A few months in, things were beginning to take off for the band. A limited 1000-disc run of the debut album 'Tsunami' was released and quickly sold out. It was reprinted and, pretty much instantly, sold out again. The band was taken by surprise by the phenomenal response and signed with a management company to enable them to keep focusing on the music, rather than the business.
Without having signed a record deal, Khoma started to work on the follow-up to 'Tsunami'. It soon became obvious that they had to do something about the line-up. As Khoma began as a side project, members often were scattered around the globe making it almost impossible to play live. The members didn't even consider themselves a real band, merely a project filling a musical void, something created because of a need to play together. Khoma decided to create two faces: one that writes, rehearses, and records songs and another that gathers to play live.
The band hail from varied musical backgrounds and all members still play in a number of different groups: Cult of Luna, The Perishers, and The Deportees to name three. With no pressure and total creative freedom, the members write the music they personally want to hear.
Besides playing music, all band members hold strong views on issues and ideologies spanning from anarchism, feminism and socialism to animal and environmental rights.
In creating their most recent music, the band have broadened their perspective and introduced new elements most notably cello and piano.
Jan Jämte - Vocals
Johannes Persson - Guitar
Fredrik Kihlberg - Guitar/Vocals/Piano
When the band signed to Roadrunner in 2005 and it became clear that the next records were going to be released outside of Scandinavia the band realised that the name Koma (under which they released their debut CD) was already taken – by quite a few artists! So, instead of changing to something else, the band simply changed the spelling to Khoma.
In April 2006 their second album 'the second wave' was released. It includes three songs from the debut.
The band recently made their UK festival debut on Sat 17th June 2006 at the Download Festival.
Asleep
Khoma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Plan every step
Here it takes your life
Leaving nothing
They'll cut you down to fit here
Welcome knife, accept the pills, needle stings
Is it all your fault?
The real world awaits your breath
Been away too long
Cut you down to fit here
Welcome knife, accept the pills, needle stings
Keep on polishing you'll hit the bone
All of you erased, empty and cold
The lyrics to Khoma's song "Asleep" paint a picture of a person consumed by the desire to fit in and please others. The first two lines, "Here it comes with desire / Plan every step," suggest that this person is actively making choices in order to conform to the expectations of others. The repetition of the phrase "cut you down to fit here" reinforces this idea, implying that the person is willing to sacrifice parts of themselves in order to fit in. The following lines, "Welcome knife, accept the pills, needle stings," suggest that this person is so desperate to fit in that they are willing to accept even painful or harmful things in order to do so.
The lines, "Waging war against yourself / Is it all your fault?" suggest that this person's struggle to fit in is causing them internal turmoil. They are fighting against their own nature in order to meet the demands of others, and they may be blaming themselves for not being able to do so perfectly. The following lines, "The real world awaits your breath / Been away too long," suggest that this person has been so consumed by their struggle to fit in that they have lost touch with their authentic self and with the real world around them.
The final lines, "Keep on polishing you'll hit the bone / All of you erased, empty and cold," suggest that the person's attempts to fit in have hollowed them out and left them feeling empty and cold. The metaphor of polishing until hitting the bone implies that the person is scrubbing away everything that makes them unique or interesting, until all that's left is a bare skeleton. Overall, the song seems to be a warning against the dangers of trying too hard to fit in, and a call to embrace one's true self and individuality.
Line by Line Meaning
Here it comes with desire
The desire, the feeling of wanting to attain something, comes as a powerful force.
Plan every step
One should have a clear and well thought out strategy for executing their desires.
Here it takes your life
The lust for something can drain your energy and consume you entirely.
Leaving nothing
After the passion winds down, you can be left with nothing, no energy, no motivation.
They'll cut you down to fit here
Society might try to mold you into a particular shape, forcing you to conform to fit their standards.
Welcome knife, accept the pills, needle stings
People may introduce harmful solutions like surgery or drugs, which could have long-term negative effects.
Waging war against yourself
Engaging in self-destructive habits can lead to an internal battle and negative self-image.
Is it all your fault?
One might start blaming themselves for things that are beyond their control or originate from external factors.
The real world awaits your breath
The challenges of the real world are waiting, and one must make an effort to overcome them and survive.
Been away too long
The song hints that the person has been preoccupied with their internal struggles for too long, and it's time to face the real world.
Keep on polishing you'll hit the bone
One could go too far in their quest for perfection and harm themselves in the process.
All of you erased, empty and cold
The person might compromise too much of their identity, losing themselves in the process, becoming cold and empty.
Contributed by William N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.