CB3- heavy psych rock
Interview conductedonFeb. 27, 2020
by Dan Locke
Charlottas Burning Trio
Stars above, evil below and fire in between. A trinity in peace for aeons. CB3 (Charlottas Burning Trio) is here to bring you on a journey with their explosive rock jams and mind-bending cosmic soundscapes. CB3 brings the spirit of psychadelic music to the 21th century; with a style that ranges from heavy psych rock jams like Jimi Hendrix to delicate atmospheric passages like Pink Floyd and progressive rhythms like King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Close your eyes, set your mind free and drift away into the musical universe of CB3.
Charlotta Andersson- Electric Guitar
Pelle Lindsjo-Bass
Natanel Salomonsson- Drums
Dan Locke: How did you get your name?
Charlotta Andersson: When we started out playing together in 2013, we played jazz/bebop music. I hated the traditional band names in jazz. It’s mainly first name, last name and trio/quartet and so on. I felt it was so boring and so individualized and was and is the opposite meaning of a genre that’s all about communication within a band. So, I called the band “Charlottas Burnin’ Trio”, because it sounded fun and was the opposite at the time.
Then when we started to play and blend rock and psychedelic elements to our music, at the same time we started to work with Robin Gnats. He made us our logo and it was perfect, timeless so we started to use CB3. Also, with inspiration from bands like ELP (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), YES, T2. Also, it sounds like a spaceship.
How did you form?We formed in 2013. Me (Charlotta) and our former double bass player Jonas and a drummer called Anton started to play together. Then when we started at study at Malmö Academy of Music, we met the drummer Natanael. At the school we had a rehearsal space, so we played a lot of times during a week. Exploring music together, endless jamming. Then in January 2018, we started to play with a new bass player called Pele, and he is our main bass player nowadays. He plays electric bass and is a true pedal effects nerd.
What was your first gig like?
The first gig was at a jazz club in Falkenberg, me, Jonas and Anton. It was a school-related gig. But it was why I started this trio in the first place. Then it has just evolved.
What is heavy psych rock?
I think Jimi Hendrix Experience is kind of a summary of that definition. It has psychedelic sounds, spaced out, mind-bending solos blended with heavy riffs.
You have shared the stage with the likes of Monopod, Kikagaku Moy, Hallas, and Space slug. What have you learned from them about the music business?
A lot! Not only by talking also by listening to their music live. At first, they are all very nice people and true music nerds. The second they all have a unique sound and identity, which is rare. They are all 100% dedicated to their band and music, they work hard to keep developed as a band. Or as Tommy from Hällas said “keep doing your thing”, to stay true to yourself and do the music you like. At last, they are supporters of the scene, they go to concerts, buy records, merch. We have to support each other, it’s like we are all in this together.
I’m thankful for being part of this underground community of bands.
In 2018 you released “From Nothing to Eternity”. And one of the platforms you released on was a cassette. Did you get a lot of requests for a cassette?
Our label back then, Lazy Octopus Records, did put out a lot of cassettes. And we thought it was a cool and different thing, we had never done it before so no direct request. It did sell out almost immediately, so I guess it was a good move!
In the spring of this year, you are releasing your new album “Aeons”. Tell me about it.
Well, it all started with Pelle the bass player joining the band in the beginning of January. At the same time, we started to rehearse and put together the jams. We recorded it the autumn of 2018 live together in the studio in Malmö – where we are based. We were very well-prepared and rehearsed. All solos are live, at the moment. We dubbed some riffs to make it more big sounding, but not over-doing it because we wanted to have a live/organic feeling to it. It was recorded in like two and a half-day. Then Joona Hassinen at Studio Underjord mixed and mastered it in the spring of 2019. He made true magic to the recordings. Robin Gnista did all the artwork.
Aeons as a name can have many meanings it can be a long period of time, an otherworldly kind of being. With the titles, the progression I think Aeons as a name summarizes it all as a whole. As an album “Aeons” is a bright, explosive and an album full of energy. It’s the kind of opposite to “From Nothing to Eternity” which is more about how far can you take an idea and long periods of time and space. With “Aeons” we have been thinking a lot about “how to make instrumental music interesting and not a sleeping pill”. The result of that is that we’ve been experimenting with contrasts and frequencies in our music.
How did the kickstart for it go? Did you have any cool peaks?
We didn’t have much of a budget this time, so when we were supposed to start mixing, we decided to do a Kickstarter. And it went well, thankfully! We had some bundles of T-shirts, “From Nothing.” Vinyl, a few cassettes. The coolest one I guess was a private concert with us, but no one bought it though, such a bummer for us, would have been a cool experience.
In the song Zodiac, I hear a combination of Yes and Purple Deep driving beats. I also heard Gentle Giant through the whole album. Charlotta, how did you learn how to play the mellotron?
Well when I was studying at Malmö Academy of Music, you had to learn piano. So that’s why.
Since you play a mellotron I am going to ask you about some bands which also use a mellotron in their music. I would like you to say something about each if you can. Ahaaa, cool!
Ahaaa, cool!
I will say the first thing that comes into my mind
The Moody Blues – To be honest, I’ve missed checking out this band, I’ve heard about them. But I guess the band name didn’t make me interested. But now I’m grateful for you introducing me, listening as we speak…and it’s great.
The Beatles – Bill Friel has some nice solo guitar playing on Youtube with Beatles tunes. Also, Halter Skelter is such a hard rocking tune.
King Crimson – Never boring.
Genesis – The early Genesis I do prefer.
Led Zeppelin- Kashmir – It’s a classic, kind of different to the other stuff, more orchestral stuff. But sometimes I have a hard time listening to hyped music, even though it’s good.
The Rolling Stones- 2000 light-years from home – pretty psychedelic, but I kind of like the mellotron in a more epic musical content, and when it’s not overused.
Yes – Like Genesis I like the early stuff most. Also is it only me dreaming about fiddling with Waksman’s giant synths?
David Bowie- Space Oddity – nice epic tune, kind of different structure which is nice.
Charlotta- I so your video solo of Deep Purple Burn. Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Morse, Joe Satriani or Tommy Bolin?
Fun, it was really fun learning and playing! Ritchie, I must say. I love his energy in his playing – when he is playing, he’s in it for 110%.
How do you see your band in 5 years?
I hope we have developed more as a band. I hope we play at festivals like Desertfest, Roadburn and doing longer tours, would be a dream to support bands like Kikagaku Moyo, Ty Segall, Earthless on a full tour.
Do you have anything you want to close with?
Thank you for checking us out and if you are in Spain, Portugal or France we’ll be touring in the beginning of April, so please come by and say hi!
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