CONCRETE SWINE Interview

1. Hello. How are you? Which is the news from the CONCRETE SWINE camp at the moment?

Doing fine, thank you. No news is good news. At the moment we are working on some new stuff and planning some gigs for the future. There it is on a nutshell. Our hammond player Tomi Korpela also joined in as a permanent member, so we are also excited about that.

2. You have released a new EP under the title “Siberia Jam 74”. How do you feel about it? What exactly do you want to achieve with this release?

We think it is our best release so far. It has got some great reviews and media coverage, which is great but we don’t have big world domination plan in our mind. Let’s see what happens and usually it doesn`t.

3. All the blues, hard rock and metal elements that characterize the sound of the band are here once again obvious; however I also felt that there is an early N.W.O.B.H.M. vibe on your release. Do you agree with that? Besides this which are the new elements or what did you do differently with this release?

Sure. We are fans of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, so it can be heard but all that stuff comes there by accident and naturally. I don’t know if we have so many different elements than before but we used more hammond organ on this one and used also a different studio, recording engineer and mastering studio. That can be heard in the final result.

4. Once again you have decided to release an EP. Why did you choose to do that instead of a full length album?

It is a lot cheaper to do an EP than full length album. We have done three EP`s. You can listen to them all at once, so there`s your full length. Twelve songs all together. There is an album worth of material. Buy all three CDs. First one is almost sold out, so be quick. You can find them also from reverbnation, soundcloud etc. but you don’t want to listen to digital music. It sucks. Always buy a physical format, if possible.

5. Also why do you keep releasing your music on your own and not from a label? I find it hard to believe that you cannot find a label based on the quality of your music.

We have got few offers but they haven`t been that great. If we get a decent offer, we will sign it. Until then, we will continue to sell our records from our car trunks.

6. Your new album has the mysterious title “Siberia Jam 74”. Can you explain it to us a little and tell us how it is connected with the cover of your EP?

Actually it isn`t that mysterious. If you are a fan of 70`s music, you will get the connection and idea at some point. It´s a rip off from somewhere. EP title and the cover don’t have that much connection except that the cover picture is from Siberia.

7. I have also witnessed that although you play music that is a creation of the western civilization you also like to put on your album images or letters that remind us of the old USSR. Why do you do that? How can someone mix these controversies?

Well, it was a cool idea that stuck. There are no deep thoughts behind it. It is fun idea which just came up. You can find more controversial stuff on RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE albums.

8. You are from Finland and it is known that you don’t have the best feelings for Russia. Did you ever have a problem by using symbols or pictures on your album that bring to mind Russia and USSR?

There is a misconception. Finns don`t hate Russians or anything like that. Actually we are in quite good terms with Russia. All our symbols and pictures are from the Soviet Union. With love.

Nick "Verkaim" Parastatidis