With the band's hotly anticipated new record, Clinging to a Scheme, finally out, fans can start looking forward to Sweden's the Radio Dept. hitting up North America with a tour, right? Well, probably not.
"We don't have a big label behind us that can pay for tour support," explains the band's singer-guitarist Johan Duncanson in a recent Exclaim! interview. "And we don't have an American record label."
That's why you can count their previous gigs on the continent on one hand. "We were offered to join Junior Boys as a support group in 2006 or 2007," Duncanson continues, but he says the Radio Dept. couldn't afford the overhead.
Speaking of remaining import-only in North America, he says, "We were kind of expecting to be signed to an American label when the Sofia Coppola film came out a couple of years ago, but it didn't happen."
Despite having three songs placed on the soundtrack for Coppola's Marie Antoinette no labels were ringing looking to ink a deal. "We were kind of hoping that someone would call us, but no one did. It just didn't happen. It was kind of a disappointment."
Even if the group do manage to make it over here for shows, Duncanson cautions fans to temper their expectations of the band's live show.
"We're really shy people," he says. "We never get used to this weird situation, entering the stage and playing in front of 500 or 1,000 people. I'm always extremely nervous still after playing live for eight years. I don't know why.
"If you come to see us, don't expect extremely confident people. Expect extremely scared people trying to do the best they can."
Radio Dept. fans, you've all been warned. And North American record labels should start the bidding war right about… now.
"We don't have a big label behind us that can pay for tour support," explains the band's singer-guitarist Johan Duncanson in a recent Exclaim! interview. "And we don't have an American record label."
That's why you can count their previous gigs on the continent on one hand. "We were offered to join Junior Boys as a support group in 2006 or 2007," Duncanson continues, but he says the Radio Dept. couldn't afford the overhead.
Speaking of remaining import-only in North America, he says, "We were kind of expecting to be signed to an American label when the Sofia Coppola film came out a couple of years ago, but it didn't happen."
Despite having three songs placed on the soundtrack for Coppola's Marie Antoinette no labels were ringing looking to ink a deal. "We were kind of hoping that someone would call us, but no one did. It just didn't happen. It was kind of a disappointment."
Even if the group do manage to make it over here for shows, Duncanson cautions fans to temper their expectations of the band's live show.
"We're really shy people," he says. "We never get used to this weird situation, entering the stage and playing in front of 500 or 1,000 people. I'm always extremely nervous still after playing live for eight years. I don't know why.
"If you come to see us, don't expect extremely confident people. Expect extremely scared people trying to do the best they can."
Radio Dept. fans, you've all been warned. And North American record labels should start the bidding war right about… now.
