BIOGRAPHY
SObER started out as sleazeband SLUTSY TIPSY during a demo recording one gloomy autumn in 1990. The three guys Jimmie Olsson (Lead Vocals and Guitar), Andreas "Andy" Nordkvist (Bass and Background Vocals) and Ricky Mähl (Stahre at the time) (Drums, Percussions and Background vocals) had set up a simple portastudio in their rehearsal and started to try out some newly written stuff.
The songs recorded sounded nothing like a sleazeband called Slutsy Tipsy would sound like and the need of an entire remake of the band felt more and more necessary.
The three guys soon realized that a new name for the band was number one at the list and decided that when the recording was finished they should have come up with a new, more accurate name which was more suitable for the music they've just created.
During the recording a VHS videocamera was used to document the actions, and a feature called "Strobe" which made the image chewing its way formard frame by frame in a flimmering fast paced slowmotion-pattern was heavily used.
The feature made a great impact on the reborn band, and from the end of 1990 - beginning of 1991 STROBE was definitely established as the new band name.
The first demo recording never saw the market, but it sure had marked the musical style for the band. Gone were the sleaze hardrock – bands like Guns'n'Roses and Skid Row was flushed away like dirt on a curb and instead the inspiration was picked up from bands such as Nirvana and different punk- and rockbands.
Songs were created at a raging pace and in early 1992 Strobe had a handful of songs that badly needed to meet its audience.
Said and done, SGV Recording studio in Grevlinge was booked and in the last week of may 1992 Strobe entered a real recording studio for the first time.
Five intense days later, with a show in Västerås in between recording sessions, seven songs was mixed down and a mastertape was sent to a record manufacturer.
About three weeks later, june 1992, the 7" Vinyl EP Negative was released.
The EP was a curious mix of punkrock, grunge and pop and created a buzz in the independent music community in their homeland Sweden. In a big interview in a local newspaper Strobe pinpointed the phrase "Punge" (punch as in a hard blow) to describe their music.
Of course there wasn't difficult to spot their biggest inspiration Nirvana in their music, but still there was something original about them that made them special in many ways. And to their great surprise, and of course big joy, Negative made the 1992 best single of the year in Swedens biggest independent magazine Close Up magazine.
The first year had been great for Strobe and if the pace in songmaking had been high before the first official release it became furious in the start of 1993.
One more official demo cassette called Babysitter was released in 1993. This was to be the last release under the name Strobe.
TIMELINE
INDEPENDENT STAGE
1990 – First demo recording goes down in the rehearsal under band name SLUTSY TIPSY
1991 – STROBE is taken as the official new band name after a feature on a VHS video camera
1992 – STROBE releases their first record, 7” vinyl-EP Negative on their own label
1992 – The 7” vinyl-EP Negative is elected “Best single of the year 1992” in Swedens biggest independent magazine Close Up.
1993 – STROBE releases the official 12-song demo cassette Babysitter
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROFESSIONAL CAREER
1993 – STROBE is contracted by Burning Heart Records for a mini-CD release
1993 – STROBE is signed to Swedish record label Birdnest Records
1993 - STROBE changes name to SObER
1993 – SObER releases their first mini-CD Blowjob in November
1994 – Debut album First Step is released in Februari
1994 – SObER plays the major Swedish Hultsfredsfestivalen for a full house
1994 – SObER goes on the Transglobalnilsholgerssontour ’94 together with Swedens biggest punkrockband at the time Dia Psalma
1995 – The CD-EP Snowbored is released
1996 – The single Superman is released
1996 – Second full-length album Yeah, Yeah, Yeah is released
1996 – The European tour What Went Wrong? Tour ’96 goes off
1996 – A couple of showcase gigs and press visits in Norway are done just before christmas
1997 – last leg of the press visits in Norway complemented by a couple of gigs are done in January
1997 – in the end of March SObER decides that the band should be put on hold for further notice
PRESENT DAYS
In 2009 SObER got together and rehearse just for fun one night. A joke is made of starting up the band again but nothing happens in a couple of years.
In 2010 the band get together again, now to pick out unreleased tracks for a release. The band rehearse once again just for fun, and this time the excitement of playing together again ignites the spontaneous idea of "fuck the unreleased tracks-release, let's make a new record instead!".
The 29:th of May 2011 the band enter the studio to start the recordings of a new album consisting of some before written songs never recorded and some newly written material.
CURRENTLY
Lead vocals on a few tracks, background vocals and some additive sounds and clips remains to record before mixing and mastering the new record.
SObER have recently decided that they're interested in taking a couple of gigs a year. Bookings can be made through the facebook-page www.facebook.com/sober.official or on jolsson@outlook.com
NEWS
2016.02.10 – SObER is booked for a show as support for Swedish punk legends Strebers at Mikisklubben, Fagersta March 24.
2015.03.03 – SObER is booked for a festival in Katrineholm, Sweden the 24 april 2015. The band will be headline on the friday at the festival.
