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Swedish rock band that existed from 1991 to 1997, members wereJohan Karlsson (bass), Andreas Danielsson (guitar), Cecilia Nordlund (vocals/guitar) and Tony Karlsson (drums).
Souls teeters on the edge of emotion, of reality, of obsession. Early in its history, many in the band's homeland of Sweden were so unsettled by its peculiar fearlessness that people balked at venturing into the dressing room after a Souls concert. Singer Cecilia Nordlund understands: "I'm a nice person, unless I don't like something. Then I don't think before I speak. Some think that makes me a vulgar bitch. I think I'm just very honest, like this band. We say what we want, we're not afraid."
On its first internationally-released album, "Bird Fish Or Inbetween" (Trauma/Interscope Records), Souls reveals itself to be an original and intriguing band . . . who earned its Trauma deal on the recommendation of Bush's Gavin Rossdale. On "Bird Fish Or Inbetween", leaves of melody crash against walls of noise. Songs of jealousy and forbidden love slam against tales of schizophrenia and revenge. Guitars, bass and drums meet piano, cello and xylophone. One track runs six minutes, another four seconds of silence. "I think it should've been longer," says Cecilia with an ironic smile. "It's the best song we've ever written. We wanted it to be the single." Given their explosive nature, it's no surprise that the first effort at "Bird Fish Or Inbetween" collapsed in late 1995. In Chicago with Steve Albini (Nirvana, Bush), who had produced their 1994 debut album, the band fell apart. "We recorded in the basement in his house," explains Cecilia, "and mixed in the attic. We were exhausted and it was too much for everyone. We hated each other for months."
A new year, however, brought its resurrection, for a simple reason. "In the end, it's hard to imagine ourselves alive without each other," says Johan. Producer Nille Perned took the reins; recording took place in Gothenburg, Sweden. Then, in spring 1996, Bush asked Souls to open its show at the London Astoria. Later, Rossdale brought a copy of the band's new album to Trauma Records' Rob Kahane and Paul Palmer, who soon signed the band to be one of Bush's labelmates.
Following an EP release, "Expensive," which included the title track and three contributions from the Chicago sessions, "Bird Fish Or Inbetween" (with two songs recorded by Albini) was released to glowing critical acclaim in Scandinavia on Telegram/Warner Sweden in October 1996. "This is not a band that was put together and told to wear funny clothes," says Cecilia. "Or here one day and gone the next," says Johan. "That we've been six years together gives us a spine."
Based in Helsingborg, Sweden, far from the maddening music industry, Cecilia, Andreas, Johan, and a Spinal Tap-like string of drummers formed the band in 1991. Cecilia was born rebellious. Her raised-in-the-Sixties parents were free spirits, adherents of Transcendental Meditation who met the Maharishi several times. When Cecilia was 13, she and her best friend, always bullied in school "because we were strange," recorded a song they called "Be Yourself" in her bedroom on a cassette player. From that moment, "it was like a drug to be in a band and to play music. I couldn't stop." It was at school that she met Andreas.
His father was a journalist and part-time DJ, so music was always in his house. Early piano lessons led to a snare drum when he was 10, then a small acoustic guitar. "I played one Neil Young song for over a year before I discovered I could change the chords." Once he had an electric guitar in hand, it was clear he wanted to be nothing if not a musician. "If I cannot play music, I will not survive. I would starve emotionally and fade away."
Johan's father also was related to the music business, being a long-haired, pot smoking hippie who rented out rehearsal rooms. Quite naturally, Johan collected Beatles records as a kid and began playing guitar when he was 16. He switched to bass "because I was sick of guitar. I was stuck in my own chords."
Souls recorded its first album in Chicago with Albini. (Incidentally, all the members speak English thanks to American films and compulsory language classes.) They titled it "Tjitchischtsiy (sudêk)", a blather of nonsense words they used to call a dog that would run around the studio, spelling it as weirdly as possible so radio DJs wouldn't know how to pronounce it. "Bird Fish Or Inbetween" was named after a Scandinavian children's game in which someone hides candy and the others search for it. If it's down low, the one who did the hiding says "fish." If it's up high, it's "bird." If it's Inbetween, well, you get the idea. If it's close, it's "hot" and if it's far it's "cold."
When the band's former drummer went cold, Lars was recruited and is heard on two songs on the album. Born in Oslo, Norway, Lars and his Swedish mother moved back to her native land when he was six. First inspired by KISS, he began in punk bands "because anybody could play." He became a member of the neo-psychedelic Whipped Cream in 1989, performing on its two albums. Recalls Cecilia, "we'd rehearse in the cellar of the concert hall they would play at. We always admired Lars."
Obsession, reality, jealousy . . . Cecilia, Andreas, Johan and Lars-Erik are fearlessly baring their Souls to the world.
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