Ye Banished Privateers: The Golden Age of Piracy

A number of bands in the rock and metal world have their own unique style and have taken influence from a variety of different places – some for example are influenced by anime and manga, others made up enchanted kingdoms in distant galaxies. There are then some bands whose entire background and music is shaped by one particular theme, and one of those bands is YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS.

The Swedish group, as you probably guessed from the name alone, are all about pirates, and they have had a large degree of success with the theme having formed in 2008. One of the band’s many vocalists, Magda Andersson, reflected on the band’s origins, as well as how far along YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS have come over the years.

“Our first aim was to be able to play five songs live, something that from the beginning felt really ambitious. For many of us this was our first band experience and just getting to play with others was a success,” she says. “It really started with an awesome party in pirate clothes. We of course wanted to be pirates all the time, and since we are really lousy sailors, we reckoned starting a band might be one way to do it. So – rather than musicians looking for a gimmick, we started as pirates and had to painstakingly learn how to be musicians – there is a reason it kind of took four years before our first album was released!”

Since the first record was released, YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS have gone on from strength to strength, and have recently released their fourth studio record Hostis Humani Generis. There are high hopes for the record from the band, as Magda lifts the lid on the work behind the scenes.

“With Hostis Humanis Generis, a greater variety of song writers have participated in the process. This has put more pressure on dialogue within the band during the creative process and on production to keep high quality and uniformity as well as letting different flavours remain. At the same time, the musicians have all become more skilful and comfortable with the YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS sound,” she explains. “New songwriters meant new collaborations between different members which has been very inspiring. With the recording we always cram a shitload of pirates into a rather small studio. Some in the main recording room, some in the hallways, a choir in the kitchen and the banjo player on the toilet. We really want to bring the feeling of live music into the recordings and we generally don’t feel that we can do that recording one instrument at the time!”

With the pirate theme being the band’s primary focus and origins, it is very easy to think that the main influences have come from the legendary pirates of the past such as Blackbeard or Henry Morgan. However, that has certainly not been the case for YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS. “Story wise we tend to leave the obvious historical pirates aside to give a voice to the ones standing in the background. All our songs do take part in relation to historical events, but often they describe what it’s like being affected by these events – not actually having the power to do something about them yourself. It’s the ones left behind ashore, the civilian victims of stray cannonballs, or the swabs being brutally punished by tyrant captains.”

Pirate metal has in a way become its own sub-genre in the ever expanding universe of rock and metal, with YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS arguably one of the original members of the genre, and Magda believes that it is a style which is becoming more and more popular in more recent years, especially with the way bands like ALESTORM have soared in popularity.

“The genre sure is growing! When we started ALESTORM did exist but had not yet released their first album. The only pirate band we remember finding was some kind of Disneyland band, so we got the chance to very much set out on our own path. It might be tougher today to find a new and interesting take on the genre.”

What aims do you have for the new record?

Magda: We always aim to raise beyond the past. With Hostis Humanis Generis we aim for a more cohesive narrative than previous albums. We hope that the different songs will mean more together to the listener than just some great songs lined up. We put much effort in choosing songs and structure for this album together with a massive take on the graphical work we are extremely happy with the results.

How do you feel this record compares to your other work?

Magda: Gladly, it’s the best one so far, but definitely the darkest one. There’s less rum and gold, and more death and agony.

What is the folk metal scene like in Sweden and how does it compare to some of the other subgenres of rock and metal?

Magda: I would say we have a strong metal scene and a strong folk scene, but they generally don’t mix that much. We were happily surprised by the eclecticism of genres we have encountered outside Scandinavia. Most bands can really benefit from picking up influences from outside the most obvious fields – we sure do – and there we have a great advantage with many band members from different musical backgrounds. Worth to mention that we have two more excellent pirate bands in Sweden. They are called STORMFRUN and PAT RAZKET and we usually meet them for a serious rum session every year!

How much of a challenge is it for you having so many band members when it comes to creating music for the records?

Magda: It is a logistic challenge – in all the other ways it’s rather a boon than a challenge.

What do you find are the main differences as a band between playing your own shows and performing at a festival?

Magda: The lack of time. At festivals we usually have very little time. We get from the cars, and go directly on stage and to the soundcheck. When we play the same festival for years in a row it starts to feel like home! You know where all the stages are, and sometimes even know the sound engineers. Despite the stress, it’s really fun to play at festivals since we get to play for an entirely new audience that has never experienced our live shows before. When doing our own shows it’s the other way around which is also super great – almost everyone knows the songs and we can give the hardcore fans some special treats, like new songs or funny escapades on stage!

What future plans have you got in store as a band?

Magda: We have a broken double bass that we plan to fit a mast on and try to sail in the Umeå river. What can go wrong?

Hostis Humani Generis is out now via Napalm Records.

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