When Djembefitta m/index.php?date=2008-04-04#22157">first wrote to me and outlined their treatise of hate with regards to "typical" Göteborg indierock, I knew I had to follow up with them and learn more. This week's entry in our ongoing Gbg-spotlight series does just that.
You guys have declared war on Gbg indiepop. What is it about that stereotypical sound that makes you so angry? What do you have to offer instead? What do you hope to accomplish?
Well, me (Ronny) and Sonny were talking the other day about older Swedish women going to Gambia in Africa to find their toy boys, and we figured out it's the exact same women who enroll into Djembe drum classes. It's probably lost on an American like yourself, but anyone from here would understand what we're talking about. Gross women who take advantage of young guys.
Now that we have a really lousy singer, like all big bands from Gothenburg, we are just waiting for the fucking money to roll right in! People are so stupid!
While your distaste for the sound of Håkan Hellström/BCQ/Broder Daniel/Jens Lekman/etc. is clear, are there any Gbg bands that you actually like? Is there another local scene there worth investigating, either now or in the past?
There's no scene worth investigating really. And when we are done there will be no other scene to talk about except for the new thrash/punk scene! You should investigate older swedish women going to Gambia though. They are really nasty! Is it even legal?
Actually the only scene worth checking out in retrospect is the bay area thrash scene from 1981-1986. We fucking love the big 4. Except for Anthrax with Joey Primadonna. Plus they were really from NY.
So who are you guys exactly? Have you lived in Gbg for a long time or did you move there from somewhere else? What keeps you there? What makes Gbg better or worse than other big cities in Sweden?
If we told you who we are we would have the fucking cops and kronofogden on our asses in a split second! Plus Siewert Öholm would accuse us of being satanists.
Gothenburg is really rainy and windy and it makes us pissed off. It's a good feeling!
Next question!
What other things do you hate that you haven't written songs about yet? Is there anything that makes you happy?
We hate a lot of stuff. Not all of our songs are about hate though. Some are about getting wasted. We are happy when we are wasted. Happy drunks. We might write a song about people who buy records by bands from this city with singers who sing out of tune. They are the ones who are REALLY stupid! And they're gonna love us! Now where's my beer?
Got a song to share with our readers? Want to tell us about it?
We have this song called "Lars Ulrich". He's such an easy target, but we had to do it anyway. It's about how he can be such a lousy drummer, and still be in polls for "best metal drummer". It's almost as funny as saying Håkan Hellström is the best singer in Sweden. I wish he still wore that funny fucking sailor outfit though. He used to be so cute. Håkan that is. A funny sailor dude singing out of tune about how he's drunk and lonely and the masses go: "We love this guy!" Ha, ha! Lars Ulrich is kinda the Håkan Hellström of metal. A funny Danish guy who's drunk and plays drums like a fucking windmill.
One last thing, what can we expect from Djembefitta in the future? Any chance you'll play live? Or put out a proper record?
If we can stay out of jail and someone gives us a shit load of money we'll do it. We are only in it for the money!
Djembefitta - Lars Ulrich
Daniel Hansson, the CEO and co-founder of Swedish electronic musical instrument company Elektron, passed away last year and now a selection of artists from the Elektron community are giving back with a tribute in his honor: m/" target="_blank">https://www.45tribute.com/
$5 for 30 tracks? Hard to go wrong there, especially when the proceeds go to charity, not to mention some of the big names involved such as Autechre, Dntel, Venetian Snares, Daedelus, Kim Hiorthøy and John Tejada. For a handful of free tracks and more info, go here: m/node/8" target="_blank">https://45tribute.com/node/8
I posted Cadillac's cover of "Arabian knights" by Siouxsie and the Banshees m/index.php?date=2004-10-12#13282">way, way back when the album "magnetic city" first came out, but now with the band broken up and moving on to new projects (New Violators and The moving Ooos, for example), I figure it's time to revisit 'em. Opening track "Locomotive" provides the best example of what the band was capable of- killer fuzz riffs, breakneck drumming and surprising melodies. I love the rhythm section breakdown on the verse; the toms are so ridiculously busy, but that's what gives the track its tremendous momentum, thus befitting the title. If you dig quirky hard rock like countrymates motorpsycho or even Queens of the Stone Age, you'll dig this too.
Cadillac - Locomotive
PSA: I'll be on the road all next week, so if you were thinking of purchasing something m/store">from the mailorder, I'd suggest you do it by the end of the day. Otherwise, nothing gets shipped out until I return. As for site updates, they'll continue as usual, but perhaps a bit more sporadically. Thanks for your understanding!
8
my only true criticism of this album is that it should have followed the delightfully dirty, (dare I say it?) grungy direction that opener "Home is the one corner of hell that didn't catch fire" suggested. There is absolutely no underestimating the depth of my nostalgic descent that occurred as "The greater good" bled alive. I missed that Nirvana shirt that I left carelessly behind at a friend's house in Sweden like I have only ever missed lost loves before... but anyways, sorry about all that. Don't get too caught up in those first few lines, for what follows on I Am Bones' album is quite fantastic, and, to be honest, probably much better than a redefinition of that 'Seattle Sound'. "Leave the city" is yet more evidence that Denmark is home to some of the best indie songsmiths in the world, ones that seamlessly tie the dark to the light, the softly serene to the guttural and distorted, and producing fantastic pieces through this synthesis. Oh, and if you do have a soft spot for mudhoney, there's more grunginess on "The masterplan", continuing a little into the following track "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing", a song that feels as though it could have been on "Incesticide" or Dinosaur Jr.'s "Bug". The standout, in my opinion, is "Baby, together we can live with ourselves": the most complete amalgamation of the varied influences - grunge, retro-rock, and indie - and individual voice of I Am Bones. "The greater good" functions as a remembrance, a forwarding of these memories, and a strange marker by which to see the progression of the music of my lifetime. While I hope these words inspire you to investigate these Danes and their craft, they do pale service to the music itself. Find a song, any song, and you'll be sold.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Swedish act The Animation is giving away their new single "Overboard" for free: mation.se/" target="_blank">https://theanimation.se/
Look for their debut album in late may/early June.
Renown author/talking head Ian Christe is publishing a US version of Daniel Ekeroth's revered "Swedish Death metal" book via his newly started Bazillion Points publishing company. Link: metal-awaits/" target="_blank">https://bangbangblog.info/2008/02/26/swedish-death-metal-awaits/
I Am Bones