Matilda Roth, MaidaVale

0:14Matilda RothYes, I'm Matilda from the band Medavail.

0:17HostFirst of all, I want to congratulate you on the last recent album. Now you're on the tour. How's the tour going so far?

0:26Matilda RothIt's been great so far. We've only done four dates. We're in the middle of it, but it's been great. Good turnout, nice places.

0:34?Where have you been so far?

0:36Matilda RothWe've been to Hamburg, Jena, Bremen, and yesterday in Berlin.

0:41HostBerlin. Yeah, it took some time, but you just came from there. How long? Like six hours to drive?

0:46Matilda RothI think it was more. We drove last night a couple of hours.

0:50HostOh, really? So you spent the whole day here?

0:53Matilda RothNo, no, no. We just drove to Dresden last night, and then we drove the rest of the way today.

0:59HostThe album, first of all, I want to say that I really like the album. So I've been listening to you since 2016. So I like that album, then you went in different directions musically. And then you released this album, Mad Dog.

1:13?Sun Dog.

1:14HostSun Dog, sorry.

1:15?No.

1:15HostI was thinking not to confuse it with the Sun God. So you kind of evolved a lot.

1:24?Yeah.

1:25HostSo I was thinking about this a lot because, you know, like you're already in all your interviews before. I talk a lot, but just give me a second. In all your interviews, you already pretty much explained about, like, the sound and everything. But at the same time, I don't understand why North African blues in Sweden.

1:45Matilda RothI think it's quite popular in Sweden, actually. Like, bands like Tina Riven are, like, people, I don't know why, maybe it's, we have a blues tradition as well. And it's a bit folky, and we have a folk tradition. And they kind of meet in the North African blues. I don't know how it came about, but, yeah, we listened to music like that for a long time. And now I guess it became more, like, prevalent on this record, the influences.

2:18HostYeah, because, like, okay, we all know that Swedish rock scene is quite, like, heavy, like, good education. Everybody went to the music schools and all that stuff. But at the same time, majority of the people, except Goat and you, went to the North African blues. Right? Why? Like, did you listen to some, did you listen to some kind of specific music that you wanted to go into that direction?

2:45Matilda RothI think we listened to a lot of different music.

2:49MaidaValeAnd it, like, became a mix of everything.

2:54Matilda RothBut we liked Goat a lot. So that was also... Oh, you toured with them? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or we've done shows with them. We haven't been on longer tours. All right, yeah. Like, we had... In Norway. Yeah, a couple of shows in Sweden, and we did three days in the UK. Yeah, so, yeah, they've been influential as well. And, like, when you start listening to something, and then you, like, evolve your own music taste, and you discover further your influences.

3:23HostBecause when I saw you, right, like, in the beginning of 2016, 17, right, you were, like, Goat, going in the North African, like, stage, like, clothes and stuff, right? Yeah. But now Goat, like, this is, like, everybody thinks about them when you only see them. So, was there, like, did you have to make a decision, like, okay, they're, like, so dominant in that sphere? Maybe not dominant, but, you know, like... Yeah, I know what you mean.

3:51Matilda RothBut, no, it wasn't a decision for us. It was, like, more natural that we wanted to do what we do.

3:58HostYeah, which is different.

4:00Matilda RothYeah, yeah, it was just kind of happened when we started writing this new record, like, where we were musically, like, all four of us together. So, it wasn't a decision at all. It just kind of happened. It was not a... Yeah, I understand.

4:13HostYeah, yeah, yeah. My favorite song is the first and the last from this album. Oh, really? Yeah. I don't know the names. I never know the names of the tracks. But in your case, it was easy because it's the first and the last. Of course, in the middle, all the songs are really good, but this is, like, stand out to me.

4:30Matilda RothYou have to listen to the whole record if your favorites are first and last.

4:33HostFirst album, one sound. Second album, different sound. Third album, it's, like, somewhere, I don't know, in between. Would we say in between or something?

4:44Matilda RothYeah, it's in between and outside, I guess. It's, like, because the first one was very much, like, traditional blues or blues rock. And then the second one was, like, kraut rock, very influenced by German bands, like, Cannes and Neuens, more kraut rock. And for this one, it was, like, a lot more mixed influences, like, everything from pop to post.

5:12?Pop?

5:12MaidaValeYeah. Tell me pop.

5:14HostTell me more about pop.

5:16MaidaValeYeah, we're, like, a lot of different, I don't know.

5:19HostAll right, let's talk about the most important things. We have two people, maybe three, that are, like, yes or no. Taylor Swift, yes or no.

5:27MaidaValeI don't listen a lot, but I think she's really great.

5:30HostJustin Bieber.

5:31MaidaValeI think he's very talented.

5:34HostAriana Grande.

5:35MaidaValeI don't listen to her very much at all.

5:38HostWe're pretty much sold the hookies.

5:41HostBut you mean, like, pop from different times, not even, like, you mean, like, pop, not modern pop, like, some kind of pop.

5:48Matilda RothYeah. Yeah. Like, melodies and chords that are very, like, catchy. We like.

5:56HostMax Martin, we go.

5:58MaidaValeMaybe not my favorite songwriter, but he's good at what he's doing.

6:02HostEverybody, like, from Sweden mentioned Max Martin, and I had to check him out. I was like, everybody wants to be like Max Martin. I don't get it. Who? I was like, oh, that guy.

6:12MaidaValeBecause he's making a lot of money. Yeah.

6:14HostThat guy. Okay. Now I understand. Your album, like, it feels, you collaborated a lot with a lot of people on this album, right? I would say in comparison to the first one, more than before, right? Why those people?

6:29Matilda RothIt was suggested by the producer of the record because he had, like, he knew them from before. What do you mean? With Tina Riven before, so the percussionist played some Jemba and Calavash on their couple of songs. And he, it was his suggestion, so he reached out to them, or to him. And for Steve Agnello, mixed one of the songs. And it was through him as well because he knew him from some project he'd done earlier.

7:00HostPersonal Connections, basically. Yeah, yeah. Right. I heard that they made the band mix songs shorter.

7:07?Poppy.

7:08HostYeah, I can't believe it. Poppy is my term. That's what it is.

7:11Matilda RothI know, yeah, I know what you mean. Yeah, because I think we wanted, like, live we do very, or not all the time, but like some songs we can play, like, very long versions and, like, long psychedelic jam parts. But it's fun to do live and maybe not on record as much. It can be great on record as well. But we want to do more, like, compact album, like, with the songs that are, like, I don't know, I guess more mainstream. It's not mainstream, but, like, it's easier to, like, push your album if it's, like, I don't know, more like song songs.

7:52MaidaValeYou know what I mean?

7:53HostI know. In the middle between Spotify and TikTok.

7:56MaidaValeYeah, kind of, yeah.

7:59HostYou mean, like, a proper song?

8:01MaidaValeYeah, yeah, like a proper song. And it's, like, that you can do something fun with live.

8:08Matilda RothSo, like, the song might be shorter on the album, but then it's fun to, like, play and jam live.

8:16HostYeah, I noticed that, like, each song and album was, like, really polished. I know that you wrote, you recorded in three weeks in three different parts of the year, right? But how much was on the album and how much didn't get into the album?

8:32Matilda RothNot much got cut. I think we had, like, one or two song ideas going into the studio that didn't make it at all. And then, well, we tried lots of, like, different, I don't know, like, sounds or synthesizers or percussion or that. You try and then, no, that didn't work out and then it's cut. But, like, most of the songs that we had were actually on the album.

9:02HostBecause of this three weeks in three different parts, it's almost, like, it feels like a magical, like, ritualistic way. Did you feel that, like, in between those you want to change a lot? Or based on how the first session was, recording session, you changed the second and third?

9:19Matilda RothNot change, maybe. Like, what we had already recorded and put down, we were happy with. But, like, in between you get time to, like, think about how can we make this better? Like, what does this song need to make it better? And, yeah, we had time to, like, explore different options and ideas, too, like, until the next time we were in the studio.

9:45HostWas there all a uniting thing around them or each time it was something different?

9:50Matilda RothYeah, it was pretty different, I think.

9:54HostCut them in half.

9:56MaidaValeNo, yeah, sometimes.

10:00MaidaValeBut it wasn't that, like, extreme cuts.

10:04HostYou started to use synthesizers, right? So was it, like, also, like, because before I remember that you were with tambourine, you were dancing on stage, you still do it. You have visuals, liquid lights, right? But now there's a synthesizer there, right? So what changes around the show and music, actually?

10:24Matilda RothYeah, we added, like, synthesizers and more percussion because we wanted, like, a broader sound, like, or more different sound. And live, for me, it's a bit more busy because I do play synthesizers and I sing and I play some guitar and percussion. So it's busy, but it's very fun. Maybe a little less dancing.

10:54HostA little less dancing. What about the percussion that you have? Like, on the album you went full North African blues, right? Like, how do you play it with on life? Like, I was really interested.

11:06Matilda RothYeah, it's not, it's, like, a couple of songs on the record that has, like, the djembe.

11:16Matilda RothBut, like, most songs are actually just shaker and tambourine.

11:21HostBut when I first heard the first sounds, first, like, I was like, oh, you need a new band member for that.

11:28Matilda RothYeah, that would be nice. Like, then I can dance some more again. But, yeah, I play, like, shakers and tambourine. So, what else changed about the live show?

11:38?Is it, like, so you added visuals? What else are you planning?

11:41HostAre you planning to change the looks? Because you had one before and now different ones. Any plans for the next year's tour?

11:53Matilda RothYeah, well, we would like, we have visuals when it's possible, like, when it works with a venue. And we would like, like, more visuals and light, like, a light show would be great. But it's hard to, like, yeah, it's so different from venue to venue, like, what the lights are. And, like, we don't have our own technician with us.

12:24?Yeah, yeah, yeah.

12:24Matilda RothBut that would be great to have a more, like, yeah. You want more lights?

12:27MaidaValeYeah, like, in a show, like an experience.

12:30HostWe'll spread the word. We'll want more lights. All right, cool. So, what's the plan now? You play this European tour. This is 2024, November. And then you're going to a new European tour in next year.

12:43Matilda RothYes, in February, we, I think we're doing four weeks in continental Europe.

12:52HostAnd then we're like, the sound of it, continental Europe, the soul, like, not continental Europe talk.

12:58Matilda RothYeah, I know, I know. So, we're doing four weeks, a four-week-long tour. And then something more will come.

13:09HostUh-huh. Usually people talk about festivals when it comes to this.

13:13MaidaValeIt might be, it might be.

13:15HostNo, no, no, it's fine.

13:16MaidaValeSomething else might be announced.

13:18HostAll right. Are you really excited? This is the best. Even, like, when you don't tell me, it's even the best.

13:23MaidaValeNo, no, no, no, no. It's just hard to phrase.

13:27?Something special.

13:29MaidaValeMaybe some other parts of Europe might get it.

13:33HostOh, okay. Okay, I understand. Okay, okay, okay. I understand. You need confirmation for that. All right. Yes. Confirmation to talk about. But usually it's like, really, it is something special.

13:43HostAll right. So, I'm pretty sure that you already, like, started to gather experience for the new material, new music, because it can't be another way, right? So, are you working already in the new ideas or new music?

13:58?No.

13:58HostOr you're just, like, in the tour mode at the moment?

14:00Matilda RothYeah, right now we're in the tour mode. We're not actively working on new things. Yeah, I think we're going to do these tours and focus on, like, doing, yeah, perfecting the live show and rehearsing.

14:12HostWhich is a lot of work.

14:13Matilda RothYeah. Hopefully next year we'll, like, work more on new songs.

14:18?Mm-hmm. Yeah.

14:18HostAll right. So, thank you very much. Could you please tell me which song should I put at the end? So, it's a good introduction for the band. It could be only the first and the last song because it's my favorite. I'm joking. I'm joking. I'm joking. Any, any song. Any song.

14:35?Vultures. Vultures. Vultures.