“We are just getting started.”
MORE has released a string of singles — and one EP — so far this year. But don’t expect this Swedish synth trio to slow down anytime soon.
Today marks the release of yet another single: “Constant Loop.” Its accompanying b-side, the instrumental “Legacy of K (Prologue),” is also available today on Spotify. The former is a bright, glittering affair compared to their other work thus far. Its barrage of hi-hat cymbals and pulsing synths makes it feel a little less gloomy and a lot more club-ready… but that’s not a bad thing. These guys apparently know how to pull off both with ease.
Read on to learn more about… well… MORE.
DARKNESS CALLING: Can you tell us about the formation of MORE? We see your Bandcamp releases are all from 2020, so we assume you're a new project?
MORE: MORE is Mattias Jönsson (keyboards, composer, producer), Lino Avian (keyboards, composer, producer) and Magnus Dahlberg (vocals, songwriter, producer).
LINO: Me and Mattias have been writing songs for years but never finished the tracks. We felt our work deserved some lyrics and vocals. Eventually, we advertised for a singer/songwriter, and Magnus showed up. It was a perfect match.
MATTIAS: As Lino said, MORE was formed in 2018 when we found Magnus through an ad we posted on Facebook. So yes, we’re a new band even though Lino and I have been making music together on and off since we met in high school. And Magnus has a similar background making music.
MAGNUS: Yes, it sure was perfect timing for Mattias and Lino to reach out. I had been going through some rough periods and was on the edge of giving up writing music — something I had been doing for over two decades. They gave me my inspiration back with their fantastic music.
“They gave me my inspiration back with their fantastic music.”
DARKNESS CALLING: It seems that we keep discovering great synth artists from Sweden. What can you tell us about the prevalence of synth music in the Swedish culture and some of your biggest influences?
LINO: I have no idea; I just know it´s been my biggest interest and hobby for years. I started fooling around with sampling when I was around 14 years old.
MAGNUS: Yes, I agree with Lino. It’s hard to explain why the Swedish synth scene has become so broad. Maybe it has to do with the battle in the eighties between hard rock fans and synth fans in Sweden, which made both camps push their creativity to the edge. In the end, I think both camps won, cause a lot of great hard rock and synth music has flown out of our small country.
MATTIAS: There are so many great bands and artists from all over the world, including Sweden, and I think the three of us are — in many ways — much alike when it comes to music and what we want to do with MORE. But when it comes to influences and what we listen to, we are in some ways completely different. I think we draw our inspiration from a wide selection of music — from both better-known bands and artists, and also from those who are less well-known.
DARKNESS CALLING: “Constant Loop” is a fun song with a great drum and bass combo. Of course the synths and vocals are fantastic, as well. Can you tell us about the roles the three of you played individually to bring this song together?
LINO: Thank you for those words. This song has been in the drawer since 2013. Me and Mattias composed it over a few beers, not very focused, and really never believed it was ever going to be finished or released.
MATTIAS: I’m not sure, but I guess the influences for “Constant Loop” may be classic disco mixed with synth-pop.
MAGNUS: When Mattias and Lino presented the draft of the song to me, I was instantly hooked. I could feel the nerve of the song and — being a huge Kent fan (a Swedish band) — I had to work on it as fast as I could. The lyrics just came to me right away, and after recording the vocals, we all listened to it and we knew it was too good not to be released.
“When we picked our band name, we knew we couldn’t call ourselves MORE unless we could give the audience just that.”
DARKNESS CALLING: You recently released an EP (EPONE), and this new single followed shortly after. Is all of this building toward a full-length LP?
LINO: That’s the plan, but you never know. It was a lot of work just making an EP.
MAGNUS: Exactly; our aim is to release our first full-length album this fall. We have the tracks to fill more than just one album. When we picked our band name, we knew we couldn’t call ourselves MORE unless we could give the audience just that.
MATTIAS: On my bucket list, there’s a physically-released LP. After that, all is complete. I think.
DARKNESS CALLING: Not all bands like doing covers, but if you three were forced to decide on a cover song right now, which one would it be?
MATTIAS: I'm not interested in doing covers. A cover should be a tribute to a song or a band, and I find it hard to believe that we could do our idols' songs justice. I'd rather see Marilyn Manson do a cover of our first single “Sentimental Sounds.”
MAGNUS: [Laughs] Marilyn Manson doing a cover of “Sentimental Sounds” would really be something to hear. But yes, I do agree with Mattias; we wouldn’t be able to choose a song to cover which we all are comfortable doing. But you never know in the future. I really hope the audience will enjoy our new single, cause we are just getting started.
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