The cult of Subculture draws you deep into the darkest of rituals as the hoodoo that you do so well is given a date for all you dolls to die for. High Priests Harri and Domenic are set to mess with mambo and magic alongside Mount Liberation Unlimited, conjuring some Gerd Janson-approved spiritual goodness from the bowels of the Swedish underground. The best of live jams beckons on this most wicked of dark nights.
Ahead of their Sub Club debut we chatted to Tom and Niklas about about Sweden, Svartklubbar, graveyards and 8 months of darkness…
1. Hey guys, Who are Mount Liberation Unlimited and how did it come about?
We came about through an interstellar crash with our space funk mothership in the year of 2014, now we’re just two regular guys residing in Stockholm.
2. The First EP came out on Junk Yard Connections, they have released music from some other underground favourites like Axel Boman for example. What does this label mean to you and were they a surefire target for you first release?
Rudolf aka. Mr. Tophat is an old friend of ours, and when he heard the songs that made up our first EP at a going away party Tom had a few years back, he shouted “ANTHEM!” and then there was nothing that could ever stop that release from happening.
3. The video’s from both the EPs use quite a unusual yet highly affective aesthetic. How did the videos come to life and how active a role did you play in them coming to life? Did you have fun in the process?
Haha, we had SO much fun!
They came to life through a deep collaboration with our visionary video maker and close friend Johannes Palmroos aka. Jesus. For the Clinton video we had a pretty clear vision ourselves, and Johannes totally understood our weird ideas and managed to put all the pieces together, which was pretty fascinating. We literally just had a party in our studio with a few cases of beers, friends and two turntables, and then everyone got to have a go at our DIY green screen.
The video we released just now for “Polyphonic Spree” was a little bit of a bigger project and actually ended up being shot over 3 whole days. This time Johannes had the clearer vision of a story that was grounded in rebirth and enlightenment which worked very well with our idea about the song and it’s dynamics.
The video thing is really important to us, and it definitely works in a reinforcing synergy with our music.
4. Going back to your home town, there seems to be a bit more going on club wise in Stockholm right now. There’s outdoor, underground raves on offer almost every weekend during the summer. Have you been a part of this? Has the cool party spaces influenced your music and live set at all?
Haha, not quite sure we would call the Stockholm music scene “thriving”, but yeah, summer is amazing with all the open airs! The outdoor parties, together with what we call “Svartklubbar” (off-licensed venues) make up what we feel could be a bit unique to Stockholm. There’s not too many proper parties on offer, so when they actually do happen people really make the most of it. No one wants to go home, haha!
(The VICE guide to Stockholm 2014)
7. You recently played at a big warehouse rave in Gothenburg, how was that for you? Can you tell the Subbie techno tourists 5 things that they must do on their next visit to Sweden?
It was amazing! Mythos, the club in Gothenburg we played at is one of the best club we’ve ever been to for sure. In the league of “Svartklubbar”, Mythos snatches the gold medal any day of the week.
Ok, if you go to Sweden with Techno in mind these are your must do’s:
4. Lion Bar Honstull (For the vibes)
5. Karbon, Stockholm (Past gold medal holders pre-Mythos)
8. Your Subculture Halloween appearance at the end of the month will be your Scottish debut and only your second UK gig. What are you expectations of Glasgow and the Subbie crowd?
A bunch of lads with their TAPS AFF drinking Buckie!
Nah, haha, but seriously, we’ve heard so much good stuff about Sub Club and Glasgow in general, so we are super excited to come! You guys seem to have a really nice thing going on. But we do of course expect your taps to be aff.
9. Halloween has only been celebrated in Sweden since the 1990s, and has rapidly become established there − not least as a result of smart commercial marketing. What does Halloween mean to you? Have you got any fancy dress success stories or even some devil disasters?
We have a bit of a friendship tradition to take a walk on “Skogskyrkogården” (another techno-tip for people that go to Stockholm), which is a UNESCO-listed graveyard with amazing architecture and millions of lit candles.
But besides that, we don’t really have any fun memorable Halloween stories to be honest…But hopefully some of the Subbie crew will bring us some dress up costumes and give us our first proper Halloween devil disaster success story!
10. By the beginning of November, Sweden is enveloped in darkness and the long working days and weeks stretch away endlessly. Picture the scene, It’s a cold winters night and we’re travelling through the unearthly Essingeleden landscape. What 5 tracks would you play for our journey?
To comfort your winter depression.
For astro-travelling purposes only. Don’t fall asleep behind the wheel!
To get a real taste of the Swedish melancholy.
To slowly raise your pulse as you approach the traffic jams of Essingleden.
And at last, just a little reminder that after 8 months of darkness, there will be a little light at the end of your tunnel…
Advance tickets on sale HERE or from RA. All those in FANCY DRESS can enter the dark depths for £10.