Maggot Heart clearly needs little introduction here on Unearthed Mirrors: it is a musical entity born from the mind of Linnéa Olsson, and as In Solitude appreciators, most of us already knew her from Sonic Ritual (the band she formed back in the days with Henrik Palm), as well as for her other previous collaborations (The Oath, Beastmilk, Grave Pleasures...), so basically we have been following it since it first came out to the public back in 2017, when Teratology Sound & Vision announced that Linnéa, joined by ex-In Solitude members Uno Bruniusson and Gottfrid Åhman, who took part in the recordings, was about to release Maggot Heart's first EP. This, understandably, made a lot of us quite excited and interested in hearing what this new musical creature was going to sound like . And certainly, what we heard didn't disappoint: the first EP, "City Girls", followed in 2018 by the debut full-length "Dusk to Dusk", delivered an irresistible, captivating and corrosive stream of pure dark rock energy.
Now, Maggot Heart's second full-length, "Mercy Machine", is due out next week on Rapid Eye Records, the label that Linnéa recently co-founded with Ricky of Swamp Booking, and we are very pleased to be able to offer on Unearthed Mirrors this fascinating insight into Maggot Heart's inner and outer aspects: you can read below what Linnéa told us about the upcoming album, her creativity and sources of inspiration, touring as a trio, the albums' cover artworks, what playing live means to her, and more. Enjoy!
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| Linnéa Olsson/Maggot Heart Photographed by Joe Dilworth |
MH: In some ways it's been a lifetime since "Dusk to Dusk". Since then, I feel Maggot Heart has really come into its own, and done so through a lot of dues paid. We've scaled down the live line-up to a trio, which had a big impact on the band on and off stage. We also toured a lot, which again really made us tighter as a group, and as friends. Speaking for me personally, I feel more confident with my vocals after two years of intense touring. We worked very hard as a band, and also in a sort of unconventional way for such a small band, with all the touring in the US and very little internet presence for instance. My hopes were that this would pay off, and seeing now how much more attention we are getting with this album, I feel it's been worth it. "Dusk to Dusk" was a very dark album in several ways. It dealt with a lot of subconscious matters of the mind, past trauma, violence and existential anxiety. Thinking back of the writing process of this album, a lot of heavy matters come to mind. So in some ways I feel like I've worked through some of these parts of myself, and landed in a new territory. Where "Dusk to Dusk" dealt with the mind, "Mercy Machine" is rooted in the body. I believe it's a bit less melancholic and a bit more punkier, maybe. It has a bit more bite. I'm very proud of our work and of what we've become as a band on this album, and proud of the performances of the other guys as well.
UM: In your previous musical projects, you have always been involved as a guitar player. Now that you're doing both guitar and vocals in your own band, do you think the two roles sort of enhance each other in a mutual fueling, or do you sometimes find it distracting to do both?
MH: From a technical standpoint, it can absolutely be limiting. But considering I now have two means to express myself instead of one, I'm not complaining.
UM: You have now been playing for a long time with Uno on drums and Olivia on bass guitar, both definitely provide a powerful rhythm session which boosts Maggot Heart's engine even further and you truly sound like a tight power trio, live and on the album: does the thought of having a second guitar on stage, like during the early Maggot Heart's shows, still come to your mind from time to time, or is that an idea that you have now completely set aside?
MH: We had Neta Shimoni on second guitar from our first show in 2017 to the end of 2018. He is a great guitar player and person, and when he wanted to scale down live shows because of other commitments, we tried to get him to stay. Even though he is missed, it ended up being a blessing in disguise. There's something very special about playing in a trio - you constantly have a connection with your band members, and I also feel that our "responsibilities" on stage are more equally distributed. It's very intimate. I was scared to do it at first, because I felt I needed back-up on the guitar, but actually it has been very liberating to be able to kind of just do my thing, play guitar the way that I do. I think that Uno and Olivia also get to really shine, and I feel very close to them when we play. Hopefully our connection translates into the audience. Having that said, our ghost member Gottfrid Åhman, who acts like a producer of sorts again on this album - he also wrote parts for a few of the songs and contributed with the arrangements - plays second guitar on some songs on this album, and those songs were written with two guitars in mind. I can absolutely miss some of the twin guitar leads, harmonies and such in a live situation, but at least for now that's not really a concern, and if it will be in the future then I'll deal with that when I get there.
UM: Playing live appears to be a very relevant part for Maggot Heart - you've been touring intensively in the past for the previous album, and the energy on stage always seems palpable: beside, I'd guess, being propelled by the music and the action going on between you three, do you find yourself rather receptive and so to say, "feeding off" the audience's response in that very moment?
MH: I think the aim of playing live is to really tune in to that force field that is created and move as a cycle between source, band and audience. It's a force that needs to be ignited and harvested. At times it's easy and at times it's difficult, but it's literally our job to make it happen and just like anything else I think the more you do it, the more you know how to tap in to that.
UM: We couldn't help but think of de Sade when hearing your song's title "Justine": is there any connection? Does literature generally inspire you in writing music, or it's mostly other kinds of experiences which spark your creativity?
MH: Yes, "Justine" is a name that's been used in several interesting works, including that of De Sade. It's a very charged and poetic name, I think. I also have a friend called Justine and she is quite inspiring herself, so I thought it would be cool to name the song that. Inspiration comes from all angles, sometimes in strange forms, you just pick up stuff as you go along in life.
UM: Let's talk for a moment about the cover artworks for your albums, skillfully made by Kristian Valbo of Obliteration: on "Dusk to Dusk" we find a Scorpion and on "Mercy Machine" a skull. Did any particular connection between the music and those images drive your choice of the subjects depicted? Both the Scorpion and the skull, have been symbolically linked to the idea of the Underworld: most humans have their own personal "underworld", or "dark side" as we might call it, and music and art are often two very effective outlets to express it: would you say this is true in your case as well?
UM: You and Ricky have recently founded the label Rapid Eye Records: will you be actively seeking out musicians who strike a chord with you, or at the moment do you think it'll be more about releasing stuff from artists you know personally?
MH: A bit of both is the plan. We're only just starting out, but we're hoping to dedicate as much time as we can to this label and to hopefully serve as a connective platform between all the different styles of music that we're involved in. But yeah, small steps for now. There are plans for one more release in 2020, fingers crossed.
We thank Linnéa for her time and interesting answers!
Maggot Heart's upcoming album "Mercy Machine" is out on July 10th, 2020 on Rapid Eye Records: pre-orders are open at the label's webstore and on Bandcamp.
Rapid Eye Records can be followed on Instagram and Facebook.