The Bombhappies
Emerging from Karlstad, Sweden in the mid 1990's (more exactly 1995), but still going strong as band, The Bombhappies is – for their hard core fans – a (very well) hidden gem in alternative rock music.
Sonically speaking, the band strum the chords of many bands on the early 90s US college rock scene, beat similar rythms as the heroes of 70s Swedish progressive rock, and finishes that off with 80s British post-punk influenced melodies. The Bombhappies are renowned for their very raw/live sounding and said textures are carried throughout the band's catalogue. Approaching 30 years together as a band, The Bombhappies still rehearse on a regular basis in their Stockholm studio, waiting for people to get it.
The Bombhappies is...?
... a band from Karlstad, Sweden which was formed by high-school friends back in 1995. For their hard core fans – The Bombhappies is a (very well) hidden gem in alternative rock music. Sonically speaking, the band strum the chords of many bands on the early 90s US college rock scene, beat similar rythms as the heroes of 70s Swedish progressive rock, and finishes that off with 80s British post-punk influenced melodies.
The Bombhappies are renowned for their very raw/live sounding and said textures are carried throughout the band's catalogue. Approaching 30 years together as a band, The Bombhappies still rehearse on a regular basis in their Stockholm studio, waiting for people to get it. Maybe this is happening now?
Who inspired you to make music in general?
We (the members of the band) were a part of the same 90's music scene in Karlstad (Sweden) and all played in (more short-lived) bands inspired by bands such as R.E.M., Pixies, Suede, David Bowie, The Cure, Blur, Supergrass and many more. When we formed The Bombhappies it ended up being a melting pot of influences that worked as a foundation for our somewhat "bespoke" sound.
"Boléro" sounds extraordinary, what is the story behind the song?
Boléro is definitely the type of song that originates from one of our jam sessions. Some years back, when we all had kids, it became harder to gather the whole band for rehearsal at the same time, and this also changed our song writing process.
What used to be a one-man task (someone wrote the basis for a new song and brought it - almost ready - to the studio) now had to change. Since there is less time and focus on music when you take care of small kids, the music making had to be done on site in the studio. And since not everyone is there at the same time, 2-5 members of the group meet in the studio to create something. With Boléro it started as a spontaneous riff, that became one our "phone recordings" that (with many other sound clips) ended up in our library of "song building blocks".
During one weekend during the pandemic we packed our gear in two cars and went to a red cabin in the woods of Värmland (the countryside area where we spent our childhood summers) and finished a few songs during a weekend. Boléro was one of these songs, and while usually adding a chorus and a verse to a riff like that, we loved the melody of the riff so much that we decided to just repeat it for 9 minutes.
It sounded amazing and when having lunch listening to it, we started talkig about Ravel's "Boléro", that is structured in the same way. From that moment I think it took 20 minutes to write the lyrics, because the concept was so strong.
I have read "After 10 years of silence ....", what was the significant point or thought to come back?
Our 10 year silence has many reasons (raising kids in a somewhat gender equal society like Sweden being one) but the triggering factor was probably that our previous album "A Good Fire" (2012) got... no reception at all...
We spent so much time, laid all of our energy and put our hearts into creating what we considered to be a masterpiece, the definitive album. And we got only one (1!) review. And it was mellow. A 3/5, haha! It was like a ballon slowly deflating.
Our singer Joel actually had to go to theraphy for this. It took us almost eight years to start writing good stuff again, and then suddenly ten years had passed. Why we started again? Well, we never stopped, but it was more of an internal thing, no gigs, no studio recordings. Then suddenly one day everyone felt like doing another recording, and "Boléro" was born.
From the first idea to the finished song, how much remains at the end?
A little but like the long answer before. We record "song building blocks" every week. It can take a few days or a couple of years for a song to be ready for other people's ears.
If you take a look back to the 90s or mid 90s what's the big difference for artists between then and now?
Well, it's a completely different industry now. The scales have shifted in favour of producer-music (often 10 songwriters per song) instead of the more DIY/punk-tradition that we grew up with. Good or bad? Don't know. We just do our thing. Many of the reactions to "Boléro" is that a 9-minute song can't be successful in 2022, where songs are usually 02:30 long. Our reply to that is: indie bands don't make radio edits. Haha, that could be the headline of this article.
Is there a chance to see you somewhere live on stage?
If you are around Stockholm, Sweden in September/October we have a gig date coming up (will be announced f.e. on Spotify)
What's next for you?
We will record and finish a few more songs this fall, release an EP or an LP and maybe book a few gigs for spring of 2023.
