. But in terms of what we enjoy listening to, what kind of aspects excite us musically, you have to look a little bit further back, you know?
Planet Loud – Absolutely. Just to round off then, what are your plans for 2012 looking like? Can we expect to see you back in the UK in the near future?
The Quill – Hopefully so. We’re going to get back out on the road at the beginning of next year, and possibly take in quite a few festivals around Europe, as we always enjoy that. Coming back to the UK is one of our priorities, for sure. Like I said earlier little has been really nailed down as yet but we’ve got a lot of stuff in the pipeline, so it should be a busy year, and hopefully a lot of people will discover us through the new album. We’re also looking at recording another album sometime soon, possibly next summer.
Planet Loud – Cool. Thanks again!
The Quill – Thanks.
Connect with The Quill – http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Quill/147432208602783?ref=ts
Interview by Rob Sayce
