INTERVIEW: Håkan Almbladh – Normandie

The release of Swedish rock mob NORMANDIE‘s sophomore record White Flag last month was a fascinating peak into what the quartet are looking to build going forward. An interesting take on alternative rock, the bands smooth delivery and tone allowed their steady rise through the ranks of modern rock continue. Taking into consideration their short time as a band, and their already long list of accomplishments, we caught up with guitarist Håkan Almbladh to discuss the past, the present, and what comes next.

Going back slightly to the recording process for your debut record Inguz, how challenging was it to make that album when you had recently lost a member of the band? 

Håkan: From the beginning we were a six-piece metalcore band, and we actually wrote what was supposed to be our debut album as a metalcore album. Just before the departure of our screamer and bassist, we started recording the album. When they decided to not be a part of NORMANDIE anymore, we decided to still try to get the album done before the deadline. It was indeed challenging, but we had the most amazing work flow and re-wrote the album (+ some brand new songs) in two months.

Did you ever come close to bringing in a new heavy vocalist? Or did you immediately decide to pursue other avenues? 

Håkan: When Johan (harsh vocals) dropped off, we pretty quickly felt that Philip couldn’t do both the screaming and the singing since the songs were written for two vocalists, so we decided to try something new and go with 100% clean vocals (alright, 99%. We have two screams on the album).

You’re a band that play quite loosely with the genre of rock, was it difficult to write songs in this way of Inguz? 

Håkan: All of us listen to so many different kinds of rock, so I guess we just wrote what popped up in our head, which resulted in a pretty varied album. Personally, I prefer albums that don’t sound the same from start to finish, so I’m really happy with how it turned out!

Inguz took you to a sold-out headline show at London’s Boston Music Room, have you set out any particular touring goals you’d like to achieve off the back of White Flag? 

Håkan: That show was incredible! We haven’t really talked about new goals yet, but it would be fantastic to sell out Brooklyn Bowl, a venue we have played earlier with YELLOWCARD. Love that place!

You’ve recently toured with CROSSFAITH, BLOOD YOUTH, and HANDS LIKE HOUSES. They’re three bands all with different styles, was there ever any concerns about how you’d be received by fans of these bands? In the sense that your music style doesn’t always match theirs?

Håkan: We’ve got so many fan requests about touring with HANDS LIKE HOUSES since we released Inguz in 2016, so that felt like a perfect match since we kind of play the same genre. When we got the CROSSFAITH and BLOOD YOUTH offer we didn’t feel concerned at all either, since we love playing in front of new people that usually listen to a different genre. Seems like we made a good impression and gained some new fans!

You recently signed to Easy Life Records, did they play much of a role in the creation of White Flag? Or did you opt to only make the record with ideas just from yourselves? 

Håkan: We had Easy Life over a few times during the writing of White Flag, to keep them updated on every new song we wrote. They loved every part of it and gave us free rein, and the communication has been so, so good. We’re super happy with the style of collaboration we have with Easy Life.

White Flag seems to feature a mixture of styles, do you think you will ever try and pick just one musical direction in the future? 

Håkan: White Flag feels more like the sound we aimed for during the writing of Inguz, and since we wrote White Flag for two years we could focus on every detail so much more. I can’t say what will pop up in our heads during the writing of album three, but we’ll continue to write and record demos as soon as we get new ideas. It will definitely be some kind of mixture though.

Are there any particular bands that have set a mould that you would like to emulate? Or are you trying to create your own path?

Håkan: There are many great bands in the modern rock genre right now, and that’s amazing! But we’ll try to focus on creating our own path, and it seems like a lot of bands have the same thinking in creating their own paths as well. I think that’s the secret recipe to make the genre as big as possible.

The Bell features some vocals in your native tongue, is that something we can expect more often going forward? 

Håkan: I can’t really answer if we’ll do that again. When Philip wrote the Swedish part in The Bell it came to him naturally, and I think it fits the song very well, so maybe that will happen again if we get the right feeling. It seems like the fans like it even if they don’t understand the words, and that’s fantastic!

It may be hard to say at this point, but so far, what has been the band’s greatest achievement?

Håkan: For me personally I would say Reading & Leeds Festival and to get a track on the massive Spotify playlist Rock This. Reading & Leeds has been a dream for me since I started playing in my first band back in 2008, and Rock This is simply and honour to be a part of. I’m super happy with how this year has been treating us so far!

White Flag is out now via Easy Life Records.

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