Dirty Passion Interview

DIRTY PASSION INTERVIEW:
March 11, 2013

Websites: www.dirtypassion.com – www.facebook.com/pages/DIRTY-PASSION/119133864777030
Interviewer: JJ Lee

Dirty Passion is a hard-rock band from Malmo, Sweden. Forming in 2006, the band recently released their second album, and first with new vocalist Kriss Lohikoski Svensson, entitled ‘In Wonderland’ through Denomination Records and embarked on their first UK headline tour in February of 2013. Sleaze Roxx’s JJ Lee caught up with the band — Svensson, guitarist Christopher Olsson, drummer Markus Winberg and bassist Nasty — at their London gig in Surya, Islington to talk about the new album and life on the road.

Sleaze Roxx: Give us a quick introduction to the band.

Christopher Olsson: Well, we’ve just released a new album and this is the last leg of the tour in the UK. It’s been good. We came here with Faster Pussycat in 2010 so it’s been a while, you know. We’re never here, so it’s like the first time for us really.

Sleaze Roxx: You supported Faster Pussycat didn’t you?

Markus Winberg: Yeah, so this is like our first headline tour.

Sleaze Roxx: How’s that been for you?

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: It’s different but it’s good.

Markus Winberg: From night to night, too. Sometimes there’s a lot of people showing up and sometimes just two handfuls in some of the smaller pubs. It depends.

Sleaze Roxx: You’ve supported other big names such as Mike Tramp. Who have you really enjoyed playing with?

Christopher Olsson: The L.A. Guns tour with Tracii Guns was fun.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Yeah that was a great time.

Sleaze Roxx: Who would you love to support or tour with?

Markus Winberg: The Beatles! (laughs)

Christopher Olsson: Elvis?

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Elvis for me.

Christopher Olsson: Actually we’re doing a Scandinavian tour with Doro in April. So that’s going to be really cool. It’s like the six biggest venues in Scandinavia. So it’s six dates, but yeah.

Markus Winberg: First time touring with a girl. (laughs)

Sleaze Roxx: What’s the difference playing Scandinavia and playing the UK?

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: We understand what they say in Scandinavia!

Christopher Olsson: No, but we play Scandinavia and Italy and Europe. We haven’t been in the UK that much so it’s like a start for us here. Some people have heard of us.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Trying to get in the market more.

Christopher Olsson: Yeah, it’s not the best place to tour for bigger crowds but we really want to come here more often.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: This is like building it up for us.

Sleaze Roxx: Your new album is ‘In Wonderland’, what do you think makes it different from your other albums?

Christopher Olsson: It’s heavier, much heavier — it has a much sleazier sound I think.

Sleaze Roxx: Was that the aim throughout? Or was it more touch and go?

Christopher Olsson: Well, it just became that way.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Yeah, we were working together and that was the sound.

Christopher Olsson: All the new songs were different from each other.

Markus Winberg: The first album was… the songs were more similar but this album the songs are wider. Plain rock songs.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: More dynamic.

Markus Winberg: The song writing, that developed most I think. We didn’t spend that much time in the studio on this one but it sounds much better.

Christopher Olsson: Same with song writing, it was much more natural.

Sleaze Roxx: Did you have many songs to pick from?

Christopher Olsson: Well we had 50 songs or something like that. And then we picked some parts from some.

Markus Winberg: So we have enough to write a third album, like tomorrow!

Sleaze Roxx: What do you think makes you a modern band to look out for?

Christopher Olsson: We are not trying to be somebody, which lots of bands are. We just do our stuff.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Write songs, tour, have fun. It’s not so much… we’re not after the fame, we just love playing.

Christopher Olsson: So when we get those tours in Scandinavia and Europe, it’s just a bonus. It’s cool because we’re growing because of that.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: And with this new album and new sound I think it makes us more rock.

Markus Winberg: There are lots of people who have the albums and know about the band, but when they hear the new album it’s not what they were thinking. But they like it so that’s good.

Sleaze Roxx: Do you think the new album has reached out to a new audience?

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Definitely!

Sleaze Roxx: And you’ve seen that at gigs too?

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Yeah definitely.

Christopher Olsson: That’s exciting.

Sleaze Roxx: You formed in 2006, how do you think the scene has changed since then?

Christopher Olsson: Hmm, I don’t know. When we started the band in Malmo there were like 25 sleaze bands around.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Just on our block!

Christopher Olsson: Everyone had a band and everyone was playing local.

Markus Winberg: But many bands break up.

Sleaze Roxx: What do you think has helped you guys to stay together then?

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Because we enjoy it, being out and being with each other.

Christopher Olsson: Being locked in a studio with each other for four weeks can be tough. When bands go out on tour, they fight on the road because it’s such a close living space and so they go home and break up. They never want to do that again.

Markus Winberg: Some bands never tour. It’s difficult if you have work and all the traveling.

Christopher Olsson: So many bands release one demo and that’s it. I don’t know, we just keep going.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: And have fun!

Sleaze Roxx: So what is life like on the road for Dirty Passion?

Markus Winberg: Cold!

Christopher Olsson: Yeah, here it’s really cold.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: It’s kinda strange because I think one way or the other we’re all messed up in the head. I think you have to be.

Christopher Olsson: And it all depends on the night. If we’re supporting a bigger band then there are bigger venues. People come out to you and know the bands and sometimes, I mean, this is, we’re on tour and its smaller clubs.

Sleaze Roxx: Do you like the smaller venues?

Christopher Olsson: Of course, we like it. But it’s different and it doesn’t always end up with a big party at the hotel. It’s a Wednesday and…

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: Isn’t it Thursday?

Christopher Olsson: Thursday maybe, I don’t know.

Sleaze Roxx: What’s your favorite track off the new album?

Markus Winberg: We just released a video from our tour kick off. That’s starting to become a really big song for both the audience and for us.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: It’s kind of grown for us.

Markus Winberg: It was the last one we wrote and we were thinking, ‘should we put that on?’

Christopher Olsson: Nah. We needed one more and Kriss came up with idea and we recorded it. I don’t think, at first, it was on the live set but people were sort of asking us.

Markus Winberg: It’s called “Light Of The Candle” by the way.

Sleaze Roxx: Where did you get the inspiration for the video?

Christopher Olsson: For this tour we did the kick off in Malmo, our hometown! Yeah, at a pretty big venue there.

Markus Winberg: And it was tour kick off and we don’t play in Malmo that often.

Christopher Olsson: Maybe once a year.

Markus Winberg: It’s usually when we’re doing it.

Sleaze Roxx: It must be nice playing back at home.

Christopher Olsson: Yeah, it’s really good. There were 500 people there and a friend of ours that said ‘I can do a video for you, shoot it from the stage’. I didn’t even think about it.

Markus Winberg: I didn’t even know we were shooting.

Kriss Lohikoski Svensson: It was me who arranged it. And it’s very basically done, but I think it gives the video a raw feel to it and that’s what we were going for.

Sleaze Roxx: What can we expect from your live show and in the future?

Christopher Olsson: Energy, and there’s gonna be a lot of people.

Markus Winberg: Maybe a lot of different people. It’s gonna be cool.

Christopher Olsson: After this we have the Scandinavian tour in April, that’s the next thing. Then I think we’ll write and record some songs for the summer and think about an album.

Sleaze Roxx: Any festivals?

Christopher Olsson: We’re working on some but it’s not set yet.

Sleaze Roxx: Anything else for the UK fans?

Nasty: I got nothing.

Christopher Olsson: Well, hopefully we’ll come back again soon!