OH HIROSIMA on RockOverdose: “Our goal is to deliver a heartfelt performance that moves like a journey between different human emotions”

Starting as a humble DIY post-rock project over 15 years ago, the Swedes Oh Hirosima have evolved into a much respected group, establishing their presence in post-rock circles and beyond.

On Saturday, March 15, 2025, Oh Hirosima visit Greece for the first time! Our editor Nick Chinaris had the opportunity to get to know the band better via interview questions and below you can read their answers!

RockOverdose: Greetings guys. So happy to have you. How have you been?

OH HIROSIMA: Thanks, doing well!

RockOverdose: First time in Greece! What do you expect coming here?

OH HIROSIMA: Just hoping to share our music with some friendly people. We’re very happy for the invite. Always a pleasure to see new places and discover the specific vibe of different areas of the world. I know we got some longtime listeners in Greece so feels great to be able to finally meet some of them.

RockOverdose: I remember myself listening to “In Silence We Yearn”, years ago. The change in dynamics in “Ellipse” felt like an apocalypse and I frequently come back to it. After all these years, does music do that to you? What has changed in the way you approach songwriting?

OH HIROSIMA: As you get older, intense emotional moments, like the one you describe, seams to occur less frequently. But when it happens it’s still as beautiful. It can occur both when writing and listening, they’re like different paths to a similar experience of feeling a heightened connection with the world. When it comes to songwriting a lot has changed over the years. In the beginning everything was a lot more unconscious. When you’d managed to put a song together that was kind of an achievement in itself and I don’t think we theorized so much about it. Nowadays, it feels like we’ve acquired enough skill and experience to put more effort into things, we rewrite stuff, erase and improve, and so on, until we have made the songs into the best versions of themselves that we are capable of. We are also more open to and capable of experimenting with different sounds, genres and instruments.

RockOverdose: How would you describe your sound? Is it “post-rock”?

OH HIROSIMA: I would say our first three albums could be placed within the post-rock frame, even if we’ve always mixed that core element up with other genres. With our latest records, Myriad and All Things Shining, I think we’ve managed to broaden our sound even further, which was a very conscious decision. It just felt natural to include more influences from music that we listen to and get inspired by. I don’t think we would be labeled as a pure post-rock band if All Things Shining would be our first album, for example. There’s definitely a lot of elements from post-rock in there, but it’s more of an ingredient among many. It’s just something that had to happen. I’m not interested in making the same album over and over again. Bands that really inspire me are also the ones that manage to reinvent themselves by finding new, interesting ways of expressing themselves.

RockOverdose: ‘Oh Hiroshima’ is so striking and memorable as a band name.
Would you share the story behind it and how its themes of memory or historical reflection might influence your music?

OH HIROSIMA: It was chosen by our former guitarist, Leif Eliasson, at the inception of the band. It’s dramatic and lamentational and I guess he just found that it connected well with the kind of music that he was envisioning.

RockOverdose: To follow up on that, Given the historical weight your name carries, do current social or political events find their way into your music, either directly or indirectly?

OH HIROSIMA: Absolutely, you can’t keep those things out. Especially in this globalized era where everything is so connected. Doesn’t matter if you try to stay out of it or not, you’re effected by it either way. Personally, I also think it’s part of our humanity to react in some way to things that happens around us and not just try to ignore or shelter yourself from it. I’m personally very interested in understanding the social and political state that I happen to be living within, so it naturally sips into our lyrics, both directly and indirectly, mostly from an existential perspective.

RockOverdose: The band had a unique journey. You started as a duo, members joined and left, and now you are once again a duo but as brothers! What do you think works better for you? I’m guessing jamming out new ideas is harder as a duo, you would need at least three people.

OH HIROSIMA: Yeah, it’s been a bit of a challenge to adjust to the different band constellations, but it’s also been interesting to work in different ways over the years. Every format of the band has had its different advantages and disadvantages. It’s just been different. It’s true that we can’t really jam out complete songs as a duo, but we still meet up in the rehearsal space and try to work with basic song structures and the merging of ideas for guitar or bass parts with different drum patterns. Those moments at the rehearsal space are crucial for the direction of both songs and records, but most of the songwriting nowadays is done working with demo recordings at home. Things take more time, and I can miss jamming out with a full band, but this format is in a way more suiting for me at the stage of life I’m in with family, work and so on. Less people also mean you can make decisions a bit faster and there is less compromising, for good and bad.

RockOverdose: Let’s say someone comes blind to your concert. What can they expect?

OH HIROSIMA: Hopefully they’ll experience a heartfelt performance that moves like a journey between different human emotions. And at best they feel that this journey is one partaken in the company of other human beings. That’s the goal at least.

RockOverdose: Will we hear songs from the upcoming “All Things Shining”?

OH HIROSIMA: Sure! There’ll be songs from All Things Shining but we’ve made sure to include songs from all our albums in the setlist since it’s our first time playing in Greece.

RockOverdose: You recently signed with Pelagic Records. Congratulations and does your new home suit you better?

OH HIROSIMA: Thanks! We feel right at home. The guys at Napalm Records were good to us and we really appreciate them bringing us in. We also kind of enjoyed being a bit of an odd choice for that label, but Pelagic is a much more hand in glove kind of thing for both band and label.

RockOverdose: Thank you so much for your time. The last word goes to you!

OH HIROSIMA: Thanks for reaching out for a chat and hope to see some of your readers in Athens on March 15. Cheers!

On behalf of RockOverdose.gr

Nick Chinaris