The Concretes' Lisa Milberg on Their Disco Future and New Album WYWH

It's been three years since the band that made Swedish indie-pop cool has disappeared
from the spotlight. The Concretes are finally back and they bought the past with them. With their disco-tinged new album, WYWH, under Brooklyn-based record label Friendly Fire Recordings, Lisa Milberg and her Stockholm-based crew are paying homage to "dreamy and hypnotic disco." While WYWH is a collection of somber melodies more fitting for nostalgic rainy afternoons than evenings channeling your inner dancing queen it does prove that, like a fine wine, The Concretes have only gotten better with age. As the band prepares for their upcoming European tour, we chatted with front woman Milberg about The Concretes' hiatus, her fears of singing, and whether "nu-disco" is really in our future.

So what have you guys been up to for the last three years?

Well, let's see...there's been babies, weddings, divorces, trips to exotic places, trips to less exotic places, ups, downs, nights in, nights out, tears, smiles, too much wine, and too much time waiting in line. But the reason there's been no Concretes is the fact that we didn't really feel like it for a long time. We do now.

When did you realize that it was time to return?

I think we all just woke up one day and felt it was time. We needed some time apart and then we started missing each other and the music we made together. All of us make music in other formations too, but The Concretes is everyone's first priority. When we finally started recording it was a pretty quick process.

When I first heard WYWH, I was expecting a Studio 54 soundtrack. However, the
sound is completely different. Was this a conscious choice?

I think we're incapable of writing real happy songs. All of our tracks have a little sadness in them. Only this time around you can dance to them. And that's the beauty of disco, it's the perfect surrounding for those mixed emotions. Disco for me isn't about glittery flares and wedges with goldfish in them, it's about trying to escape the day by embracing the night. All of the songs on WYWH have hope in them, though. Most of them have sex in them too, you gotta have sex.


Do you think disco will make a comeback?

I would say disco has already made a return to dance floors. Not the Saturday Night Fever variety, but there is a less kitsch kind of disco that I think sounds very now. Most of it was done in the early '80s and has an excellent moodiness to it. Marshall Hain's 'Dancing In The City' might be the perfect example, with its thunder intro and sulky, girl vocals.

I know that vocalist Victoria Bergsman's departure really affected The Concretes. Looking back, are there any regrets?

It was a very dark time, but I don't think the outcome could have been any different and breaking up is hard to do. In the end, it was the best thing for everyone. No regrets.

I read that when you first took over vocal duties in 2007, you were 'petrified' and even commented that you didn't have plans to become the band's singer. How did you overcome that challenge?

I really don't understand how it happened. I figured out that I just had to do things my way. It took a lot of pressure off because the hardest part about it is that it can feel like such a mystery. That becomes overwhelming and you can feel very lost. But then I realized that my favorite performers range from very shy to mini-David Bowies. As long as what I do feels right for me it's really not scary at all. It's just when I try to please others that it gets uncomfortable.

I've heard that you consider London to be your second home. However, what is it
about Stockholm that keeps you coming back?

For the past five years London has been my first home, but nothing ever beats Stockholm. I've recently fallen in love with my hometown all over again. I think I am going to attempt to move back soon. I only intended to stay in London for six months, but it lured me in.

The Concretes have been together for over 10 years. What's the secret behind your
lasting power?

We always just do what we want to. And if you don't force things they tend to work out.