Swedish melodic rockers Miss Behaviour released their third album “Double Agent” through AOR Heaven on 1st September (http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/back-stage/music-reviews/1637-ni-rocks-recommends-qdouble-agentq-by-miss-behaviour.html) We caught up with founding member, guitarist Erik Heikne to ask him a few questions.
NI ROCKS - Thanks for taking some time to answer a few questions for Rock Radio NI. You released your latest album “Double Agent” back in September. Can you tell us a little about where it was recorded and who you worked with?
ERIK - “My pleasure Nigel. We produce our albums ourselves. For me, that’s a part of the musicianship. You write, perform, record and produce your own stuff. That way, you get the result you want. We work with great people around us though. Daniel Gese has been our mixing and mastering engineer for our entire career and we worked with him on “Double Agent” again as well. We recorded the rhythm section and all the vocals in a studio called “Lärkbacken”, out in the countryside not far from our hometown. Additional recordings were done in my studio and the mix and mastering was done in Daniel’s studio Realtime Recording Studios.”
NI ROCKS – How would you compare “Double Agent” to your previous, highly successful album “Last Woman Standing”?
ERIK - “It’s always hard to compare, but I actually talked to Henrik (Sproge), our keyboard player about this yesterday as we get asked this question a lot. You know, in a way “Last Woman Standing” was quite complex and requires perhaps a little more of the listener's attention. I would say “Double Agent” is one step further on in the evolution of Miss Behaviour. Both in songs and performance.”
NI ROCKS – Is there a well-established song-writing process in the band? Does the band get together to write or does everybody bring something to the table?
ERIK - “Yes. We are not a band that writes songs together in the rehearsal room. If I have a song idea, I usually record a demo of the song in my studio and then gather Henrik and Seb Roos (vocals) to listen and come with their input. It’s teamwork in a way, but I believe writing great songs demands some time and some adjustments on the way.”
NI ROCKS – Is there a particular track or two on the new album that you would pick as a favourite or as being particularly meaningful on a personal level?
ERIK - “For me, personally I like “Corporation Arms” and “Don’t Let It End”. “Corporation Arms” is our hymn to our fans in the UK and is also written in memory of our late manager Michael. I wrote “Don’t Let It End” actually for my wife and Seb performed it at our wedding, so that makes it special. I also have to mention the title track, because that song captures a lot of the values that are Miss Behaviour. Melody and joy….”
NI ROCKS – Are there plans to record a video to accompany a track from the album?
ERIK - “Yeah. We’ve actually just released a video. It’s actually for the “Corporation Arms” track I mentioned a minute ago. It’s very special; we had help from a production team in Sweden and a couple of friends in UK as well. We are planning on releasing at least two videos from “Double Agent”, so keep an eye out for the second one.”
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NI ROCKS – When do you think we will be seeing Miss Behaviour back in the UK? You’ve been here several times over the last few years….
ERIK - “Unfortunately, I can’t give you any details yet, but we will be back and we are talking to booking agents about this at the moment. We love the venues and the fans in the UK, so we will definitely be back!”
NI ROCKS – How did you find the fan reaction at a British show compares to say Sweden or a European gig and do you have a favourite memory from those UK dates?
ERIK - “We have only great memories Nigel. The atmosphere in the UK is absolutely great. People have such a genuine attitude towards music but it’s also an audience who is a bit spoilt, seeing great bands, so their attention does not come for free, you have to earn it. And we’re doing our best to do so. We’re very thankful for the great reviews and the attention we get from media in the UK.”
NI ROCKS - What other plans do you have for promoting the new album over the next few months?
ERIK - “We are working hard and the attention from media has been very positive. We try our best to be available and I am always thankful for getting the opportunity to talk to people like you about our music. We are going to get back into the rehearsal room to put the show in place very soon, and hopefully we can hit the road very soon to perform a lot of shows.”
NI ROCKS – Looking back to the formation of the band in 2004, what were your musical influences at that time?
ERIK - “At that time, Henrik and I were very much into old Magnum, Europe and Yngwie Malmsteen…..”
NI ROCKS – Which brings me on to the next questions that I always like to ask. Can you remember the first gig that you went to and the first album that you bought?
ERIK - “I remember it as if it was yesterday Nigel. My mum took me along to a Europe concert, back in 92, on ‘The Prisoners In Paradise World Tour’. Pink Cream 69 opened up for them. A funny detail that I got to know many years later is that Sebastian (our singer) also attended exactly the same show, with his mum too.”
NI ROCKS – What bands are you listening to at the minute? If I was to randomly pick five tracks from your iPod or whatever, what artists might I find?
ERIK - “I am a huge Yngwie fan. Right now I’m listening to “Facing The Animal” actually; what a great album! I also listen to “Arrival” by Journey, ‘cause I’m a big fan of Steve Augeri. I like to keep myself up to date on the genre, so I will give the new Houston a spin…..”
NI ROCKS – Sweden seems to produce a huge number of great rock bands. Why do you think that is? And does that make it harder or easier for a band to get recognised internationally?
ERIK - “We always get this question and I would love to give you a good answer to it, but I can’t. I have no clue. In Sweden this music is everything but popular and gets almost no attention in the media. Swedes seem to prefer artists like Avicii, which I hardly consider musicians. And then these attention seekers on ‘Pop Idol’, who sing other people’s songs and think they are super stars? ‘Till a month after the TV show anyway, when reality catches up with them and they have to perform and sing back in shopping malls!”
NI ROCKS – Finally, looking forward, what would you hope to have achieved with Miss Behaviour by this time next year?
ERIK - “I hope that we have managed to take the band one step further basically. Playing better shows, more shows and hopefully, we’ll have started the work on the next album by then too.”
NI ROCKS – Many thanks for taking some time to answer a few questions for Rock Radio Northern Ireland. We wish you the best of luck with the new album.
ERIK - “Thank you so much Nigel; my pleasure!”
For more information check out www.missbehaviour.se or https://www.facebook.com/Missbehaviourofficial
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