Die dänische Band The New Madness, rund um ihren Mastermind Bjarke Sørensen - seines Zeichens Produzent und Songschreiber- veröffentlichte am 27.11.2020 ihr erstes Album After Hours.  Der österreichische Radiosender FM4 spielte ihre Single "Lovesick" fleißig und verschaffte ihnen ihre erste Bekanntheit. In der Band spielen außerdem noch Simeon Loth (Gitarre), Drummer Alex Cummings (Schlagzeug) und Elie Granger (Synths).  Die vier Herren würden sich wünschen ihr Können bald "live" in Österreich unter Beweis stellen zu können. Mehr dazu im Interview.


fm5: How did you all meet?

The New Madness: In Berlin. Bjarke was eventually looking to play some of his recorded songs live and came across Simeon, Elie and Alex in a Facebook group for musicians in Berlin - Hail the modern times!

What is the story behind your bandname?

Back in the beginning of the project we had to change bandname for legal reasons because someone with the same name beat us on Spotify, releasing a record just a couple of weeks prior. Bjarke had just written a song called "New Madness" around that time and to wrap things up (as we really needed a name quickly) someone suggested "The" in front of that, classic - voila!

What is the story behind your album title?

After Hours is a celebration of going against dead-end 9-5 jobs, taking the risk, having hard talks with concerned parents, eating porridge for a month because you believe in something MORE, i.e. doing what feels meaningful whilst having fun. It's about taking back control of the very limited time we have on this beautiful planet.

Your album After Hours is coming out on November the 27th.  Can you tell us a bit about your writing and recording process?

Bjarke writes and records the songs. They then exist as recordings before we start playing them in the rehearsal room, so they're sort of living two lives, because it's encouraged that the other band members blend in their own playing styles to create something fresh for playing live.

The writing process is very different from song to song, but usually starts with some chords and a vocal hook before any lyrics. If the idea keeps popping up and won't go away it's meant to be. Other times it's about locking in that burst of energy quickly, get down the song arrangement before it's gone, especially for the upbeat songs!

How long did it take you to write the album?

Long enough to be proud instead of (too) critical! A couple of years, give and take.

What was difficult? In retrospect, is there anything you would like to change?

It's been a challenge to present something that feels complete and uniform whilst staying an exciting listening experience throughout. It's hard to say if we managed to do so in the end, but know that we did our very best!

In terms of changing something - there's always another tweak that you could've done, at some point when nothing stands out anymore saying "fix me" it's a gut feeling -  when it starts to feel complete, leave it. Go on for too long and you might end up getting rid of the charming imperfections and spontaneous energy. It's a balance, really.

Which bands and artists influenced you during the recording process besides Led Zeppelin and  Black Keys?

Kanye West! Twisted Fantasy is a great example of breaking barriers and doing your own thing across genres if that's what it takes, if that's what the music "wants" to do. An impossible goal but a great inspiration.

Johnny Cash for straight forward storytelling that has depth.

Arctic Monkeys for fearlessly evolving over time.

+ Many, many more.

Can you tell me/us the story behind one of your songs that people don't know yet?

Morgan and Esther, the rock n roll kids from the music video for debut single "Lovesick", are back in a TNM video again for one of the brand new songs "You'll Know My Name", featured on the forthcoming album. Excited to show it to the world!

Are there any specific producers you would like to work with?

The songwriting and production/mix is very closely connected in TNM, sort of like two evenly matched pingpong players, which for whatever reason is the only metaphor I can think of right now. There is no song without a fitting production that balances it out and adds just the right touch of grit, low-end, fuzz sound etc., and that's a feeling more than anything. We wouldn't currently burden someone outside the band with that task!

But there's loads of musicians and singers that would be a blast to work with we think!

One would be Dorothy! She's badass.

And Lenny Kravitz!

Anything you would like to add for the readers of fm5.at?

That Austria ranks high on our WANT TO TOUR list. One of the reasons being that Austria has blessed us with lots of radio airplay, which we're ever thankful for.

Thank you for your time and the interview!

Anytime. Thank you!