THE RIPTIDE RATS – interview

Photo by Roinefoto

Introduce your band, and describe your latest release:

We’re The Riptide Rats from Kungsbacka, Sweden — action instrumental surf rock.

Gustav on guitar, Joacim on bass, and Fredrik on drums.

Our latest release is our album “Waves of Steel” — twelve tracks melodic reverb drenched surf with a few spaghetti-western twists and rock ’n’ roll.

What’s the hardest part about being a band in this day and age?

Cutting through the noise. There’s endless content everywhere, and when you’re in a small genre like surf, you have to be extra consistent and loud.

When did you realise your project had the potential to be more than just a fun idea?

Honestly, it was never meant to be “just for fun.” I (Gustav) knew Fred from back in our LA days, and we decided to start jamming again. Around the same time, I invited my neighbour Joacim (from Chuck Norris Experiment) to join on bass.

We told him we’d be playing some ZZ Top… but after a few beers we switched to surf. That was the master plan.

Soon after, we recorded our first EP and released it on Ghost Highway Recordings.

Tell us about your latest release — why should people check it out?

Because it’s pure fun. A mix of traditional surf, spaghetti western, punk rock energy, and straight rock’n’roll.

Each song has its own personality, but they all connect in a really cool way.

How does a song typically come together for you?

Sometimes it starts with a riff that pops into someone’s head, sometimes someone brings in a full song. We all write, and each idea comes in with its own character, which keeps things inspiring.

How would you describe your sound to someone unfamiliar?

Big guitars, drippy reverb, big drums — vintage tones with modern edges.

What do you want listeners to take away from your music?

That they have a good time — and maybe dive deeper into instrumental music.

Where would you really like to tour, and why?

Japan. They treat instrumental surf like a religion over there. It would be wild.

How has your sound progressed over the years?

The core hasn’t changed much: single-coil guitars, drippy reverb, and loud tube amps with lots of headroom.

But we’ve added our own flavours — bigger drums, heavier bass, and some stuff that aren’t strictly “traditional surf.”

How excited are you for 2025, and what can fans expect?

Very excited — and for 2026 as well.

We’ve got shows coming up in Sweden and Finland and more, new songs in the works, and strong momentum from the album release.

Check riptiderats.com for dates.

Thank you!

Band members:

• Gustav Vilhelmsson – Guitar

• Fredrik Wallgren – Drums

• Jocke Olsson – Bass

Official links:

• Website: riptiderats.com  

• Spotify: The Riptide Rats on Spotify  

• YouTube: The Riptide Rats YouTube Channel  

• Bandcamp + Merch: theriptiderats.bandcamp.com