New in stock from Fang Bomb:
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Lost in reflections (LP+7")
Various Artists - Sub gothenburg (CS)
DLSODW is, unsurprisingly, a late-entry contender for my year-end top 10. As for the "Sub gothenburg" cassette, well, I should hope my enthusiasm for all things Gbg is obvious by now. If you want exciting new music, these releases are a good place to start.
After a couple failed interview attempts with artists who shall go unnamed, our Göteborg Spotlight Series is back with this week's guest Mattias Hellberg. For those of you with your heads in the ground, Mattias has been around for many years performing with acts such as Nymphet Noodlers, The Hellacopters, Hederos & Hellberg, The Solution, Nationalteatern besides working under his own name and is now back with a new group, The White Moose. That group's debut album "Out of the frying pan, into the woods" came out earlier this month and so I tracked down Mattias for a few questions...
You're still based in Gbg, right? What's kept you there all these years? Ever considering picking up and relocating somewhere else?
Yes I'm still here. Well one reason is I'm quite happy to have an apartment... some kind of safety thing I guess. I'd love to have a little shack in the Caribbean to go to in the wintertime though.
What makes the Gbg music scene special, if it's even special at all? The people, the geography, the weather... what are the primary characteristics that define the city and its artists?
I dunno if there is a special scene here. Think there's quite a good diversity of scenes/bands/clubs. People tend to say that the music from here is more working-class with a more "rough" touch. Maybe it used to be that way, but I don't think it's a general "tag" to put on the gothenburg "sound" anymore. Maybe I'm wrong...
So you've started to do shows with Martin Hederos (The Soundtrack of Our Lives) again as Hederos & Hellberg -- why resurrect that project now? Why'd you even stop playing together in the first place?
Well, we were asked to close the Way Out West festival this summer in a big beautiful church. An offer we couldn't refuse. It was a bit scary but great fun at the same time and it was an amazing vibe in a packed church way after midnight. And of course nice to play together again. Then we did a weekend in our old hometown Karlstad and Oslo in November. But now we both got new albums to tour and promote (TSOOL & mine), so now there wont be much time for anymore reunions for a while...
Why we stopped playing together was because the project started to grow out of proportion, we had to say no to some quite good offers (tours) because it would interfere with TSOOL. So it was better to call it off and quit.
And now the new band The White Moose - how did this group come together? Do you see it as an extension of your solo career or it is more of a full band project?
I wrote the songs early this year and had already talked to Ludwig (Dahlberg, The (International) Noise Conspiracy) about him playing drums with me. Then I just asked Olle and Henke (Hagberg, Whyte Seeds and Lindén, Fox Machine respectively) to join in and the band was goin'.
I don't think I've had much of a "solo" career. This is something new. It can't really be a full-band project as I have to consider the other guys got other bands. We'll find a way to make it work though.
Obviously you keep yourself very busy with all sorts of musical adventures - got any more surprises we should look forward to? Anyone in particular you'd really like to worth with?
I'd love to learn how to play the Oud. I also have a dream about going to some foreign country and making music with local musicians.
Lastly, got a song you'd like to share? Tell me about it.
Ok I choose "Why is it so?" from the new album "Out of the frying pan, into the woods". It's actually the first song I wrote after Nymphet Noodlers split up back in '96.
I think I had some plans for a solo album back then already, but I was not much of a songwriter, so it got put on hold for sometime... The original version was an acoustic Stooges kinda "ballad" with different lyrics, same refrain though. This new version is something else... Maximum White Moose Jazz.
Mattias Hellberg & The White Moose - Why is it so?
Upcoming tourdates for Johnossi:
10/31 - GG, Uddevalla (SWE)
11/01 - Brew House, gothenburg (SWE)
11/04 - Gleis 22, Munster (GER)
11/05 - Gleis 22, Munster (GER)
11/06 - Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)
11/07 - Mod Club, Hasselt (BEL)
11/08 - Zakk, Dusseldorf (GER)
11/09 - Substage, Karlruhe (GER)
11/10 - Weekender Club, Innsbruck (AUS)
11/11 - Rockhouse, Salzburg (AUS)
11/12 - PPC, Graz (AUS)
11/14 - Kofmehl, Solothurn (CH)
11/15 - ISC Bern (CH)
11/16 - Roxy, Saarbrücken (GER)
11/17 - Knust, Hamburg (GER)
11/26 - Heartbreak, Gavle (SWE)
11/27 - Raw, Eskilstuna (SWE)
11/28 - S2, Borlange (SWE)
11/29 - Arena, Karlstad (SWE)
12/04 - Mejeriet, Lund (SWE)
12/05 - Debaser, Malmo (SWE)
12/10 - Kagelbanan, Stockholm (SWE)
12/12 - Satin, Orebro (SWE)
Fellow Swedes Nervous Nellie will support on all non-Swedish dates except Amsterdam.
Hopefully you've heard of Viktor Sjöberg by now. If not through his involvement with Jens Lekman as a member of his backing band, perhaps you saw this recent feature in Dagens Nyheter? Or maybe you've been following all the praise being heaped on him on behalf of folks such as myself and other corners of the interweb like Digfi and so on. Through it all, let me say this: he deserves it. He's not only a superb musician who excels in every genre, he's also a perfect gentleman and I'm honored to be of his acquaintance.
When I set out on this Gbg Spotlight feature at the beginning of 2008 Viktor was at the top of my list - it was never matter of "if", only "when". And that time is now.
You moved to Gbg for school, right? How long has it been now? Think you'll stick around once you finish your dissertation?
Well, not exactly, I grew up in Pixbo just outside gothenburg so I have pretty much always been here. I lived down south for little over a year though, which is where I met many of the people that are my closest friends today. Some of them has since then moved to gothenburg, such as Johan (Gustavsson, aka Tsukimono). I have been living in central gothenburg since around 2004 and I don't think that I would want to live anywhere else in Sweden, at least not in any other city. I am finishing up school right now (for real this time!) and who knows what the future holds? But I can safely say that if I were to leave gothenburg I would go to California rather than anywhere else in Sweden or Europe.
What do think is the most charming aspect of Gbg? On the other hand, is there anything about the city you wish you could change?
My mother, my dog and a lot of my dear friends live here. That's fairly charming. I think it has a lot of possibilities and it can certainly be a beautiful place when it wants to be. I could get into a discussion on how right now I think that we probably have more things going on musically than Malmö or Stockholm, but that feels kind of irrelevant. It rains a lot and it's very windy and more than often overcast. These conditions make for creative indoor activities and good friendships.
As far as music goes, you seem to be involved with both the pop and experimental scenes. Is there a lot of crossover between the two? What characteristics do they both share, if any?
I don't what to say, really. I guess there are a few artists that walk this line separating "pop" and "experimental". Personally, I think that this a hard thing to do and I think very few people succeed. Thinking more about it, I find that I generally think it works best when so called "experimental" artists incorporate popular music into their work, rather than the other way around. (If this is done in a non-ironic manner that is.) Pop music with an presumably experimental edge is generally just a bad make-up job and one of the worst things in the world. One big exception that actually lives in gothenburg is Erik de Vahl, who to me is an excellent pop artist that not only writes beautiful songs, but also is sonically restless. It seems to me that he explores new areas because he needs to, not because he wants to make up for something that isn't there. I have been listening to his unreleased new album for almost a year now and I think it's the best thing he's ever done. I hope he decides to put it out some day.
You always seem to have a ton of amazing projects going on all the time - what are you currently working on now? What about stuff your friends are doing; got any tips on artists I should be paying more attention to?
I am finishing up my follow up album to "On a winter's day", entitled "Breakfast in America". I have been working on it for pretty much two years and it's definitely my most fully realised project so far. It is very much a pop album and it is inspired by the feeling of greatness that pop music can provide you with at certain points in your life. It's about seeing America out of a train window with your oldest childhood friend, catching all those youthful dreams and finding new ones. It's about finding love in people, in the landscape and in the golden sunshine. Basically, loving life.
I am working with my New Jazz Ensemble in different ways, we just did a show as a quartet last week and we are doing another one as a septet this week. After that there'll be a small tour with Malmö popjazztrio Auton. We are playing Copenhagen, Malmö, gothenburg and Stockholm. I am also putting out their debut album on my label, Structures Sonores this week, so there is a lot of work going on with that.
gothenburg artists that you should check out? Well, I hope you listened to the song "Feeling small" by Johan Gustavsson's Gutted String project. He has another one that is called "Ferry from here" that is also fantastic and I know that he is working on some spectacular things. There's more things going on I guess, but that's the last thing that seriously blew me away. Oh yeah, and I like Madamm. She has the best guitar sound in town.
So do you have a song to share either from yourself or another artist you admire? Tell us about it.
Johan sent me this music while I was in California over the summer. I was sitting at the Escondido Public Library working on a paper when I suddenly got a hold of the library wifi and checked my email. I found this song in my inbox and I began listening to it over and over again. The idea of Johan singing his heart out on the other side of the globe was very appealing, but even more so it was a completely brilliant song. That the key line is dealing with drowning in noise is very fitting in so many ways. I hope to hear more things from Thee/The Gutted String asap.
We're not the only ones commemorating a birthday this week; Göteborg-based booker/show promoter Parapluie turned 3 and celebrated by throwing themselves a party and Jonas Lyckander also took the time to answer a few questions as part of our ongoing Gbg Spotlight Series.
So it was your birthday this week - how was the celebration?
We had a great night at Pusterviksbaren in gothenburg! The Deer Tracks, Jonathan Johansson (just signed for Hybris) and We Are Soldiers We Have Guns gave us the best of pop!
So you've been booking indie/pop shows for 3 years now - how healthy do you think the scene is in Gbg? How do you think it compare to the way it was 3 years ago?
I think the indiescene in gothenburg is pretty good right now. We have lots of nice venues and a bunch of dedicated club/promoters that bring nice bands/DJs to town.
Three years ago the scene for indiebands was smaller. Now there are shows almost every night where you can go and hear new music. That's good.
Likewise, how do you think the Gbg scene compares to other cities in Sweden or elsewhere? Is there anything in particular that makes Gbg special? Is there anything it is lacking?
I like Malmö. Malmö is the Swedish Berlin! Stockholm, gothenburg and Malmö have tehri own scenes and they are pretty different from eachother.
The scene in gothenburg is open and friendly for new acts. Not too much attitude.
Who's your favorite local act right now?
My friends in Fantasikrig are great! They will do a show at Klubb Populär @ Storan in gothenburg next saturday. It will be nice.
Do you have a song from them you'd like to share?
Check them out at myspace: https://www.myspace.com/fantasikrigThe new myspace music is a total shitsystem, but I did manage to grab a track for reposting. Check it out below.
Fantasikrig - Lovisa och David
Our guest in this week's entry of our ongoing Göteborg Spotlight Series: the mighty Alarma Man! Not only were they kind enough to answer my questions, they also sent over the very first taste of what's to come on their new album. Read on...
It's been quite some time since we've heard anything new from you guys - why the long wait? What have you been doing these past few years?
Since the release of our 12" split "Duets" you mean? We continued working on songs for a full length album and got the chance to move from our old place to Dieter Schöön's Lablaza (the same place we recorded our debut album). Lablaza was both chaotic and a very creative environment for us. A couple of month passed by. In October 2007 we felt pretty close to start recording the album. December came up and our landlord got an offer he couldn't resist. We were threwn out of Lablaza and Bandidos moved in. So there we were. No rehearsal room, no studio.
A week went by and we found a new home. We moved in together with a bunch of other creative bands/people (URAN, Dieter Schöön, FBFOS).
We started building the studio, in which our album where going to be recorded.
During this 1,5 months we wrote a bunch of new songs.
At this time the idea of collaborate with Adam Magnusson as a producer/sound engineer came up and he became a part of the process.
In march we hit the studio. We all study or work so it took a bit longer than expected to get it done. Now when the album is done we're looking for a label that wants to release it.
Besides working on the album we've been on a couple of tours in Europe and we've helped friends on live gigs and studio albums. (C.Aarmé, Cut City, Uran, Boy Omega and Dieter Schöön).
How does Alarma Man fit into the "Gbg scene"? Does a cohesive scene even exist?
When I hear "Gbg scene" I think of Håkan Hellström and a bunch of bands started by ex-members from Bad Cash Quartet, but I'm not sure if that scene really exists. There are too many band in too many genres to say what would be a part of it. Alarma Man has never felt like we're a part of any scene... If you need to be a part of any, we choose the "good band" scene.
We do have the Koloni/iDEAL scene here in gothenburg. It's really inspiring to live in the same town as Christian Pallin (Koloni) and Joachim Nordwall (iDEAL). They manage to bring us bands that I've never heard of before and those bands are always good or totally crazy. Either way I'm always satisfied when leaving the venue.
So do you think there's such a thing as a Gbg sound? Or would you say that bands in Gbg are brought together by other circumstances or ideas?
Nowadays you don't need a "real" studio and expensive equipment to make music. I guess the "Gbg sound" was killed by Cubase and ProTools. When comparing Cut City, Uran, Repoman and other great bands from Gbg, I find it hard to see any similarity except for that they make good music. gothenburg is known in Sweden for it's "loose" and friendly attitude. Perhaps that's the thing with bands from here. Gbg bands focus on the music instead of looking good on stage... haha!
Okay, so tell us about the new album. How is it different/the same compared to what you've done before?
This album is the best music we've ever done (yes I know it's a cliche, but it's true).
Lots of people are asking if there will be vocals on this album. Yes. There will be. A lot!
Adding vocals wasn't a big decision for us. We made "Duets" as an experiment and liked the idea of working with vocals. It might seem a bit strange when you've been known as an instrumental mathpunk band, but we feel comfortable with it. We've never had a plan to be an instrumental band forever and we didn't have a plan to start singing on our second album. It's just the way it turned out.
Another big difference is that we worked with a producer. We needed an outside persons thoughts and vibes in the recording process. Adam has a big part in the arrangements and how the songs turned out.
Our first album was a lot of high speed craziness and big guitar riffs. 4 years has passed by and our new songs are slower, darker and colder. I think a held back fever is a good way to describe the album.
Got a song you'd like to share?
Here's a song from the upcoming album. Its a three-faced song about being chased, therefore the name "Nightwolf". Look out for the saxophones in the chorus, played by our friend Joel Westberg!
Upcoming tourdates for Swedish indie act Alibi Tom:
10/02 - Romein, Leeuwarden (NL)
10/03 - Merz, Dordrecht (NL)
10/04 - De Spot, Middelburg (NL)
10/07 - Cafe Stiels, Haarlem (NL)
10/09 - Speakers, Delft (NL)
10/10 - Waterfront, Rotterdam (NL)
10/11 - Sonic Boom record store, Kettering (UK)
10/11 - Key Escape Club, Kettering (UK)
10/15 - Prince of Wales, Steeple Claydon (UK)
10/18 - Exeter Hall, Oxford (UK)
10/24 - Huset Magstraede, Köpenhamn (DK)
10/29 - Kåren, Halmstad (SWE)
10/31 - Fängelset (all ages), gothenburg (SWE)
11/01 - Chalmers, gothenburg (SWE)
The Free Society Conference and Nordic Summit 2008 is a conference being held at IT-University gothenburg on October 24-26 to discuss issues relating to Creative Commons and the free music/software/digital world. It's a bit too far away for me, but if you're interested in learning more, go here: https://fscons.org/
I already posted a track from Silverbullit as part of our ongoing Göteborg Spotlight Series, but today I'm happy a present an interview with guitarist Andreas Nilsson, an artist who's also well known for his phenomenal video work. Madrugada, José González and The Knife are just a few of the names of artists he has collaborated with. Andreas may no longer be a Gbg resident, but his contributions to the city's music and art scene are numerous. Read on...
First off, my standard intro question: how long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and what keeps you in town?
I moved here at age 17 to go to artschool. Lived here for 17 years, so half my life... I live in another town now, but I miss the sort of underground musicscene that Koloni, Kning Disk and Ideal bring to gothenburg. It's amazing that a town of Gbg's size has such a big scene for this kind of stuff.
You seem to be working more visually these days as opposed to sonically - which medium would you say is your strong point? How often do the two overlap? If someone asks "so, what do you do?" how do you answer?
The way that I work is a cluster of things that I barely understand the logic of myself. But I try to overlap as much as possible. It's an ok place to be in, the twilight zone.
If someone asks me what I do, I lie and tell them I'm a horsewhisperer or something.
How was Way Out West? Were you satisfied with Silverbullit's set? See anything of note?
Playing with Silverbullit again was great. Always fun to see Simon play keyboardsolo in his patented rapestyle and we were touched by all the people that showed up.
But I didn't have time to see much else at the festival. The Bug had a great stomach-turning bass. My big festival moment this year was My Bloody Valentine at Roskilde. It was so loud that I experienced a physical reaction in my nose that I had never experienced before. It was kind of buzzing and humming the day after, very strange.
I understand you managed to get Freddie Wadling to make a guest appearance - who's idea was that? Was it a matter of mutual appreciation or did it take more wrangling to get it together?
We've been working on a track that Freddie gave us as a demo. The idea of playing together came to us in a DHL-package.
What current projects are you working on? What can we expect to see/hear from you in the next six months or so? What are the chances of a new Silverbullit album?
Just finished a video for a British band called White Lies. The track is called "Death". Today I'm in gothenburg working at the Stadsteatern. I'm working on a play called "Butterfly Kiss" together with director Malin Stenberg. A dark and surreal text about a dysfunctional family with an urge to kill. It premiered 19th Sep for all you culture vultures out there.
Finally, got a song you would like to share, either from one of your own bands or from a local act you admire? Tell me about it!
I think people should have a listen to the band Kite from Malmö. They have a beautiful song called "My girl and I". I also like Prince of Assyria who is releasing an album on Kning Disk this fall.
Both Kite and Prince of Assyria obliged by sending in tracks for posting, but since Andreas recommended a specific Kite track, that's the one I'm going with today. Stay tuned for more on The Prince- a recommendation from Andreas Nilsson does not go unnoticed!
Kite - My girl and I
Various ArtistsAs an interested and curious listener, I feel lost sometimes when I discover new kinds of music. Often I'd like to hear more but don't know where to look further, even in the times of myspace and mp3-blogs and especially for such marginal music as experimental electronica where the web's oversupply of information tends to thin out. That's why I'm grateful to the people at Fang Bomb: They've already done all the digging, filtering and compiling for me to produce "gothenburg 08", a sampler aimed to showcase gothenburg's current electronic and experimental scene. The ten tracks presented here span a very wide bridge from Porn Sword Tobacco's almost over-enjoyable post-muzak to Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words' eponymously gloomy and demanding layers of noise. Most of the compilation oscillates between drones and slowly developing ambient pieces though, which creates an almost album-like feel throughout. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in electronic music that is ambitious, complex and accessible at the same time. The compilation's large bandwidth make it the ideal introduction to the different featured artists -- you just have to pick your favorite and look out for their future work.
- Arnulf Köhncke
Finnish acts Lapko and Disco Ensemble are touring together starting in late September:
09/25 - Debaser slussen, Stockholm (SWE)
09/26 - Sticky Fingers, gothenburg (SWE)
09/27 - Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg (GER)
09/28 - Magnet, Berlin (GER)
09/30 - tba, Prague (CZ)
10/01 - Szene, Vienna (AUS)
10/02 - PPC, Graz (AUS)
10/03 - Garage, Milano (ITA)
10/04 - Biomill, Laufen (CH)
10/05 - Schuur, Luzern (CH)
10/07 - Schlachthof, Wiesbaden (GER)
10/08 - Die Röhre, Stuttgart (GER)
10/09 - Underground, Cologne (GER)
10/10 - Matrix, Bochum (GER)
10/11 - Ekko, Utrech (NL)
10/15 - tba, Bryssels (BEL)
10/18 - Stengade, Copenhagen (DK)
Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you the new Division of Laura Lee single "Central Park". This is the first single from their forthcoming album "Violence is timeless", due out in limited vinyl format on August 15 with the CD version to follow on October 29. But that's not all! They've also enlisted the help of many friends and peers to create videos for each and every track and will be slowly releasing them to the public as we get closer to the album's release. Peep the first clip for "Central Park" right here, courtesy of UK-based animation team Man vs Machine: [click here]
Also, seeing as how a new DoLL single ties in nicely with my weekly Göteborg Spotlight Series, I decided to track down drummer Håkan Johansson to answer a few questions. Read on...
First, my standard question: how long have you lived in Gbg, what brought you there and what keeps you hanging around?
Per (Stålberg, vocals/gtr) and I had been talking for a while about moving the band to gothenburg and try to make some kind of music career, but it wasn't until I got approved to artschool that I grabbed my stuff and left Vänersborg. This was in 2001. gothenburg has pretty much everything you need. Great music and art scene, clubs, bars and most important all the friends I have made during the years here.
I hear a very strong DC influence on the new album - is that a conscious thing? Are you trying to separate yourselves from the Gbg sound? Does such a thing as a Gbg sound even exist? Or are you just hanging out with Shelby Cinca¹ too much?
We have never really aimed for a DC sound, but after growing up with the Discord catalog on our record shelves I think it was unavoidable. When we started this band we wanted to create the same vibe that the DC scene had, and this has followed us throughout the journey. Yeah, hanging with Shelby in DC a lot the last couple of years reminds me of this frequently. The gothenburg sound... ah yes.. I see us more of the outsider in this bunch. We are a part of the gothenburg scene, but I don't know if we are a part of the sound. To be honest with you Avi, I'm not sure this "sound" even exists.
Speaking of Shelby and DC, are you still active with Man and Wasp/Frantic Mantis or have you consigned yourself to doing locally-oriented sideprojects like the rest of your bandmates? Do you think there's anything particular about the Gbg scene that makes it easier for folks to collaborate? Also, how awesome is Repoman?
Frantic Mantis are on a hiatus. Man and Wasp is the main sideproject at the moment. We are working on an album that might or might not come out in one shape or the other next year. All the side projects I have been involved in have never been planned. We just had some extra time to jam, and the ability to record it. When playing with Shelby everything just turns into gold. I think there are so many projects around here in gothenburg 'cause everybody knows everybody, and playing music with people other than your regular bandmates is a way to play other styles and develop as a musician. Yeah Repoman is awesome! I am still bummed I wasn't asked to play drums for them.
Does the same sort of collaborative/cooperative community exist in the Gbg art world as well? I know of a few other local Gbg musicians who double as artists and vice-versa besides yourself, but do you think there's much crossover overall? How would you say the two worlds are the same/different?
Music and art just goes hand in hand. Just look at iDEAL as a label and artcollective, and then Silverbullit with Jon and Andreas who're doing awesome music, videos, projections and art. Nowadays, and even 10 years ago, the DIY way was the way to do it. When a band or artist wanted to release a record, a record cover had to be done. Then you wanted to make some merchandise, a website etc., but there was no money to pay for it. You had to do it yourself. And I think this has grown stronger over the years. Personally, I think doing a record cover for a free dinner is way more fun than doing a company branding that pays your rent for a full year...
Who came up with the concept of getting friends to film videos for each song on the new album? How do you think the experiment came out? Any favorites we can look forward to?
This was something that I Made This came up with. We loved it the second we heard the idea. I won't spill too much, but I love the one Kristofer Åström did. And although I haven't seen them yet, I am especially excited about the ones Joe Lally from Fugazi and Jason Lytle from Grandaddy are putting together.
Tell us about the new single "Central Park"!
I will quote Jonas (Gustavsson, bass) on this one:
"Music is time consuming. Four years, we waited for this song. When it finally arrived, it was finished in four minutes. Four chords. It's yours for free, because some secrets are to reveal."
LINK: https://www.violenceistimeless.com/
Division of Laura Lee - Central Park
As regular readers know, Saturdays in 2008 are devoted to the music of Göteborg. This week's guest: Max Hansson from Cut City/White Knives.
How long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and what keeps you hanging around?
During a drunken haze back in the year 2000 while stuck in my hometown, I threw a dart at a world map and figured that chance could have its way with me. Though aiming for internationally consensus-proven cool cities like New York, Berlin and Paris, I fell short and took the bus up to gothenburg and started delivering mail with a disgruntled grin. In my bags I had a band lacking any basic nuance of ambition along with an appetite for spending more time on stage than off. It was an unhealthy equation, but by ditching (read: being ditched by) some of the members, I started Cut City with David Hagberg and it led me to fulfill some modest goals of mine. That was six years ago and though many of the people I know have since left town, I stay put. I'm too old to move and my wonderful girlfriend makes life tolerable here. gothenburg can be quite abysmal at times, mostly during the fall, winter, spring and the majority of summer. There are things here that makes it worth living though: Koloni put on a whole lot of wonderful shows and pushes a healthy experimental climate; Release The Bats put out some amazing music as does Ideal Recordings. Without them, gothenburg would have you jump for the Xanax bottle.
How do you deal with bandmates living in Malmö? Don't you know they barely speak Swedish down there? What's keeping you from ditching David and getting someone local? Or why don't you sell out Gbg and move south?
Rehearsing less than once a month is what we do and it's how we define work ethic. I've got a small studio (a grand euphemism for old computer) set up in a tiny walk-in closet and that's what keeps me sane. I'm from the south myself so the language barrier is easily broken down. I can't move to the south because I'm banned there and we can't give David the boot because he's a machine and we all know that machines will take over the world and we really, really want someone to be on our side when that day comes. To be honest, Sweden's such a small country that you run into friends pretty much without effort.
Do you feel any connection to the Swedish post-punk scene of yore or do you draw inspiration from elsewhere? Do you ever consider your city's musical heritage at all? Do you think there's any such thing as a Gbg sound?
I merely play the music I do because I lack the musical prowess to play metal. And that's the honest truth. When you read this I'm either at the Iron Maiden concert with 60,000 other heshers or discussing the grandeur of a mummified Eddie with everyone who failed to get a ticket. Post-punk is too broad of a term to stylistically distinguish band A from band B. But I do know what you mean my dear friend. I'll tell you this: my favorite guitarists among many are Roger Mcguinn, Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine - the triple R - and they inspire me in many ways. Trying to copy them while lacking the talent I make my style my own (oh, the hubris).
I moved here being totally oblivious to what this city had spawned band-wise and I knew next to nothing about what it had to offer with the exception of its metal scene and its very distinct Gbg sound. I would say I feel a whole lot more affiliated with the city now after befriending many of its contemporary musicians. I feel a kinship with the likes of Alarma Man, Silverbullit, Dieter Schöön and a slew of other bands that know better than to sing off-key.
How does the city inspire you? How does it stifle you? How do you think people could make it better?
I like to take long, long walks from one end of the city to the other and see how it transforms from big anxiety-provoking concrete blocks to huge beach mansions soon-to-be engulfed by the sea; from rich ghettos to poor ghettos. I like watching people hitting the bars on Avenyn; I like watching the young kids clubbing; I like seeing the contempt erupting from both sides of the coin. This city could mean everything to me and at the same time nothing. I can't say I could tell if it makes me or breaks me. I think people could make it better if they drank more. Juice.
Going to Way Out West this year? Anything in particular that you're looking forward to? Or dreading?
Yes. Deleted Art has two bands playing there this year: The Mae Shi and No Age. I'm amped up and ready to surf the crowd. Then there's Sonic Youth of course, as well as The National and they're both bands I love. Had only Journey been there playing the entire "Escape" album with Steve Perry holding the mic instead of some poor replaceable cover band member, I would literally be bawling. That's not going to happen though, so I might as well just sit back home watching "Frontiers and Beyond" or "Live in Houston". Dreading? I don't want to run my mouth off and take a piss on bands that probably deserves it because that would be rude and I'm not a rude person (Mando Diao). I dread queuing to the unsanitary toilets, shit and piss on the floors.
Lastly, got a song to share? Either from one of your own bands or another, it's all good. Tell me about it!
I don't know if copyright laws prohibits you from sharing "Bastards of young" by The Replacements with your frequent visitors. I would love for you to have that up there instead of being elaborate and unscrupulous enough to exploit this offer and have people listening to my own band. I know the answer to this and will offer you the second best thing to the Mats themselves: "Replacement". It's our own ode to Westerberg et al and a deliberate attempt at stealing the best things in music history.
Thanks!
No, thank you! Still they ride, on wheels of fire. They rule the night. Still they ride, the strong will survive. Chasing thunder.
Cut City - Replacement
MistMist consists of 4 girls from gothenburg and is the kind of band that fall into the category "see them live", since their originality isn't striking when just listening, I need some charisma here! "On high heels" is a self released album, recorded in Peekaboo Studios, an alternative Pop EP consisting of 5 songs with a general impression of moderate beauty. According to me and the fact that they have played together since childhood, they should sound more original and improvisational. I'm saying that it is a bit too unbuoyant; there are intersections between the sound and the lead vocal, the cause of that can be the answer of the difference between track 3: "My baby blue" (which is excellent) to the other songs. Martha Brauer's vocal is on the right spot on this song, the ensemble is faultless from instrument, chorus to style, exactly the jazzy to swinging touch that Mist should concentrate completely on. In "My baby blue" I find the potential of this group and further on I hope they will improvise more to their success. Meanwhile, I might see them live.
- Therese Buxfäldt
Saturdays in 2008 are devoted to the music of Göteborg. This week's guest: Patrik Bengtsson from The Kid. The band's new album "Transient blood" is out now on Hybris.
First off, the standard question: how long have you lived in Gbg, what brought you there and what keeps you around?
Johan is born here and the other three of us are from Småland and moved here to exchange the rich soil and the pine trees for education and nightlife. Then we found friends and love and decided to stay. Frida moved here in 1996 and me and Maja came in 2000.
I hear a strong lineage in The Kid's music that connects it to the Gbg post-punk scene of yore, bands such as Cortex (obviously), but it's more than that. Do you think that's an extension of living in the same city or is it more predetermined? Was that the sort of thing you grew up on or did you discover it later?
Freddie Wadling is an icon, all the things he has been involved in is great such as Blue for Two, Liket Lever, Lädernunnan, Rukorna and Fläskkvartetten, the original punkscene of Gbg was great with bands like Göteborg Sound and Slobobans Undergång. We were listening to punk and post-punk long before we moved to Gbg. The Swedish post-punk scene was great, with bands like Commando M Pigg, Brända Barn and Reeperbahn. As a new gothenburger you become proud of Gbg when you understand what this town has giving the world in forms of music and bands, but our taste in music was already formed when we all moved here.
Do you think it's important to keep that musical heritage alive?
When it comes to pop music, no.
Putting aside nostalgia for the moment, how would you say The Kid looks toward the future? Are there any current movements/scenes/happenings in Gbg (or elsewhere) worth paying attention to, whether you are personally involved or not?
We will continue struggling with the band trying to combine the sound of the early 80-ies with the sound of the new new wave/the new new romantic. Make some shows and some new songs. No big plans, just nice to have the possibility to do this and get paid for it. We've been around for a couple of years now and we are quite bored playing for stiff students. It's time for the new Gbg-scene with people in their 20ies to do the studentclub-mayhem. I think the new Gbg pop-scene is some form of an antiscene. They frown at the old Service glory days. They spit on electronic stuff like laptops and iPods, they play instruments and wear hats and love Håkan Hellström instead of The Embassy and Claes Ohlson-stroboscope. And they've got authentic good self-esteem; that's good but it's the total opposite of the classic Gbg scene.
Don't think that I'm a silly old fart, I love changes. And some of these kid are guests at my monthly 77-punk club and they know the lyrics to all the old Gbg punk songs. So the future is saved. They know their heritage.
I understand that a number of you are involved in other art projects besides The Kid- what else are you currently working on?
We are constantly working with other art(y)/music projects.
You will find a couple of them on our myspace–site under top friends. Otherwise, we are still working as Artists and Architects, and when we run out of money we take care of old people, trees and flowers. You can also visit www.mermermer.com and click on Frida Sjöstam and www.patrikbengtsson.com for some aesthetic-experience.
Would you say that Gbg is an artist-friendly city?
I'm sure that Gbg is the best music-friendly town in Sweden. All the interesting bands from the last 10 years are from Gbg. And the mood between the bands is nice and friendly.
Lastly, have you got a song from the new album that you'd like to share?
I think "Let's go kid" or "Bloodmoon" are two nice songs, you could use one of them.
My personal preference is demonstrated below...
The Kid - Bloodmoon