Talking SENSE with SOILWORK
5 Minutes alone with DAVID ANDERSSON
Written by: Tom Wilson - Sense Music Media
To say that this has been a rough year for health care workers would be an understatement. It’s been pretty brutal on musicians, too. Dr. David Andersson is both, but he has still found time amongst his duties as an M.D. to unleash a new album as axeman for Swedish metal titans SOILWORK. He took some time out from the studio to chat to SENSE about the aquatic odyssey that is A Whisp of the Atlantic.
So you’re in the studio already? Who are you recording with?
We’re putting the finishing touches to the next Night Flight Orchestra album.
Did I read correctly that you’re actually a doctor in your day job?
Yes, I am. I’m a gastroenterologist. These days I’m a corona doctor as well, because it sort of spills over into everything.
Basically, all hands on deck. I take it you haven’t had much of a relaxing year?
No, this year has been horrible, but at the same time, we’ve been able to create music and release stuff.
Being a doctor and a researcher would take up a lot of your time [in addition to your role in SOILWORK]. Is it difficult to balance those roles out?
Yeah, obviously it’s difficult … It’s not that hard to balance stuff, because I still really enjoy creating and writing music, and creating stuff … I’d love to be able to have more time, but you only have that much time! [Laughs] And I manage to create a few things anyway. It’s fine.
I feel like being a doctor who’s also in a major metal band, are you an over-achiever?
[Laughs] I don’t know if I’m an over-achiever. I do have a busy mind. I love doing stuff, and if I don’t get to do stuff, I get a bit itchy.
I get the feeling you would’ve been driven mad if you hadn’t been essential during the lockdown.
Yeah. I’m glad that I’m able to work and perform. I am one of the few fortunate people who are able to go to work everyday. We’re all in a very difficult situation. I’m blessed to be able to do what I do.
Have your skills as an M.D. ever come in handy on the road? Touring can be quite gruelling. Have you ever had to treat any of your bandmates while touring?
Yes [laughs]. There have been occasions where I’ve had to come up with some medical advice, yeah. [Laughs]
Being a gastroenterologist, I imagine you’d be very conscious of what you eat. I know it’s not always the best food!
[Laughs] It’s more that, when you’re a gastroenterologist, you just eat whatever. [Laughs] You can’t really be picky, and you can’t really be nervous. The human G.I. tract is very [robust] … it can take a lot of things!
I just checked out the video to A Whisp of the Atlantic. What was the concept behind it? Who came up with it?
It was me. The whole idea of alienation … you have this girl coming up from Atlantis and experiencing Sweden. The overarching theme is about alienation. The world is a bit different these days, and we’re all trying to cope with it in different ways. I hope that people will have new and different thoughts. I like to provoke and inspire people to think about stuff in different ways.
The EP itself has this immense scope to it. How long were you working on this? A Whisp of the Atlantic is this huge song [clocking in at over 16 minutes].
It took me, like, two months, perhaps?
Can you ever see yourself performing it live?
I’d love to, if we ever get to go back to performing live again. In Sweden right now, we have a maximum of eight people gathering. Going from that to 30,000 drunk people spitting and being really close together is like a quantum leap. I guess it’s going to take a while, but we’re perfectly able to perform it live if we get to tour anytime soon.
You joined SOILWORK about eight years ago. What were the challenges of joining such an established band?
I did my first tour with SOILWORK in 2006. They knew I was a songwriter and an artist, so I guess, when I got the chance to join the band as a full-time member, they expected me to come up with stuff, and I did. It was quite natural, because we all knew each other by then. I think they were happy to have someone to come up with stuff, and Björn Strid [vocalist] started writing songs on his own in a way he hadn’t done before, so it was sort of a rebirth for the band.
You came down to Australia last year. What are your memories of touring in Australia?
Australia is always really great. Australia is the U.S.A. without guns. [Laughs] Australians are always very nice, and you always feel welcome in Australia. It feels quite like home.
More from SOILWORK…
Website
Check out SOILWORK’s Official Website for everything from tour dates and tickets, to merch, videos, links to all their latest content and more!
Download
Click Here to order the A Whisp of The Atlantic (2020 EP) in a variety of formats
Tickets
Click Here for tickets to Soilwork’s upcoming 2021 tour