AFTER listening to the ten-song self-titled debut from SKOLD, I felt like I was being stalked. What a surprise to find the artist a relatively carefree individual who doesn't take himself too seriously. During our conversation it became apparent that SKOLD has a knack for exposing hidden truths by twisting things around. You might think you've pegged him as a "type" but look and listen closely, and you will find something that's strikingly different. The native of Sweden talks about his current musical manipulations and how the world looks from L.A. What the initial "T" stands for, we'll leave open for speculation. (With a hint on down the line).

Robin Brooks: How long have you been in L.A.?

Tim Skold: Way too long...I'm pretty neutralized by now. No, since '88, actually.

RB: How long has this album been in coming?

TS: It's been awhile because the album's been sitting around until the beautiful record company decided to bring it out. They finally "wizened up." So now they do have a clue...things are going ahead. It took about a year to get it done 'cuz I had a couple of false starts, too.

RB: What has surprised you about this process of putting out a record with a major label in America?

TS: Well, I'm not really too...I try to be interested in the whole record-selling part, but I'm really not. I like making them. My guitar player and I were talking about that the other night. He's saying he makes an album just to have it, later on. I don't even go that far. As soon as an album is done it's like, "Hey, let's make another one." The actual process is like, not getting enough sleep, drinking bad studio coffee, making a record.

RB: So beyond providing the material, you didn't wield much influence in making this SKOLD album happen?

TS: No, actually, the record company's been going through changes, which is more of a corporate structure thing that I really don't have any influence over whatsoever. It's like way above my head....but the music industry is the music industry, y'know. There are some really good people where they need to be, I think. I'm not bummin' over the fact that it's taken this long.

RB: Now you're ready for the takeover--

TS: World domination. Like Independence Day.

RB: Do you have any expectations as to what the response will be once the SKOLD album hits?

TS: The response? I take no responsibility whatsoever for any of the side effects that occur.

RB: Will you be going out on the road performing right away, or are you going to wait on that?

TS: I've waited on that, long enough to do the album, 'cuz I did the whole thing myself. Now I actually do have a lineup...I have my bass player, I have a guitar player, and I have a drummer. A lot of bands, so-called "pseudo-industrial," or "hard-rock" started to rely on using these digital tape machines as back up for live [shows]. Backup is O.K., but some people started relying on these things so heavily, it's pretty pathetic. I didn't want to do that...so we're trying to do things a little bit..out of the ordinary. A lot of electronics have triggers so you can fire off samples and maintain a very electronic sound but actually be totally live. So far it's going really well...it's going to be really cool! I don't want to do an exact replica of the album, but I don't want to do anything that is less, so to speak. There are a couple of parts that like, I have no idea how we're gonna reproduce them. So we're just gonna try to...OUTDO...it instead!

RB: You've already produced some videos...what's up with the song "Anything" and its bondage theme?

TS: I just kind of went off on a tangent. The lyrics sort of dictated the video...it pretty much speaks for itself. Maybe it should have been flowers and skiing or something! I was trying to make it a little bit different though. Some of the reverse roles instead of the cliched versions.

RB: You seem to be most comfortable going deliberately in the opposite direction of the assumed.

TS: Yeah...I got my first sampler when I came out here in '88 and was doing a lot of programming, and going in and out of fads as they come and go. Different sounds and different machines. I didn't want to make one of those pre-packaged, factory-sounding CD-ROM sample-CD kind of albums. So we actually had to go the hard route, just recording stuff in very weird situations, you know, an old 24-track machine at half-speed, like 15 i.p.s. You know, like the Rolling Stones actually used to do it. We actually tracked some stuff on the old console that used to stand in Abbey Road studios. So we actually recorded stuff on the album that went through the same circuitry that The Beatles' stuff did! It was really trippy. Just going the HARD way to make something unique is worth it. Nothing worth having ever comes easy. Or something like that. I just want it to be different and unique.

RB: What were the new things that you learned about making music from the people that you worked with... that make up your style on this record?

TS: All these old guys I worked with--Mark Walk (producer for Ruby, not to mention Cybersank of Killing Joke fame, Ministry producer Howie Beno, & Bill Kennedy, who's worked with Nine Inch Nails, Filter, and Danzig), and especially (producer) Scott Humphrey--there's a certain level of dedication...which is more like allowing yourself to get obsessed, almost. Like PO-ssessed with what you're doing. It's that extra mile that takes you somewhere different. That would probably be the biggest thing. And sleep deprivation. That will create some really interesting things...I'm actually doing that right now, rehearsing...going until 3 or 4 in the morning.

RB: Do you consider this something that comes naturally to you or are you just driven to work hard?

TS: It is natural, unfortunately, and I consider myself a big-time sucker for working so hard on something so completely useless as rock 'n roll. I wish I was dedicating the same amount of time to, like, "Save the Planet" or something. As it is, I'm like "Whatever you make of rock 'n roll, you should be proud of yourself! Oh, how important you are, you've got ten songs on an album. Whoopee!" No, I'm not big on patting myself on the back as far as, "this is SO special." But I have fun, and that's what I think I'm best at! The music, my songs, it's a big ego trip.

RB: What is it about rock music that's valuable to you?

TS: Rock music tends to get a lot more personal than most music does...at least in the fringes where people really express themselves. As a general concept? no. It all comes and goes through fads and whatnot. A very wise lady once told me that there's no bad music. 'Cuz I was going off on some band, and she told me, "No--you're wrong, there is no bad music."
Everything ever recorded, whoever did it in whatever situation it was, whatever they got paid, it's actually a hassle, it's actually work. To go through that whole process, you have to love what you do. A lot of music still sucks...but it's interesting, because the person that told me that was (German punk diva) Nina Hagen. She said it like, (accent, inflection) "TEEM, there isnobad MYOO-zeek!" She is completely, totally, and utterly amazing.

RB: So will you be seeking out the opportunity to do a duet with Ray Charles anytime soon?

TS: I like working with selected few people. I should have started at a different level, though. I shouldn't have approached The Queen (Hagen) right away, I should have started somewhere else and just worked my way up there.

RB: About Scandinavia, where you're from...what elements are there in the scene that don't exist here?

TS: Well, first of al, you're just treated a little bit differently, as far as marketing, by record companies. There weren't all these media blitzes and pushes. That's a pretty big difference. And, I had to kind of hunt things down such as finding out when an album was released. Otherwise, it's all the same stuff. Europeans do seem to be more open-minded, as far as letting strange stuff filter through. They will fall for the crappiest techno you ever heard--and then they're digging MTV stuff the next moment.

RB: Are you looking forward to maybe performing in Sweden soon?

TS: It would be fun. The guys in the band want to go...'cuz of the women, I think. It's hysterical.

RB: Are your band members from the L.A. area?

TS: Uh, kind of not! The bassist is from San Jose, the drummer is Swiss, and our guitar player is from Florida.

RB: Did you have any particular criteria for choosing who you did to play with?

TS: Totally. I wanted to make sure this is a band that can actually be a BAND....even though it might be kind of a weird situation coming in and playing the stuff that I goofed around on. But it blew me away how fast they came together as far as personalities and making sure that everybody's totally different, but still can actually stay in the same room for ten hours straight. It's looking really good so far. There's so much more to it than just bashing out a couple of chords. These people are going to have to be really close.

RB: You created this album's material almost entirely on your own with the aid of computer technology. To some people, that's not music.

TS: The wonderful thing about computers in music technology, with samplers and sequencers, is that you can actually go anywhere you want. The equipment comes with factory presets...you can turn them on and just make some easy stuff straight outta the box...it'll be incredibly cheesey because everyone will know it's premade, right? Then you can use these things to clean up and make things perfect. And I've done that, I've tried that, because it's what you think you're supposed to do. And then, after a while, you realize that perfect is really fucking boring! So what you do instead is try to find the essence of things, you know? Then, sometimes you get a grittiness, and a track needs to have that. It's kind of like reading between the lines. Music is more than just the notes, it's all the stuff that's in-between the notes too. A lot of people are not using technology to mess with that concept. It's as suitable [using computers] as [using] any piece of old equipment. It's just a process.

RB: Do your lyrics come simultaneously with the sounds?

TS: It kinda goes hand in hand... But they're very important to me. Sometimes they're almost too important--I'll actually begin to change things because they're way too personal. Someone said, I can't remember who now, "If you're not embarrassed by singing or playing your own lyrics, then you really didn't write what you wanted to." I kinda like that concept. Thinking not about selling this stuff but about people actually hearing it, which seldom occurs to me while I'm making the stuff, that's the only time I start doubting what I'm doing. It's like, "what, people are actually going to hear this? Well it sounds like shit! What the hell are you singing?! You can't sing that!" That's a scary concept...the fact that I'll actually go into dark rooms and meet all those people?! That is even more scary!!! very frightening. The fact that this might actually be on the radio, or can be seen in a store, just doesn't occur to me when I'm putting together the ideas in my head. I don't know, maybe I should try to figure that whole thing out. It would make my landlord happy!

RB: For writing songs called "Chaos," "Void," "Neverland," and "Dust to Dust," you sure are good at amusing yourself.

TS: Oh yeah, I had to kind of teach myself to smile, at one point or another in my life, and to not be too bloody serious. You have to smile. If you don't smile you're basically dead. I do have a hard time taking anything too seriously. Everything is hysterical.

Robin Brooks

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