THE GEMS – AN INTERVIEW WITH MONA LINDGREN
The precious stones is a Swedish trio born from the loins of Thundermother. The band just released their aptly titled debut album Phoenix via Napalm Records. The precious stones They consist of Guernica Mancini (vocals), Emlee Johansson (drums) and Mona Lindgren (guitar/bass). Their sound is pure rock & roll nirvana. In every piece Phoenix he shouts with brazen fearlessness. All 15 tracks are aggressively melodic, offering textures and nuances. Songs like “Like A Phoenix”, “Domino” and “PSYCHO” show off The GemHis innate ability to create songs that groove while grabbing the listener by the throat. Other tunes deliver the perfect blend of blues and rock.
Throughout Phoenix, Guernica's vocals are powerful with a rough restraint. With her explosive voice she pulls the beats with ease while emotionally seducing when needed. Her vocals are strong and edgy. Emlee's percussion is really great. Its volume and musicality are excellent. Emlee's fill and runs are colossal. Its depth is insurmountable. Mona's guitars are full of stellar licks. Her living organs are wild as she emits white hot heat. The precious stones they are firing on all cylinders.
Mona Lindgren was kind enough to sit down with AMP for this informative interview.
AMP: Can you give our readers a little background on the band?
ONLY: The precious stones started just a year ago. In case your readers don't know, all three of us were members of Thundermother. Thundermother supported Scorpions in late 2022. They were doing quite well until we parted ways with the band due to circumstances beyond our control. We had a rough start at first. The beginning of 2023 was difficult. That's when we decided to form a new band. We wanted to get back on track and fix things. So The precious stones they had been arrested.
AMP: Your sound embodies strong rock & roll. Do you feel the direction of the music scene today?
ONLY: We always want to write songs that work well with rock radio and streaming. Today's commercial sound, if you look at the Billboard charts, is mostly pop. Most of the time, rock music is nowhere to be found. We hope that rock music will become popular again. We try to write classic rock tunes but package them in a modern way. Contemporary in both songwriting and production. The precious stones' goal in life is to push people to rediscover rock.
AMP: How does your creative process work?
ONLY: It works differently from song to song. Sometimes Guernica has an idea. It can be a phrase, a melody or even an emotion. We get that in the songwriting sessions and as a band we work through the details. Then the songs start to take shape. For this album we also have several older songs and demos that have had a renaissance. For example, Guernica had a tune she wrote with another songwriter that was intended for her solo project. He introduced us to the song and I really liked it, but the guitar parts weren't right for me. They sounded like they belonged in a nu-metal band. We completely changed the key and it became “Running”. Phoenix.
Another example is “Undiscovered Paths” on the disc. The song was written eleven years ago by me and Emlee when we were in a band together. It had really crappy lyrics. I was 20 years old and I was into poetic and dark iconography. In addition, I was not that proficient in the English language. Lyrically it was a disaster, but we pitched it to Guernica hoping she could make the words make sense. He revised it and it's on the album. So, in retrospect, our creative process is extremely varied.
AMP: Your new album Phoenix it just fell. How was the response?
ONLY: Very very good! It was so well received by people we never expected to enjoy it. We have received so many positive messages. It feels really great. We have also received mostly good reviews from the media.
AMP: Do you think The Gems are an evolution in musical style from Thundermother?
ONLY: The fact that the three of us wrote songs for the last two Thundermother albums, there will always be similarities. Well, we kind of sound like Thundermother. We write songs and play the same way. But with The precious stones, we explore other musical variations. Thundermother was heavily influenced by AC/DC. I feel like we've broken those chains and incorporated a variety of influences into our songwriting. We love AC/DC but we want to expand our horizons. It's good that we managed to differentiate ourselves from Thundermother. Now we are two different bands.
AMP: What do you want your fans to take away from your music?
ONLY: I hope our fans find songs that can resonate with them. Hopefully they can find some inspiration in our music, especially when they're feeling down. Also if they find a song to work on that would be nice. But seriously, I hope they find a song they can make their own.
AMP: What's next for The Gems?
ONLY: We will tour from this album. We haven't announced it yet, but there is a European tour in the works with several festivals already. Additionally, a US tour is possible. It may take some time but it will definitely happen.
AMP: Any final words?
ONLY: Thank you for having me and thank you for the support. We are so happy that people are really enjoying it Phoenix.
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