Oh Hiroshima

If you love Swedish post-rock, you can't get past Oh Hiroshima. I had the opportunity to get to know the band better during an interview with singer Jakob.

In December 2019 Oh Hiroshima finished their current album "Oscillation". On the record, the sound artists skilfully combine abstract guitar playing with electronic sounds. The work was mastered by producer and Cult Of Luna drummer Magnus Lindberg.

Anne: Hej! Thank you very much for this interview! I'm very curious about getting to know you! How are you doing? How is the situation in Sweden? There is pretty much going on around the globe these days. It seems Corona has got us all under control...

"Time will tell if Sweden's strategy was right"

Jakob: Hej! Thanks for having us! We're all doing fine even if things are a bit out of the ordinary with the whole COVID-situation. Sweden is of course affected by this whole thing but the government here has used a different strategy than a lot of other countries so there has never been any kind of real lockdown of any sort. We have a generally high level of trust in the authorities here and they've been working with that in mind I think. So, there have just been some smaller regulations alongside broader recommendations and trust in social pressure from their end. If it's been a beneficial strategy time will tell I guess.

Anne: The whole music scene is supposed to take a break at the moment. So, no festivals and no concerts. How do you spend your time instead of touring around?

Jakob: We haven't been a very active live band in the last couple of years but we were aiming to get things started again this year with our European tour planned for May and some other gigs before and after that. So, having to cancel everything was a big letdown for sure. We've tried to just focus on writing new music instead.

Anne: I would have seen you live on stage at this year's DUNK! Festival. Will I meet you there next year?

"We are looking forward to DUNK! 2021"

Jakob: Yes, we hope so!

Anne: I think, that DUNK! Festival is definitely one of the greatest festivals at all. Have you been there before?

Jakob: No, no one in the band has been there so we were really looking forward to that. From what we've heard everything about it seems great though.

Anne: Are there any other post-rock events that you like in particular?

"We played at the first edition of VIVID"

Jakob: I'm not that familiar with a lot of recurring post-rock events but we played at VIVID in Norway a couple of years ago, during the first edition of the festival and that was really great. We had a good time there. It's nice to have people listening to us that get the music and appreciate and understand what you're trying to do and I think these kinds of events are especially important when it comes to more alternative music genres with a smaller listener base.

Anne: Why are you called Oh Hiroshima?

Jakob: The band started out as a solo project at first by our former guitarist Leif and so he came up with the name. I guess he just wanted something that captures the emotionality, dramatics, and melancholy that surrounds some aspects of our kind of music. We've seen a lot of different interpretations of what our band name means or symbolizes. It's pretty funny at times. Like for most bands as time goes by it's just the thing you call your band and you don't really pay that much attention to it.

Anne: A lot of great Post-Rock bands come from Sweden. The scene there is just amazing. Are you connected with bands like Ef and Lights & Motion?

"Ef was one of the first post-rock bands for me"

Jakob: Yeah, we have a lot of nice bands coming from our neighborhood. I wouldn't say we're that connected but we've had some contact with bands and people that we've played with. Like, Feed Me To The Waves and Sagor Som Leder Mot Slutet. Ef was one of the first post-rock bands that I started listening to when I got into the genre and I think the first post-rock show I saw was Ef playing in Norrköping before the release of their first album. But we don't know those guys.

Anne: Your music is very melodic and kind of versatile - every song is different. What inspires you most, when writing music?

Jakob: Thanks! That's what we're aiming for so that's kind of you to say. I guess it's just what you're listening to or are into generally at the moment of writing. At least when you're sitting at home working on stuff. The foundation for most of our music comes from jamming together in the rehearsal space though and when we're doing that it's all about being in that moment and trying to connect with what the other guys do while trying to just move the sounds in a collective direction.

Anne: I like your current album "Oscillation" a lot. It has so many highlights. It is a very balanced combination of catchy sound baths. Congratulations on that! How long did it take you to record it?

"It took us two weeks to record the album"

Jakob: Thank you very much! Glad you like it. I Don't know exactly how long it took because we didn't record it all in one session. We recorded the drums first in two or three days at a church that we hired with high ceilings and lots of wood to get a nice sound. Then we recorded the rest during weekday evenings at our friend Philip Saxin's house. He worked with us on "In Silence We Yearn" as well and he recorded and mixed the whole thing. Some piano was also recorded at Örebro Konserthus where Philip works. In total, I'd say it took somewhere between one and two weeks stretched over a couple of months.

Anne: My highlight on the record is "Darkroom Aesthetics". What's the story behind this song?

"My father in law played the trumped on 'Darkroom Aesthetics'"

Jakob: Yeah, that one turned out nicely. It was actually built around this old recording of a jam in our rehearsal space from the early stages of writing for "In Silence We Yearn" like six or seven years ago. I found it in our bank of old recordings from rehearsals. I really like it and thought that it might be able to develop into a song fit for the new record and so we started to work on it together and it turned out great. We liked the idea of having at least one song on the album that was a bit shorter and more direct and this one did the trick. My father in law, Anders Hemström, who plays trumpet in the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, played the trumpet on this one. We've never used any wind instrument before on our recordings so that was fun.

Anne: You had the honor of working together with Magnus Lindberg from Cult Of Luna for "Oscillation". He is not only a great drummer but also a real producing genius. He did the final mastering for you, right? How was it like working with him?

"Magnus Lindberg from Cult Of Luna is a real pro"

Jakob: Yes, that is correct! Well, it was fast and smooth. He's a real professional and has probably mastered over a hundred records. We just contacted him to see if it was possible for him to do it and it was. So, when the mixing was done we sent it over and he did the mastering in a day or two. Nice guy!

Anne: Who played the Cello on "In Solar" Did you also team up with Jo Quail?

Jakob: No Jo Quail this time (smiles). It's actually my wife, Ellen. She recorded with us on our previous record as well and it's always nice to have some instrument apart from the guitars, bass, and drums to come in and add something extra. I really enjoy writing together with her so it was great to have here with us arranging the cello on that track. She also played on the track "Moderate Spectre".

Anne: Your last album "In Silence We Yearn" is from 2015. What has changed since then? For you as a band and in your way of making music?

"Our way of working has changed"

Jakob: Well, there have been two major changes since the last album I would say. The first being that our guitarist Leif quit the band and the other that we signed a deal with Napalm Records. Having one less member in the group forced us to start working and writing a bit differently than before. When there were four of us we could arrange the whole songs together in the rehearsal space, which is harder to do if you're just three guys.

We had already written a couple of songs with Leif when he quit but for the rest of the songs, I took it upon me to arrange more from home. I did that by recording demos of what we had written together in the rehearsal space as a trio and then added the rest of the instruments to that. Having a record label is also a totally new experience for us. It's strange but nice to have other people working on help us getting our music out there.

"We want to move forwards together"

Anne: Which bands have influenced you most on your way?

Jakob: The bands that influenced us from the start leading us into starting to play post-rock were more or less classic post-rock acts like EITS, Mogwai, Jakob, and Russian Circles. So, bands like that kind of helped us set our core direction from the start. But we've never really had any outspoken influences amongst ourselves. What comes out comes out and depends on what each one is listening to and taking impressions from at that time. Nowadays I don't think any of us listen to that much post-rock anymore and so it's more about bringing different things that you like into the sound of the band trying to move forward together as a unit.

Anne: Should more people listen to post-rock?

"People should give post-rock a shot"

Jakob: Sure! People should listen to whatever they want but there are probably a lot of people out there that would appreciate the genre a lot if they just gave it a shot.

Anne: What's up next? New amazing album in 2019, postponed tour dates in 2020. I'm sure there's a lot coming up for Oh Hiroshima in the next months and years?

Jakob: We try to keep busy! Keep an eye out on our social media channels and we'll definitely let you know what's up whenever we have something of interest to share.

About Oh Hiroshima

The Swedish post-rock band Oh Hiroshima has been active since 2009. OH was founded by Jakob Hemström and Leif Eliasson in Kristinehamn. Later Simon Axelsson and Jakob's brother Oskar Nilsson joined them. Leif left the band in 2018. In the same year, the group signed their contract with Napalm Records.

Since their foundation, Oh Hiroshima have recorded three albums and two EPs. The current album "Oscillation" was released on December 7, 2019. Today the band consists of Jakob Hemström (guitar and vocals), Oskar Nilsson (drums), and Simon Axelsson (bass).