This interview can be found in swedish on this page (expressen fredag). Since there is none in english I decided to translate it. Hope noone misminds

Since we are in France we're driving Renault and we're driving fast to try to fit in. We're whisteling by Versailles, Rouen and Caen, and are rallying on the D962 to Flers. When we get to Domfront it has already been friday night a couple of hours and the little village looks like from a fairytale. "Mio my Mio" perhaps. Domfront looks like paradise. The trees are leafy since long and you can smell flowers.

Five years ago, the producer Mike Hedges moved here with his family. After living in London for 15 years he wanted to get away, and since he had made a bit of cash on Cure, Beautiful South, Siouxie and the Banshess he bought 'Chateau de la Rouge Motte'.

The mayor lived here once, and it is definitely the most elegant house in Domfront. In a little pond in the front yard goldfishes are swimming around, on the backside the house is surrounded by a huge garden in english style.

Here in this idyllic spot are Atomic Swing to record their third album. Just outside the door there are hundreds of coppers trampled down in the gravel. Some of them have been Atomic Swings', some David McAlmont and Bernard Butlers, and it wasn't very long since Manic Street Preachers were here and recorded their fantastic album "Everything must go", so some of the coppers have been in their pockets. All the artists here the last five years have thrown coppers here, no band may enter Mr Hedges castle before they have thrown all their brown money on the ground. That gives luck to the recording.

They can definitely need some luck, even though Atomic Swing feel better than in a long time. The period around the first album, when Atomic Swing became superstars and almost toured themselves to death made its marks, but now they seem calm and satisfied with what they are doing. They think they are going to drop a bomb in November when the first single will be ready.

The audience is capricious and not very romantic. We were a bunch who fell in love with Atomic Swing when first we heard them, but many got tired and broke up. Now it's up to Atomic Swing to prove that they know how to win hearts back.

It is hard to think of a better environment to do that in, Mike Hedges studio is more like a small museum. The ungainly mixer whose knobs look like from a stone-age oven is the classic piece that once was in the Abbey Road-studio in London, and if you dig around a bit you find a synthesizer that once belonged to Soft Cell.

Niclas Frisk wears Marc Almond's old shirt and struts arond in the studio. He jumps, walks on his toes, and makes small movements withs his arms. Like a little child in the middle of the play, which is somewhere close to the truth. Even if Niclas isn't producing this time he is implicated on high level. It's the first time Atomic Swing are using another producer than Niclas himself. A sign that easily shows that Atomic Swing are thinking different this time.

Niclas is sitting on one of Domfront's two bars and it is rather late.

-"When we released 'A car crash in the blue' we did the worst thing you could do; radiohits. We were an indieband that sold damn many albums. The thing is that we did exactly what Oasis are doing now, but it was forbidden in 1993."

After the bands second album "Bossanova Swap Meet" was released without many people jumping up and knocking their heads in the ceiling with joy, Niclas moved to London. He rented a flat in Hammersmith and began carving out new songs.

Atomic Swing had a couple of real hitsongs backing them up, the money had rolled in quite good for a couple of years, and soon the rest of the band came over. It the middle of this the bass-player Petter Dahlstr�m decided to quit.

Anders Paulsson was working on Arlanda airport when Atomic Swing called and asked if he could jump on a plane to London. Anders smiles at the memory.
-"Henrik was supposed to meet me at the airport but walked me by 3 times even though I was standing there spying with my guitarcase."

It became many late nights in Hammersmith, the songs were rehearsed and finally a tape with demosongs were sent to Mike Hedges manager, and one day the phone rang.
-"You're completely insane!" said Mike Hedges and that was it.

The life in Domfront calmly and peacefully by, following the same pattern every day. Henrik and Anders are almost cracking up into atoms. Niclas is in the studio every day together with Mike. Henrik, Anders and Micke are killing time the best they can between their takes in the studio. Ping-Pong, Sega and plenty of cigarettes. Domfront is beautiful but completely dead. The only thing you can do is to lie in the grass and scratch yourself. Except for the evenings when Mike Hedges invites to dinner. We're eating 3-meal dinners and drinking read vine and calvadoz from the district. Mike is sitting like 'Red Snake' in the high seat at the short side of the table, redhaired, bearded and enchantingly charming with a huge body. He tells ghost-stories about the house we live in and tales about earlier recordings.

He tells about a young Robert Smith and the Cure. He pulls off a few stories about Manics. He jokes with his cook, a local whose name is naturally Jean-Michelle since he is french. Jean-Michelle doesn't know any english and we're laughing nasty at his expense.

Micke is the one together with Niclas who best has managed to stay away from the gloominess. He doesn't play so much organ anymore, but does more vocals which is one of the ingredients in Atomic Swing of 1996.
-"Less organ, more guitars. I'm singing more now and have learned to play guitar" says Micke and seems very conventient.

Atomic Swing has put away the retrorock. It sounds of course still like Atomic Swing since Niclas writes the songs and sings in his very own Niclas Frisk-way. But the way he looks at the music has changed.

-"I've lost my taste in music. We're no longer the band with outcurved hipsters who make 70's retro anymore. Earlier it was more like putting up an act, but we don't give a damn about that anymore. We're avowing all our sources of inspiration. The new cd will sound 1997, hopefully also 1998." says Niclas.

Every night after dinner Mike and Atomic goes to one of Domfronts two bars, Bar des Sports or Happy Hours, it's tradition. There are never any people there and nobody understands how they can make it. It's not an unqualified guess to believe they have Mike Hedges and his guests to thank for their existance. Atomic Swing are pals now and are going out with themselves. They have money to spend on themselves and the album and they're working their backs sweaty towards the same goal - to make a third album that will make us fall in love again.

Atomic Swing have the resources, they have found the shape and they have found each other. Freedom, equivality and brotherhood, as they say in France. Source: Jonna Bergh, Expressen Fredag. Date unknown