Interview with Oak

How did Oak form?

The band consists of me (Robin) on bass, Carl on drums/vocals and Alex on guitars/vocals. We've all known each other for a very long time, but we started playing together in the summer 2010. Back then, I hadn't been to many hardcore shows, but we went to a one-dayer which The Chariot played and it was completely nuts. Afterwards me and Carl were so stoked about it and started to talk about starting a band. Basically all we wanted to do was the exact same thing as The Chariot. (I didn't even know how to play bass, haha.) So we brought in Alex - the real deal guitar nerd. The first one and a half year consisted of us trying to compromise three very different wills into a common ground for music writing and getting to know each other better, both musically and personally. For our debut EP (under a different band name) we brought in a loose friend on vocals, but he left shortly after the recording. Then we did a bunch of shows with a stand-in drummer and Carl on vocals, but after a lot of discussion it became clear to us that we wanted to do this thing as a three piece. So we re-launched the band with our new band name - Oak.

Have any of you played in previous bands? Links to your material?

Well, this is my first band and where I've learned to play and write music. Alex and Carl used to play in a punk band called Dagligt Intag, but if you want to check out that stuff, you'll have to find it on your own.

What inspired the band to write such chaotic music?

At first, like I said earlier, The Chariot. We were really inspired by the intensity in their live shows, and chaotic hardcore seemed the most suitable music for that kind of stuff. Then that kind of music became part of our musical identity somehow and now, as we have developed as musicians, we've started to involve more of other elements that we're into. I love more riffy old school hardcore, Carl is more into emotional stuff and screamo and Alex has a huge turn on for Botch and Converge.

Have you toured outside Sweden before?

Actually not. We've played a lot in Sweden and done shorter tours on our own and last autumn, with Black Mask and Eternal Sleep from the US. Two bands I really recommend. Great people and insane tunes. Even heavier live.

How are you all feeling about your upcoming European tour?

We're so stoked. It will be our first tour with our new record and it's gonna be really fun playing our new songs live. Also, foremost, it's gonna be amazing to play outside of Sweden for the first time and doing a longer set of dates. Personally I'm most stoked about playing a fest called Punk Piknik in Poland, in a squat in central Warsaw and playing in Berlin.

Your lyrics are beautifully written. Do you write from your own perspective or in a more prose-driven perspective?

Thanks! Both me and Carl are writing the lyrics. Some of them on our own and on a few we've cooporated. The lyrics are written from our own perspective. I'd say the theme of the lyrics for this album is rootlessness (in different kinds) and the feelings it produces, like fear, lonelyness or resignation.

Americans tend to think of Sweden as a hub of death metal bands. Is there a scene where you live for the more screamo/hardcore-oriented music that Oak plays?

There's definetely a hardcore scene in Sweden. Although, there is usually only one or a few promoters in each city and quite small audiences. However, a lot of people tend to go to shows in each others cities to see foreign bands so the whole scene is pretty united. The main focus tend to be old school hardcore, but a lot of more modern hardcore is going on and taking more room as well. For example make sure to check out On the Edge of Forever and Totem Skin!

Is there any way that American fans can order your merchandise? I tried and was told that you don't ship to our part of the world.

Our web store isn't very up to date. Before or shortly after our tour we'll update it with our new merch. However, I'm afraid overseas shipping costs will be too high.. However, you can order our LP, on black or white splatter vinyl, from our labels Woodhammer and Hoborec.

Woodhammer
Hoborec

Do you have any (even far-future) plans to come overseas, potentially to the States?

As for now our future tour plans only include Europe. But we all really would love to tour the States, and another dream is touring in south east Asia. However I'm doing all of our booking on my own, so at this point it seems kind of far away.

Thanks a lot for the opportunity to talk about all this stuff.

Robin & Oak.

-Brian