25/07/2025
Fin intervju med Red Mecca i Vox Tenebris !
INTERVIEW WITH: RED MECCA "... red, as blood and love..."
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VT >>>> Vox Tenebris is pleased to host Jan Strandqvist of the Swedish project Red Mecca
today.It's really nice to have you among us.
Let's start from the basics: the formation of Red Mecca. The discography mentions the first release in 1998, but the official launch took place in 2013. At the beginning you were on instruments and Frida Madeleine as singer - coming from the electronic duo Kitka - replaced by the current Susanne Jonsson. Tell us the biographical history of Red Mecca in chronological order from the origins to today..
-I- > Well, the project Red Mecca started up with lots of confusion, It was a time of searching. Searching for an identity. I was studing history of religions at the Sthlm university and trying to make music alongside and came in contact with a major record label. They released three singles, house/club oriented and I made an album which never got released. This was in the late 90's, early 00. Struggling with mental illness due to addiction, it all went down the drain more or less. Then Red Mecca got into hiatus until 2013 when I met Frida and things rather quick, took a new turn and shaped the music and met up with my punk/post punk roots. And I found the creativity in a new way and got comfortable and very productive.
VT >>>> With what intentions did you form the band? What did you expect from that project of yours?
-I- > My intentions as always, when it comes to create music, is I just have to, otherwise I get sick. Stuck in my head. And it gets dark very quickly.
VT >>>> Analyzing your music, aside from the experimental "Please Goddess" from 1998 and "Love Is A Savage Thing" from 2000, both of which lean towards the Electronic-House genre, I
find that your style has evolved from the beginning to today, but always maintaining an
unchanged matrix. If I have to describe it with my own words in a technical sheet, I define it in its progressive phases as a combination between the introspective melancholy of Darkwave, the
harmonious melodism of Indie-Pop, the electronic freshness of Synthpop, the shocked, desperate disillusionment of Post-Punk and the evergreen innovation of New Wave, but we
can also find traces of Industrial and even Folk. All this in an introverted sound, perpetually searching for a sensitive soul to turn to, full of vocal hooks and intense and warm keyboard structures. Twilight and often
danceable music, capable of dialoguing with the spirit, created through linear drum-
programming mainly midtempo-downtempo, pulsing sequencer symmetries, wide synth pads and fascinating female chant.
Do you agree with my opinion?
Jan, how would you define Red Mecca's music yourself?
-I- > I'm impressed by your definition of our music. Could not describe it better myself. In working with music, I've never got a plan for what's coming up in the end. There's almost all the time pictures in my head which I try to translate into music. And emotions. Of course. In a wide variety and range.
VT >>>> Which bands and solo artists have been the reference model for your music?
-I- > Oh there's plenty. Joy Division, Cure, Bauhaus, Magazine etc of course. But there's also Donna Summer, Chic and the like. Jean Michel Jarre, Human League, Caberet Voltaire, TG and Kraftwerk. But also contemorary classical composers such as Arvo Pärt and Henryk Gorecki. There's to many to mention all. Swans, Nick Cave, Pj Harvey etc.
VT >>>> Red Mecca': the name of your project seems to have explicit references to the Cabaret Voltaire album...
-I- > Yeah, Cabaret Voltaire has been an early favourite, from Nag Nag Nag and Mix-Up and forward. It's more a reflection and a nod for the attitude and pioneering work than anything else.
VT >>>> ou should be very proud of your discography: from 2013 to today, seven albums and twenty-two between EP's and singles.
A very respectable sound archive. Referring specifically to the albums, what unites and separates the debut "You Were Never Here" of 2013 from "Stay" of 2023?
-I- > The important thing which unites the albums, is a common thread of progression, a moving forward not bound by any genres, not stuck in any framework. But much have of course evolved during the ten years. It has become a mirror of where we are, emotionally.
VT >>>> Have you and Susanne been or are you currently involved in any other projects besides Red Mecca?If so, can you tell us which ones you play in and what music genre you compose?
-I- > I've got a couple of side projects: Imma, which is a dark ambient thing. Instrumental and cinematographic. Together with Joakim Bengtsson, multi musiscian, from the trip hop/hip hop community. And Hemvaernet together with Lars Bygdén, from the doom country world, and Stefan Brisland-Ferner from Garmarna, Thåström and The Brides Of The Black Room. Two exceptionally good musiscians. Susanne has been in numerous side projects, musicals and so on, due to her exceptional voice range and passion. Played Janis Joplin for instance.
VT >>>> As an experienced musician, I ask you your opinion on the current alternative music scene: do you think it has improved or worsened compared to the past, or simply changed and adapted to new trends?
-I- > I'm not sure you could use a better or worse scale. The last 40 years + have changed the entire scene so much, nearly beyond comparison. The noise, coming from all around us, is spectacular in a way. Everyone with a lap top, a keyboard and a mixer, can produce music. For good or for bad. It's adapted.
VT >>>> What is the 'color' of Red Mecca? What is the main message you want to communicate with your music?
-I- > I think it is the orange color you see when you close your eyes directed to the sun and which when you listen to it changes to deep , deep green. Sometimes it gets dark however. But not pitch black. That's how I see it. It's probably different amongst others.
VT >>>> What are the themes that you include more than others in the lyrics of your songs from the beginning to today?
-I- > The lyrics always been about humanity, how we survive the darkest of times. Sometimes love, sometimes hate. At times an attempt to explain the world around us. Always protecting the weakest, no pointing fingers, only the feeling of a situation (often not happy) explained in words. A burning anger for what happens to the defenseless and the leaders who drives us towards the cliff.
VT >>>> You, Jan, play synths divinely. In my opinion, you always manage to create a truly totalizing and immersive intensity to
the melodies. Did you learn by self-taught, or did you follow a training path?
-I- > I'm self-taught. Never taken any lesson in any way, more than seeing how others are doing it. Have been turning the nobs of synthesizers for over 40 years, so I'm in the beginning to getting it.
VT >>>> How does a Red Mecca song come to life from the first note to the last? Who of you two sits down in front of the stave first and says: «Let's start like this» and who creates the music and lyrics?
-I- > I'm the sole composer and I've never got any real plan for the song I'm creating. Of course I've got an idea, but it's opening the taps that's the importance. Maybe I hear something in a movie I'm watching, which starts something in my head. Maybe I get a beat start pumping in my head when I've gone to bed and has to get up and record it, otherwise it's forever lost. It's rather abstract and I can't really explain the process.
VT >>>> Ok, now let's talk about your new single "Finding Time" from 2024, made in collaboration with the London artist KMRS on vocals, who also participated in the single "Into Player" from 2021.
Listening to it, I notice that the singer's 'Garage & Grime' orientation has significantly influenced the style of the song.
The bass-lines are vibrant, the midtempo pace of the drum-programming communicates ruthlessness, as the synth melodies build emotional soundscapes and the voice cuts into the flesh like cold fire.
Do you agree?
-I- > Yes. Thanks! It's clearly in those mental landscapes and of course open for your own interpretations, as always when it comes to the lyrics. We often moves borderless between different types of tracks, different genres if you like. The upcoming album will be that borderless and spans between slow and heavy dark wave, through noisey post punk and ambient atmospheric tunes + synthpopish songs. You can't stare yourself blind on one format.
VT >>>> "Finding Time" is a story of anger, discomfort, restlessness, isolationism and detachment from an empty, frenetic and unfulfilling existence.
The lyrics are an uninterrupted concatenation of words without compromises, a desolate mirror of reality in which many of us will be able to reflect ourselves.
Do you also identify with this dimension?
What can you tell us about the lyrics of the song?
-I- > Yeah, we both agree in how you put it. The lyrics are trying to explain the feeling of outsideness but not necessarily in a suffering kind of way despite the always present suffering according to the 4 noble truths in buddhism. When people around you take all air, when being taken for granted or drained somehow. You don't like it but still going along with it. All you really want is that someone would come and sweep you off your feet and surprise you. A conflict about being able to see through intentions and a wish to be amazed. In the end it all comes down to you, alone. In the dark, where no one can see you, you cry.
The lyrics are trying to explain the feeling of outsideness but not in a suffering kind of way. When people around you take all air, when being taken for granted or drained somehow. You don't like it but still you go along with it. All you really want is that someone would come and sweep you off your feet and surprise you. A conflict about being able to see through intentions and a wish to be amazed. In the end it all comes down to you, alone. In the dark, where no one can see you, you cry.
VT >>>> But even in 2025 there is an air of new music releases, right Jan?
-I- > Yep. We've already released two singles, "I Don't Want Any Rain On My Parade" and "I'm On The Outside". The upcoming new album is to be released late autumn. We're pushing the release date a little in front of us because of annoying perfectionism from our side.
VT >>>> Three short questions in one.
First one: what is your feeling when you play your songs live?
Second one: besides Sweden, in which other countries in the world is Red Mecca's music known?
Third one: which is the furthest country you have received feedback from?
-I- >
1) Playing live can be a hell of a trip. The more routine you get, the more you can give the audience. It's a two way communication. It's the way to meet your fans. Dynamic!
2) Besides Sweden, we're known more in Central Europe, (and East Europe), the UK, South America, Latin America, North America. Less in Asia.
3) That would be Mongolia. Or least expected.
VT >>>> I absolutely love "New Horizon", in my opinion one of the songs that best represents the style and evocative power of Red Mecca's music.
By creating such a masterpiece, you have accomplished a miracle.
What do you remember about this song and what is your opinion about it?
-I- > Well, thanks a lot. It's actually a song from 2015 which I picked up again and updated. Like all song making I got into the mode and flow and just followed it. With heavy delay on the hook and, surprise! Out came a nice atmospheric tune with hypnotic beats and Susanne made a great song melody which interconnected just fine.
VT >>>> One last question, Jan: I know it's hard to decide this, but if you had to name your favorite album of all time (aside from "Red Mecca"), which one would it be?
-I- > "Unknown Pleaures" by Joy Division. It's the album which have had such an enormous impact on me. Life changing.
VT >>>> At the end of the interview, Vox Tenebris thanks Jan Strandqvist of Red Mecca for
giving us the opportunity to learn more about his amazing project.
In this space, you have the opportunity to say hello to your fans and tell them whatever
you want. You have carte blanche...
-I- > We thank all the fans all over the globe for the love and support we're getting! It's heart warming. It may sound like a cliché, but it's not. We're in the finishing of next album, and it's going to be a blast! It's for real. Yor support carries us! Peace and Love!
