Sturm und Drang – Exclusive Interview
We were glad to sit down with André Linman and talk with him about the return of Sturm und Drang, future plans, changing musical trends, and even about the upcoming One Desire album.
Sturm und Drang achieved rapid success after forming in 2004. Their debut album Learning to Rock was released in May 2007, reached number 3 on the Finnish charts, and quickly went platinum. By the time they went on hiatus, the band had released three studio albums and played hundreds of shows across Europe and Japan. After years of silence, original members André Linman and Jeppe Welroos announced their return in April 2019 with a seven-date acoustic tour titled "An Evening with Sturm und Drang". We were glad to sit down with André Linman and talk with him about the return of Sturm und Drang, future plans, changing musical trends, and even about the upcoming One Desire album.
Hi guys! Thank you very much for agreeing to talk with us!
Thank you for having us!
Announced tour has begun! What are your impressions?
Well so far its been very nice to see so many people show up, weve had two sold out shows so far. Quite frankly it came as a bit of a surprise that so many people still remember and enjoy our music after a long absence, since we basically had no idea what to expect.
How did the idea to come back to singing Sturm und Drang’s songs again?
Id say that when Sturm und Drang "retired" the music and the memories still remained in our hearts and heads, and we kinda had a gut feeling that we would return some day in some form. I would say that for me and Jeppe it came the most naturally to do a "mini comeback", since weve stayed close and active in music ever since, hence the smaller format.
Of course, many were surprised by the sudden reboot of Sturm und Drang. What can you say about the future of the band? Should we wait for new concerts, tours or songs?
I really cannot promise anything more than what we are currently doing (except for maybe a few more acoustic duo shows). This is because most of the other members arent active in music anymore. But never say never :)
It has been seven years since the release of the album "Graduation Day" but people still remember and know the songs of Sturm und Drang. Fans in Russia were also shocked by this long break. Is it likely that you will visit Russia in the near future?
It would be very hard to say no if we'd be offered a couple of shows in Russia!
Thank you for having us!
Announced tour has begun! What are your impressions?
Well so far its been very nice to see so many people show up, weve had two sold out shows so far. Quite frankly it came as a bit of a surprise that so many people still remember and enjoy our music after a long absence, since we basically had no idea what to expect.
How did the idea to come back to singing Sturm und Drang’s songs again?
Id say that when Sturm und Drang "retired" the music and the memories still remained in our hearts and heads, and we kinda had a gut feeling that we would return some day in some form. I would say that for me and Jeppe it came the most naturally to do a "mini comeback", since weve stayed close and active in music ever since, hence the smaller format.
Of course, many were surprised by the sudden reboot of Sturm und Drang. What can you say about the future of the band? Should we wait for new concerts, tours or songs?
I really cannot promise anything more than what we are currently doing (except for maybe a few more acoustic duo shows). This is because most of the other members arent active in music anymore. But never say never :)
It has been seven years since the release of the album "Graduation Day" but people still remember and know the songs of Sturm und Drang. Fans in Russia were also shocked by this long break. Is it likely that you will visit Russia in the near future?
It would be very hard to say no if we'd be offered a couple of shows in Russia!
André and Jeppe have been friends all this time or is it a business meeting between two musicians? Do you maintain relationships with other band members?
It really doesn't feel like business, it still feels like we're the same classmates who founded the band back in fourth grade. We also maintain close relationships with the other members even though we don't see each other that often anymore.
Sturm und Drang have always been famous for their energetic and driving songs. Why do you perform acoustic versions of songs on tour?
Because there are only two of us, and also because I think that the core of the songs lie in the melodies, and work very well in this format as well.
What do you feel when you play old songs?
Feels like no time has passed at all! Happiness!
On what basis do you choose songs to perform? All three albums were popular and it is certainly difficult to choose specific songs.
Yes it has been quite diffucult cutting songs from the list, but overall we tried to keep a good balance between all three records as well as between the classics and the lesser known songs.
Are there any songs that are difficult to perform for any reason?
I would say that the songs that rely heavily on production are the hardest since they tend to suffer more from the smaller scale. These were usually songs we didn't include for this reason (ex. Your Love Is For Sale).
It really doesn't feel like business, it still feels like we're the same classmates who founded the band back in fourth grade. We also maintain close relationships with the other members even though we don't see each other that often anymore.
Sturm und Drang have always been famous for their energetic and driving songs. Why do you perform acoustic versions of songs on tour?
Because there are only two of us, and also because I think that the core of the songs lie in the melodies, and work very well in this format as well.
What do you feel when you play old songs?
Feels like no time has passed at all! Happiness!
On what basis do you choose songs to perform? All three albums were popular and it is certainly difficult to choose specific songs.
Yes it has been quite diffucult cutting songs from the list, but overall we tried to keep a good balance between all three records as well as between the classics and the lesser known songs.
Are there any songs that are difficult to perform for any reason?
I would say that the songs that rely heavily on production are the hardest since they tend to suffer more from the smaller scale. These were usually songs we didn't include for this reason (ex. Your Love Is For Sale).
Your musical career began quite early. What has changed since then? Do you think the music business has changed?
At least here in Finland there's been an immense change since then, rock music in english used to dominate the radio charts, even on pop radio. Nowadays there's mostly electronic music and hip hop in Finnish. Also nobody sells any records anymore, it's all about Spotify now. But times will always change and you have to be ready to embrace changes, even though you might not like them very much.
You have already announced the dates of the upcoming tour.Do you plan to further replenish this with new cities?
If there is an interest in more shows we will consider it!
What do you think about the current situation in the music industry? Is it hard being a musician? Especially in Finland, where every fifth seems to be involved in rock bands.
See answer no.11, and yes it definitely is very hard, you have the potential of being a millionaire if you succeed, but also you might struggle to even buy food if you are less fortunate. Personally I've experienced both blinding highs and devastating lows. We still have a huge amount of rock musicians over here, and even though the mainstream style of music has moved away from rock and metal, the quality of rock hasn't disappeared. Most succesful metal bands concentrate on Europe, Japan, South America and the US instead of Finland and the Nordics .
Question for André: you also have another project - One Desire. Do you plan to release something new?
Yes we are currently finishing our second album and it will be out this year!
Are André and Jeppe involved in any other musical projects?
Only sporadical shows here and there besides this and One Desire.
And the last question - is rock and roll alive?
Some might say no, but I think most agree that there is something about rock and roll that you cannot get from any other type of music. It will never die, and it will most certainly return to the mainstream too, it's only a matter of time.
Thank you for the interview. We wish you success in the upcoming tour! Say something to your fans in Russia?
Thank you so much, hope to see you soon!
At least here in Finland there's been an immense change since then, rock music in english used to dominate the radio charts, even on pop radio. Nowadays there's mostly electronic music and hip hop in Finnish. Also nobody sells any records anymore, it's all about Spotify now. But times will always change and you have to be ready to embrace changes, even though you might not like them very much.
You have already announced the dates of the upcoming tour.Do you plan to further replenish this with new cities?
If there is an interest in more shows we will consider it!
What do you think about the current situation in the music industry? Is it hard being a musician? Especially in Finland, where every fifth seems to be involved in rock bands.
See answer no.11, and yes it definitely is very hard, you have the potential of being a millionaire if you succeed, but also you might struggle to even buy food if you are less fortunate. Personally I've experienced both blinding highs and devastating lows. We still have a huge amount of rock musicians over here, and even though the mainstream style of music has moved away from rock and metal, the quality of rock hasn't disappeared. Most succesful metal bands concentrate on Europe, Japan, South America and the US instead of Finland and the Nordics .
Question for André: you also have another project - One Desire. Do you plan to release something new?
Yes we are currently finishing our second album and it will be out this year!
Are André and Jeppe involved in any other musical projects?
Only sporadical shows here and there besides this and One Desire.
And the last question - is rock and roll alive?
Some might say no, but I think most agree that there is something about rock and roll that you cannot get from any other type of music. It will never die, and it will most certainly return to the mainstream too, it's only a matter of time.
Thank you for the interview. We wish you success in the upcoming tour! Say something to your fans in Russia?
Thank you so much, hope to see you soon!
March 8, 2019
- Tuuli TalvinenFounder & Editor-in-ChiefInterviewer