Masasolo had a lot of attention last year with their debut EP Breakup. Nice things were said about it both in Denmark and in the rest of the world. UK blog Jajaja even put them on their list of bands to watch out for in 2017. Now Masasolo are ready with their debut album At Sixes and Sevens.
‘Even though we know that we can’t control our own destinies, I believe that most people have pretty clear expectations of how their lives are gonna play out. I think there is something in our time that makes us feel responsible for every turn our lives take which is of course a make believe.
Or at least that was what I felt when I started writing the songs for this album. When I was younger I felt confident about where my life was going – I took a master degree in sociology, had relations I thought would last forever and knew my own moral and values. But without noticing the direction I had taken I all the sudden found myself in a place I would never had predicted. It wasn’t better or worse just really not what I’d expected. This left me in a sought of a groundbreaking existential confusion which I was really surprised about.’ says prinicpal member Morten.
The album deals with the mixed feelings of getting older, the fear for not finding your place in life, the loss of a parent and then in the middle of all of this, finding love again.
Masasolo mixes a gloomy, psychedelic sound with very present and catchy pop melodies. Their grandiose sound is built around the musician playfulness in the studio which gives a living character to each of the albums 9 songs. The sound varies from dreamy heartbreakers to epic energetic moments.
‘This Descender appeared to me one day when I was playing a song my brother wrote when my nephew was born 12 years ago. It’s a very sweet song about being born into a family. Playing that song again opened a door into the loss of my father who died 5 years ago. When it happened I tried putting in the back of my mind and I didn’t speak or think to much of it back then. I realized that I needed to confront that loss and my relationship to him and the song became a room for that.’ Says Morten.
Sixes and Sevens reveals a more experimenting side of Masasolo. Instrumentation, harmonics and form seeks to push the boundaries of pop songs but they remain loyal hooky popmelodies. This obvious on the soft but hard-hitting Just as Real, the stormy Love here Tonight or the epic And To Know This. The band still has a strong love for ballads and heartbreakers which is obvious on Ordinary Day or Then Comes The Rain. A new kind of drive and playfullness is found on Idaho or Blackie The Blue. The latter portraits the friendship with Blackie through tough times without unnecessary sentimentality. The album closes with Maybe It’s Gonna Be Fine – a kraut song about looking passively at a world war and crisis hoping that everything is gonna resolve itself without us doing anything.
‘When I was younger I used to be a political engaged person. I was always in the red about society’s injustices and I was always ready for a debate. I wrote this song in frustration when I realized that my world had gone small. Last year we had a lot of refugees coming to Denmark over 2 days, which were later called the “Refugee crises” ironically enough (People in crises producing a new crises). I went and participated in a protest which was the right thing to do, but afterwards I just went home and turned on netflix like it was no biggie. I just expected others to deal with the situation. I felt stunned by my own passive behavior and I felt like putting it on display.’ says Morten.
‘At Sixes and Sevens’ is out on vinyl and all digital platform via Masasolo’s own label on the 27th of October.