Name: Pascal  （帕斯卡）

From: Gotland and Stockholm  (哥特兰岛和斯德哥尔摩)

News: The album Galgberget (Eng.: Gallows Mountain) （绞刑架之山之专辑）

多特点并存的原始摇滚

官方的故事版本是Isak在树林里找到一个俄国制的瓶子， 里面有一条叫Pascal的绦虫。而另一个版本就是Pascal 是那时候瑞典其中一个最有趣的乐队，但Mathias Skeppstedt 并不确定人们都知道。

怎样都好， Pascal 是在两年前在哥特兰岛上由Mimmi (鼓手)、Isak（吉他手，主唱）和Manuela （低音，主唱）组成的。 除了在瑞典本土做演出外，他们还为乐队Money brother ( 金钱兄弟)和 Cramps (铁箍) 作过友情客窜。在那些日子，斯德哥尔摩都有他们的踪迹。 很快，他们的第二张专辑”绞刑架之山”发行了。而他们的第一张专辑”路过工厂” 只用了两天的时间来灌录。

新的一张用了大概3天的时间，Isak说这话的时候， 在Farsta (瑞典的南区) 的一间咖啡馆坐着。

- “虽然真正的录音时间只用了一天”， Mimmi 加了一句。 ”所有的歌曲都是实时录制的，诸如此类”。

歌曲怎样创作出来的？

我们去到哥特兰岛（瑞典最大的岛， 在波罗的海上面）的乡下地方， 本来打算在那花上一个月来写歌，不过后来大概只用了一个星期左右的时间来完成它。我们想把自己从一切原有的联系上孤立起来，而且也这样做了， 出来的效果非常有创意。 Isak 笑说。

”当我们后来进入到城里狂买啤酒和葡萄酒的时候, 实在是激动极了”。听起来怪可怜的

”然后我们大部分时间都在听“The Empire” （一个瑞典乐队，叫做帝国）， 等着写歌的灵感降临。” Mimmi 说。 ”不过可怜完后，灵感来了， 歌曲就这样诞生了。”

有多少你们写的歌曲最终被灌录成唱片？

爱我吧/ 开枪吧，他们都笑着说

Mimmi和Isak 看来对我向他们新专辑提的问题觉得很是有趣， 有时候他们的答案对我来说反而更象是问题。他们想知道我是否觉得他们的歌曲听起来和别人不一样， 还有是否可以从歌曲里面听得出来他们每一个人都有参与到创作上， 而不仅仅是其中个人的行为。

最有趣的是Pascal是一个不好划分风格的乐队。 当然， 你会说听到一点点The Cramps 的风格在里面， 但同时又会听到象Pere Ubu （佩雷·乌布）, Gun Club （枪支俱乐部） 和 Velvet Underground（天鹅绒地下空间）的声音。他们的音乐说来就是有些非常原始和简单的元素，又有些狂野和有趣的东西。

而他们用瑞典版本的Painkiller（止痛药）来演绎同一名字的Judas Priest （犹大牧师）的经典老歌 时， 一切都还是挺顺利的。

第一张专辑令人绝望， 在哥特兰岛上呆着，和那上面的一切。 Isak说。 但现在我觉得不那么绝望了。 我只是不能再呆在那并且尖声叫嚷了。我喜欢唱一些类似美好的爱情的东西来作为一个改变。

在这一点上我不同意Isak， 我们三个人就是这样的，可以彼此互补。我觉得这样好极了。

我们不想一成不变， Isak 喝了口咖啡说。 我们必须妥协，到该出来的时候，一切都自然而然产生了。

他们很希望能随着新专辑的发行来旅游一下，但还不知道情况会是怎么样。 Mimmi说在整个盛夏节日里面来工作会有很多的乐趣， 但Isak， 却在担心即将要建立的家庭会不会影响工作。 但有一点他们都不约而同地表示不想在瑞典的小城镇里面表演了。 我觉得他们完全不用担心这点，”绞刑架之山”一旦发行了， 整个瑞典都在他们的脚下了。但是如果像他们那样曾经为The Cramps 做过客串演出，其实分别也不大了。

Mathias Skeppstedt

英文原文

Primitive rock with lots of character

The official story is that Isak found a Russian bottle in the woods, containing a tapeworm named Pascal. The other story is that Pascal is one of the most interesting bands that Sweden has to offer at the moment, and Mathias Skeppstedt is not sure that they are aware of it.

Anyways, Pascal was founded on Gotland two years ago by Mimmi (drums), Isak (guitar, vocals) and Manuela (bass, vocals) and except for touring in Sweden they have also been the supporting act of both Moneybrother and The Cramps. These days they can be found in Stockholm and soon they are to release their second album called "Galgberget" [Eng: “Gallow Mountain”]. The first album "Förbi Fabriken" [Eng: “Past the Factory”] was recorded in two days.

- This one took like three days, says Isak sitting down in a coffee-shop in Farsta [district south of Stockholm].

- Although the recording itself only took one day, Mimmi adds. All of the songs were recorded live, just like that.

How do you write your songs?

- We went to the countryside on Gotland [Sweden’s biggest island, it’s in the Baltic Sea] and were supposed to write for a month, but we ended up writing for maybe a week or so. We thought that we could isolate ourselves from everything and by doing so be very creative, Isak says laughing.

- Instead we wound up going in to town to buy enormous amounts of beer and wine, as pathetic as that sounds.

- And then we mostly hung around listening to "Imperiet" [Swedish band; Eng: “The Empire”],

waiting for the urge to write to come to us, says Mimmi.

- But out of this pathetic fog came something good, something happened.

How many of the songs you wrote there ended up on the record?

- Love me/shoot me, they both say laughing.

Both Mimmi and Isak seem just as interested in my opinion on their new album as I am of them and sometimes I get questions answered with questions. They want to know if I think their songs sound different and if you can tell from the songs that all of them are in on the writing, instead of it being just one of them. 

But what is most interesting is that Pascal has a sound that you can't really put your finger on. Sure, you do hear a little bit of The Cramps in their music but at the same time it also sounds like Pere Ubu, Gun Club and Velvet Underground. There is something really primitive and simple about their music, something very animalistic and interesting.

And it does not make things worse that they do a Swedish version on Judas Priest's old classic "Painkiller" in their version called "Smärtstillande" [Eng: “Painkiller”].

- The first album was so desperate, sitting there on Gotland and everything, Isak says. But now I feel as if I am no longer that desperate, I can't just stand there and scream anymore. I would like to sing about some sort of good love for a change. 

- I don't agree with Isak on this one. But that is kind of the thing with the three of us, we complement each other. And I think that is what makes it so good.

- That we don't want the same things all the time, Isak adds and drinks some more of his coffee. We have to compromise and out of that, everything is born.

They would love to tour with the new album but they don't know yet what will happen. Mimmi says doing all of this summer's festivals would be a lot of fun, while Isak who is about to have a family is worried how it might affect things. The only thing they can agree on is that they don't feel like playing in all of the small town places in Sweden again. I don't think they need to worry at all, as soon as Galgberget is released Sweden will be at their feet. But if you have already been the supporting act of The Cramps, it might not make much of a difference.

Mathias Skeppstedt