Jocke's, Martin's and Sami's posts translated to English

[stjärnor]

Ok, a technical post, so apologies if I get anything wrong in this one... there might be a few question marks where I'm unsure if I have the right word/ translation or terminology as I simply have no recording knowledge, and sometimes I think slang may be used. And it's getting late, I don't doubt there will be a few typos in there too!

In a thread about recording, a forum member's friend insists that bands double-track the vocals through a song, but the poster thinks this isn't the case. Jocke responds:

It is very different.
But your friend is wrong.
We never every dub anything.
However, you may want to lay down two dubs on the chorus and pan them L/R while the lead lies in the middle to bottle it.
In Taxmannen it is a reverb effect amongst others which make the widescreen-sound in the verse while the refrain (reffen?) have dubbing & the chorus which are often also dubbed.
Glasäpplen is dubbed the way extremely tight, and there we (I) have both sung and edited (Stefan) it really tight.
Smells like teen.. is double tracked the whole way and it was produced by B. Vig who insisted and Kurt who thought that it was sellout till he heard how it sounded.
One thing you often do when you dub songs is that in the dub - take skip the hard consonants.
It is all the K and T and S which make it difficult to get it exact.
You sound like and idiot when you sing, but it isn't heard when the lead is laid down.
That you always NEVER do is dub the lead vocal because you simply smear out the emotions an a good song-take.
ABBA dubbed everything except the drums.
You can dub every instrument to hell, but often you use it because it pans L/R.
For example, it makes acoustic guitars more vague and larger.
It is also a good trick when you record an out of tune instrument which you can't or want to change.
Dubbing gives you a good chorus effect in the best case...

[stjärnor]

A journalist had a bit of a strop because kent were doing the ‘open’ press conference and he couldn’t get an individual interview with them, so he called them ‘Sweden’s most media-hostile band’ and that their press strategy was like a ‘sour wine’. In a thread about this, Jocke comments:

Actually, it is all the large newspapers who have been in a bad mood because they won’t get their ‘exclusive’ interview.
But this guy takes the prize.

The whole idea of the press conference was that we could invite those who would never ever come or even a chance to ask questions, others, bloggers, fanzines and what you want.
The the big media are sour with this is not exactly unexpected is you say so.
And ‘Sweden’s most media hostile band’ is a wonderful epithet!
I will print it on a business card.


In the same thread a forum member mentions the ‘war’ between kent and tv channel ZTV, when ZTV refused to play any kent songs because kent wouldn’t participate in any of their game shows. Jocke:


Hahaha.
I had totalllly forgotten.
Damn, what a storm in a tea cup that was
Really fun actually.


In the thread ‘kents image is that they don’t have an image’, Jocke says (a few posts):


I also know which style Green Day had.
A total fucking stupid American misunderstanding of just everything which made The Clash and Sex Pistols something exciting a long, long time ago.


Wtf are you talking about
You obviously have no idea yourself.

Mhm.
Ordinary Stockholmers.
You mean we dress in chinos and a white t-shirt and a cap.
You might mix us up with Fibes or something.
They look like ordinary people from Stockholm.


In the Jag är inte rädd för mörkret (JÄIRFM) thread, just as the spotify codes were posted on Twitter, Jocke said:

Check out our twitter.
And I think you’ll find a little weekend present


And in the same thread (in comparisons with HH & DOJD):

I am really curious by what exactly you mean by this, when you think that those 2 albums have some light years between them in sounds, production and and song material.


In the Swedish ‘junk/ chatter’ thead, a forum member is annoyed because everyone was talking about the new kent songs they were listening to on Spotify, which he refuses to use, Jocke says:


Can you class this as a classic developed country problem?
Cool that you are sulky because YOU must wait!
There is no justice in the world, is there?
And God help us if the artists actually got a little compensation.
Little Ego (Lilla Ego, like the song title)


In the thread ‘Isis & Bast- Is Joakim non-socialist/ bourgeois/ middle class?’ A forum member discusses what he thinks/ see as Jocke’s political views from the song lyrics. Jocke:


So...
Even is you are really young, which some of you are,
you MUST realise that a character who figures in a lyrics, text or literature ISN’T necessarily synonymous with with person behind the text.
I have for example, never shot a DJ (!).
Sometimes you tell a story from a character.
The character often borrows traits and (mis)conceptions of yourself.
It doesn’t mean that everything which is written and sung can be taken litterally.
Come on now and raise the level.


On GAFFA’s review of JÄIRFM, Jocke says:


Gaffa isn’t really the direct spearhead of Swedish music journalism.

and...

Does it really matter in this context?
I still strongly believe that G’s (gaffa’s) writers aren’t the sharpest.
Sad but true

and...

I really mean it on the whole.


In the ‘press conference thread’ a forum member writes that they thought the album was partially recorded in France and worked on further in the Studio in Stockholm, but something said at the press conference made them think that all the songs were ready and finished in France. Jocke:


It was something like that.
The whole idea of the album was to record and document what was there.
Without madness.
Simply listen to the gut feeling.
We did 3 weeks more after France in the Bunker where we finished amonst others ‘Ett år utan...’ which was a sketch and recorded lead vocals and chorus which we didn’t get down in France and also fixed a few loose threads.


Back in the JÄIRFM thread:

Thanks!
I think you understand everything!
Big Love.


and...

Hey.
You are, of course allowed to have options of the songs.
Good/ bad.
But act like people!
So you say what it simply isn’t.
You can’t call something which another person created disgusting.
Do you understand?

and...

Many thanks.
Everyone!!!
You don’t know how it warms.
We really have worked so hard to get these songs as good as possible and I know that we always say: these are the best we have done, blablabla.
But this time we came extremely close to our idea.
And these songs, chords, melodies, the lyrics, teamwork, the productions and mixes are so good together.
We play really relaxed, but still with life in the work.
I and really happy and proud to be part of this band!

and someone thinks that the verse melody in 'Beredd på allt' reminds them of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, Jocke replies,

No.
Hallelujah’s verse it isn’t.
Hallelujah’s verse chords go major tonic, minor tonic x 2 subdominant- dominant and back again.
It is also in waltz time.
Although it just reminds me a little Hallelujah phrase in the verse in ‘Beredd...”
Nothing I thought of since it is such a commonly used melody in Subdominant, minor tonics.
Listen to a number of american folk music. It has a touch of celt in it also.
You should also be able to hear a bagpipe playing the melody.
We cut out everything we discover which sounds like something else.
But this melody is almost traditional categorised.

Thanks to all of you who love this album!
Those who don’t have no taste


Phew, we're upto date now!

[SportfreundeFCkeane]

Jocke Berg is certainly very upfront and candid lol.

[stjärnor]

In the thread for Beredd på allt, someone thinks that the tempo changes in parts of the song, Jocke:

The refrain/ chorus feels like half beat.
That was the intention.


In the JÄIRFM thread, someone really doesn’t like the album, calls it soulless and boring, and the texts are weak, Jocke replies:

I, for my part would argue that you are totally missing any taste of alternative music
But what do I know about music.



and some one questions Jocke’s attitude in the above post, so Jocke replies:

Why.
If you diss it, then I surely must answer?
Why should I be the goose in our situation?
I think it is boring to be called worthless.
Kiss!


Still in the same thread, some thinks that some of the songs end too abruptly, Jocke:

This time we thought that really long songs with grinding finishes felt a little ‘done’.
So. Damn. Boring.
Transitions where 2 songs sat together also felt ‘done’.
Fades were forbidden during the recording sessions and in the mix.
Really nice just to have a physical end to the songs.
A rejection.
One thing which I never fails to amaze me, is that many of you have such traditions where it concerns us.
It must be a long song at the end. It must be this and it much be that.
You are young NOW, restricted, conceited people you can be later on



In a thread ‘Thoughts about the lyrics’, Jocke says:

Here it feels it is important to once again point out one thing which can seem obvious, but it doesn’t seem to be for many.

I have written lyrics to very many songs, but the process is not the same every time!
Sometimes you fight like an animal to get the text to work/ sing.
Sometimes you fight with it to get the feeling in the heart and be true and mean something (shit hard!).
Sometimes you fight to find the only fucking word which fits and get annoyed at the swedish language which is so crazily disorderly.
Sometimes it takes 10 minutes and it is the best you have done and sometimes it takes seven months before it is finally finished.
Often all this happens during working with and the same album.
I always write the chords and the melody first, where the melody has firm phrasing in a so called pretend- language.
Then I will write a text which will fit into this predefined phrasing.
It is like solving a puzzle.
Perhaps not the worlds best working method, but hey, that is how I work
But it is clear that it thought through.
Most of the texts go through many stages before they sit.
I can be just as pleased with a text which ‘mostly’ sways like a text which is mostly felt in the heart.
This time I had 50% of the texts ready when we went to France and there I don’t mean 50% of the songs, just many half finished texts but with the right direction.
Typically a verse and a chorus.
‘999’ was almost finished but needed a little editing, while the text to ‘Jag ser dig’ was written from scratch in the studio in a fantastic flow.
When the verse parts about the weak and bitter sun over Klara + experts pinned like butterflies in their finery not for their sake, was in place the rest went at speed (?)
I had also gave myself that all the texts would both sway AND be felt (for ME, who else can you go to).
That the text & music would sit together, almost seamless.
I think I did it better than ever.

Saw that someone said in trämedia (no idea what this is, the media thread, perhaps?) that we wrote the melodies/ the chords, in other words, the songs in France, in 17 days(!), but that of course isn’t the case.
The songs and the structures were quite crystallised and were written earlier during 2011 in the most cases, but we hadn’t nailed any final arrangements.
We chose to play those at the front.

[stjärnor]

Catching up with a few recent posts:

Jocke corrects someone who has a lyric incorrect:

"Att skruva sanningen ett varv" please (to screw the truth one turn)


In the ‘thoughts about the lyrics’ thread, someone posts a quote from the book ‘Atilla’ by Klas Östergren which reminds them of Jocke’s writing style, and thinks that they read somewhere that Jocke likes Östergren, Jocke replies:

Here is a big thank you on the spot.
I really love Östergren, even if I am extremely unsure if the love is reciprocated.
I read all those books in the late 1980s – early 1990s and the imagery, the total zero respect for what was passable was like breathing proper air for the first time.
It can sound really old and worn now, but when Östergren emerged he crushed all the conventions.

Furthermore I love Lasses (unsure who this referred to, the original poster also mentions Lasse, possibly Lars Winnerbäck as they were talking about song writers) stories and how he turns something apparently straight & simple to something which can take months to grasp with just a simple touch.
We have had and will, I hope, have further long discussions about writing!
Cool, again that you like it.


In the thread for JÄIRFM, Jocke replies:

I think that the melody in ‘Isis & Bast’ is amongst the best I have done.
But what do I know.


Again, in the thread for JÄIRFM, Jocke replies about (another mis-spelling and) the running order of the album:

PetrolEum, please.
999 was the first song we recorded and it set the atmosphere and made it possible for a way to take care of the rest of the material and showed a way/ working method for the rest of the recording.
I became the key to the whole process, and therefore felt totally natural for us to place it first.
Then it was funny that the longest song became the opening for once.
Traditions are there to be broken. Sometimes.
But it is probably not worse than if you did your own clutch (song order in industry-speak) in some playlist?

Personally, I think that you should trust those musicians who made the album when it comes to the song placement.
How many time that you have listened to them so we have heard them many more time and besides in all conceivable stages of development.
It becomes a little tiresome when certain repeatedly dismiss those who create the work and little von oben (?) point out that ‘it should be this & that, it would be much better’ afterwards.
You can do your own album with you own songs, if you know exactly how you would do it so that it is perfect'.
Childish, I know.

Furthermore, we love those who love the album and you clearly get too little attention!!!
So: Big thanks to you!
We do our very very best every time.


In the thread about Färger på nattan, a forum member points out that the song is not a cheery one, http://forumet.kent.nu/showthread.ph...6#post1067016:

Thanks!!!
Finally someone who understood the thoughts behind it.


Back in the JÄIRFM thread, a forum member has listed all the keys used in DOJD & JÄIRFM, Jocke says:

Only metal nerds who must show how clever and quick they are care about having different keys and care about having different keys and talk ignorantly otherwise they 'tire of it'.
So. Damn. Uninterested.
I was also a metal nerd once. When I was twelve

Nice of you to summarise the keys to DOJD.
Google works (or the website chord page!).
We can also play in all keys. Super easy.
But you write for vocals and sound.
D minor/ F + E minor/ G are great sounds.
Good for my vocal range.
You are really, really clever.
Can we move on now?


Someone highlight the phrase Jocke used above ‘I was once a metal nerd’ and asks if this was when Jocke was ‘mitt hardrocksjag’ (my hardrock self)- a reference to ‘En himmelsk drog’, Jocke:

Yip, you know it!


Back to the song order in JÄIRFM, and was 999 the first song they recorded? (thought they heard otherwise at the press conference), Jocke:

But give it up now.
If I say that it was the first song we recorded, then it was.
You maybe didn’t hear it so cleanly since we absolutely stated nothing at the press conference.
Start looking for the sand box now.
Hockey begins soon and then Dad doesn’t have any more time.


Telephone company Telia is giving away tickets to kent concerts, and a forum member is rather angered by this (ie, it’s another corporate kent partner, like the Sony Eriksson, one). A post from both Martin Roos and Jocke about this:

Martin Roos:
Who/ whom buy a ticket and then make a campaign around it (raffle off) there is nothing we can (or want) control over. Telia haven’t received any tickets and are are not a sort of ‘partner’

Note!
/Martin


Jocke:
You didn’t check out the facts about this before your head cooked over in the boys room?
Why must we always need to sit on the accused bench (the dock) with every album release?

In this case a company evidently bought concert tickets (really common and we CAN’T & MUSTN'T decide who buys tickets).
Then raffle them off if I understand it correctly.
An apology to all involved from you (not Telia then, perhaps, but others, thanks).
If not: F*ck off

(the forum member apologised)

[stjärnor]

An article in the Swedish paper DN, talks about class hate, and mentions kent and the song Elite in the text. Jocke responds to the article:

Yes.
What can I say?
That line of 'Elite' isn't about class hatred.
It says in the simplest way that parts of culture; Opera, Theatre, Art and Litterature still aren't or have never been for the working class.
That we childen without culture early on knew that we were forced to find beauty and strength somewhere else.
For example, pop music.

That the journalist named us was surely a part of getting more to read the article.
We usually have that effect.
Otherwise it seems unusually stupid.


The line mentioned in the article is:
Min släkt är full av hjältar/Decennier av slit/Brustna hjärtan, trötta leder/Deras stolthet bar mig hit.
My family is full of heroes/ Decades of toil/ broken hearts, tired joints/ Their pride carried me here.

[stjärnor]

A comment about the Jag ser dig live video “when it sounds this good live, you wonder why they care about recording in a studio”, Jocke replies:

Thanks, I think.
You must remember that there is a huge difference playing live before the public and playing live in a studio like we did here.
Here we know that we can do another take of something flops and Stefan has control over the mix as well.
Before the public is a toootally other ‘five’ (?) of good and evil


In the thread about Harri Mänty and his roll in the studio, Jocke says:

As mentioned, Harri really did a lot of rhythms and percussion on the albums which are the although you don’t hear it.
Zed did the beginning of Visslaren.
Sami and I shared the guitar playing which we have done, except on the first album.
Since I often write on the guitar it was meaningless that Harri should learn the arp. (?) and riffs and so on, as I had already.
We have and have no such prestige in the band.
But of course, he also played masses of guitar (there are many guitar trax) on the recordings, often chord accompaniment.
He is great at rhythm.



There's a couple of question marks on a couple of the words I couldn't translate, sorry.

[.namnlös]

Hi guys I'm new here I was interested to hear Jocke talk about the technicalities of the Kent setup/sound, I didn't realise how in depth the hardcore fans think about each move the band make, including how they play.

But your friend is wrong. We never every dub anything....... Smells like teen.. is double tracked the whole way and it was produced by B. Vig who insisted and Kurt who thought that it was sellout till he heard how it sounded.

This is quite right. It's quite obvious that they don't dub the lead vocal as Jocke's vocal live is extremely similar to the recordings. Smells Like Teen Spirit is a great example of a track that is almost impossible to replicate live. The fact that Kurt screams the chorus almost cancels itself out because of the doubling and it sounds more sung, but live he absolutely screamed like hell.

Since I often write on the guitar it was meaningless that Harri should learn the arp. (?) and riffs and so on, as I had already.

The missing word might be arpeggio? Either way, I know what he is saying here. They player who writes a guitar part will often play it live rather than teaching another band member their part. Every guitar plays any given line slightly differently by default as everyone has a style.

[stjärnor]

Hi guys I'm new here I was interested to hear Jocke talk about the technicalities of the Kent setup/sound, I didn't realise how in depth the hardcore fans think about each move the band make, including how they play.

The missing word might be arpeggio? Either way, I know what he is saying here. They player who writes a guitar part will often play it live rather than teaching another band member their part. Every guitar plays any given line slightly differently by default as everyone has a style.

Hello & welcome! Thanks also for the clarification on that translation, occasionally there's slang or abbreviations (usually of something technical!) which I don't always understand... I might need you for a couple of the next few posts!

[stjärnor]

In the thread about the gig at Lokomotivet (Eskilstuna), someone wonders why Jocke wears the same clothes for the whole tour and (some technical stuff which I don't understand...!) why does he pick D40 and strum at 000-42? Jocke replies:

Concerning the clothing.
I have not.
But it is too much to ask that you check how it relates to it before you comment.
Furthermore, I would never buy anything at Barneys

The reason that I pick at D42/D40 in Mannen... is that I can't get the place I need to for the hand on the neck between the body and capo 7 at 00042.
Surely an expert like you would understand.
And also: what is the problem with picking a dreadnought?
It has been done many times before in music history.
Think you are trying to brag (?)


This next post is out of chronological order, but it makes sense to put it after the one above, since the discussion is continued. It's another technical one, and I'm sorry for any errors, since I don't quite understand all the musical terminology. Jocke:

Well.
Because the grip in the intro to 'Mannen...' is quite different to 999.
It is difficult to play the intro picking which of course needs space for the hand on the 000s shorter neck.
999 keeps the chords near the capo the whole time.

Other curious: That we restarted 'Mannen...' at Cirkus was not because of any mistake.
It was because of a very strange sub-bass frequency from the finger playing in the intro bounced back to the stage from the outsound (?) and became an extreme out of time delay.
It drowned Markus' hihat which I play after and it meant that I couldn't hear which beat to play in.
Really odd. Has never happened before in around 600 gigs


In the same thread, a member who wasn't at the Lokomotivet gig, said that they couldn't care less that kent played Utan dina andetag instead of Halka at that gig, Jocke:

Couldn't care less?
Still, you must write about it
Predictable.


A forum member was at the Cirkus gig in Stockholm and critised the (low) sound levels and the sound quality and the set list. Jocke replies:

Complain to Socialstyrelsen (the board of health) if you didn't like the sound levels.
You MUST not play louder than 100 decibels during a concert and it counts as a cut through the gig.
Which means in reality that you often have a little lower volume on some songs and can press stronger on others.
Otherwise the artist/ organisers will get a fine.
Up to 50000 (Swedish kr, I assume) I have heard from fairly reliable sources that you get fined for excessive sound levels.
The fine amounts are not fixed and can have large differences between council municipalities.
But I also know that some foreign artists (My Bloody... for example) have demanded a higher sound level whereupon the organisers have probably 'counted in' fines in the fee.
You can pay the fines for us if you want, so we can play louder.

Why can't anyone find out the facts before you diss?
In a large part of Europe (and in Denmark) you have a limit of 103 decibels which makes a sustantial difference.*
Now SS (Socialstyrelsen) wants to lower the level to 97.
Since an acoustic umaplified drumset (and a human voice) can easily be over 100db, this is ridiculous.
Of course you must have a sound level at concerts but if the crowd chat easily drowns out the noise from the stage then something is wrong.

For the other things, you are always so unhappy.
Perhaps you should do something else for a while?


* Upping the level by 3 db isn't just like going up 3%, there's a ratio thing going on (and my memory can't quite remember the physics/ maths of it) but 3 more/less decibels is quite a lot in ratio terms compaired to 100db. Roughly the same thing is at work on the Richter scale, and an earthquake at 6 is much stronger than an earthquake at 5. Something like double the intensity. Try and read the wiki page on it and see if you can understand it!!!


In the same thread, someone says that it must be tricky to make the setlist for a gig. You have to consider the hardcore fans want, what the general listeners want, and also what the band want to play. Jocke says:

Thanks. It is really tricky.
Whatever we play there will always be some people who will complain.
We play what we like and what sounds good and try to play a few hits too, as I want to hear hits when I go to a gig.
In 90% of cases (what the forum then thinks) is that the hits are often the best songs. That's why they become hits. Duh.
But you get butchered if you say that here
It is much niiicer to like songs which no one else heard.


In the recent tour songlist thread, a member is moaning about the volume at the concert they were at (the same one who was mentioned above) and the opening song choice (999) and that kent played Utan dina andetag, Jocke replies:

Now I will answer you for the last time ever, so enjoy the moment:
Read my post about Socialstyrelsen (the board for health) & sound levels.
For the others things f*ck off.

[Skisser För Sommaren]

A comment about the Jag ser dig live video “when it sounds this good live, you wonder why they care about recording in a studio”, Jocke replies:

Thanks, I think.
You must remember that there is a huge difference playing live before the public and playing live in a studio like we did here.
Here we know that we can do another take of something flops and Stefan has control over the mix as well.
Before the public is a toootally other ‘five’ (?) of good and evil

"en annan femma" means it is a completely different thing

[stjärnor]

"en annan femma" means it is a completely different thing

Care to share, or are you going to leave me in suspense?

[luckyguerin13]

I can honestly say Jocke comes off as an asshole through his replies. :/

I am not saying he is.. but he's very blunt (which is fine by me) but it's hard to interpret what he's expressing through just text.

[stjärnor]

"en annan femma" means it is a completely different thing

Ahhhh, my brain was half asleep when I first read this last night, I now understand what you mean! I had thought you meant that it was something completely different to what I had wrote... (which it is) but you just weren't telling me what it meant! Sorry! And thanks for sorting that one out! Must not post just before I sleep!

So that last line would read:

Before the public is it a completely different thing of good and evil.

[stjärnor]

I can honestly say Jocke comes off as an asshole through his replies. :/

I am not saying he is.. but he's very blunt (which is fine by me) but it's hard to interpret what he's expressing through just text.

Sometimes he is rather blunt, when I'm doing the translations, sometimes a phrase he'll use makes me go really?! But I can understand it from his point of view sometimes as well- this is the place where he/ the band get the most criticism (as well as the most praise), but constantly having to defend or explain your actions when there's pages full of guesses, suppositions and what ifs, and 'it would have been better if...' must get tiresome. Written media is can be hard to interpret without the tone of voice and facial expressions/ body language we get with face to face conversation (this obviously applies to other forums too), and maybe something that was thought with a touch of humour can come across written as serious.

On the other hand, Jocke can often post something about how something is done (writing, recording, touring, etc) that we would not have otherwise known about, he'll post lengthy replies explaining things and will reply to praise from the members as well as criticism. I think we're very lucky that not only is he and the band willing to spend time reading this board, but also contributing to it- and for that we get a glimpse into the world of kent. Yes, the replies aren't always what the fans may want to read, but I do have to respect his honesty rather than he be a Gaga-type figure who is a continuously happy 'praise the fans' fake person. Jocke is human like the rest of us, and some things must drive him up the wall and we get to see that in his replies.

One thing I will point out (which has nothing to do with the 'f*ck off' above), is that Swedes seem to use English swear words easily mixed in with their Swedish. They don't seem to have the gravity to them that they do in English to us, and English language songs with words that would be edited out on our radio, are played without censorship on Swedish radio.