,
The Riven plays honest rock n roll that makes you wanna shake your fist and bang your head. Taking you on a journey through their sonic landscape, The Riven is classic Rock for the 21st Century.
Interview conducted on September 29, 2020
By Dan Locke
It all began in 2016 when the modern vagabonds of the western world, singer Totta Ekebergh, guitarist Arnau Diaz, and bass player Max Ternebring started the band when they were living together in West London, the birthplace of groups like The Rolling Stones and The Who. With this sweet trio on the move, they got the drummer Olof Axegärd to join up. Later, during the cold and foggy days of November 2016, The Riven recorded their EP ‘Blackbird’ at Buffalo Studios.
The Riven are:
Totta Ekebergh – Vocals
Arnau Diaz – Guitars
Max Ternebring – Bass
Jussi Kalla – Drums
What is your upbringing?
Bass player Max, drummer Jussi, and vocalist Totta are from Sweden, and Guitarist Arnau from Barcelona, Spain. We’re all brought up in musical environments starting our own projects and bands at an early age.
How did you discover music?
Myself, Totta, discovered music through my parents who were listening to music they grew up at our home. Later on, through music classes, friends, radio, and of course the internet! 😀
How did you start to write music?
As a band, The Riven started writing songs together. Someone might have a riff or a line and then we would go from there. There’s not one of us who structures entire songs but rather we create parts for our own instruments, complementing each other’s parts during rehearsal and then structure and build together.
How was it you formed in London and end up in Sweden?
The Riven met in London while going to a music school there. But since London is such an expensive city to live in, we decided to move to Sweden since most of us were from there. We ended up in Stockholm due to living and work situations. Now we’re well-rooted in Stockholm and like it here a lot apart from the long journey to the rest of Europe and the cold winters!
What was your first performance at like?
I think our very first performance must have been some school function. But then we played various pubs and clubs in London starting to build our reputation. The first performances were a lot of fun, some nerves and anxiety though as always when you do something new and exciting.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
I think we never recorded it, and if I remember this right, I believe the first song had a working title called Backstabbing son of a bitch!
How did you start the band?
Max and Arnau started the band then Totta joined and finally also Olof (drummer at the time). In October 2019 Olof left the band though and Jussi joined instead and so far, we have recorded and released our new single Moving On/Windbreaker together with new drummer Jussi and enjoy working with him a lot.
How the band did get its name?
Oh my…. It’s so frickin’ hard to come up with a band name! We definitely wanted a ‘the’ name and then Riven sounded cool, it also means torn in old English and has the same meaning in Swedish, so there you go, The Riven was chosen to be our name.
The first single “Moving On” came out on May 15th. How are your fans liking it?
I think and hope they like it! Though there’s no video, it might be harder for people to relate to it, especially since we can’t play live due to Covid19 either. We’re working on recording a live session though so you will be able to enjoy the full The Riven experience 🙂
The album comes out Aug. 28th. And you have 500 copies on 7”. How are they selling?
So far, our record label The Sign Records are the sole seller of the single, so we don’t know exactly how it’s selling at the moment. Keep on buying them, and when they run out, we’ll know!
Tell me about the album and how it was recorded?
Our first full-length album (The Riven) was recorded in Madrid, March 2018 with Swedish producer Ola Ersfjord. The single Moving on/Windbreaker was recorded here in Stockholm. We recorded it ourselves with some help from wonderful friends, and it was later mixed by Ola Ersfjord in Madrid. It was quite an enjoyable recording in the comfort of our own rehearsal space since you can work at any hour and at whatever speed you want!
What is your favorite track on the album?
If we’re talking full-length album (The Riven) I think we all enjoy ‘Finnish woods’ and ‘Sweet child’ the most. For me, ‘Shadow Man’ and ‘Far Beyond’ are also two favourites. For the single ‘Moving on/Windbreaker’, both of them are equally fun to play, they feel new and fresh and are going more in the style we’re heading for the future.
How do you stay healthy while touring?
Hahaha is there a way? Nah, but there is definitely a fair amount of McDonalds along the road but you do your best at doing some workout when you can, or at least I, Totta do! Otherwise, being on stage is a little bit of exercise too!
What are you’re feeling about streaming music?
Obviously, it doesn’t pay much, but it’s also a great way of reaching people, quick and easy that they can move onto buying merch to support the band if they want too. I don’t mind streaming as a musician or listener of other bands.
Digital vs. vinyl?
Definitely vinyl! It has a certain something to it. It’s like reading a book. You line up your records at home, listen to them in its entirety, and just enjoy owning them with artwork, lyrics, and all! We’re working with an extremely talented artwork designer called Maarten Donders. He has done all of our covers, logo, and some t-shirt artwork too. He’s great and he has really helped us form our visual side.
What are your feelings about the social uprising going on in the United States?
Not really sure what you’re aiming for? I don’t want to answer something assuming it’s what you meant, so I don’t know what to say… sorry! I’ll just say this, I am pro-justice for all and free education and knowledge and against injustice and hatred and crime are driven by political propaganda and lack of knowledge and understanding.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? And what is the meaning that song means to you?
Right now, I’m thinking about (take these) chains by Judas Priest. It’s a really passionate and cool song. It’s supposed to be some kind of love song I guess, but it could also relate to shaking loose from everything controlling you in your life and to dare follow what’s in your heart, whatever it may be.
How do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
Everybody will probably have adjusted to life online even more but I also think that people will be hungry for live events when possible again. Maybe there will be more online events that charge people money to participate.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Myself have been ill with Covid-19 so then I was quarantined like a vacuum-sealed pita bread from the supermarket. But apart from that life goes on almost as usual in Sweden. At the moment though we’re preparing a live session with the new single Moving On/Windbreaker as well as writing songs for the new album.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
Not really, Arnau has taken up flamenco guitar but apart from that we’ve been pretty much going on as normal.
Lots of people are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You are doing Live Streaming. How is that going? How do you know that the stream was a success?
We haven’t yet, but we will and we will see.
Do you think it will be possible to make a living doing concerts this way?
No, I don’t, unless you charge a lot but it’s too difficult to control anything online as time has shown again and again.
First it was an article in the New York Times, then Rolling Stones talked about it and finally Live Nation CEO said that concerts may not start again until fall of 2021. Do you think this could happen?
Yeah sure, Countries are closing down again and not until we see a vaccine, countries will dare to fully open up again.
Is there a meat shortest in Sweden?
No, most of us don’t eat meat so it wouldn’t really be a problem for us but from shopping in the supermarket there seems to be no shortage of meat.
What are you’re feeling about Global Warming?
I believe that global warming will potentially end humanity on earth as we know it. Terrible storms and weather conditions will worsen and we will probably see a lot of environment fugitives, but does it matter? It’s not like people care…People still do extensive shopping and throw trash everywhere and don’t care to recycle, and businesses just want to make a profit without facing any consequences. Humans have many traits, and ignorance is definitely one of them. If I don’t see it, it doesn’t hurt me, right?
Totta- Since mining for diamonds is a dirty, awful business. And a diamond represents wealth, luxury and love. What is coal mining?
Hahaha, have you checked my Facebook? It is obviously awful with coal mining but from a historic perspective, it makes more sense than diamonds in my opinion. Hopefully, coal mining will end and we can use other sources of energy in the future. Diamonds though are just plain vanity that comes at a high cost.
With Social Distance being the norm. Do you feel that it maybe the end of music festivals for the next couple of years?
Social distance has always been the norm in Sweden but concerts have never been a problem before :D. Nah but I think that as soon as there’s a vaccine against Covid-19 people will forget about the risk of a pandemic a little too quickly again and things will go back to the way they were, good and bad.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
That would be so cool! And a little scary too, but soooo cool!
How do you see yourself in the next five years?
In five years, we will hopefully have released another 3 albums, toured a few continents, and don’t have to work full time besides the band!
Anything you would like to say in closing?
Thank you for this interview! All the best! Totta and The Riven
You must be logged in to post a comment.