Morlocks Talk New EP, Their Voices And More

Morlocks are a Swedish act who combine elements of industrial rock, neo- classical, darkwave and metal with epic production values to create an exciting hybrid sound. Their new EP ‘Amor, Monstra Et Horrore Profundi’ is out now and they kindly chatted to us:

Who is in Morlocks, what do they play and how did you meet?

The core of the band is J.Strauss on vocals/keyboards and Innocentius Rabiatus on guitar/backing vocals, as it has been for over two decades. We also surround ourselves with a variety of session musicians when the need arises and we love working with other prominent and talented artists when we can.

When did you begin songwriting?

In our teens. We were not good at it at first, but the skills grew over the years.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Hard to say. Music was always there in one way or another. Older relatives singing and playing, and both of us started learning classical instruments at a very young age, as is common in Sweden. Strauss played the trumpet and Innocentius the trombone. Years spent in orchestras in our youth did the trick, and we are heavily inspired by old timey music of all kinds – which is hardly a surprise for people listening to what we do today.

You have the track ‘The S.N.A.F.U. Principle v3.0’ which is out now. What was the inspiration/story behind the track?

Probably reading The Illuminatus Trilogy too many times back in the days! That book made its mark, to say the least! It’s a hell of ride and a huge inspiration for the band.

Did you collaborate with anyone on your new music in terms of the writing?

Never in writing (so far), but we’ve had a bunch of guest vocalists on several occasions.

In addition, you have released your new EP ‘Amor, Monstra Et Horrore Profundi’. How did you want to approach the making of the EP?

We needed something to keep up the interest, and since we focused on touring last year, we felt that remaking two old tracks and add two covers we were really happy with would be a good move.

Where did you record the EP and who produced it?

We do all our stuff in our home studios! It’s been years since we felt the need to hire a ‘real’ studio, since we’ve got the gear and skills needed. We do a rough mix ourselves and let some pros we know finish that part, as well as the mastering.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the EP recording sessions?

Recording ‘The Lake’ was especially funny. The choirs are made up of a bunch of various metal vocalists from Gothenburg who didn’t think twice when they heard we were covering Bathory, and they lined up to join us. There are about 24 singers in the choruses if memory serves well, both male and female. One guy who can’t sing for shit dusted off his old clarinet and got to participate that way, and it was glorious. Another friend who is a virtuoso on the violin provided that part, as well as some booming baritone vocals. The amount of insanely talented people in our circles is astonishing.

Do you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for your music?

We rely heavily on multi-sampled orchestral instruments and software versions of classic analog synths as well as samples, loops, junk and noises – but we have no problems fucking around with quirky techno plug-ins and other modern shenanigans when we feel like it. There are no rules. A very important part of our sound is that we use a variety of vocal parts; a tradition that we think has been lost in time. Listen to pop music from the 60’s and the vocals are absolutely delightful – we’re not talking about big, heavy choirs here (well, we obviously have them too), but regular tunes. A second part and/or some dubs, no matter how discrete, will add wonderful harmonies to any melody, and it feels like most artists don’t do that anymore. Some indie pop and punk bands still do that with honour, but that’s pretty much it.

Guitar-wise, Innocentius relies heavily on his ZW Les Paul but likes to mess around with his other guitars as well. Notable on the latest EP is the use of a twelve string electric guitar. Guitars are recorded through a couple of good guitar plug-ins emulating classic amps and effect pedals. He’s particularly fond of spring reverbs, analogue delays and modulation effects from the 70’s. You can never go wrong with a good ol’ classic wah either. Lots of it.

Which of your new EP tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

‘SNAFU…’ is happy joy AND anger. Those feelings go hand in hand in a way that is hard to explain, but that’s how we work. Music-wise, ‘Goblins…’ is very reflective because there is a weird mix of harmonies that are really typical for our sound – even though the lyrics themselves are just bonkers.

Who created/designed the EP artwork?

Strauss was a graphic designer by trade for years (still is, but not full time anymore) and does most of the layout. None of us are proper photographers or illustrators/painters, but we know a boatlaod of really talented people who help out with that stuff. This time we just stylized a photo of an armadillo and remade it in vektors, so we went for a minimalistic approach. You can never go wrong with an armadillo, which just happens to be our totem animal. This is because they are cute as hell, smell rather funky and can turn into a cannon ball and are likely to survive a direct hit by a nuclear bomb. We can relate to this very, very much.

Was it a difficult EP to write?

Not really. ‘SNAFU…’ and ‘Goblins…’ were old songs and already written and just needed to be re-arranged from scratch, and the other two tracks are covers and were already written by someone else.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

A happy audience wanting more and a feeling of euphoria for ourselves. We really achieved that on our two recent US tours, it was pure joy to be received the way we were by the American audience. Lovely bunch of people, we’re really looking forward to going back there.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Innocentius will go nowhere without his aforementioned ZW Les Paul. A wonderful instrument with passive EMG HZ humbuckers. The guitar goes through a Boss TU3 tuner and a Line 6 HD500X, which is directly connected to the PA. We are very traditional when it comes to vocal microphones and like to use Shure SM58. Simple and reliable.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

The home base is Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast. It’s a place of darkness, industries, subculture, underground and rock’n’roll. And seafood. Herrings, shrimps and such bullshit. But we shall not trust stuff from the deep oceans, that never ends well.

How do you look after your voices?

We never did until recently. Both of us quit smoking last year without even talking to each other about it first. We just did it. Don’t ask how, but it appears that we actually succeeded this time. Knock on wood.

Do you have any future music releases planned for 2025?

We have started the work on a new full length album, yes. It’s our hope to see it done before the end of the year, but if we start to promise things we will jinx exactly everything in the entire universe and we just can’t have another cosmic catastrophe on our conscience.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Strauss: Neuromancer by William Gibson, hands down. Cyberpunk extravaganza, streetwise epic science fiction at its best. Movie scores are, not surprisingly, a huge inspiration, and that book made an enormous impact on teenage me. I would just love to put all those feelings into music, and even though it was written in 1984, it’s more relevant than ever. Life imitates art, right?

Innocentius: Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco. A good adaptation of that novel (which probably is impossible) would be challenging to

write the score for and I believe it would fit us very well, given the intellectual level of the novel. I mean, who doesn’t love a good conspiracy theory? Foucault’s Pendulum is the conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories!

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

We like to talk about inspiration, rather than influence. We grew up on old school goth, synth pop, punk, Wax Trax! industrial, German weird stuff and EBM, but the older we got we realized how awesome metal music was, and we can never deny that classical music and jazz is more important than our younger selves would’ve dared to admit. Also, you can also never fail with a well written, catchy pop song or soul crushing dark ambient. We won’t name specific artists here because there are way too many to mention. We both have four digit record collections spanning from baroque to lo-fi noise and there is no music out there that does not offer at least a little inspiration.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2025?

Nothing right now, no. We will concentrate on song writing as the main priority at the moment. We are, however, open to suggestions.

What makes Morlocks happy and what makes you unhappy?

We like cute animals, ridiculous amounts of beer, creating stuff, nice friends and travelling the world to spread chaos, love and mischief. We get really pissed off by oppression, inequality, bigotry and fascist f****.