Sailing the high seas with a rowdy mix of sea shanties, rebellious anthems, and tavern tunes, Ye Banished Privateers are a Swedish pirate folk collective like no other. Blending 18th-century historical themes with punk attitude and theatrical flair, this motley crew has earned a reputation for turning every stage into a raucous pirate haven. With their unique mix of music, storytelling, and character-driven performance, they transport audiences straight into the Golden Age of Piracy. As they prepare to unleash their next musical adventure, it’s time to hoist the sails and dive into a conversation about music, mutiny, and life on the open seas with the most boisterous buccaneers around.
M.I. - The title ’Til the Sea Shall Give up Her Dead conjures powerful images - what story or emotion anchors this new voyage?
To us, the title depicts life at sea as something threatening and unforgiving, acknowledging the grim destiny many seamen faced far away from home. At the same time, there is a promise, or perhaps a hope, that things will be ok in the end, after the endeavours and loss that the sea stands for.
M.I. - This album captures everything from riotous tavern anthems to sorrowful ballads. How did you balance the emotional highs and lows of the 18th-century sailor's experience?
Thank you for summarizing the world of Ye Banished Privateers. For this album we intended to finally write a more cheerful, silver lining kind of tale, but of course, being who we are, we failed miserably and ended up with grim death and loss of loved ones instead. While we, as many others, enjoy the occasional pirate “freedom to kick ass and drink all” escapism saga, the universe we try to depict will forever be one where the sea gives and the sea takes.
M.I. - Many tracks dive into themes like oppression and loss. Was there a particular historical event or real-life sailor story that inspired songs like "Chained Below" or "Waves Away"?
Waves Away has no particular historical event as inspiration, but rather the eternal human narrative of love and loss. Sometimes two spirits feel so tied together that nothing, even death, will break that bond. Those lovers will forever be together in spirit, even if waves away from each other.
M.I. - "The Cranker" opens the record with a dark, frenzied tale. Can you tell us more about the mythology or history behind that song?
The Cranker is inspired by a popular Nordic folklore theme of young people being lured to immoral acts by a dark force like the Devil or other character, often disguised as a charming stranger. One of these tales is the traditional Swedish folk song Hårgalåten, where a hoof foot fiddler gets everyone to dance until they die. We stole this story, dressed it in our sailor costumes and wrote a tune that is based on Scandinavian folk rhythms, of course intended to get listeners dancing…
M.I. - Your blend of authentic sea shanties with theatrical folk-punk is truly unique. How do you ensure historical storytelling stays fresh and relevant in modern times?
We have a strong academic interest in historical events and from a political viewpoint the GAOP era is very interesting for Western democratic ideas. The struggle for individual freedom, education and agency, and against tyrannical nationalistic leaders and powers was as relevant then as it is today. It is a punk issue and it is a human issue. Even if we don’t try to hide our political standpoints, it is important that listeners get to experience our music from their own perspective. Art is created and forever re-created in the conjunction between the artist and the viewer. If you listen to us and have a need for comfort and hope, that is hopefully what you will experience. If you feel oppressed by structures trying to stop you from being you, hopefully you can find that we are a crew and a community for you. And, if you want to yell “RUM” from the top of your lungs together with other nutheads, without a thought of tomorrow, feel welcomed.
M.I. - How do you approach songwriting as such a large ensemble? Do different members specialize in different types of songs - battle anthems, ballads, drinking songs, etc.?
The crew of Ye Banished Privateers is strong in numbers, with many different songwriting ideas and musical backgrounds. This makes the process dynamic and there is not one way that our songs come to be. Often someone comes up with a draft for lyrics and music and present these at a rehearsal but sometimes there is just a piece of lyrics or a melody and then someone else proceeds with complimenting whatever the song needs. In all cases, every song is being arranged by the whole group at rehearsals. With many of our songs that we play live, they develop on stage as well, since most shows include new combinations of musicians, finding new ways to present the song. Some songwriters are more keen on certain types of songs or themes but since most songs have many songwriters participating in the process, the outcome is never certain.
M.I. - The acoustic textures in tracks like "As The Tree Falls" add a cinematic feel. Have you ever considered scoring a film or stage production?
Storytelling can be done in so many ways and through so many modalities. Live, we use theatrics and costumes together with our music. In a studio setting, we try to establish the same universe by sound ambience. Björn “Bellows” Malmros, who does most mixing, has a long experience with writing ambience music and in our recording process, we also put a lot of effort in recording acoustic ambience like shoutings, seagulls, tavern noise and stormy waves. We try to make our music videos as cinematic as possible and since our stage show is set for storytelling, we would love both to write for films and perhaps also participate in musical productions. Imagine “Til the sea shall give up her dead” as a musical set in the Ye Banished Privateers aesthetic universe!
M.I. - It’s been 15 years since your pirate journey began at a bar in Umeå - what’s the biggest thing that’s changed about Ye Banished Privateers since that night?We slowly but surely found actual musicians and also learned how to play music. During this process, the biggest thing for us, is the growing community of fans, friends and other artists that we have the honour of being part of.
M.I. - How has performing at major festivals like Wacken and touring globally shaped your perspective as musical ‘sea marauders’?
We truly enjoy playing in front of ten thousands of people as well as a hundred. Big arena pirate music or up close and personal, “smell our stench”, kind of shows offer different experiences but both at the same time very similar as we tell stories and the audience reacts and hopefully enjoys. It has become obvious that our stories and the energy we try to bring to each show, connect with people from many places, geographically but also lifewise. Metal heads, folkies, young and old, we have the best and perhaps most diverse fans in the World, and this is a gift that keeps on giving for every tour we make.
M.I. - Do you see yourselves more as musicians or performance artists - or are the two inseparable for this kind of immersive, character-driven storytelling?
Excellent question but with so many crew members it would be impossible to offer one straight answer. With the diversity of backgrounds, talents and ambitions, each member probably has their own view on this. What binds us together though, is the idea that our storytelling and artistry is more than mere music and that the artform goes beyond the instruments and lyrics.
M.I. - Your shows are infamous for their immersive atmosphere. What can fans expect from the shows in terms of theatrics, set design, or audience participation?
We usually say “tar, sweat and violence” and this includes the aesthetic universe that we try to depict both on and off stage, with high energy, the best dressed pirates in the World and an abundance of filth (language wise and actual). We strive to immerse the audience in the life aboard our ship and welcome (well, pressgang) them as crew into the highs and lows in the lives as privateers. Together with them, we sing and sweat as one crew and every show is a journey made together. When we bleed on stage, the blood will splatter on the front row and when they raise their fists high in defiance for the oppressors of their lives, we raise ours in support.
M.I. - With so many on-stage characters, how do you decide who tells which stories or takes the lead on certain songs?
This differs depending on the composition for each tour or show. Some songs are more likely to be sung by a certain lead singer due to preference or key but we try to keep as many of us involved as possible and strive to support every member to expand their roles on stage, musically and other.
M.I. - With themes of oppression and loss at sea, does the album carry a modern message under its historical sails?
The struggle for freedom is eternal, as are the forces that try to oppress. We believe that even if each era of human history has its own particular circumstances that influenced certain ideas to spread, humans are humans, no matter where or when. These themes are easy to connect to our own values and dreams and to real-life matters that we feel are worth fighting for.
M.I. - If you could take ’Til the Sea Shall Give up Her Dead on tour by ship—port to port—where would your dream journey begin and end?
A deep water sailing ship would hinder us from going to many of the places where we would love to go, but perhaps if including some of our Nordic traditional flat bottom dragon ships we could reach further inland. Such a journey would start in Sweden and follow the east India trading company route, with some continent detours, and then, instead of turning back, go all away around to the New World, Australia and the Americas.
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Listen to Ye Banished Privateers, on Spotify
Questions by Sónia Fonseca
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