Swedish heavy stoner rockers GAUPA are charging into a new era with a slimmed-down line-up and a renewed sense of purpose. Described by the band as a “big turning point,” their upcoming mini album Fyr marks a bold step forward in both sound and spirit. Set to be released via Magnetic Eye Records—in collaboration with their longtime label Nuclear Blast Records—Fyr showcases GAUPA’s signature blend of ethereal intensity and crushing riffs, distilled into a powerful new form.
Welcoming Emma
Hi Emma. So welcome to Femme Metal Webzine. How are you, and how is today treating you?
Thank you. It’s splendid to meet you. I’m very excited to talk to you.
Hey. Well, I’m excited too, because I’ve listened to the new upcoming EP “Fyr”. I like it.
Thank you. Good to hear it.
Producing “Fyr” with the new lineup
Thank you. So first of all, I wanted to ask you: how was it to produce this new release, considering that something has happened since the last time—we know Daniel Nygren has left the band. How did it feel to be busy producing something new?
Again, it was very strange, because the sound of Gaupa has always been something that just happens when the five of us—it used to be five of us—came together. Because we are all songwriters and musicians, we all contribute to the songwriting. And of course, it was very, very strange not to have Daniel in the process. You know, I love him as a songwriter. He’s a great riff writer and a fantastic musician. So obviously, it was very strange not to have him be a part of the process—understandably—and to have him leave was very sad.
But last year, we played with Daniel as a kind of last hurrah. We played Sweden Rock, and then also went to another festival after that—oh my God, I can’t remember which one—but it was very lovely. I believe it was a very good way to end that chapter, to do two huge festival gigs with Daniel.
GAUPA: “Fyr a big turning point”
Okay, so you know, David—the remaining guitarist—he called “Fyr” a big turning point. What do you think he meant by that? I mean, I know Daniel is no longer in Galpa, but how has all this reflected on “Fyr”?
I think there were a lot of different factors. For one, there are just four of us now, so the writing process was a bit different. But we also worked with a lot of new people we had not worked with before. The guy who used to record with us and who had been mixing and mastering our previous releases didn’t have the time to do it, so we had to use another engineer. As a result, the sound and mixing are very different. Also, the artwork is very different. I’m proud to say we played the Into the Void Festival in the Netherlands.
I was approached by an artist at the festival, and he is now the artist who did the single artwork for “Heavy Lord” and also the main artwork for the vinyl “Fyr“. So that’s another new element—working with an artist we hadn’t worked with before, and he is from the Netherlands, of course. Then we also have a new photographer and a new video artist who did the main video for “Ten of Twelve.” So there have been a lot of new people in the crew, and I think this is very significant. This is why, for us, it feels like a new chapter—because of all these new people and new things.
GAUPA and engineer Carl Daniel Liden
Let me ask you—now you told me about the new mixer and engineer, if I’m not mistaken, it’s Carl Daniel Liden. I wanted to ask you: what did you learn from this experience? You were approached by different professionals, different people. What did you take from all these experiences? Because, you know, every experience comes with a lesson learned. I think you know that for sure.
Yeah. Well, this time we recorded the drums and the bass in Gothenburg at the Swedish Grammofon Studio, and I was there just as a mascot —and David was not there. I recorded a lot of vocals by myself in a little basement, and David recorded some guitars by himself. So we were sort of isolated in the recording process. And I think this is not something we will do again. I think next time, we’d like to be all together when we record the album.
I think it came together very well, even though we were separated, and the recording process felt a bit chopped up. But yeah, that’s something we will not do again. It’s more fun when everyone is present.
“It flows from the beginning to the end.”
Yeah, agree. But you know, I had the time to listen to the EP a lot. I got the sense that it’s a very organic release. I didn’t expect that you guys were isolated from each other. That comes as a bit of a surprise to me, if you understand my reaction, because it flows from the beginning to the end.
Thank you. That’s what we aim for. That’s what you want. But, you know, people have different family situations and careers or jobs outside the band. Sometimes you don’t get to hang out, rehearse, and record together in the way that you would like to. As you become an adult, you need to make it work, like a life puzzle. But I think Carl Daniel Liden, who mixed and mastered it, did a fabulous job. I like that the mix isn’t as slick as our previous releases. It’s a bit dirtier and heavier, and I like that.
GAUPA and the single “Ten of Twelve”
You mentioned “Ten of Twelve,” and I love the song—and the video too. I know that the rooster is often a symbol of good luck and prosperity in some cultures. But I wanted to ask you—what’s your take on the rooster? What does it mean to you?
On stage, I make some of my stage clothes and costumes. I glue fake leather together and sew it onto a top. I’ve thrifted feather collars that I sew into my costumes, and I call the costume “The Bird.” So it’s a bit like, you know—there are a lot of instrumental parts when we play live, and I’m just like the bird. I thought it was fun to play with the idea of a rooster of bad luck. You know—messing things up, things not going according to plan. Sometimes stuff just goes wrong. So I thought it was fun to play with the concept of the “unlucky rooster.” And since I wear feathers on stage, I could kind of embody the unlucky rooster.
GAUPA and the real story behind Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Word for World Is Forest”
Let me ask you one thing. I also read that in some ways, the lyrics of “Fyr” take inspiration from Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Word for World Is Forest”. I wanted to ask you about that, because for me, it wasn’t so clear which way to interpret it.
Yes, I’d be happy to explain! I think that’s a bit of a misunderstanding.
Yes, I wasn’t sure whether to ask or not.
No, it’s very good that you ask, because—
Sure. It wasn’t so clear, and even reading the lyrics, I thought, “Okay… am I missing something here?”
No, the thing is—it’s the song called “Elastic Sleep.” I was thinking a lot about the idea that time is elastic, and sleep is elastic. I sang on our first release, on a song called “Bariatrol,” the line “Time is elastic.” And that concept is coming back now—like sleep might be elastic too.
I happened to read “The Word for World Is Forest“ by Ursula K. Le Guin, and in that book, there are people who value sleep time as much as awake time. They don’t consider them to be different. It’s the same truth. I thought that was very interesting because I was already thinking about the elasticity of sleep. Why do you dream what you dream? Maybe your dreams are also true—a kind of weird truth.
The sleep is elastic
I believe in what you say, because not every day we sleep eight hours—sometimes five, sometimes ten. So I think there’s consistency in what you’re saying, at the end of the day.
Yeah. And I’ve had a lot of trouble with sleep in my life. I’ve suffered from insomnia. Your brain just runs and runs when you’re trying to sleep, and you can’t. It’s a very gray area—nighttime is very strange. So I’d been thinking a lot about it. That Ursula book was just really in sync with me when I wrote the lyrics for “Elastic Sleep.” But it’s not a book that’s traveled through the whole EP.
“The concept of time is present throughout the whole EP.”
Now I get the red thread about it. As I said before, I wasn’t sure whether to ask, but I understand the concept now, and I think the same.
We were dabbling, in the beginning, with the idea of having a concept of time running through the entire album. We played with the idea of making it a concept album—maybe adding a ticking clock or something. That didn’t happen in the end, but for me, the concept of time is present throughout the whole EP. I’m very glad you asked, because now you know how it happened.
“Sömnen/Febersvan”
Well, I’m glad you found the question meaningful. I wanted to ask you about “Sömnen /Febersvan.” I know that a live version is included on “Fyr”, recorded at Monkey Moon Studios. Why include this specific version instead of a normal studio version?
I think we’ve already released the studio version on a different album. We thought it was nice to bring this sort of medley together, where “Sömnen” leads into “Febersvan.” So that’s why we used that live recording. We recorded it after being out on tour with Uncle Acid and Blood Ceremony for a month in 2023. It’s just a live segment added to the album, but really, Fyr is the four new songs. When you get the LP, you’ll get the bonus track—it hasn’t been previously released on any vinyl or CD.
GAUPA collaborates with Magnetic Eye Records and Nuclear Blast Records
Speaking of versions—this time you’re releasing “Fyr” in collaboration with Magnetic Eye Records, together with Nuclear Blast. I’d like to ask: why did you choose to collaborate altogether for this release?
We wanted to print vinyl and CD because we especially love the vinyl format. We love our releases to be on vinyl, because when we are out and playing live shows, we sell some vinyl, and it’s very good merchandise, not just to sell clothes. Bands today are clothing stores, selling their brand and T-shirts. So it’s very good to have your music with you when you play a live show. And then we wanted to work together with Magnetic Eye.
They wanted to release the mini album on vinyl, and we said, “Yeah, cool,” to work with them. We like them as a label too, and we know some bands that are on their label. I’ve been working with High Desert Queen, to name one band, in their store, and they are fantastic friends of ours. And yeah, we heard so many good things about Magnetic Eye, so we’re very happy to collaborate with them, although we’re still on Nuclear Blast. They have the streaming and everything, so the digital release is through Nuclear Blast, and the physical format is through Magnetic Eye Records.
“We’re very, very lucky and happy about this collaboration”
It’s an interesting collaboration, for sure. I mean, I follow both labels—though I tend to lean more toward Magnetic Eye, just based on personal taste. What struck me was how unusual, even a bit strange, the partnership seemed at first. Especially considering the current direction of Nuclear Blast, which, after the recent change in management, has been leaning more toward modern-style metal. Meanwhile, Magnetic Eye leans heavily into post-metal, doom, and those more atmospheric, weighty sounds. In a way, they complement each other—but at the same time, they feel quite distant stylistically. So yeah, I was genuinely curious about how it would work out. And in the end, it’s really interesting to see that it actually did.
Yeah. We’re very happy about it because, you know, Nuclear Blast is such a huge label also, and we are not… we are a very small band on Nuclear Blast. Obviously, we are not the biggest band in the roster. But, you know, our people and our team at Nuclear Blast are wonderful, and we love them, and they’re very nice towards us, and they believe in what we do. And also we’re so lucky to have another label also rooting for us and wanting to support us. So we’re very, very lucky and happy about this collaboration.
GAUPA – the summer dates
Absolutely. So Emma, I wanted to ask you — I saw already a few dates piled up, a few festival dates, yes — but I wanted to ask you, will there be more dates in terms of a European tour, or for the moment are it just those summer dates, with a later announcement?
The only thing that has been released so far is the summer dates. Of course, we’d like to do more tours, and this is not something I can discuss at this moment, but we have some summer shows. We’re playing Storm Fest in the UK, and we’re playing Back… and some more dates in Germany, and we’re going to play Motocultor in France. So yes, we have some dates. And we also have a Swedish show — there is a stoner festival in our region of Sweden called Krach Am Bach, and we’re very happy to return to that festival as well.
The future plans
Okay, well, things are looking nice and promising. Hopefully — yeah, I really hope so, me too — that, yeah, you will come back to the Netherlands then.
We would like that very much.
Well, I’m looking forward. So I wanted to, first of all, thank you again for your time, Emma. Thank you for your time. And I hope you did enjoy the interview. Yeah, this is your space right now, if you want to conclude the interview with your words. Thank you again.
Thank you so much. I’m so happy that you wanted to talk to me and that you liked…