Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? Breno Val: We are LOST GRAVITY.

How was the band formed?

BV: I was playing in a couple of bands before that split because not everyone was as committed as I thought they should be. So I had the idea of forming my own band which would never split (laughs). I wrote a few songs and named the band LOST GRAVITY. It took me a few months to find other musicians who liked the material I wrote and wanted to be in a band playing that kind of music. That was back in 2007.

Can you tell more about your band?

BV: We have released 3 EPs with 3 different line ups: Anywhere But Home (2008), Selfish (2009) and Lost Gravity III (2011). Nowadays, LOST GRAVITY have our strongest line up ever with Giuliano Kolling on the drums, Chris K. on bass and myself on guitar and vocals. Earlier this year we recorded our self-titled debut album which is coming out on Monday 13^th of October on Priston Records.

Where are all band members from?

BV: I am from Brazil, Giuliano is half Brazilian, half Italian and Chris is from England. We are based in London, England.

What were the ambitions of the band when you started?

BV: I’ve always wanted to be part of a cool rock’n’roll band, writing some great rock songs. Now it’s all happening. I hope people take their time to listen to our album once it comes out.

Could you explain your music to someone who hasn’t heard you?

BV: Our music is very simple: riffs, melodies and groove (laughs). My main influences are AC/DC, Metallica and Alice in Chains, so naturally our music is a mix between those bands (which doesn’t mean that we sound like any of them).

Where was your first gig? BV: The very first LOST GRAVITY gig was in October 2007 in a venue in Kentish Town, London. I think the place is closed now.

Where was the latest gig? BV: Last weekend we played an awesome festival, Castlefest, in Luton. That was really fun!

Who writes your songs? Who writes the music? Who writes the lyrics?

BV: I’ve always written all the music for LOST GRAVITY and since I’ve become the vocalist in the band I’ve been writing all the lyrics. Back in the day we were a four piece and had a singer in the band so I used to work with him on some of the lyrics.

Who has the best sense of humor in the band? BV: We are all very different people so I think we would have different answers for that question (laughs).

What genre do you feel you are? BV: We are a heavy rock band with grunge and metal influences, but personally I think we are just a rock’n’roll band.

Why did you pick that particular style? BV: Well, it’s just a matter of taste. As I said: “heavy rock band with grunge and metal influences”. That could be read as “AC/DC with Alice in Chains and Metallica influences”. That’s a good definition of LOST GRAVITY actually. (laughs)

What are your songs about? BV: Every song is different. Usually they are like a picture of a certain situation happening during the time when the song is written.

Do you have any clips on YouTube?

BV: Yeah, our debut video just came out a couple of weeks ago. It’s a song about karma called What Goes Around Comes Around. We have also uploaded some videos of the recording of our debut album.

At what age did you start playing?

BV: I started playing guitar when I was 15 years old.

How old were you when you first stood on stage?

BV: My first show was about 1 month after I started playing. It was a band with some school mates. We played some AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Ramones songs at a house party.

Best gig you've played? BV: Every time someone asks me that I tend to say that our last gig was our best one (laughs).

What places will you be playing in the near future?

BV: Our next show is our debut album launch at The Underworld, Camden Town (London). If you are reading this interview before the 11^th of October 2014, buy your ticket and don’t miss that show cos it’s gonna be awesome!

Do you always play the same songs live? BV: No, we change the set list every night but there are some songs that are always there. They are our “classics”. Songs like Anywhere But Home, Selfish or What Goes Around Comes Around we can’t let them out of the set.

What are the plans for the rest of the year?

BV: Apart from our album launch show we are playing a few more shows around the UK in November. We are also planning to release a second music video before the end of the year.

How do you warm up for a gig? BV: Drinking Guinness (laughs).

What are your goals with your music? BV: I hope people will buy the album and listen to it over and over again and then come to the shows. If they do that and tell their friends about the band that will be great!

When did you decide to go all in for the music?

BV: Just before I started playing guitar when I was 14 or 15.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern?

BV: In my case older bands definitely because all my favourites are classic bands. Giuliano on the other hand knows lots of new bands and he sometimes plays them to me. Some of them are really good but to be honest with you I can never tell which band is which. All the new bands seem to have the same sound, the same kind of production (over produced in my opinion) and the same style of melodies or vocals. Maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know, but that’s my impression anyway.

What are your sources of inspiration?

BV: When it comes to the lyrics, I write about certain situations in my life. Each song is a bit like a “photograph” of a certain time in life.

What's the first step when making a new song?

BV: Sometimes I have a guitar riff. Sometimes I have a vocal melody and then I take it from there and work on it until I have a full song.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums?

BV: Personally I like having the album in my hands (cd’s or vinyls). I’m old school and I like reading everything what’s on the album sleeve and booklets. Our debut album, for example, we are releasing on CD but it’s not a standard CD. It is a vinyl replica on CD, it looks pretty cool with the grooves and it is all black like a vinyl. Little things like that are never possible if all you have is the mp3. I think if people download the music illegally they should go buy the album to support the artist.

What would be your dreams for the band? 

BV: I hope LOST GRAVITY stays together long enough to have many more albums recorded and released.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to?

BV: I listen to other styles too like blues, punk, prog, melodic metal, stoner rock and some indie stuff. Bands like BB King, Steve Ray Vaughan, The Cure, Radiohead, Chroma Key, U2, OSI, Oceansize, Sepultura, Iron Maiden, Kyuss, Led Zeppelin, Ramones, Gamma Ray, Helloween, etc.

What’s the best shows you've ever seen? BV: AC/DC in Hammersmith in 2003 and Metallica at the O2 arena in 2008.

Have you been in any other bands? BV: For the past 7 years LOST GRAVITY is my priority, but I played a few charity gigs in a covers band with some friends a couple of years ago.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? BV: I play guitar.

What would you do if there was no music? BV: I wouldn’t be here (laughs).

How important are your fans? BV: Fans and friends are everything! The support we have is amazing and there would be no way to keep LOST GRAVITY going without their positive vibes.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? BV: I don’t think I can answer this one here (laughs).

How often do you rehearse? BV: We rehearse once a week until the music is very tight. Once we get to that level there’s no need for frequent rehearsals anymore so we just play live. Sometimes one or two practice before a show is good.

Where do you rehearse? BV: In a studio in North London.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? BV: To be honest with you I like every song we’ve written, but my favourites to play change all time. Right now they are What Goes Around Comes Around and Alone.

What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living with their music and to keep playing?

BV: It’s the love for music and how we feel playing in the band. We are in LOST GRAVITY first of all because we love music. And this love is what made us learn how to play an instrument back in the day. Being in a band with cool band mates playing great music is what keeps us going I guess.

Do you have a webpage? BV: Our official website is www.lostgravity.co.uk. We are also on twitter, facebook and YouTube.

Describe your show, visually and musically BV: We are a rock’n’roll band. We play loud and you can feel the energy in our live shows. We have fun doing what we do on stage.

How do you view the music industry of today? BV: The industry has gone through a big change thanks to the internet. But at the same time there’s still space out there for new bands to get heard. Now when it comes to the money involved, people nowadays expect to get the music for free. Sadly, they forget that bands have high costs recording and releasing their music as well as costs of instruments maintenance, rehearsals, transportation, etc. If people were more aware of all those costs I think they would spend more money on CDs, legal downloads and merch.

What advice would you like to give to other bands? BV: Make music for the music. Don’t be in a band just because you want some attention and money.

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? BV: In LOST GRAVITY the hardest part was keeping people together having the same goals. Finally, we have now reached that point.

Tell us about your next gig and why we should be at them?BV: As I said earlier, our next gig is the album launch show. We will be headlining The Underworld in Camden Town, London, on Saturday 11^th October. That’s a top venue where so many great bands like the Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Marty Friedman, Gamma Ray and many more have played before, so for us it’s a honour to be headlining on the same stage where all those bands were sometime in their careers.

How would you describe your sound in one sentence? BV: Rock’n’roll.

Do you have anything to add?

BV: Thanks again for having us here, Robex. And to everyone reading this, please go to our website and buy our debut album. If you don’t do that the boogie man will get you (laughs).

Lost Gravity’s debut album comes out on 13^th of October 2014 on Priston Records.

For more information visit: www.lostgravity.co.uk