Moa Lenngren of Browsing Collection chats with us about their plans to take over the world, and the process behind their recently released EP.
Browsing Collection hail all the way from Sweden, but that doesn’t mean that their music can’t be heard all around the world. Moa, the guitarist and shared vocalist, sits down with Loud Hailer to discuss self-producing an album versus working with a producer, and so much more. Browsing Collection are a force to be reckoned with. They are planning to take over not just rock music, but the world!
LH: So, since the EP Don’t Want to Dance has released, how have you guys been doing with it and how has the response been?
Moa: We have received a lot of good responses. This is mostly because this is the first time we have released music for like three years. This time we also worked with a producer because the last time we released an album, we mixed and produced everything ourselves. This EP has much better sound and the songs are really great. We really love every single thing about this EP and we can tell that our fans do as well. We leveled up our sound a bit. It sounds amazing.
LH: What would be your personal favorite song from the EP?
Moa: This is a hard one. It’s like choosing which kid you like the most (laughs). Okay, I think I’d have to go with “Oh, Sweet Sire” because it’s different from what we used to do. It’s so heavy and has attitude and it is very fun to play live. So, I think that’s my favorite.
LH: Do you take all the sass, attitude, and punk rock that you guys have and bring that into the live show?
Moa: Yeah! When you hear our music live, it’s like a different song because we give 110% every time we play live. So, the songs are even better live and are more attitude-ish when you hear them live. It’s kind of sad that you don’t get that kind of feeling on a record ’cause there is so much energy when we play live that you could never hear on an album.
LH: You stated previously that you had worked with a producer for this EP and before that, you guys were doing it all on your own. What was the mindset going in to record this album? What was it like working with a producer versus working without one?
Moa: It’s so much easier to get stuff done because our last album took like two or three years to complete. When you do it by yourself you get focused on the details and you like get stuck. You can’t really let it go and you just have to work and work and work with it. It feels like it’s never enough, but when you have someone else do it for you, you can let it go, relax, and have good thoughts about it. It’s been very nice for us. Since we have been doing it all ourselves we have been busy with other stuff. We book our tours by ourselves and we record music videos and stuff like that. So, it’s been so good to have this extra time to do other stuff. We are also happy with this producer because he is the best guy in the world and he really gets us. He knows what sound we are looking for and it’s just a very good combination. We are very happy with it.
LH: What was the transition like from Greetings from the Wonderland to the new EP? What do you think the biggest change was between albums?
Moa: I think the biggest change was that we actually sat down and discuss which songs we are going to record. That’s why we only have six songs on this EP and I think we had 12 on the last one. We thought “okay, we should really focus on just the songs that we think are 100% hits and not just throw in everything we have” like we did the last time. While it was fun to record everything we had, we weren’t really happy with every one of them. So, this time we thought it would be enough for six songs if we all loved them. I think that was the biggest change. We had our fights (laughs), but we managed to pick songs that we all love. I think it’s a good decision actually.
LH: One thing I noticed on this EP was that one of the best written and produced songs was “Oh, Sweet Sire.” I feel like there was just some extra care taken with that song. It’s definitely one of the most heavy you guys have written and produced. Would you care to elaborate on that?
Moa: Thank you! I agree with you that it has that special “something” in it. All of the songs were written a few years ago when I broke my wrist and I was home with my broken wrist and I wrote every song on my computer with one arm (laughs)! So, I had a lot of thoughts and emotions in every song, actually. This particular one was with Mimi (our singer) and I, we sat down and we discussed what we didn’t like with our society. It’s like the feeling that you want to move to another planet. So, it was really deep. We don’t usually write deep songs, we are a band that’s more like party rock. This is kind of like open soul lyrics from us and I think it was a very good experience. I kind of liked it as well.
LH: What is the local scene in Sweden like? Was it challenging trying to come up and play rock music? Tell us a little bit about that.
Moa: Actually, in the beginning, 10 years ago, we had a very good local venue here in our town. Our first gig, people just went there without knowing who we were. That is a very cool thing. It’s changed; people don’t really go out anymore. I think rock music was more popular in 2008. When we played, people were going out and seeing shows every weekend and even other days, but now it’s so hard to get people to come to your show. We started out at a perfect time. We had it very easy to go to shows. There was a lot in the beginning. So, we are very thankful for that.
LH: What were the influences like for all of you? There’s a little bit of everything in your band.
Moa: Growing up? Ooh! Me and the bass player, we are sisters and we listened to a lot with our parents when we were young and they listened to The Rolling Stones and a bit of the softer rock, but when we grew up we wanted to be separated from our parents so we listened to hard rock like System of a Down and even deathcore and stuff like that. Now, we’ve grown up and we listen to everything. The funny thing is, everyone in our band listens to very different genres and I think that’s a cool thing because the mix is more interesting then because I listen to 70s rock, blues, or stuff like that and our drummer she listens to hardstyle. Our singer is more into pop and our bass player is into Swedish singer/songwriter music. It’s a very weird mix actually, but it works.
LH: What was it like bringing all those influences together? Did it always work out well or did you guys have to tweak to find your sound?
Moa: It just came to us. I think when we all started, we didn’t have an education and we didn’t know exactly how to play and what was right and what was wrong. We just played together and it started on its own and that was a really cool feeling. We took chords that were never supposed to be played together and we made it work. It’s such a cool thing of developing your own sound from nothing. We learned to play instruments together and it has been such a cool journey and we have had a lot of fun with that.
LH: So, do you think a little of that disorder and chaos is what makes Browsing Collection who they are?
Moa: Well, a few years later when we started to go to music schools and stuff like that we found out “whoa, now that we know how music is supposed to be,” it’s kind of hard to get back in that mindset. You know what I mean? Like, when you know how to do something it’s hard to go outside of the box. We are working hard with that now actually.
LH: I know you guys book your tours and stuff by yourself. So, what’s in the future for you guys?
Moa: Wow! We will play for many years because this is amazing and we love playing shows. So, we will definitely go out and play more shows. We are doing more tours in Europe this year. We are recording a new album that we will hopefully release this year and we have so much fun stuff going on. It’s super secret, but we have big plans and we will take over the world someday I promise you.
LH: So, are there any final thoughts you’d like to add?
Moa: We are very much on Facebook and Instagram! So, if you’re interested in seeing more of us and listening to our music you can just follow us there. You can also follow us on YouTube to see our vlogs and stuff like that.
Be sure to check out Don’t Want to Dance at all major retailers!
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