Interview mit Niklas Karlsson & Fredrik Lennartsson von Orbit Culture

Today you’re supporting IN FLAMES, in October you’re going on tour with GAEREA. Is that part of your recipe for success, that you fit in with very different bands?
Niklas: I hope so. If we were strictly playing Deathcore or something, we would obviously end up on Deathcore tours. But it’s cool that the music is quite broad, and we could go out with AVATAR at the same time as we can do a tour with GAEREA. It works, and it’s great.
Fredrik: The songs are all different, and that’s a strength. Because if we go out with a band like AVATAR, we can fit the songs to match their vibe. And so we can steal their fans, if you know what I mean. (laughs)  If we go out with MACHINE HEAD, it’s the same thing …
Niklas: Yeah, we try to tailor the setlist!

GAEREA, for example, are a band that can no longer be categorized in conventional genre categories – it’s very similar with ORBIT CULTURE. Does that mean the end of stylistic pigeonholing?
Niklas: I’m not quite the right person to comment, since we’re such in our own bubble doing what we do. But the specific genres get watered out. I mean, I would love to listen to a full Death Metal album – that’s cool, but you have to try at least to do something unique these days to stand out a bit.
Fredrik: Yeah. You can always talk about genres here and there, like Death Metal, Deathcore, blah, blah, blah, but in the end it’s all about making good music.

Do you think something has changed over time – that musicians used to stay more in “their” genre, whereas today’s artists are more open to different influences? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Niklas: I can only speak for ourselves, how we approach making music, and we tend to draw inspiration from everything, whether it’s fucking IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA to AVICII, you know, it doesn’t matter. It’s from everywhere. As long as it’s a hook in there, I find that very interesting. But also movie music is such a big thing in our inspiration asset drawer.

A lot has also changed in terms of the live show over the last years – today even very small bands have extremely professional production, a big light show and so on. How important is this technical aspect for the success of a band these days, from your point of view
Fredrik: Nowadays, when you do a show, you have to impress people, because music is so available these days. And to really impress an audience, you have to bring out the big guns. Of course, you need to play as best as possible and show the most amount of passion, deliver a show in that sense. But lights always help. And pyro helps, if it’s affordable. We weigh that in. Is it suitable to do this at this particular show, or…?
Niklas: Yeah, you have to have the full package, basically. But in general, it became a lot more accessible, because everybody does so much on their own these days, like, do-it-yourself-style. We’ve always been interested: Making the music is fun, but everything around it is fun as well, you know. We love to build these light trusses, because we want to test ourselves and gain some knowledge in that area, too. It’s a passion!

From today’s perspective, is there a point at which you realized that the thing was working – a moment when you felt the breakthrough?
Niklas: From 2013 to 2022, it barely happened anything for our band. We rehearsed a few times a month, did some videos here and there. But then we took the stage at the Sweden Rock Festival 2022 and everything changed from that day on, I would say. We started to play … yeah, we have not stopped playing ever since. (laughs) We’ve been on multiple tours now. Life just changed in the best way possible. The big break came at that stage in some way. And then it’s been a lot of hard work behind it. But we’ve been very lucky, I would say, too.
Fredrik: The past years have gone very fast. We’re super privileged to be doing this. It comes at a cost as well, like not being home for birthdays and stuff like that. Tthe worst thing we ever did was when we came from the European festivals, and then we did a three-week tour with TRIVIUM in the UK, and then we came over to Mainland Europe, drove up to Sweden. We were home for like 14 hours. And then we flew over to Canada to start a second tour with AVATAR. Which lasted for like six weeks or something. But sometimes that’s what you got to do, to make the time schedule work. I mean, we gained fans from that run …
Niklas: One other key moment was last year, when we entered Madison Square Garden with SLIPKNOT. We were like, is this really happening? And the whole show, an hour before, an hour after, is just a blur – without alcohol. (laughs)

From today’s point of view: Would you say you were “prepared” what happened to your band in this very short amount of time? Or was it just surprising and overwhelming, like, what the fuck am I doing here?
Niklas: Exactly, exactly that. I mean, we were prepared, but not in such a short period of time, I would say …
Fredrik: Practice-wise and with the stage presence and things, we were pretty, pretty alright. But mentally, being in Manhattan and walking into this world-famous venue, this little fucking Swedish farmer band, basically going in as the fourth Swedish band in history to play that venue … that was kind of surreal. (laughs) But it’s weird how fast you get used to stuff like that as well. Like, hanging out with Corey Taylor, things like that. You get used to it fast, which is a shame. You want the same kick as the first time something fucked up like that happened. (laughs)
Niklas: But show-wise, if we’re talking about playing ability or stage presence. If you look at that show from Sweden Rock, 2022, it’s a completely different band now. We were so shy! (laughs) We’ve grown some balls, at least, I think.

Can you tell us a bit more about your feelings when you got that offer to play with Slipknot? I guess that was kind of a childhood dream come true, right?
Fredrik: Yes, definitely. The funny thing is, we didn’t think it was going to happen …
Niklas: I was out drinking. Then I woke up at, like, 3 AM and our management had sent us a text, like, guys, how does it feel to play with SLIPKNOT in Madison Square Garden? I was like, what the fuck?
Fredrik: Things that only happen when you’re drunk! (laughs) 
Niklas: It got confirmed in April and the tour started in July. So it was off to the races from that day … visas, everything, bam, bam, bam!

Is there another band that would make a childhood dream come true if they invited you to support them?
Fredrik: I mean, there is one, but I don’t know if you dare to …
Niklas: Obviously METALLICA, that would be insane. But GOJIRA, that’s also on my bucket list.

I wouldn’t say that’s out of the question … fingers crossed! Now back to reality: In 2023 you released an EP entitled “The Forgotten”, which was your first digital-only release so far. What kind of experience was it to release this music just digitally?
Niklas: We would love to put it out as a physical, but then there’s other people who decide stuff. So, yeah, fuck that. Pretty much. (laughs)

So it wasn’t your decision to just release it digital?
Fredrik: No, if we could decide, we would obviously put it out as physical.

But did it still fulfill its purpose as a release?
Niklas: I think so, yeah. I mean, it was only a three-track EP, and “While We Serve”, one of the songs on there, is one of our “biggest” songs right now! A big live song!. So I think that carried that EP quite a lot.

But you’re fans of physical releases and not people for whom a stream is enough? So are you vinyl collectors?
Niklas: I own like two LPs … but once I see one, it’s cool. But I guess I’m too cheap to buy it. (laughs)
Fredrik: I have a bunch of amazing vinyls…

Maybe you’ll soon have a few more, at least if you can get proof copies of all versions of your new album: It will be released in eleven different vinyl colors …
Niklas: Originally it was only supposed to be five or something, which is quite many. But then, you know, how it works, EMP wanted to do an exclusive one. Then Revolver wanted to do an exclusive one. Exclusive, exclusive, here and there. And we were like, here we go. (laughs) I mean, if you buy them, it’s great! (laughs)

Many fans would also like to buy your early albums on CD or vinyl, but some of them are only available second hand on collectors‘ portals like Discogs. Are there any plans to do a re-release of these?
Niklas: We only have full control over the albums from the beginning up to “Red Fog”. We can’t decide anything with “Nija”, “Shaman”, “Descent” or “The Forgotten”. That’s a label thing, so they do, unfortunately, what they want. And they don’t print. But all the other stuff we can control.

But do you have any plans to do so?
Niklas: We did a limited run in 2020, but they sold out. And the manufacturer that we used was ass. So we stepped back a bit. But we should do some new ones, yeah.

Would it appeal to you not only to reissue them, but also to re-record the debut, for example, with your knowledge and skills of today?
Niklas: For the first EP, I don’t have the files anymore, unfortunately. So I can’t really touch that. But next year will be the 10th anniversary for the album “Rasen”. And I have all the files for that. So maybe do something cool with that – not a remix, but a remaster or something. So that’s in the plan.

But as we all know, record sales figures are falling anyway, so it’s more important than ever before to play live. You played about 80 shows per year over the last years. Is that your comfort zone, above, or could you even increase these numbers?
Niklas: We could increase it. Last year it was stressful, but it was fun: We started in January with MACHINE HEAD in the States. Then right into “Descending Into Madness” Headline Tour in Europe, then obviously the shows with SLIPKNOT over the summer. And then South America in the fall. So it was quite a hefty year. The playing is great – once you get to the actual venue. But sitting in the airport and stuff… but it’s the best job in the world anyway. (laughs) You have to remember that!
Fredrik: Whenever we complain one day, we’re like… well, you could actually go to a regular job tomorrow …

So all of you are working full-time for the band these days?
Niklas: Yeah, last year all of us quit. Fredrik and Richard have worked a bit now. Just to get some social things going. But other than that, ORBIT CULTURE is the life.

Great, if it works. It’s amazing. Because making money with music is not that easy, everything has become more expensive – for bands, but also for fans. If you look at the merch, for example …
Niklas: Yeah, that has increased. Obviously it started during Covid, I would say, with all these shitty fucking concession companies who want to dive into your pocket. And that’s the main reason why it’s gone up. It’s because of those fucking merchandise commission bullshit. If we could, we would sell a shirt for 25 Euro. Or even less. But we have to, because they’re just stealing at this point. And it hurts the consumer. The bigger the shows, the more concession. And obviously the bigger the shows are, the more people attend. And if there’s more people, we have to bring more merch. But if it’s so expensive, we get a pile of unsold shirts instead. Because who wants to buy a t-shirt for 70 Euro? That’s just crazy.

Another way to make money on tour is selling meet and greets with fans, which is a thing you started doing on your headliner tour as well. As a fan, would you buy a meet and greet with a band, and if so: which band would it be – and how much would you pay to meet them
Niklas: I’ve never done that, actually. So I’m not familiar, to be honest … (laughs)
Fredrik: When we used to go to shows before we started playing in a band, and put all the focus on that, I don’t remember there were meet and greets that often. I think it’s a new thing, to be honest …
Niklas: I think it’s been around, but you wouldn’t look at that stuff when you were 17 or 18, right?

In the past, only the huge bands did this kind of thing, to praise them, which really didn’t appeal to teenagers. But today it’s different. What was your experience as a band, how did it feel for you?
Niklas: I’m quite conflicted. Because I like to talk with the fans very much, but I feel just sorry for them: One person wants to explain to you that the lyrics mean so much to him and stuff like that, and then there’s like 15 other people waiting. It was great to meet fans, but I would rather meet fans in a pub. Take a beer next to the merch. Because it felt very forced. And I think it felt forced for the fans also. They are getting stressed, take a picture here and there, instead of just having a conversation. It’s cooler, when we just come out after watching the headliner, and just grab a beer and talk shit. I like that way more. Before those first US tours that we did, when we were obviously a much smaller band, we could actually go out and watch all the bands that were playing after us, drinking beer with the fans. We had the best time ever. But that might be tougher on our own headline shows, because then it might get like a bit too crowded.

Fredrik: We’ll see how we do in the future. One time, somewhere in Canada, we went out to the merch. Had a few beers and the people come up. And then the show ended with MACHINE HEAD and people were coming out of the concert area. And it created like a bottleneck. Because there were so many people wanting to take photos and shit. So the security came up like, you guys need to leave. You need to get the fuck out of here right now. It became a safety concern basically. But like you say, we’re all more towards meet up at the bar, have a real conversation.

Your new album is coming in the fall – we’ll talk about that again then. So far I only saw the artwork, but it looks really promising …
Niklas: We scoured the whole internet or Instagram to find the perfect art for it. And it was just impossible … and then we found this guy, Miroslav Pecho. And he made these huge, big-ass paintings. Obviously in today’s world with all the AI stuff, we were like, we’re going to buy this fucking painting. So we bought two of them. And just like the good old days, we took photos of it and cropped it and stuff. So it was fun.

But would you like to give the fans a little teaser of what to expect?
Niklas: It will be very ORBIT CULTURE, but also have its twists and turns here and there. Overall, we are pretty happy with it, I would say. But it’s always… you are your own harshest critic. And we have already started to write on the new stuff anyway. (laughs)

So it won’t last long until…
Niklas: We will see. We have to tour the shit out of this one first. No, but we are happy. There are some golden ingots!
Fredrik: The new album is fucking fire. It’s like a new level in ORBIT CULTURE. Both in terms of sound and your songwriting. And then Buster Odeholms mix and master on it. I feel like the songs are very big, grand … fits very well on big stages. I’m looking forward to getting those songs on the stage, with an actual audience. So we’re going to have a lot of fun with that record!

Publiziert am 10. Juli 2025 von Moritz Grütz

Fotos von: Afra Gethöffer-Grütz