In the spotlight – Hugo’s Will
Take a tablespoon of Blues, a pinch of Psychedelia, a splash of Soul, a little Punk and a large dose of petrol-scented Garage Rock and you have Hugo’s Will from Umeå (Sweden). Hugo’s Will currently consists of RG (vocals), NB (bass) and KB (guitar) who have previously rocked in other bands such as Crystal Caravan, Hellbound, Johnny Electric and Moloken and more. They are about to announce their drummer. For this interview I spoke with their mysterious guitarist.
How would you describe your band members? And how would they describe you?
“RG, our singer, is a sensual lion seducing you with his mighty roar and calls out for true love. NB is our whirlwind anchor with his bassriffs always connected to the power of our earth. They would decribe me as a mysterious firesoul and with my scorpio precision, I pierce your soul with my guitar vibration.”
Who does what within the band?
“NB writes most of the music, I add, arrange, record and produce and RG delivers the direction with his lyrics, gluing it all together. We finish all songs together as a collective.”
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard of you?
“High quality energetic bassdriven rock music with a noticable focus and dept. We absorb all rockstyles and mix it up!”
What’s your musical background? What inspired you to start making music?
“We’re Swedes born in late 70’s and 80s, raised on rock and metal which opened our eyes to another world. Music is an art-form I have been highly infatuated since a real early age and I decided I wanted to speak its language fluently.”
What has brought the band together? When did you decide to make music together?
“The timing was right for us three to connect and provide the world with joyful and powerful rock music. To express our deepest love for the music that moved us and the power that it holds. It was fate, common values and the focus to make shit happen. And make it good!
Why did you choose Hugo’s Will as the name for the band? Is there a meaning or secret to the name?
“It’s a perfect name for us. We are on a mission with Hugo as our guru and we follow his will. Hugo could be real or just a metaphor.”
Your debut single ‘She Goes For The Throat’ was released in October 2020 and ‘Star Whistler’ in February 2021, which is now available as a limited 7 inch vinyl. One of the lyrics in ‘Star Whistler’ is “Don’t eclipse my dreams”. What would eclipse your dreams?
“That our constellations crack. We are all needed to make this perfect pie.”
You have just released your third single ‘Murder Love’ which is currently in our chart. What can you tell me about ‘Murder Love’?
“It’s is a song about overcoming each other’s shortcomings to be able to lift each other up above the water surface of the increasingly dystopian future we live in. Or it’s just an ungodly powerful rock song about the oldest subject in the world sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. But who am I to choose which one suits you?”
What specific themes cover your music?
“Miserable love and empowering self love.”
Where do you find inspiration for the music and/or lyrics?
“Love, life and all inbetween. We are real music lovers and nerds, we listen real good and we speak the language even better.”
Do you create music for yourself or for your fans?
“We create our music for ourselves to our fans and we offer different layers. You just want to party? That’s great. You want to dig deeper into the depth our of music and lyrics? We glady invite you.”
How would you define the word ‘success’?
“Doing what we love and sharing it with our fans in synergy.”
Would you rather be signed to an independent label or a major label, and why?
“Well we aim high but know our limits, so we will work with people who will help us achive what we are here to do: rock hard and work hard with a high musical ambition. So time will tell and present itself, things aren’t always what it seems so an indie label could work even better than a major if they work hard like us.”
If you could change one thing in the current music industry, what would it be?
“More love.”
What’s next? What are you excited about for 2022?
“We are finally playing live for the first time with three shows coming up, so rehearsals are in full swing. We will also record alot of material this year for our debut album. So exciting times ahead!”
What’s your favourite song from the Cool Top 20?
What song would you like to add as a bonus track and why?
“Succuba by Electric Haze. It’s just an amazing song from our new friends and label mates. You will love it!”
(Photo credits: Björn Lohmander)
