interview with L-P Anderson, singer

September 13, 2001

NB
I know very little about The Royal Beat Conspiracy - actually almost nothing - so tell me more about the band:
- how and when did you start?
- who are the members?
L-P
RBC was formed in october 1997. Tord and myself had been in a previous band called CRY (kinda MC5/Stooges/Groovies/Birdman band). Cry were supposed to do their 3rd album when we decided it was time to move on... So we started RBC together with bass man Ulf Janson and drumer Per-Olof Björklund.

NB
So Cry released 2 albums - also on Bad Afro?
L-P
No, the CRY albums were released on Velodrome Records in Sweden and on the German Zuma label for Europe. Cry also released plenty of singles from 1990-1997. Look for singles on labels such as Sympathy For The Record Industry, Dionysus etc. The last CRY release was a 7 track mini album called "Queen Of The Underground" released spring -97.
NB
Many bands in Sweden are Stooges/MC5 influenced - why do you think it's like this? Is that the reason you choosed for another (more unique) sound with Royal Beat Conspiracy.
L-P
I'm glad I was introduced to those bands at an early age. Many bands on the Swedish 80's garage scene talked a lot about the MC5 and Stooges and played covers of their songs. Maybe they planted a seed there... I guess it's hard to avoid MC5 or the Stooges if you live in Sweden and are interested in music. The sound of RBC just turned out the way it turned out from day one... I guess it was meant that way... Written in the stars... I don't think too much about it...
NB
what did you release till now?
L-P
So far we have done the following records:
*The Royal Beat Conspiracy "It's Not Enough" / "The Real Thing" 7"-singel Bad Afro Records /fro-009 -98
*The Royal Beat Conspiracy "Music To Rock The Nation" 10" -minialbum ("My Baby's Gone", "Hollywood Fever", "Satan's Radio", "Had To Be A Woman", "The Chameleon's Changing Colour" and "Boogey Man") Bad Afro Records /fro-1002 -99
*The Royal Beat Conspiracy "Disco Boy"/ "Satan's Radio" cd-singel Bad Afro Records /frocds001 -00
*The Royal Beat Conspiracy "Gala Galore" 15 track debut album Bad Afro Records /afrocd005 -00
*The Royal Beat Conspiracy "Shake What You Have Got! EP" 5-track cd EP Bad Afro Records /afrocd007 -00
Compilations:
*Swedish Sins 99 The Royal Beat Conspiracy - "Adrenachrome Hit" White Jazz Records /Jazz 014CD -99
*Pushing Scandinavian Rock To The Man The Royal Beat Conspiracy - "The Real Thing" Bad Afro Records /Afrocd 002 -99
*Thrash 'Em Up Baby ! Vol.1 The Royal Beat Conspiracy "Tonight" and "Dirty Old Song" Hard-On Records /hard-on#4 10" -99
*Pushing Scandinavian Rock To The Man Vol 2 The Royal Beat Conspiracy - "Here Come The Girls" and "Had To Be A Woman" Bad Afro Records /Afrocd 010 -01

NB
I have your CD, 10" and 7" and they are really great, but also very strange (in a good way). You mix lot of different styles, so I guess you also listen to all kinds of stuff - what are your favorites?
L-P
We love a lot of music, It's almost impossible to mention favorites. 50's Rock & Roll, 60's Garage, Soul, R & B, Reggae, Punk, PowerPop etc etc... I believe artists like Rolling Stones, The Clash, Elvis Presley, Van Morrison, The Beatles have succeded in what we are doing... paying tribute to the American music heritage and (by accident???) coming up with something brand new.
NB
Listening to your songs is like traveling all over the world and through time - you can hear the sounds of the east and the west, 60s, 70s but also now sounds. Can you tell me more about these influences and how they effect your sound?
L-P
There's very few bands that are active in 2001 that I really go for. With RBC I just wanted to have my dreamband. A band that could play all kinds of music and are original and exiting... A band that made music I personally would listen to...
NB
Which are these few new bands that you like?
L-P
I like thousands of bands... only trouble is that some of the bands I like don't matter much to anyone outside a small scene. There's a plethora of bands that are really great on the underground (garage) scene (Lazy Cowgirls, Swinging Neckbreakers etc). Unfortunatly bands like those don't mean much to the record business or the record buying people in general... They are very unlikely to change the world of music... I personally buy all their records and think they are fantastic.. On the other hand I respect bands like R.E.M. and Primal Scream... They seem to have good taste and enough ambition to make someting interesting and new while still having strong roots and knowledge about their musical heritage.
NB
Do you think that new bands should go more for their own style and not just imitate their favorite band?
L-P
I believe it's the least you should expect out of a band...

NB
Some songs on 10" and CD are the same, but different recordings. Were you not satisfied with recordings on 10" and recorded songs again for CD? Production on Cd is really really great!!
L-P
When we did the 10" we didn't have time to finish the mixes etc, so the versions on the album are the definite ones. Torsten Larson is a great producer AND he really helped us to shape up the sound for the album. Right now we are working with him on recordings for our next record.
NB
Some of your songs are really crazy, specially "Disco Boy". It's garage disco punk song and the lyrics are really funny. How did you come on idea to do it? Can we expect such crazy cross overs in future too?
L-P
Hopefully, Yes.
NB
There are many great bands in Sweden. Can you tell me a bit about the scene there - bands, gigs, labels...?
L-P
Swedish bands have had great success during the last years... It's not unusual that a Swedish band enter charts in the U.S or Europe. Also many Swedish artists tour in those countries as well. Maybe that help Swedish bands to get attention. I've noticed when we play in Europe that a lot of people are interested in what's happening on the Swedish music scene.
NB
I'm very curious about how you spend your time - where do you like to hang out, what are the things you like to do...?
L-P
I usually spend my time at amusement parks, tivolis or zoo...
NB
Not in record shops?!
L-P
Sometimes record shops can be a combination of all those three things....
NB
Do you play gigs often and what kind of people come to see you ('cos your music style is a bit hard to define)?
L-P
Since the album was released last year we've had plenty of work. We've toured all over Sweden, Scandinavia and two Europeean tours (not in Holland yet though...). We have had very good press and reviews so we get all kinds of people to our shows.

NB
When can we expect new releases?
L-P
We will record during this fall, so hopefully we'll have a new album out in spring 2002. Maybe we'll sneak out a single during this fall...
NB
What are your plans for near future?
L-P
First, to get exiting recordings done in studio... We are doing a couple of weekend shows in Sweden. In late October and November we'll do anouther Europeean trip (hopefully Holland as well..) and on the 26th of December we will start two weeks in Spain...
NB
Will I see you soon in Holland?
L-P
I hope so... I've played once at "Arena Hall" in Rotterdam and I have got very fond memories of this. I like a lot of music from Holland, The Outsiders, Q65, The Motions, Group 1850 etc. I'm totally sold on Nederbeat and Dutch psychedelia...