That's where they are today. But how did they get there?
As so many times before, the story kicks off against a small town setting, where two young men get together in school and decide to form a band to rebel against some popular opinion or other. In this case simply to piss off all the hard rocking youths that dominated their particular school. "Every chance we had we'd go on stage, and do all we could to make the music totally incomprehensible to others than fans of the genre. Usually that included ourselves, and maybe one or two other persons," reminisces lead vocalist Marten Kellerman.
So far, neither Marten nor Rikard Lindell (the other founding member of the band) took their musical collaboration very seriously. They both graduated and Marten wound up working as a producer and engineer for major label Stockholm Records - something he has described as "educational as hell," but often tough on his general well being.
One day Marten and Rikard had booked a studio for some work with Marten's previous band Hello In TV Land, but the band before them (Army of Lovers) were using up more studio time than they were supposed to. So Marten and Rikard wound up in a small pre-production studio nearby, to kill some time while waiting for Army of Lovers to finish. They ended up writing the first official Statemachine song and were so excited about it that, within a few days time, they managed to write a third of what was to become their debut album Avalanche Breakdown.
Marten's father encouraged them to record more material, and sent some songs to Swedish national radio show Musikjournalen who praised the recordings on the air. They were signed to small independent label October shortly after that, and started recording the rest of the material for their debut. "We had close to zero budget, and had to do most of the recording at home. We recorded the vocals in a closet, and borrowed and rented some equipment from people we knew. We mixed the entire album in my kid brother's bedroom, because it had the best ambience we could find. The poor kid had nowhere to sleep for fourteen days," says Marten.
Then things happened a bit faster than both the band and their record label had expected. The records received rave reviews in nearly all synth and alternative magazines in Sweden and Germany. Another single (Happy Endings) was recorded, showing a completely new side of the band, and receiving even more positive reviews. The female keyboardist and backing vocalist, Anna Jansson, left the band right before a 30-gig tour spanning Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Sweden, complete with a limited edition remix album (Legerdemain) made especially for that tour. Rickard Gunnarsson, Anna's replacement during the tour, was announced new official member. A third single (Negative Feedback) from the debut album placed the band among the absolute foremost within their genre, showing a greater maturity than ever before. And then Rikard Lindell decided being a pop star was not for him, and left the band as well.
"Things were just happening too god damn fast. None of us were prepared for the attention and pressure, and evidently Lindell and Anna weren't too happy with what it was doing to their lives. Having success with a band may look great on paper, but in real life it's just damn hard work. And it sure has taken its toll. It's not easy maintaining any kind of social life while spending six days a week working with the band," Marten explains. "It's very nice to be appointed best electronic pop band of the nineties, or named as one of the most prominent hopes for the future of alternative hi-tech pop, but if your not happy with what it's doing to your life, it won't make you feel any better about yourself. Touring, screaming fans, rave reviews, fan mail from countries where your music isn't supposed to exist at all, seeing yourself on TV - it doesn't matter how independent you think you are, shit like that does things to your head."
Statemachine was put on hold. Marten and Rickard needed a break from it all - a chance to catch their breath and think about what was going on, and where to go next. Statemachine had reached every goal they'd had when they started out, and that was a very confusing place to be.
After contemplating their situation and catching their breath, Statemachine started working with the so-called US version of "Avalanche Breakdown". However, only one track from the original album is left unchanged on the new album "Breakdown" - the rest has been changed. Statemachine refused to just throw something slightly different together, and insisted on spending four months in the studio working only with this new release and it's accompanying single "Thermal Noise". They also start recording their follow-up album this winter, with a release planned sometime early 1999, followed by an international tour during spring and early summer. After their short break earlier this year, they seem more energetic than ever before. I asked Marten for a comment:
"We're very satisfied with the newly recorded album Breakdown, and the single Thermal Noise, and we're even more excited to start working on the new material. We have loads of songs, and have just recently decided which ones to feature on this next album. And we're very anxious to see what they turn out like. And, well... we feel really good about the band and what we're doing right now, and have a lot of hope for the future. A couple of days ago it struck me how much we've accomplished so far. Usually I tend to feel that I haven't really accomplished anything at all just yet, and that there's so much more I want to do. But then it suddenly dawned on me that, hey, I've released more than ten records and contributed music on at least twice as many, I've been on two international tours, had the chance to work with a few of Sweden's biggest artists, and was recently contracted by Warner/Chappell, the world's biggest Music Publishers. And that's not too bad, considering I was once thrown out of music school due to total incompetence," Marten says with a smile.
Having heard the new recordings on Breakdown and Thermal Noise, I have to agree. Statemachine have come a very long way since their debut album, and I'm dying to see where they'll go next and can't wait to find out how the story ends
by Tom Larsson
A Crying Statue
Statemachine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was almost sure you saw
But no reaction
Stop being so mechanical she said
Without ever noticing the program in her head
I took the blame
Accepted what she said
Wouldn't want to stir things up
I tried last night though no one thought I ought to
I was almost sure it could have worked
But fate thought otherwise
Stop being so mechanical she said
Without ever noticing the program in her head
I took the blame
Accepted what she said
Wouldn't want to stir things up
Just because i'm dead
It's just a statue
From stone it is made
Raised to scare all evil away
Evil don't care
They laugh at it's face
Just like me it's a dying race
The lyrics in Statemachine's song A Crying Statue speak about a feeling of being invisible and unnoticed, even in death. The singer sings about dying without anyone recognizing it, and even when he thinks someone might have noticed, there was no reaction. The first verse ends with the line "stop being so mechanical," which is repeated in each verse, indicating a frustration with people's lack of emotional response. The singer also mentions someone else telling him not to "stir things up," even though he's dead. This suggests that even in death, there are expectations of people not to cause problems or make a fuss.
The second verse describes the singer's attempt to do something - it's unclear what - the night before he died. He again expresses frustration that no one thought he ought to do it. He mentions fate not allowing it to work out, which could be interpreted as a reference to the idea that life is predetermined. The same refrain, "stop being so mechanical," is repeated, and the singer continues to feel invisible and unimportant.
Overall, the song speaks to feeling overlooked and ignored, even by those closest to us, and emphasizes the desire for genuine emotional connection.
Line by Line Meaning
I died today and no one even noticed
I feel ignored and insignificant, like my existence has no impact.
I was almost sure you saw
Despite feeling ignored, I had some hope that you saw me and cared about me.
But no reaction
My hope was crushed when you didn't respond or react to me.
Stop being so mechanical she said
Someone tried to snap me out of my sadness by telling me to stop being robotic or emotionless.
Without ever noticing the program in her head
However, this person didn't seem to be aware of their own robotic tendencies or thought patterns.
I took the blame
I accepted responsibility for something, perhaps because I thought it would keep the peace or avoid conflict.
Accepted what she said
I chose to believe what this person said or did, even though it may not have been true or healthy for me.
Wouldn't want to stir things up
I avoided conflict or confrontation, even if it meant sacrificing my own needs or well-being.
Just because i'm dead
I may have felt powerless to change things or speak up for myself, as if I were already dead or invisible.
I tried last night though no one thought I ought to
Despite feeling powerless, I attempted something that I thought could make a difference or change things for the better.
I was almost sure it could have worked
I had hope that what I did would be successful and have a positive outcome.
But fate thought otherwise
Unfortunately, circumstances were not in my favor and things did not turn out as I had hoped or expected.
It's just a statue
The singer compares themselves to a statue, an inanimate object with no power or agency.
From stone it is made
The singer emphasizes the fact that the statue is something that was created, not something that chose to exist or came into being naturally.
Raised to scare all evil away
Despite being created for a purpose, the statue is ultimately ineffective in achieving that purpose.
Evil don't care
The very thing the statue was meant to ward off, evil, is indifferent to it or even amused by it.
They laugh at it's face
Evil is so unconcerned with the statue that it can even mock or ridicule it without fear of consequence.
Just like me it's a dying race
The singer sees themselves and the statue as part of a group or category (a 'dying race') that is becoming irrelevant or obsolete.
Contributed by Victoria V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ambientwind
Wouldn't want to stir things up just because i'm dead....aww I love this song so much,!
Boerlady
Toppenlåt!!
Boerlady
super!