Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

How is it that you started playing music? I guess I started because all of my friends were starting to play music when we were teenagers.  I always had a passion for dark rock music which evolved into many different genres and drove me to write this kind of music.

What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? My name is Liam O'Connor, and I pretty much do everything in ColdWays.  I'm 29.

Have you had other previous members? At one point I had a drummer and bassist and we rehearsed for a while but it didn't work out. For now at least ColdWays will remain a solo recording project.

Did you make music even when you were young? As I said all of my friends as teenagers were into playing and writing music.  I was part of a lot of different bands over the years which never really went anywhere but yes I recorded and played a lot of music over the years.

Where are you from? Originally I am from a small town called Templemore in Tipperary, Ireland.  Living in Galway now.

What's your style of genre? I try to change it up with every release to keep things interesting.  I like to try and make the style evolve so that it is still interesting to listen to and to play.  The first ep I recorded "Solitude" was more of a light acoustic melancholic rock thing, then I made a sort of dark/goth rock album with "My Failures", then more of a post-metal demo with "No-One", then a much more mainstream dark rock release ""Nothing Seems To Last", and my last release "Its Only The Road" was an instrumental post rock EP.  For my next release I'm working on something bit heavier and more experimental in a post-rock/metal style using 7-string guitar and a lot of effects with shoe-gaze elements.

What inspires you? As I said, it changes and evolves from year to year and from release to release.  I listen to a lot of rock and metal,  Some bands that have stayed as a strong influence over the years would be Katatonia, Devin Townsend, and Anathema.  Lately I'v been listening to  lot of post-rock/metal like Jesu, Isis, Old Man Gloom. 

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? This wouldn't really be a concern for me right now since ColdWays is a one man project.  I won't be looking for gigs in the immediate future.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? So far all of my music has been self-released and self-promoted.  A label would be great if they could help me to gain more exposure and help to promote the music.  A label might be able to push the music that I am making to a much larger audience, but so far I'e been getting along fine without one.

What are your songs about? Every one is different.  A lot of songs about love and loss, anger, disillusionment.  Its not very happy music generally.  Some of it is more abstract and written just about ideas and moods.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? So far I have been starting with the music in all of my songs.  I think it might be interesting to change it up though and start with the lyrics some time.

Do you compose in a certain environment? I usually write at home in my bedroom studio set-up.  I have a room that's pretty much dedicated to writing and recording music in my spare bedroom.  I also always have a guitar sitting beside my in the living rooms so I play whenever I feel the urge.  Sometimes I will come up with something in my head when I'm away from home and try to remember it and work it out later but that rarely works.

What language do you sing in? I speak and write in English.

Where do you plan to gig the coming year? I don't have any plans to gig in the coming year with ColdWays, for now it will remain as a recording project only.  Next year I will be playing live with my new band Third Island though.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? All of my music is available on bandcamp and My Failures and Nothing Seems to Last are available on cd from Amazon.

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I think the way that music industry has evolved has left the old business model obsolete.  I think there are a lot people who wrongfully download music.  It is illegal and should not be done.  But bands and labels need to realize that the easy access that downloading provides needs to be taken into consideration.  Platforms like spotify are a great start and bands are starting to embrace them, but the royalties from streaming services like that are so small that its almost a joke.  The resurgence of vinyl is promising, but it isn't enough really to help bands make a living.  I think people need to realize that music is not free.  If you enjoy a song you should reward the artist by either buying the album, a t-shirt, or going to a gig. 

What do you think of my work? I think it is fantastic that you are helping give bands a voice and some additional exposure.

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? Hopefully someone will read my ramblings and take a listen to some of my tunes.  Any bit of extra promotion and exposure helps

Do you have any role models or idols? I think my main role models at the moment would be Devin Townsend  or Justin Broadrick from Jesu.  Those guys are making very creative music all on their own doing what I dream of doing. And doing it very well.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? I think people get caught up in a lot of nostalgia and find it harder to find new bands that they like.  But a lot of newer bands are doing some really great stuff and are worth looking for.

Do you have any new material? Right now I am working on a new EP.  Writing music and lyrics for something experimental and shoe-gaze like. It should be ready in a couple of months.

What are your web sites? You can follow ColdWays on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/coldwaysband and you can stream all of my music on bandcamp at https://www.facebook.com/coldwaysband