Sator have come back with a new record Under the Radar where they really shows is their strength as a good punkrockband. Strong songs and I was forced to interview Chips again. That happened in march  2011.

What drives you to play music together?

-We have still an enormous will to be better and better on the things we do. We still talk through the gig after the gig. We talks about what is was good and what to could be better. And it´s everything from which songs we played and the tempo.  And it´s the same in the studio. You can learn anything new everytime you do a new record. I don´t think it´s going to be boring to play as long as you notice that you´re getting better. But you can be tired of the things around as long journeys, late nights etc.  

You lives in different places in Sweden or how is it, how do you do with rehearsals or are you so good that you don´t have to rehearse?  

-We don´t rehearse so much nowadays. Only if we have had a longer time since we have played together. And then we´re meeting in Gothenburg and the band is still Gothenburgbased. We learn us new songs in soundcheck or in the hotelroom. The first 10 years we almost rehearsed every day. It´s not so that we think it´s broing to rehearse, it´s only hard to find time which suits everyone.

How do you do songs nowadays?

-It varies. Sometimes me or Kent comes with a song which is finished. It´s really not so often that we jam foreward a new song when we rehearse but it have happened. It´s not so often that songs comes by themselves. You must have discipline and sit down and work. We tries to change the way to do them so it will not be stucked. Sometimes we give each other clues as “write a song which sounds like Motörhead mixed with Beatles or write a Sham 69 song which sounds like if Queen have done a cover on it” And then the song not maybe becomes like that but it´s creative. The riff for the song We’re all gonna die on the new record dreamed Kent about when we was on Svalbard last summer and played. And then it showed that he have dreamt some more tunes than it is in our tunescale so we had to make the riff a little bit more simple than he dreamt.  

You continue with your very own style….how can you get this own style do you think?

-We are really limited as musicans which is a part of the explanation. And then is ”our sound” a sort of compilation of our recordcollections. We like distorted guitars but we cannot refuse a good popmelody. It´s the mix of powerpop, heavy metal, glamrock and punk and some more ”arty” new wave it became us in some way.  The funny with the new album is that it sounds a whole lot Sator even if we didn´t try to do that. It only became so. But so is it with the most bands propably.  

Are you still listening to the same music as you did 20 years ago or have it came any new style that you have been listening a whole lot to lately?

-We listens probably on the same music as 20 years ago but we have all of us become a little bit broader in our musictaste on the way. You always looks after something new. And most of all we have been looking for the roots to all good music. There is so fucking much still left to experience from every period of time and internet have make it so much easier to get foreward information. The thing that makes is start was the early punkrock. The Ramones, Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Damned… before that so wasn´t here a thought of starting a band if you wanted to do that. I´m still listening a whole lot to punk.

You have never thought of singing in swedish or? Imagine a Bellmansong in a Satorway?

-Nooo. The only songs Sator have done in swedish is some covers live. We have done songs from bands like KSMB, Ebba Grön and Grisen Skriker for example. Some Bellmansongs would we probably not be doing. But it´s not impossible that we do something inswedish again. We had an idea of doing an Ep with four songs from 1981. the first Sator Codex songs was in Swedish as  Jag vill ut, Cancer and Idol. We will see what happens.

You produce a lot of other artists also, what is the latest stuff you have been doing there and what is the coming projects?  

-I have done of lot of things the latest years. Records which I recently have done is an album with Badmouth from Stockholm. They plays classic heavy metal. It will be released this summer. It became really good. Before that I did a really heavy and depressive record with Mascat Parade from Västerås/Dalarna. It will be out in some days. They have a really own style and could be really big if there was any justice at all. It will be an Ep with The Centerfolds from Stockholm. You can describe them as they´re continue there The Hellacopters calmer songs stopped. It will maybe be an album later this year. And then it comes an album with The Kasbah and they´re also from Stockholm and they´re more british in their sound. It´s fun to do different things and not only a lot of metal all the time. And in the future it will become new albums with Nomads and Nisse Hellberg and eventually I will be working with Crucified Barbara also if we could find some time. So I have to do this year out.

Planet of Noise-singles will not come any more of?

-I don´t have the time to be a record label so I don´t think there will be some more singles I´m afraid. It was really hard to sell singles with unknown bands and everyone was more interested of the already established bands. I was a little bit naïve and thought that people should be more curios but have a lot of them still left. It could be a really big fire of the records and then become the ones which is still left really big rarities.  

You have done a whole lot of songs during the years…which is your personal favourite Sator song?  

-An incredibly hard question. It varies from day to day. But some have become precisely the way you expected as  Escape from Pigvalley Beach, No reason, Bound to be good. I’m gone, Dance to the rocket from the crypt, Time and distance to mention some. But then I like some songs which haven´t got so much attention like Idiot’s delight from ”Musical Differences” One of the better songs we have done but we will not play it live. It´s so much which is important. Which expectations you have on the song, how you was felt during the recording etc.

Which is the Satorsong which you´re so fucking tired of but ”you jus” play every concert?

-We´re not playing songs we´re tired of. It doesn´t work. When we´re tired of them we don´t play them anymore. But we still play many of the “hits” because they´re really fun to play nowadays too. But we will not play Oh Mama even if a lot of people screams after it. It wasn´t on our playlist after a year or so.  

Will you go out and play a lot now or how is it? And you comes to Gothenburg?

-2011 is a real touryear. We will almost play every weeked until the summer. And then it becomes some festivals. We will continue the autumn also. First sweden and then the rest of the continent. Gothenburg is soon . The 9th of april on Trädgårn. It will be fun.  

Does Gothenburg feels like your homeground or what is your homeground nowadays? Stockholm, Borlänge

-We have many different homegrounds nowadays.  liksom flera hemmaplaner nuförtiden. Gothenburg Borlänge and also Eskilstuna feels like an homeground. A little bit of Stockholm too because Kent, Micke and Heikki have been living here in different periods.

You have been playing a whole lot abroad too…where is best to play?  

-I like Spain and Italy. Both for the music and the food. And all good  places where they plays so much better music than in Sweden. Germany is also good in the way that everything works and it´s short journeys. An hour on autobahn so are you in the next big city.

How many records did you sell when you sold as most?

-It´s hard to know but Headquake sold around 60-70000 in Sweden. Abroad it´s hard to know. But that´s the record which have sold the most.

How much does a record with Sator sells today?

-Not a clue. The record have been out for a short while but definitely not so much as Headquake I will believe. It´s a little bit harder today. But it´s not so important today either. The most important is that people get to hear the music and come to the gigs. You don´t earn any money on the records anymore.  

But it doesn´t wrong to get the record sold on Statoil?  

-It doesn´t hurt directly. I think that petrolstations suits us really well. And there isn´t almost any recordstores left out in the country anymore.

Now have Nicke Borg been in The Eurovisions song contest. When is it Chips or Sators time to do that?

-I would be really surprised if that happened. I have nothing against the festival but I think it´s really uninteresting.  

You did something together with the beer Norrlands Guld...what was that? Did you get a new audience there do you think?  

-I wanna go home was in the advertisment. I don´t know if it let us get any new audience but we showed many people that we´re still out here. And then the money for the advertisement paid the recording of the new record so it came in really good time. If people don´t want to pay for records anymore so must the money come from some other place. It still cost a lot to do a good record.

The punk live son good I think and do you have found any new good punkbands lately?

-There is a whole lot of good punkbands in Sweden like Kapitano, The Headlines, Baboon Show, Bruket, Snutslakt, Babian etc

Other good bands in sweden right now?

-Except Badmouth, The Centerfolds, Bonafide and Mascot Parade which I have worked with so do I likeTramp with Robban from Hellacopters. Very good. Nicke Anderssons new band Imperial State Electric is also good. Graveyard becomes better and better too.

Five favourite records right now?

-It was better back in times so it will be some old classic records.

1-Protex ”Strange Obsessions” LP Their unreleased record from 1980 which have been released now. So one record from 2010 anyway.

2-The Soft Boys-Underwater Moonlight LP 1980

3-AC/DC-Flick of the switch LP 1983 underestimated record

4-Thin Lizzy- Black rose: Rock legend LP 1979

5-The Ramones-Leave home LP 1977 always on top 10

Do you buy many records nowadays? How many records do you buy?

-I don´t buy so many records that i have done before but some package I get every week anyway. I have place for them soon. I don´t know how many I have but it´s surely too many.

Your old records on vinyl is really worthful I can imagine, what is the highest price you have heard

-I have seen the first Sator Codex-single for 7-800 swedish krona but I have heard  that it have been sold for more. A little bit too much I think if it isn´t the ones with four fingers on. It´s probably only five of those around.  

Is the guys in sator plays with any other groups right now?

-I, Kent and Heikki is in The Best together with Robban Eriksson and Nicke Andersson but it´s not so serious. We only do covers. More metal than punk. like Kiss, AC/DC, Lizzy, Joan Jett… we have only did one gig so far. Outside in Eskilstune on a hotelroof with -10 degress. Icecold but fun. I and Kent tours with White Flag sometimes too. Kent do some coverbands but it´s only Sator which is in real so to say. Same with Heikki too. He jumps in here and there.  

What do everyone work with or what do you do when you don´t do music?

-It´s only Hasse and Micke who have ”real honest” works. We three others try to live on music in some way. Heikki digs some ditch sometimes och steer up some hotel sometimes. He´s doing a lot of things. I cannot anything except music.  

The futureplans for Sator?

-We will tour the whole 2011. And then we maybe will do another record soon again. Maybe do the last things on ”Barbie-Q-Killers vol2”.It´s almost finished but we don´t want to release it now. It will maybe only come out on vinyl. I don´t really know what happens to it.

For yourself?

-It´s the same as with Sator except som recordproductions. And then I plan to win 10 millions on the lottery but it´s maybe not going that way.  

Wisdomword?

-It´s never too late to give up.

Something to add?

-Go and see Sator live we´re better than ever!