Band Of The Week #107 - Nelson Can
This week’s Band of the Week, is the ever evolving Danish trio Nelson Can, who have just released their second album ‘So Long Desire’ - their first album in six years. With the release the band have recently announced that this is the end for Nelson Can - we had a chat with the Maria, the band’s drummer, about the planned split, and the creative process of this final album.
So your second album ‘So Long Desire’ is out now, how does it feel?
It’s mixed emotions. This is our last album, ever. We’re splitting up straight after we release this record, and we decided to go out with a bang. This album was made after we’d already decided to split up, but the vibe in the recording studio was really liberating because we knew that we were over as a band. We're really happy with the final result. The album contains so many emotions, moods, and feelings toward each other and the band. I think we unconsciously were inspired by the likes of Fleetwood Mac to make an epic breakup album.
What is the inspiration behind the title?
It sums up what the mood in the Nelson Can camp is right now. We’re leaving the band behind, and in a way we’re leaving each other and the weird and wonderful relationship you have with your band members. We wanted to take Nelson Can all the way, making exceptional art and having fun along the way—but it didn’t end up that way, and now we have to say goodbye.
How do you feel this album differs from your first? And why has it taken you six years to release the second? Do you feel you have matured?
Our first album ‘Now Is Your Time To Deliver’ from 2014 was an attempt to make music that we thought our audience and especially the music industry expected from us. We actually did several recordings of a lot of the material on the album and when we finally released the album we were over it because the process had taken so long time. You learn from stuff like that. That’s why we have stuck to the EP format for the majority of our records. But when we decided to put Nelson Can in the grave we just let loose in the studio and the result was a whole album.
Where was the album recorded? Are there any behind the scenes stories from the recording process?
‘So Long Desire’ was recorded in a small recording studio outside Copenhagen called Best Kept Secret Studio. We have recorded almost all our records in this studio and it represents the best and the worst times in Nelson Can. I can’t tell you how many times we swore never to return to this studio because of all the conflicts and hard times we had during recordings.
When making this album, you have said that you had to “allow it to fall apart before we could really understand how it should be done”, what does that mean?
We had booked the studio time before we decided to break up and discussed if we should go on with the recordings or just say fuck it and put the band in the grave as fast as possible. But we respect and love each other and the band so much that we couldn’t see any other option than to give it our last shot and make great music together.
There is a theme of love and the roads it can take you down, so where did the roads lead to? What were the themes of love that you explored in this album?
It’s without a doubt a breakup album. When we started Nelson Can our goal was to travel and explore the world at other people's expense, but through the last 4 years touring and travelling have been a burden and not a joy. We were tired and disappointed in each other. On the outside, we have been quite a successful and hard-working band, but on the inside, none of us wanted to sacrifice everything for Nelson Can anymore. That’s the kind of tough and difficult love this album represents.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album? If so why?
I wouldn’t call it a favourite but the line from the song ‘Yeah, I Didn’t Think So: “Did you ever talk to me this way before? Yeah, I didn’t think so”. Very simple and basic, but there is so much relationship tension in this sentence and it makes me cringe every time.
Now the album is out there, what next? What are your plans for the next few months?
We have planned this breakup for a whole year, so everything has already been planned and dealt with. We’re playing our two last concerts ever, and then it’s over, but I wouldn’t take my eyes off the members of Nelson Can. The future will bring new music and new adventures.