Profile: Tobias Hellkvist
Name: Tobias Hellkvist
From: Malmö, Sweden
Sounds like: Like a morning sunbeam shining through soft curtains
Listen: Moment at Ven
Discography:
2007 – Transports (self-released)
2006 – The Other Room (self-released, w/Helene Allvin)
Links:
www.myspace.com/tobiashellkvist
Modern post-rock is more than brooding darkness. Drone does not always mean nihilism. Tobias Hellkvist is a young Swedish artist who understands this and his music explores the brighter side of those genres, ignoring the prevalent idioms and following his muse. His latest work "Transports" is a suprisingly bright and fresh-sounding record, perfect for warm springtime weather.
- Avi Roig
Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Tobias Hellkvist, I'm 23 years old and I'm born and raised in the south of Sweden, in a small town just outside Malmö.
How did you get into music? What was the first record you heard that really blew you away?
I have always been interested in music, even as a child. Both me and my sister listened to a lot of music at home. So I picked up a guitar and learned how to play, and later I got interested in other instruments and using the computer as an instrument as well.
I can name many albums that have blown me away, but if I have to pick only one I think it has to be "Anahata" by June of 44. I was working at Bad Taste Records for two weeks when I was in eighth grade, as a part of school. This guy Masse who worked there, and still does, recommended me this album because they were playing in town that following week. I had never heard anything like it before, at first i didn't enjoy it at all. But after a while, I got stuck on one song and listened to it over and over and, six months later, the whole album fell into place. It's a masterpiece... I especially love the outro. This is when I first realized that I enjoyed listening to drones or monotone sounds. I remember my sister hated that sound, yelling at me over and over to turn it off. I could just listen to it for hours. I still hate myself for not going to that show, they split up just after that.
What do you do when you're not doing music? What are some of your other interests?
I actually don't do that much... I have always enjoyed snowboarding and skateboarding, I used to skate a lot. Now it's just snowboarding once or twice a year. But I actually picked up a skateboard recently, I'll try to pick it up again this summer. I have always been interested in sports, I used to play soccer but now I only get out for a run once or twice a week.
Apart from that, I like going to shows and having a few beers with friends... You know, the usual stuff. And I enjoy travelling, that's something I want to do more. I'm off to Iceland next year, that'll be cool.
If, for some reason, you couldn't play music anymore, what would you do with your life?
I've thought about that before, but I never get a good answer... I guess I would listen to music even more, get a house by a lake somewhere in the Swedish countryside, trying to enjoy life even more...
Describe your idea of a perfect day.
I can have very different perfect days. One could be just laying around, doing nothing special. Or being extremely creative, getting stuff done. It depends on what I feel at the moment.
I imagine you do a lot of home recording, right? What's your set-up? Tell me about your favorite piece of gear or software.
I have a pretty new computer with which I use an EMU 1820 soundcard. A MIDI-keyboard, a microphone, a guitar and you're ready to go! That's a setup which gives you a lot of opportunities. I don't think I have a favourite single piece of equipment, but if I have to mention something, I think I want to put some light on Cubase as a whole. It's really an awesome, powerful and competent platform. It's my mothership, it gives me all the options I need for putting something together. Highly underrated.
Finally, what do you have planned for the future? Where do you see yourself a year from now?
This summer I am starting up a label with my sister Therese and my friend Ola. We already have our first release set, hopefully all goes well with that. It's new to all of us, but I think learning by action is a great thing. Me and Ola are also planning on writing some songs together this summer and we'll also try to start a band later on. Apart from that, I am working on two new albums, one will be a covers album and the other one is going to be a more folky/acoustic release than "Transports". And I'm working on a new project with my friend Helene, we are turning poems into songs... I have an exciting year ahead!