Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – “La musica e i concerti devono offrire soprattutto l’opportunità di allontanarsi da quello che accade nel mondo, godersi la vita insieme a persone che condividono gli stessi interessi e non cercare di dividere ma unire”. Per Mike Kroeger, bassista dei Nickelback, il rock conserva ancora questa funzione, in un mondo attraversato da guerre e divisioni.
Quattro anni dopo ‘Get Rollin’, la band canadese torna con ‘Everything Under The Sun’, il nuovo album in uscita il 30 ottobre prossimo, che raccoglie le sue diverse anime, dal rock più aggressivo di ‘Rattle the Cage’ con John 5, ai brani più melodici. L’AdnKronos parla con Kroeger della libertà creativa conquistata in oltre vent’anni di carriera, di una canzone come ‘How You Remind Me’ che continua a raggiungere nuove generazioni, del futuro del rock e delle opportunità e dei rischi dell’intelligenza artificiale.
Di una cosa Kroeger è assolutamente convinto: “La musica deve partire dalle idee e dall’esperienza umana”.
It's been four years since 'Get Rollin'. What's changed for Nickelback in that time?
“Credo che siamo cresciuti molto come band e che mio fratello abbia affinato ulteriormente la sua capacità di scrivere canzoni. Questo album, e più in generale questa fase della nostra carriera, rappresentano un importante passo avanti.
Stiamo vivendo un momento particolarmente positivo e abbiamo realizzato un disco di cui sono davvero orgoglioso. A mio avviso è un album maturo, compatto e molto convincente”.
The title 'Everything Under the Sun' seems to reflect your entire musical universe. What does it mean to you?
“The title captures the breadth of the themes it covers and the variety of sounds and styles that characterize the album's songs. It's an extremely diverse album, with very different songs. 'Everything Under the Sun' perfectly encapsulates this richness and diversity. I think it's the best way to represent an album that strives to embrace everything.”
Is it also a way to reclaim the freedom to do what you want, without having to prove anything to anyone?
"Yes, we've enjoyed great creative freedom for a long time. The success we've achieved over the years allows us to finance our own albums, without external pressure. We can write, record, and release the music we want, following our own pace and artistic choices."
As you said, and as Chad also said, this album captures the band's diverse sides, from the most aggressive songs to the most introspective moments. Were there any unexpected aspects during the making of the album?
"I don't think anything was truly unexpected. There were, however, some pleasant surprises, tied to the inspiration we found in unusual ways, exploring ideas and atmospheres we'd never encountered before. It was exciting to see them gradually take shape. In that sense, I'd say the journey was full of interesting and stimulating innovations."
The first single, "Rattle the Cage," featuring John 5, has a particularly powerful sound. How did the collaboration with him come about, and what did you have in mind when working on the song?
As our fans know, Nickelback has often featured guest guitarists on their albums. On almost every album, we've invited someone to play a solo or contribute in some other way. It's a tradition we've had for a long time: back in 2001, Ian Thornley played on 'Good Times Gone.' When we completed 'Rattle the Cage,' it was time to record the guitar solo. Chad thought it would be interesting to have an outside musician play it instead of playing it himself. We all agreed, and his first name was John 5. He's a truly unique person and guitarist, so it immediately seemed like the right choice. At that point, the song was already finished: we played it for him and asked him to add his own style. He had a lot of fun working on it, and the end result is extraordinary. He's truly an exceptional musician.
You started out in a small Canadian town and ended up playing to thousands of people around the world. After all these years, what's your relationship with your audience?
Our audience knows us very well, and we know our fans just as well. We know what they're looking for and we want to keep going. That's something we have to keep in mind when making an album: to continue making what we believe is the music our fans expect. It's authentic, straightforward, no-frills rock and roll. Whether it's a hard rock song like 'Rattle the Cage' or something more melodic and delicate, like a love song like 'Make Me Love You,' they know what to expect. This album doesn't stray far from that direction. There are other elements, but they still find what they know.
You wrote one of the iconic songs of the early 2000s: "How You Remind Me." Today, it also belongs to a new generation of listeners, many of whom weren't even born when it came out. How does your relationship with a song change over the years?
“In the case of 'How You Remind Me,' I think the change is mainly due to how the audience is evolving. Our listeners aren't just getting older; they're actually getting younger. There are the original fans, who have grown up and had children, and today there's also an even younger generation who are embracing our music. When we look out at the audience at concerts, I see a lot of people younger than my own children.”
Does it make you feel a little old?
“No, not at all. It's not that feeling. I'm deeply touched by it and I'm truly grateful to anyone who wants to listen to our music. When new fans arrive, it's like receiving a new blessing.”
You've lived through the era of CDs, the advent of downloads, and now, streaming. Which of these changes has had the biggest impact on your approach to music?
None of these changes have really changed our approach to work. They've obviously changed the way people consume and discover music, but in terms of our way of working, things haven't changed much. For decades, we've been talking about the possibility of abandoning the album model and releasing one or two or three songs and then going on tour. We've discussed it many times, but we've never done it. We're still making records.
Rock was also born as a language of rebellion. Today's music scene is dominated by different genres and styles. What does it mean to be a rock band today?
“It means what it has always meant: being authentic. Being honest with ourselves and with those who listen to us, without pretending to be someone else. It's a principle that has never changed since we started. People sense sincerity and recognize when someone is trying to appear different from who they really are.”
So your secret is to stay true to yourself?
“Yes, staying true to our origins, to who we are as people and as a band.”
Do you think rock is still capable of expressing the frustrations and concerns of the younger generations? Or are other musical genres now filling the role that rock once had?
I don't know. Things are constantly changing and evolving, but I don't think rock has changed that much. As someone who experiences it every day, I think it still retains the same energy and vitality as ever. I don't see any substantial transformations in its essence. If other genres are gaining more relevance in the collective imagination today and are better able to capture certain sensibilities, I think that's a positive thing. But rock, as I see it, continues to fulfill the same function as always: to narrate the human experience.
We live in very difficult times, amid wars, conflicts, and economic uncertainty. What do you think music can do in such a context?
I think music should be a distraction, a counterweight to all these issues. I believe that, rather than getting caught up in politics or other social issues, music and concerts should offer, above all, the opportunity to step away from all this, enjoy life with like-minded people, and seek to unite rather than divide. Music can still offer a space where people can come together, have fun, and, for a few hours, forget about everything else. You don't go to Parliament or a government building to attend a rock concert. So, I don't think people go to rock concerts to get political.
Artificial intelligence is also making inroads into music production. Do you think it could be a useful tool for musicians, or does it risk compromising what makes rock so unique?
I've thought about this for a long time. I think it could be a great tool for people who don't play music, can't play guitar or piano, and maybe can't even sing, but have ideas. I don't see what's wrong with someone having an idea and using AI to shape it and communicate it. It's not much different from what would happen if someone sat in a room full of expert musicians, shared their ideas, and asked each person to play a part. Ultimately, that's exactly how songwriting is born: from ideas. I believe that even those who can't play an instrument should be able to conceive songs and musical ideas. I don't see why it shouldn't be that way. I think AI could be a very useful tool. I think it will be like every other major technological breakthrough: it will bring with it positive and negative aspects. There will be huge changes, but also good and bad things.
Do you think using artificial intelligence to write a song or compose music is really useful or could it compromise human work?
I still think that if artificial intelligence initially develops the ideas, the issue is different. The way I see it, however, is that humans still have to come up with the ideas. We are the ones who have to formulate the requests and give the instructions to artificial intelligence. Perhaps, in the not-too-distant future, artificial intelligence models will be able to produce music endlessly, without any human intervention. It could be interesting, but I don't know how it will end. What I like, however, is the idea that it could lower a sort of barrier to entry: a person who doesn't know how to play an instrument can have an idea and still be able to make music. I really don't see anything wrong with that.
After all this time together in the band, what still drives you to get into the studio and write new songs? And has the reason you make music changed since you started out?
“It's changed in the sense that now it's just a lot of fun. I really enjoy it. I love going into the studio, playing, having new ideas and working with others to develop them. It wasn't always like this: sometimes it was really difficult.”
When you write songs, do you already think about how they'll sound live or do you let things take their course?
“I wish my brother would pay a little more attention to how the songs will work live. He often writes and arranges them in a way that makes it very difficult for him to sing them himself. When it comes time to perform them on stage, he finds himself under enormous pressure. I love those songs; they're beautiful, but in some cases they could have been constructed differently to make them easier to perform during concerts. That said, it's his choice. We've found ourselves backstage after a show several times joking, "If we ever find out who wrote that song, we'll make them pay." Because Chad is always the culprit. He's the one writing, trying to make the best song possible, without worrying too much about how challenging it will be to perform it live.”
Looking back at 'Everything Under The Sun', do you think it's an album that tells the story of who you were, who you want to become, or simply who you are today?
I think each of our albums speaks to who we are at the time we make it. In a way, each record is a time capsule, a snapshot of who we are at a certain stage in our lives. The same goes for the listener: there are so many albums that, every time I listen to them again, immediately take me back to the period in which I first discovered them. As time passes, I believe the connection with the music of the past depends above all on who we were at that moment. Listening back to certain songs is like taking a journey through time and rediscovering emotions, memories, and sensations tied to a particular stage in our lives. That's why I prefer to let the listeners attribute personal meaning to our music. If our songs can become part of the soundtrack of their lives, I can only be happy.
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