The legendary The Hives are finally performing in Malta and the temperature is already rising in anticipation. Ramona Depares catches up with vocalist Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist.

A live show by The Hives is pretty much what it says on the tin: replete with showmanship. How do you keep coming up with new stuff on stage?

A complete dedication to the moment coupled with decades of experience and a never-ending curiosity? An intense hatred of boredom? One of the two, or maybe I can’t explain it. If I try, I fear it may stop working. Some things are probably better not to analyse too much. We just take the first step out on stage and then see what happens, I guess. Usually it is something pretty great!

Best on-stage memory ever?

Oh, this is a tough question. Sort of like what was the best sex of your life, if you have had sex with thousands of people in hundreds of countries. I’ll just throw out one that comes to mind – calling out the VIP section at The Bowery Ballroom in New York,  at the height of The Hivesmania hype in the early 2000s. But if you ask me again tomorrow you may get a different answer, since anytime we get to shred souls with our face-melting music is a great memory.

Happens all the time!

And the worst? Was there any time when the audience reacted badly to your legendary baiting?

Oh yes. lots of times. It still happens, mind you, but they usually get lost in a sea of adoring fans now. In the early days, maybe five would be annoyed and five would like it. There were fisticuffs at points. Though the worst was probably falling off stage in Switzerland and landing head first on the concrete below and passing out. I don’t really remember it, so I guess it doesn’t qualify as a memory?

Seriously, do The Hives ever actually get such a thing as a bad show?

Well we don’t really do many bad ones if you compare it to all other artists and bands, but we do slip in a subpar performance on the Hives scale about once every total solar eclipse – but that is different. Still hate it when it happens though!

As band members go, you all have colourful names. So, there’s Arson, Dangerous, Vigilante, Destruction and... you, Howlin. Just how scared should we be?

Depends. Play your cards right and no one will be destroyed… not on purpose, anyway.

Image plays a big role here. How is the balance between form and substance kept – is it a conscious thing?

Well, it is sort of like the balance of wealth and beauty. No balance is needed as they often happen in the same place over time. It is possible to both have great substance and great form. You can win in a beautiful way. I think Mohammed Ali did. People would like it to be impossible because of some unknown reason, and therefore assume that if the form is bad the substance must be greater. Form will sometimes make substance harder to see, though, so you do have a point. We will not compromise on filling both jugs to the brim though, so yes: it’s all a conscious effort.

Anytime we get to shred souls with our face-melting music is a great memory

Are your shows curated or are you more of a DIY thing?

We put it all together so I suppose it’s DIY and/or they are curated by ourselves!

How have you seen your sound change since Barely Legal?

Well, the most obvious thing is it being way slower, tempo-wise, on average. It has an added weight, I think, that I find flattering. That has something to do with trying to play one-minute songs at 279 bpm to crowds of 50,000. By the time the first row was done moshing, the last row would be getting to the second chorus. It got pretty ridiculous. We also try to make sure individual albums also have their own thing going. I think to a casual listener it may just all sound like The Hives but fans will see way more nuance. Like a wallpaper that just looks blue on first gaze but then reveal myriad complexities when you stare at it for a while.

Lex Hives has been described as your comeback album. How accurate is this?

Well, since we don’t do them that often they sort of all are comeback albums. I suppose it was a stab at getting back to our old recording techniques and just trying to sound like what we think The Hives sound like. The Black And White Album did have a few excursions into deep space, figuratively speaking, where Lex didn’t.

What has the experience recording on your own label been like?

Actually not that different from Interscope. They didn’t really mess much with what we were doing but it was very different not even having an A&R man and a producer and so on.

What new challenges does this bring with it?

Mostly doing more stuff ourselves. Less people helping and being involved, which felt both good and bad. It is harder to focus on actually making the album great when you are also trying to arrange, produce, write, play, market, press, sell etc. It would be nice to have a little help in the future.

What about your collaboration with Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme? How did that come about?

Well, we are longtime friends. We were using his studio for overdubs while we were mixing in Los Angeles and he was around, so we figured we would try to record together since it is a really fun way to hang out and also learn from each other. Unfortunately, we were pretty drained on new material so we did some covers. Would be great to work together on some originals at some point.

What’s next on your radar?

Meeting in September and trying to see if we can agree enough to make a record!

What’s the real story with Randy Fitzsimmons? Is he still the... spirit?... of the band?

That sounds… vague. He is a dude that writes songs and sort of mentors us. He has kick-ass ideas most of the time, but is sort of a complex character. Sometimes, he is around and sometimes not. But I guess his spirit looms large in this band at all times.

So, had you ever actually heard of this Malta place?

Ha! F***, yes, if I am allowed to curse in Malta? We are so excited to go to a new place. Seems so beautiful and loaded with interesting history.

What have you been told to expect?

No one really told us. You seem Maltese? What should we expect?

And what are you really expecting?

Two days of wonder and excitement, great food and experiences and lots of information about the place. A guided tour, the keys to the city, to be carried forth by pallbearers in a golden chariot on the streets... Nothing special.

And what should we expect? The Freeze? Something new?

Many songs never played in Malta before and the first ever Hives concert experience in Malta ever. We will make it all it should be. We can’t wait!

The Hives perform on September 29 at Aria Complex, Għargħur. They will be supported by Maltese band nosnow/noalps and The Beangrowers. Tickets are available online.

www.showshappening.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.