News

Introducing Machine

• 11th Feb 2014

April 2014 sees the release of ‘Voice of a Lifetime’ the debut album from Swedish alt-rock duo MACHINE.

‘MACHINE exists in the fusion between the two of us – like a creative intersection,’ says lead singer Martin. ‘It’s the result of years of music experience and a lifetime of influences. It’s a song writing duo becoming one.’

Moving seamlessly between radio friendly guitar rock, understated electro and classic melodic pop, ‘Voice of a Lifetime’ showcases solid song writing, soulful vocals and endless hooks – a polished debut full of potential anthems, the kind you’d expect from the likes of Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, U2 and Coldplay – some of the band’s biggest inspirations.

Highlights include the riff-filled lead single, ‘Save Me’ complete with a video filmed secretly on a closed underground area in central Stockholm, and the sublime B-side, ‘Say You Will,’ the album’s most electronic moment. ‘It’s a laid back tune,” says guitarist Ed Winson. ‘But it illustrates another depth in our sound. We really like the dance influence here, which we’re very keen on exploring further.’

This marrying of electronic effects with Martin’s soulful vocals can also be heard on standout tracks like ‘Awake,’ and the sorrowful but upbeat, ‘Please.’ Elsewhere, there’s the energetic ‘Liberation,’ the anthemic ‘Louder,’ a classic sounding ‘We Are Heroes’ and the band’s own favourite, ‘Moment of The Rain.’

‘Our energy and impact as a live band is powerful, but it’s our passion for great production that really makes the album come alive,’ says Ed. From the start the duo set out to make a well-produced album with well-written songs, which meant when the opportunity to work with renowned UK producer, Yoad Nevo arose, they jumped at it…

‘Working with Yoad was truly inspiring,’ says Martin. ‘He’s played an instrumental part in bringing our vision to life and added a dimension of sound and depth to our music that we wouldn’t have found ourselves. Truth be told – despite what you think about the songs, you can’t hide from the fact that you’re going to like – or at least notice – how great the production on this album is.’

Backstory: Machine’s history actually begins over 20 years ago, in 1989 when Ed Winson recruited Martin (Bonefish) as the lead singer of the band he’d recently founded. They went on to sign with Danish label, Mega Records (home of Ace of Base) and released an album in 1995. However the band split the following year and what followed says Ed was ‘thirteen years of life and everything that goes with it.’ Fast forward to 2009 and Martin decided to get back in touch with Ed about working together again.

‘The idea of MACHINE was founded on a common goal; to do it our way,” says Ed. ‘We wanted to get back to the craft of song writing and simply skip starting a ‘band’. To us, that would have been taking a step back, and we wanted to move forward. No looking back, no nostalgia, just something new and different. Something that we both felt was more true to us both.’

And the name?

‘The two of us become something else when we work together. It’s like the sum isn’t equal to the parts added. That is what the name represents. This is not a band. This is a MACHINE.’