Irving Force is a Swedish, synthwave producer. Based in Stockholm, the talented artist has self-released an EP, Undercover, receiving international recognition. From 80s electronica and retrowave to cyberpunk and outrun, Irving Force has you covered.
FS: Hey all! Today, we’ve got Swedish musician, Irving Force, with us and he’s ready to give us insight into his synthwave project. Ready for this? Let’s jump right in. So, when exactly did the Irving Force project start? Huge fans of Stakeout and Tech Scavengers!
IF: Well, I always wanted to do movie scores, so I made a few submissions for this 80’s retro action short film about a year ago. My music was not chosen to be in the short, but I realized how much fun it was, and so, I kept doing it. That’s when I discovered the whole Synthwave scene I think and Irving Force slowly took shape.
FS: You’ve got quite a fantastic, 80s synthwave sound – we love it! What motivates you when you’re in the studio producing each track? How does that motivation change between songs?
IF: Thank you! When I was writing the tracks that ended up on Undercover EP, I think I was at the most fun point in the learning curve. That point when you’re discovering a bunch of new stuff every session and everything feels fresh and exciting, so most of that stuff just pretty much wrote itself.
Now, after the release, I have become way more picky with the execution of the composition, production and overall concepts of each track, so I have had to improve my writing discipline to work more focused and for longer stretches of time on each track.
It is still a lot of fun but I think I am now mainly chasing the feeling of satisfaction I get when I realize a track is starting to “come alive” or whatever you’d like to call it. To get started with a track, I sometimes try to find inspiration from images of 80s and cyberpunk stuff, anything retro-futuristic.
I try to reblog a bunch of stuff on my Tumblr, so I’ll have a fresh wall to scroll through to set the tone whenever I need to get into that frame of mind.
FS: Very cool! It’s always good to hear what inspires an artist to create. Name off your top 5 tracks at the moment. And, they can’t be yours!
IF: Send More Paramedics – Follow Your Programming – This is a thrash/punk band I used to listen to a lot about 10 years or so ago that I stumbled back onto recently. The ending never fails to give me goosebumps.
If I remember correctly they released a double album where one disc was all a Goblin-esque soundtrack for a made up zombie movie.
Carl Carlton – She’s a Bad Mama Jama – I’ve been playing this every morning for the last two weeks or so, always a great way to start the day. Mesmerizing video as well.
Dan Terminus – The Chasm
These last three are tracks I frequently listen to when I am out running. I am so jealous of GosT’s heavily distorted sound production.
FS: Which of the above artists is your favorite? And why?
IF: That is a very hard question, I wouldn’t know how to compare them all to each other. Let’s blast some Pantera instead!
FS: Let’s break away from electronic music for a second. What else do you listen to in your free time?
IF: Well, I have more of a metal background originally, so I usually have some of that in rotation. Pantera, as I mentioned, Pig Destroyer, Septekh, Down and Necrophagia are among my favorites. I like stuff that is angry and groovy.
I also really like film scores and old video game music. I have been listening to the music from Turtles in Time and the Biker Mice from Mars racing game a lot and I think it might show on my new EP.
Other than that, I try to listen to as much different stuff as I can. Funk, disco, 80’s pop, new wave, classic rock, gangsta rap and country. I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts as well, mainly Earwolf right now. RIP Harris Wittels.
FS: Last question! What do you have planned for 2015? Any tours or special releases?
IF: I am working on another EP that will hopefully be released this month! Just doing some final touches on it right now so I think it will be ready for release by the end of the month, or in April, worst case scenario.
I am also preparing to start playing live, hopefully I’ll be able to be out doing gigs by the summer, though I have no dates confirmed or anything. It also looks like maybe I will be contributing music to a game, which I am very excited about!
In addition to that, I have been fantasizing of making a music video since the conception of Irving Force, after all what I originally intended to do was to score film. I think I have the means to do it, I just need to find the time.
FS: Well, it was great to hear from you man! We know you’re busy. To our audience – give a huge thanks to Irving Force! Don’t forget to check out his latest work, here, and support him on Facebook!