UPFRONT ONLINE

‘we are soldiers we have guns’ is Malin Dahlberg from Gothenburg (Sweden). With help from an assortment of musical friends she has developed bitter sweet melancholic indie-pop sound. The debut album ‘get up, get out’ recorded late 2007 was, in Malin’s own words “What prevented me from becoming bitter, grumpy and old in advance. If it wasn’t for this record, I’d be living as a carton of sour milk that no one has the energy to get rid of, because the smell has stuck to the refrigerator walls anyway.” UPFRONT gets Malin on a Q10 shake down!

How did you get started?
I wrote some songs for my old band Douglas Heart, that the other guys in the band didn’t really like. I decided to do something with them on my own, so I started making tapes by myself that I handed out for my friends. And then I guess everything grew from there – nowadays I usually include a lot of people in the process.

What ingredients do you need to mix together to produce the recipe of your sound?
Well, if this was in Swedish I’d just say,”känsla för feeling” which means, “the feeling for feeling”, but it doesn’t really work in English, does it? So I’ll say the founding ingredients are a lot of outspokenness and decisiveness, flavoured with some nice influences of Delta 5, The Blow and my old house-gods The Secret Stars.

Did your first gig make you hungry for more?
My first gig ever definitely did – I was 14, we did a cover of Lemonheads, ‘Into my arms’ and the guitarist was wearing a gigantic white bunny-suit. It was nice. But my first gig with the soldiers was a terrible story – it was at an illegal club outside of Gothenburg (which is really nice otherwise). The place was full of teenagers who couldn’t stop shouting and I was so nervous I cried for hours before I went on stage. But I’m over that now! (I think…)

What’s the biggest ‘cock up’ to date?
That must be at the Emmaboda festival the other year. One of the guitarists that I had was so drunk he played a whole song in the wrong key.  While the rest of us played in the correct one! Afterwards he grabbed my ass on stage and then tried to make the record salesmen sell an old, brown banana that he had found somewhere.

What is it that inspires you to make your music/sound
Definitely a lot of other music. And, probably some of the usual stuff: frustration, dissatisfaction, anger and love.

What would be the icing on the cake?
Getting a job that would allow me to spend more time making music. I could start recording more at home and be more productive. Work is just a necessary evil, but it takes up so much of everybody’s time.

How will you be remembered? (what will make you vintage?)
I probably won’t be well remembered by the crowd. But I think a handful of people will remember my music as the one that put words and tunes to the heaviest and most isolated of November mornings.

Describe your music as if it were a fine wine.
The soldiers’ music is like the cheapest of wines – at first it’s a bit difficult to drink, but after a few glasses you’ll never want to stop.

AfterMint! Does your musical style influence your underwear?
No, it’s probably the other way around.

Digestive! What do you know about Luxembourg?
Hmmm. Not much. But I’ve seen pictures of my friend Erik, from the band Cedarwell, on the homepage of d:qliq, so I’m guessing that it’s a great venue of Luxembourg. I can’t wait to come!

More info: www.wearesoldiers.net and www.myspace.com/wearesoldiers 

NEXT GIGS
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February  12 – Astra Stube, Hamburg [DE]
February  13 – d:qliq, Luxembourg [LU]
February  14 – Vera, Groningen [NL]
February  15 – Café de Vrijheid, Dordrecht [NL]
February  16 – Vortex, Siegen [DE]
February  17 – Cafe Glocksee, Hannover [DE]
February  18 – Clubkeller, Frankfurt [DE]
February  19 – Spinnerei, Traun [AU]
February  20 – Herbert, Baden [DE]
February  21 – UT Connewitz, Leipzig [DE]
February  22 – NBI, Berlin [DE]
March 12 – Svanen/Jazzhuset, Götlaborg [SWE]