Her Bright Skie's Petter Nilsson Discusses Rivals!

Her Bright Skies last spoke to us when their previous album came out now sometime later their follow-up release entitled "Rivals" is out and guitarist and vocalist Petter "Pete" Nilsson took sometime over the holiday season to discuss this all new release.


1. Album three is out, how does this make you feel?

Petter: We're stoked for sure. It's our best album yet and we couldn't be more proud. It's the first album that we feel we've really found the sound we wanna go for.

2. So tell me how does "Rivals" differ from your last release?

Petter: It's more raw, rockier and it isn't afraid to be different. From the writing process to the mixing of the album it's all about being open-minded and not being afraid to include certain things that we otherwise maybe wouldn't have.

3. Are there any comparisons between the two?

Petter: We're still very focused on strong choruses and strong intros. that's what we're always aiming for. The other parts are secondary but of course important as well.

4. How would you describe the overall sound of the new album?

Petter: As I said before it's rockier and different from what other bands are doing right now I think. It's definitely heavier but in a way poppier than the previous albums. For some it may be a blast from the past, since we've brought in some old school rock n roll influences. Things we listened to while growing up and wanted to include on the album.

5. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album?

We wanted the songs to feel more alive. I guess that's what we always talked about. To let them breathe and sound less processed and more of a rock album.

6. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?

I think we have a banjo in there somewhere, but other than that, we tried to keep it simple. There are some synthesizers in there as well but this album is more guitar driven than anything we've ever done.

7. When did you start writing for this album?

We started in 2011 and wrote a whole bunch of songs. Out of like 50 songs we picked 11 that we really really liked and continued working on them. So it's been a long process but totally worth it in the end.

8. Did you feel any pressure to follow it up?

There were times when we felt we didn't have enough good songs but once we put our heads together we figured out ways to make the songs we had better and more interesting so there have ups and downs. And of course we were nervous about how people would react to the new approach, but now that it's released, we're happy with the response.



9. You released a video for the song "Lovekills" in it vocalist Jaybee wears a unique "Rivals" jacket did he design it himself?

Yeah he did. He just turned up one day with that jacket and he's pretty much been wearing it ever since, haha.

10. Can you tell me about the video for "Lovekills"?

We wanted to make a kind of un-serious video, where we'd joke about ourselves being "bad boys". In the end it wasn't that clear what our intentions were so now either people think we're bad mothatruckers or just douchebags. ;)

11. What does Her Bright Skies have planned for 2013?

Lots and lots of touring. That's pretty much all we have planned right now.

12. Wold you like to say or add anything?

Keep your eyes open for dates in your city. We'll be hitting a lot of different countries. Hope to see you on tour!