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Thanks so much to Fabrice for the interview! I wrote about River, a superb indiepop project from Nantes, France, time ago on the blog. A few months ago he got in touch and shared with me some new music. It was nice to hear from Fabrice and listen to a bunch of new recordings he had made, especially some very nice covers of Sarah Records classic songs. It was a great opportunity of course for me to find out more and pointed him that I had written about River and I was very interested in doing an interview. Happily Fabrice said yes and here it is the complete interview. Great answers, with lots of details, I have enjoyed this one very much! Hope you do too!

++ Hi Fabrice! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

Hi Roque ! I’m fine, happy with my family, my children are growing, my work as history and geography teacher make me busy but I’m ok and music is always for me my only method to fight against the deep pessimism which is always  inside me. So I continue to write songs to believe and live happily until death.

++ You just recorded a bunch of Sarah covers. I was wondering how important was this legendary label for you?

I will always have a deep, fundamental, and very personal relationship with Sarah records. It’s linked with a very particular and intimate moment of my life.I was getting divorced, my soul was on fire and I was flooding the ground of my solitary walks with my salty tears and, at the same time, I discovered this new universe. I remember very well, I was in a Nantes record store called Tacoma and I was listening to stuff like Depeche Mode, Dead can dance or Front 242, I heard “when morning comes to town” field mice… I suddenly stopped in the middle of the store,went to see a friend who worked there and asked him “but what’s that sound???” . It was a revelation. I bought the field mice album, then everything that came out of the label…. 🙂

It was at this precise moment that I met Pierre Antoine Delpino, the boss of the Plastic pancake label and that alone, or with him and other friends, I sailed between France and England, discovering the performances of Heavenly and Field Mice. I subscribed to Sarah’s newsletters and met Keith. Blueboy’s Keith Girdler. He became a friend and was the first to listen to River’s early trials. It was him who encouraged me to make my music. I owe him everything.

I saw Brighter, Heavenly, Blueboy (obviously). Keith sent me photos of their concerts, I have concerts of them on old cassettes that he sent me… It was in this difficult period a ray of sunshine. Somehow the music of Sarah Records saved me from depression.

I attended the last concert of the label after the Sarah 100 in Bristol with Pierre Antoine, his boyfriend and a great girl called Anne Claire and with whom we did a few songs and a little way together 🙂

It seemed useful to me today to pay tribute to these people whom I met and who saved me. So with my friend Jocelyn who helps me in the production of these songs, I tried to put my heart…

++ So I take River is still very active! What can people expect in the near future from you?

I would love to see these songs considered good enough by a label to release them. It would be a dream to see my tribute materialize in this way. Unfortunately, today I don’t really have any real networks to help people discover these songs. So, I took advantage of our exchange to make a call 🙂

Otherwise, I will continue River indeed. FOREVER !!! I have a lot of new songs to play but, again, I don’t know who to send them to. It’s very frustrating and sad for me. I don’t know anymore, at 53 y.o, if there are still pop labels that would listen to what I do… 🙂

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what your first instrument was? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

I think my earliest musical memory dates back to the late 70s.It’s the discovery of Leonard Cohen with my father. I was 11 or 12 years old and the magnetic beauty of the melodies, the (apparent) simplicity of the arrangements marked me a lot. Then it’s 1984 and the purchase of my first 7″ inch…

I was very excited to hold in my hands the sound of these four guys from Basildon that I had discovered through a clip on TV. Depeche Mode came into my life never to leave again. At home, we listened to a lot of “weird” bands which became references for me and which I still listen to. Dead can dance, Clan of Xymox, Laibach, Kraftwerk but also EBM (Electronic body Music) bands like Front 242 or Skinny puppy…And then there was the parents’ music, The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, the doors , the Velvet…classical music within particular the baroque music of Purcell or Handel…I really grew up in a very… heterogeneous and baroque musical universe… 🙂

My first “instrument” was the discovery of my voice. It was a bit magical. My brother taught me some guitar chords, I bought myself a keyboard in 1992. River was born 🙂

++ Had you been in other bands before River?

I played in two groups before embarking on the River project. My very first group was called “Alan’s book”. It was a rock/cold combo that allowed me to do my first concerts but above all to meet great people who are still friends today when I got kicked out of the band :)) I was too ” bourgeois”, I didn’t drink alcohol and I refused to consume illegal stuff…:)) And then I joined a noisy pop/Shoegaze/dream pop group called “Nos étés Trop Courts” (“Our Too Short Summers”). I discovered My bloody Valentine, Ride, Pale saints, Swervedriver and even if the experience was short, we did some nice concerts…very…noisy :))

If in the first group I tried to sing like Dave Gahan, the singer of Depeche Mode, the second showed me that I could go higher in harmonies. It prepared River in a way.

Like I said before, I got kicked out of the first band and they continued without me…but never released anything after that…just like the second band…We were just kids playing in the back of a garage and who thought they could reach heights… It was fun.

++ Where were you from originally?

I am from Nantes on the Atlantic coast of France. It is a city that I love deeply. She is undoubtedly a source of inspiration for me. I’m very close to the sea (about 45 minutes), my parents also live on the coast and every time I finish songs, I like to walk on the beach, headphones screwed on my ears. It is a city with an industrial past which has a strong cultural activity. Come when you want, I will welcome you with pleasure!

++ How was Nantes during the heyday of River? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

I’ve never really followed bands from Nantes, even though the musical activity there is quite intense.

There are artists however that I like like the little rabbits, Dominique A or Philippe Katerine. When I was young, there were great music stores (Tacoma, Fuzz…). It’s like concert halls… there were, until the turn of the 2000s, mythical places. There was “l’Olympic” which was THE Nantes concert hall where I was able to see Pulp, Blur, Suede, The divine comedy, Radiohead, Lush…And then there was a nightclub called “Le Floride” and which had the particularity of playing only “alternative” music, from cold to metal, from indie to twee. This is where I first met Keith from Blueboy. He was playing with Harvey Williams and the orchids in this tiny space…I sang “Self portrait” with them on stage there…it was amazing!

Today everything is standardized, soulless. There’s a great concert hall called the “Stereolux”, Le Floride still exists but only goes gothic or metal. I don’t go there anymore…and besides, I’m too old… :))

++ Was it always a solo project? Did you ever had other people being part of the band?

It’s very complicated. River is a “one man band” who dreams of working with others 🙂

I wish someone would write to me one day and say: “I would like to be part of River!!!!” your universe inspires me!!! I’m a singer, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, cellist and I want to create with you!!!” but I’ve never had this type of meeting :))

Even with the distance I could share River… But hey, that never happened. For some tracks on the Shelflife album, musicians intervened but that’s it. It wasn’t until Moon & River that I composed with someone…and it was great…I loved it…at the same time, being alone gives me the freedom to do what I want, when I want and I confess that the egos of band musicians annoy me a lot so, with River, I am both the megalomaniac singer, the tortured guitarist, the funny keyboardist… that’s fine with me… :)) or not..

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

When you are alone in a musical project, you need a space that looks like you and that inspires your musical project. So I set up a room at home which is my lair, my cave…

Apart from the instruments I own, I installed “my universe” there. My children’s toys, my collection of lamps from the 70s, my records, my CDs, my collection of old Apple computers :)). It’s a very “private” place, always super tidy (I’m a bit of a cleanliness and tidying fanatic), very often plunged into darkness…with indirect lights… I compose like a vampire. ..Actually River is a bit gothic :))

Since the beginning of River, the creative process has always been the same. It’s even scary 🙂 But I think there are a lot of myths and mythomania about the “creation process”…we all do the same, but sometimes you have to invent a mythology of creation…which I will say is not particularly innovative 🙂

Throughout the year, and as inspiration and life events arise, I write texts that I put away in a black pocket. Then when I decide to create something, I always start with a guitar/voice or piano/voice version. Then the contours of the atmosphere take shape and I start recording…I spend an infinite amount of time on sound today, something I didn’t do when the adventure started (you could hear it:) ). It must be said that the technical means are no longer the same. I often look at the 4 tracks on which I recorded the first songs. But at the time, there was a DIY cult, so we did what we could, with what we had. Today, I work on Imac and the sound coming out of my monitoring speakers is just sublime..

The last step is the voice. I have to be alone at home, which is rare. Especially since I can only sing with one (or two, or three…) glasses of a heavily peated whiskey 🙂 and I only sing at night…As you can imagine, the situation of “voice recording” is quite rare when you work and you have a family. This is the reason why I always leave for 10 days in July with friends who go on vacation at that time and for whom I “watch” the house 🙂 So there, I relocate my studio and I record all my voices, redo the arrangements…I’m in the middle of the countryside, in the middle of nowhere, and I go to bed…very late…

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

This is again a tribute to my friend Keith and his Blueboy band. They had just released this title that I love on Sarah records and I liked the idea of this river which can at the same time be a charming place where you have a good time with your friends, it can be very romantic but it t is also the place of torment, of overflowing, of a form of violence that engulfs everything.  River’s music is often interpreted as nice pop songs but if you pay attention to the composition or the strongly erotic content of the lyrics you can be surprised. There is always sex and a form of violence in the lyrics or in the musical creation. At least the tension.

++ You have quite an important discography, releasing many records. But I have never heard or seen the “Happiness & Smiles” CD. Can you tell me more about this release? Was it an album? A single? Who put it out? What year was it released?

Yes…too many titles and too many releases…right and left…I often regret it. Many titles are not very good and especially poorly produced. I just wanted to release my first self-produced songs…:) So I contacted a friend who had a recording studio at his house to make me a CD. Stéphane and I spent three months recording “Happiness & Smiles” and I think there are only two in the world… :))) I own one and Keith Girdler had one. We finished it in the summer of 96 I believe.Anyway, I was very proud. And the songs are good. Well I think 🙂

++ In 1998 you release “The Hairdresser” 7″ on the French label Plastic Pancake. How did you end up working with this label? How was your relationship with them?

The consecration for me. I cried so much when I received the disc. Someone trusted me. Pierre Antoine Delpino, the label boss contacted me and we became real friends. He was someone of exceptional sensitivity. He lived in Montauban in the South of France and for the first time I met people who listened to the music I discovered. He created a label which, for me, is a reference of the time. He had a real taste for beautiful things and his pop aesthetic corresponded completely to my universe. We spent many evenings together, we went to England together, we did a road trip to attend the SARAH 100 concert in Bristol and we met the whole twee pop community there. I owe a lot to “Pitou” (Pierre Antoine). I lost sight of him today and would love to find him again.

++ On the song “Happy Summer Nights” there are female vocals by someone called Sophie. Who is she? Was she in another band?

When I separated from my ex-wife, I went through a troubled period where I had a lot of experiences of different kinds. I walked the streets for a long time at night. I think I’ve become a little schizophrenic. I met many people, and one evening, I stopped in a bar to listen to a duo of musicians. Jean Charles (who would become my partner in “Moon & River” :)) and Sophie, his wife, sang pretty folk songs with two voices. We had drinks and I proposed to Sophie to do the 2nd voice on HSN…Alcohol helping, her husband agreeing…we recorded the next day…even though we weren’t did not know the day before :)). They continued to play together. They started a rock band that had some success called “Candle”…then they broke up, both in town and on stage. I never saw Sophie again.

++ Lighthouse Cassettes, a US label, released a tape called “Venus”with 8 songs in 1998 too. I have never heard of this label before if I’m honest. Who were behind it? Where were they located? How did they find about you, being so far in France?

That was what was amazing with the period of the late 90s. Overnight I received letters from different parts of the world, from people I didn’t know at all. :)) It seemed magic. People were writing to me. People were talking to me about “Plastic pancake”, people were telling me that people had heard songs from River….I’ve never met 99% of the people who have released songs from River :)) ).

There was at that time a form of effervescence in the creation “twee / Indie” which was incredible. We said we were in agreement and a few weeks we received about twenty hand-made audio cassettes…and that was it :)))

++ Another US label would also start collaborating soon enough, in 1999 Shelflife Records releases “Poseidon’s Girlfriend” 7″. I am again curious how did you end up working with Ed? And also did you ever get to travel to the US and meet?

I was talking earlier about “Plastic Pancake” but meeting Ed Mazzuco from Shelflife is probably the most surprising and incredible. When I had about thirty songs available, I “flooded” the Indie pop market :))

I had discovered the label with bands like “The Arrogants” and I was crazy about this label, its aesthetic… And one day I received this incredible mark of confidence. I knew that this label was very “elitist” and devoid of any real openness to styles other than Indie pop. However, it did not seem to me that my music could correspond to their expectations but it was like a dream. “What if one day I released an album on Shelflife???” The 7″ inch that I released on Shelflife was important because first it was on Shelflife and then because it was the moment when I wrote the first song on the one who still shares my life today and who is the mother of my two boys. Why “Poseidon’s Girlfriend”? …simply because I have a wife who swims five times a week and who is a mermaid who has to deal with water and ocean which is extraordinary. She was and is Poseidon’s girlfriend. Just after that, Ed sent me a list of 20 songs he wanted to release!!! shock ! It took me two weeks to recover…and the story doesn’t end there…He offered me to come and promote in the United States! So I went to the west coast, I played in Sacramento with the Arrogants…I sang one of their songs, they covered HSN with me… I played in a house facing the pacific and people were singing my songs !!! 🙂 me a little French! I landed in Los Angeles where customs held all my instruments, my suitcase…I had to buy new clothes, and I found my instrument two days before the first concert :)) ) It was an incredible experience for me! Unfortunately the story did not end very well. At the release of the album, all the titles of the album were upside down! none of the titles correspond to the original order…. I was furious! but that’s the story! Do not refer to the titles indicated on the cover. Disappointing for such a label! Nothing has been done to rectify this mistake! I’ve sent many songs to Ed since then but I believe this album will only be a “one-shot” and I regret it. It’s a pity that some labels haven’t evolved for thirty years. The music and the composition evolves. Indie pop remains in a form of sectarianism that I deplore, but I owe him a lot and would always be grateful to him. The cover is very nice too. No additional comments….

++ Plastic Pancake also released a 7″ of yours in 1999 that had a song called “Spiderman” on it. I guess you are a big fan of comic books? Is Spiderman your fave or is it another one?

That’s a fun question! I love Spiderman for his naivety, his stupidity and his “kitsch” side. It was really my state of mind at the time. I found myself a bit ridiculous sometimes with my “high-pitched” voice and my keyboard programming… Now that I’m getting older and I’m still interested in Marvel heroes, I admit that the darker side of Batman interests me much more. When is a Batman song? :)))

++ You also worked with the Italian label Best Kept Secret on a cassette album called “Once Upon a Time”. One thing I start to notice is that some of your albums include a lot of songs normally. Most bands like to keep it to 10, 12 songs max, but you had no problem to have 20+ songs. What was the thinking behind that?

This is an essential question. As I told you before, it’s very complicated. There was a time when a lot of people were interested in what I was doing and seemed very interested in what I was doing. And in fact, I don’t want to hide it, I was very proud of it.

It was very egocentric, almost egotistical. People asked me what I was doing if I had unreleased songs, if I agreed to release them… and it’s true that I was composing a lot at the time. So I was so complexed by my lack of talent (objectively) that knowing that my songs could be released somewhere touched me very sincerely. Was I aware that not all the tracks were very good, not very well produced? I just knew that I wanted to write songs, that I liked their style and that they all meant something strong to me…So I accepted…probably too much…One last thing…I’m so afraid of death and what I’ll leave after all this that I tell myself that my children will have a “consequent” trace of what their father may have done during his life. Sorry for this somewhat “psychological” outpouring. Maybe one day people I don’t know yet and who will be my descendants will listen to the tapes of Best Kept Secret or Blackbean & Placenta :))) It’s a very small trace that I want to leave for them.

++ In 2000 you release yet another album and yet another label, Blackbean and Placenta Tape Club. “…Is the Postman” includes some interesting song titles like “Brasilia”, “Juliette” or “River’s Song”. Curious what’s the story behind them?

You are asking me a question that I will only answer very partially. These three songs are arguably the most personal songs I’ve ever written “back then”. I wanted to write about three women who had marked my existence and I wrote lyrics that mean nothing, except for me..:)) The background is serious but I wanted to have the “kitsch” side offered by my short stories musical experimentations…I like this album with its badly produced side but it was the first time that for a majority of songs I tried the more “electropop” side of River”…and listening to it again always makes me to dance… :))

++ That same year your work with yet another label, Safari, on the “Strawberry Lipstick” 7″. This time it is a French label, closer to home. I have one record by this label, but I have no idea about who was behind or anything at all about them. Care telling me a little bit about them?

Matt & Noémie Hansen are great friends. Even though we don’t see each other anymore (they live in California), we keep an affectionate and essential contact for me. I think they released two references on “Safari”. Like “Plastic Pancake”, aesthetics are essential for them and I am aware of the gift they gave me by offering me to release this piece of electropop, which I still play today in concert :)).

They were both at the beginning of the 2000s the “encyclopedias” of Indie pop ” in Paris… They were people who knew all the groups, who welcomed them into their homes, who presented them to us… I met ‘They Go Boom‘, La Buena Vida’, ‘Le Mans’, ‘Watoo Watoo‘, ‘Caramel’, ‘Gypsophile’ thanks to them…

They are great people!

++ 2002 sees two more releases, the “Street of Desire” 7″ on Plastic Pancake and the self-titled album on Shelflife. One thing I start to wonder is how did the recording process work for you? Did you record everything by yourself? Did you work with a producer?

A very short answer: I always produced everything by myself on my 4 tracks 🙂 you can hear it sometimes… For the Shelflife album, the tracks were sent to the “head” producer of the label who cleaned everything up and offered some arrangements… I didn’t have much money at the time, hence my sincere surprise at such a “success”:))) (Irony)

++ Also wondering about the language of your songs. Correct me if I’m wrong, but most of your songs are in English though there are some that are in French. How did that work for you? When was a song written in English and when in French? Was it a conscious decision?

English imposes itself on me immediately. The fluidity of your language, the beauty of certain words and certain pronunciations and the “hype” side of the Frenchy who sings in English… everything is there! :))) More seriously my shyness and the fact that I can hide from my French listeners the brutality or the perversion of certain lyrics did me a good service…:)) now I don’t forbid myself to write in my language native…I do it today more and more but, at the time it was too difficult for me…Don’t forget that at the time RIVER wanted to conquer the world :)))

++ “Music for Top Models” was your last release as far as I know. This was a 2003 album on the German label Meller Welle Produkte. At this point you had worked with French, American, Italian, and Japanese labels. Was there any other contribution to another label from another country that I’m missing? Why do you think your music got to be so international? You put out so many songs, many records, that I wonder what do you think is missing for the band? And did you get any interest from other labels that for a reason or another didn’t happen?

I think at the time there was a real Indie pop community. It doesn’t really exist today. It must be so difficult to find the time to contact bands, to find out and, as I said before, a lot of labels don’t take a lot of “risks” anymore. We’ve all aged :)) and I think that people who take care of a label also have their family and professional life to manage…and it’s not an easy task.I would have loved to work with the Spanish labels that were so active (Siesta is probably my favorite label with Sarah). It didn’t happen but I think my music was too “DIY” and not produced enough, “clean”. It was popular in the first sense of the word but not “professional” enough. And the fact of being only a little guy all alone in his corner, without a group and without big means of production, it was not easy.

++ I think I can guess what the answer might be, but are there more unreleased songs by River?

Last summer, I put away my hard drive and I did the count: I wrote 559 songs from 1994 to today :)). I still have a lot of songs that will probably never be released. It’s a shame because if some are not really good, others really upset me and above all are much better produced. I gradually invested in professional equipment, I practiced English professionally and artistically, I worked a lot on my voice and composition. Now, I am open to all proposals and I would have to find people interested in listening to the selections that I could send. This is the big problem! :)) Help!

++ My favourite song of yours is “Happy Summer Nights”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

It’s also one of my favorites. It’s probably the first song I wrote for River. I was alone in a café in Nantes. My life was taking a boost. After a long dark period, I had just met my new partner and I tried to bring together both what I observed in this bar and the first love emotions I experienced with Anika, my Berliner who was to become the wife of my life. She was a German assistant in my high school and she had gone back to Germany…I was very sad…and then she came back and we’ve been together for 27 years…:))

++ If you were to choose your favorite River song, which one would that be and why?

This is a really, really difficult question. Compared to the time you are talking about in this interview, I would say “the hairdresser” because it was the one who made people dance during concerts… “the top model” because it’s really a hit that my French audience was singing at the top of their lungs or “Happy summer nights” because I consider it my twee song “par excellence” and it’s the first song I sang to Keith “Blueboy”… These three songs represent well my pop universes of the time… at the same time when I think of the song “Writing” and its funny clip… I tell myself that I sometimes have strokes of genius :))) in fact, you see I can’t answer you 🙂

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? And what were the best gigs in general that you remember? Any anecdotes you can share? And were there any bad ones?

Again, I have to distinguish the River period circa 1990/2000 and the current period. At the time, there were really incredible concerts, in Paris, Bordeaux, Rennes with my friends from Watoo Watoo, Gypsophile, Superflu. ..It was very pop, very “flower dresses”, striped t-shirts and bowl cuts :))) it was such a great universe…There was something very fresh, very naive…we were not afraid to dance, to laugh… Good for me it was still difficult to play in concert because all alone, I had to “juggle” so much between my keyboard, my drum machine, my guitars… It was quite stressful… My best memory of that time was a concert which was organized by my students in a huge room… and I found myself in front of the 1200 students of my high school… They were singing, dancing….it was incredible…And then there was Madoka, the president of the Japanese fan club of River who was there, Paul and Keith from Blueboy…….

Today I continue the concerts but i’m not alone. With Moon & River, we did wonderful concerts. In art museums, in private lofts, and many also in private homes who opened their gardens to us…It was very “flower power”…I regret that since we stopped with Moon. .. Horrible concerts? yes only one with Moon & River where we played at a market between a fishmonger and a butcher (the smell was terrible) and where we were scheduled from 1pm to 2pm….It was quite far from home and we didn’t have a single spectator :))) At the time I’m talking to you, I’m more on the composition of new songs and we have the project with Jocelyn to try to set up a real group…and come on! I’ll give you a scoop: it could be called “The Melancholic Men”…

++ There’s a moment when we don’t hear more from River. Probably around the early 2000s. What happened during that time until now?

I never stopped playing music but my two boys were born, my daughter was growing up and I wanted to spend time with my family.I got very involved in my job as a teacher…Life :)) And then there was “Moon & River” and these two albums that I find really magnificent. And that can be found on music platforms :))

Was there any interest from the radio? TV? What about the press? Did they give you any attention? What about fanzines?

Yes, I was lucky again! Through Madoka Fukushima in Japan and her fanzine “Quien” I was able to get a little visibility…And when the Moon & River albums came out, we were able to take part in many local radio shows which helped us always be well received… We did little acoustic sets… I really like the stress of the radio…

Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I’m 53 you know now so the family takes a lot of time…I’m a dad stressed by his children’s studies, like many :)) and we love going to the restaurant with my wife 🙂

Otherwise, I admit spending a lot of time on my job which is a vocation, an absolute passion. Music of course, at least one full day a week, I play tennis regularly and above all I have a blast playing badminton. I’m starting to have an interesting level. Otherwise, I’m part of a whiskey tasting club, my favorite drink :))

++ Had never been in Nantes soI’d love to ask a local. What do you suggest checking out in your town, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

Nantes is a magnificent city, rich in history and which has managed, a bit like Liverpool or Manchester, to keep its industrial heritage but by rehabilitating it. The fact that we are close to the sea means that we are turned towards the ocean and therefore we eat a lot of fish :)) which we accompany with fine quality white wines. We are also a region of vineyards, in particular with a wine called “Muscadet”. I launch here a very serious invitation: anyone who would come to France in my region would always be welcome at my place…

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

As I said, I am open to all proposals to discover my compositions. I dream of continuing the River adventure…I don’t know if there is a list of indie labels somewhere or if this interview will arouse some curiosity…in any case thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to look back on this adventure…

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Listen
River – Happy Summer Nights

Thanks so much to Michael Tiley-Evill for the interview! The Sun Set Strip was an 80s band that didn’t release any records but recorded many songs in demo form. For many it will be interesting to know that this was a pre-Action Painting! band as it featured Andy before he was in the well-known Sarah band. It is a bit of an obscure band, so I asked Michael, some time ago, to do this interview and learn more about this project!

++ Hi MIchael! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?

Yes, sorry for such a long time to reply but I’ve never been a fan of being interviewed, so always try and get others to do it!

I don’t ever want to seem rude so this time i’m going for it.

Yes since SunSet Strip with Andy (Action Painting!, Socialist Leisure Party), Matt (The Music Liberation Front Sweden, Milton Underground Resistance, Pigeon Head, Copernicus Rice), Ben, Dave, Adrian (The Music Liberation Front Sweden, Eastney Droners), Ali (Paul Groovy and the Pop Art Experience), Andy, Stu (Gunk).

I have been in Babalu, TheUltraWideBand, The Sleeping Flies and The Music Liberation Front Sweden.
Also had labels Electronic Watusi Boogaloo that we done with Kindercore and now I run Shambotic and work with Old Bad Habits

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

John Peel on an old radio tape player when sailing late at night with my family.
New Order, Joy Division, The Fall, OMD, The Cramps, Gong, The B52’s.

I also loved record shops and album art sucked me in.

My first instrument was a guitar which I taught myself watching TV.

++ Had you been in other bands before Sun Set Strip? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

I was in the 14th Day of May with Gavin which turned into SSS whilst at school.

++ Where were you from originally?A town called Fareham with a creek right in the middle of the south coast of England

++ How was your town at the time of Sun Set Strip? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

It’s alway been a cultural dead zone but actually had a few fantastic record stores and staff whilst growing up in the early 80s. For example Tony who worked at HMV who now manages Thee Lonely Hearts who are releasing stuff on my Shambotic Label.

None of us were really in to drinking, maybe the odd smoke. So Andy, Matt, Ben, Adrain, Dave and later (Richard from Jane Pow) and I used to hang just play records and talk endlessly about music. This was pre Sarah and very early in Creation times. Post Punk, Paisley Underground and  Psychobilly was quite popular at the but none of us really fitted in which is probably what attracted us all to each other.
Music moved much faster then than it does now!

Later on the scene really kicked off with the J&MC, Bodines, Mighty Lemon Drops, June Brides, early Primal Scream and the Jingle Jangle version of My Bloody Valentine. Also the great stable of early creation bands Jasmine Minks, Loft, Revolving Paint Dream, Meat Whiplash, Biff Bang Pow and my favs Slaughter Joe.

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

The band started at school and as will all future endeavors your in the band/community/collaboration if your there!
I still feel some of the most important people in bands aren’t actually playing anything and quite often don’t get credited but without them the magic wouldn’t have happened.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

I never really think of things as creative or a process. They are just moments in time which thankfully we can save due to modern technologies.
It a experience that transcends human life. When something comes together, whether it be bashing in time or adding the correct herbs to a pot, when you look at your fellow collaborators and feel that magic it truly is some magical.

We practiced everywhere from bus stops to bedrooms.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? 

I’m not sure tbh Byrds, Love, Doors I think Andy may have came up with it, pretty sure it wasn’t me even though some say it was.

++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

To be honest our influences go all over place as we are complete music geeks. I think the only things that didn’t influence SunSet Strip would be 70’s Prog and mainstream pop in the early/mid 80’s

++ I am only aware of 4 songs that are now available online as the “Dirty Patches Bubblegum Stars” demo. Was this the original name of this demo? Was it released as a demo tape back in the day?

Yes we re-released this under The Music Liberation Front Sweden moniker when we released we were all back in a band again.

It was supposed to be a flexi that would come with a Bite Back compilation (which has become iconic in the Portsmouth area) but being all 15/16 and they wanted us to pay half, paper rounds just didn’t pay that much sadly so never happened.

++ These songs were recorded in 1986, for many year 0 for indiepop. The start of the C86 sound. What do you think about it? Did you feel part of a scene then?

No we didn’t feel part of it at all but then Andy and Lee went on to become Action Painting who recorded on Sarah it made us realise we were possibly a quiet part.

++ Where were these songs recorded? Did you have previous experience at recording studios?

We recorded them in what is now a legendary Portsmouth studio called Crystal Rooms, we had earlier experience recording with a Hells Angels band Fester and the Vomits but that’s a whole other story!

++ Was there any interest by any labels to put your music out?

We didn’t really care about releasing it at the time! Hanging and making a noise with our best friends is all we cared about

++ And how come there was no releases by the band? Could have self-released maybe?

We were just too young TBH, we all went on yo actually release but for all of us it’s always been more about the connection than releasing anything.

++ Aside from these four songs that are now available digitally are there still unreleased songs by the band? Were there other demos?

Yes several 🙂

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Just for a While”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Pretty sure that was Bens song, Dave may have wrote the words! Dunno we didn’t care about that back then and really I still don’t now. All my projects are uncredited and all split equally.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Sun Set Strip song, which one would that be and why?

Probably The Party’s Over as I remember that one the most and Matt and I have recorded a new version sampling the old 🙂

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? 

We only played a couple of gig but they are in the Portsmouth archives of history as one caused a riot and the other blew our young minds.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Running from a shit load of people fighting it was exciting!

I would say for all of us or best memories and gigs would come later.

For me one of my greatest moments was being on stage as The Music Liberation Front Sweden with Steve Duffield (Beta Band, King Biscuit Time), Joe Foster (Slaughter Joe), Damo Suzuki (Can) and The Demons.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Never

++ When and why did Sun Set Strip stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

We didn’t ever break up.
Andy became Action Painting!
I moved to Sweden
Matt moved to Bristol
Ben Moved to France

We are all still part of The Music Liberation Front

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Yes

++ Has there been any Sun Set Strip reunion? You were telling me there were plans to re-record the songs and gig, right?

Yes 🙂

++ Was there any interest from radio?

We didn’t care

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

Yes at the time we got loads of negative press which made us not care and become completely un press un promotion interested

++ What about from fanzines?

We made our own and have actually just made a new one with the Greek Label Old Bad Habits https://oldbadhabitslabel.bandcamp.com/album/lower-than-underground-vol-1-compilation-with-1st-issue-of-lower-than-underground-fanzine with Shambotic which all members of Sunset Strip release on now

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

Friendships

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

We love crafting, screen printing, running a record label, caring for others.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Do what you want to do and don’t listen to anything negative. You don’t need to make money or be famous to be successful and for filled. Make Art and bad Art doesn’t exist!!!

We love Cloudberry so much! A badge of honour to have any involvement with you xxx

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Listen
Sun Set Strip – Just for a While

++ And there’s a tape that is coming out as well, can you tell me a bit more about it?

Robert: Yes the tape is a copy of the first demo we recorded back in 1986. None of us have a copy of it, but it turns out the music journalist Simon Reynolds kept the one he was sent by Dan, and we got s low quality digital copy from that. We’re only doing a tape release because the quality is not the best, although it does sound good! We may do a full release if we ever get hold of a decent copy of the recording.Yes the tape is a copy of the first demo we recorded back in 1986. None of us have a copy of it, but it turns out the music journalist Simon Reynolds kept the one he was sent by Dan, and we got s low quality digital copy from that. We’re only doing a tape release because the quality is not the best, although it does sound good! We may do a full release if we ever get hold of a decent copy of the recording.

Thanks so much to Masato Saito for another interview! Some time ago we talked about Pervenche who has made a comeback with the release of “Quiet Small Happiness”. The interesting part is that this CD comes with a bonus CD with lots of material from his previous band Peatmos! I had written about Peatmos in the past, but I needed to know more details about this cool project!

++ Your first release, I believe, was the “Mess” cassette that came out on your own Clover Records. This seems like a rare release these days. Did you make many of these tapes? Why did you choose this format?

Actually, we released a cassette tape called “rich time for you” before “mess”. This was recorded with the original members when the band was formed.
It was still a fun distraction at the time.
It was released in April 1995. The four songs on this cassette are not on this CD.
The cassette “Mess” was released in October 1996. Everything was dubbed by myself.
Of course, the cassette tapes were commercially available. The sleeves were also made using a copy machine at a convenience store.
Unfortunately, there is no record of how many I made. The charm of cassette tapes is that you can make as many as you need when you need them. It doesn’t cost any money.
The selling price can also be low.

++ The artwork of the “Mess” tape has a lot of words on it like “Sun”, “Picnic”, “Light”, “Feed”, etc. What is the meaning of it?

Manami designed them. The words are sampled from song lyrics and arranged.
I like the artwork made of transparent tracing paper.

++ The same year of the tape release, 1996, Sonorama Records from the US released the “Earl Grey Tea” 7″. Tell me how Peatmos was discovered by Dan from Sonorama Records?

I was introduced to Dan by Kactus member Rich Stevens.
I was surprised that he would release a 7-inch.

++ Who is in the 7″ sleeve photo? Is that you?

No, it is not.
The photographer, Kuwabata, happened to take a picture of a sleeping child on the train.
I liked the way he expressed this with a Japanese subject while giving it an American or British indie feel.

++ The songs for this record were recorded all at home. Was wondering if you prefer working at a home studio or at a professional studio?

I have never recorded in a professional studio, as is the case with Pervenche.
I think my work is better suited for recording in a private environment.

++ Other than these two releases you appeared on many compilations. The ones I am curious about are for example the “Cream Cone Compilation Vol. 0”. I had never heard of the Cream Cone Records label. Who were they and how did you end up including a song on their CD?

I was invited by the label owner, Mr. Endo. Sorry, I don’t remember much.

++ And the other compilation I wonder about is the one that came with the Indies Magazine Vol. 47. Did you get much press from music magazines?

Not so much.
But writers who liked it called us.

++ Are there unreleased songs by the band?

Yes, there are; we still have some demos that didn’t make it onto Disc 2 of the CD that was released in August.

Fanzines, everyone in the indie scene supported us.
A very small intimate scene. That was enough for us.
And the support from our American fans! It was great.

Thanks so much to Johnny Dutton for the interview! I had written about A Month of Sundays time ago and was hoping to learn more details about the band. I had tried interviewing Neil Preston but I guess live got in the way and never got a chance to hear his insights. Happily Johnny, who was early on on A Month of Sundays, was able to share some interesting stories about the band! Also he has shared a photo of the band playing in 1998 and a press clipping from 1989! Enjoy!

++ Were you or any of the members involved in other bands before being in A Month of Sundays?

Terry, Neil and myself all went to St Mark’s College together. At the age of 14 we decided to put together a band when we realised we all played an instrument. In fact looking at a interview with a magazine in 1989, Terry says “Neil and I were jamming one day when John rode past and heard us. It was just me on drums and Neil on guitar. John rolled up and he came in and started playing scales.  I thought, wow man, scales, this is where rock ‘n’ roll begins and ends.”

We then recruited another friend from school, Neil Magro and he played synthesizer. We started playing school dances and parties as Mirror Images (we thought that was a fitting name because of Neil and Terry being twins). Somewhere between 1985 and 1987 Mark (who also went to St Mark’s but was a year older than us) joined the band and on Wed 2nd March 1988 we played our first pub gig at the Fitzgerald Hotel.

So yeah, to answer your question, none of us had been in other bands before AMOS.

++ Were you all originally from Perth?

Neil, Terry and Mark were living in Morley and I was living in Dianella (neighbouring suburbs east of Perth City) and we’d all head to the back shed at Neil and Terry’s place nearly every Sunday to jam.

++ How was your city at the time? Were there any bands that you liked? What were the good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

DaDa Records and 78s were the best. We even did a live performance at DaDas once in their basement.

The Old Melbourne put on a lot of good days and really tired to help out the local bands. The Shenton park Hotel and the Seaview Tavern were also really great places to play as well as check out other up and coming bands.

++ Were there any lineup changes?

After I left the band they brought in Caleb Merry and after Caleb they brought in Grant Fersat. I believe (and I could be wrong so you might want to check with the boys) that after Grant they decided to perform as a three piece. To be honest, they have always had a big sound so they really didn’t need an extra guitarist.

++ What’s the story behind the name A Month of Sundays?

This is a quote from Neil taken from an interview in 1989 “We actually went up to the state library and took out a book on colloquialisms, and after picking a few terms, decided on that one”.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

In the shed behind Neil and Terry’s parents’ place. After many years of doing that we started hiring a studio in East Perth. In fact it was right near the Claisebrook Station where the cover of Bell Book and Candle was taken (if my memory serves me correctly).

++ You were around in the late 80s and early 90s and I feel there were lots of great Australian guitar pop bands at the time. Did you feel part of a scene at all? What were your favourite Aussie bands then?

The Stems

++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

It started with The Smiths, The Church, REM, Big Star, Matthew Sweet and other jangly pop bands then moved onto more heavier guitar bands like The Replacements.

++ Your first release as far as I know was “Bell, Book and Candle” a 6-track tape. I suppose this was a self-release, but I wonder because of the format if this was a proper release or more of a demo?

From memory it was a “proper” release. I think that format was all a bunch of young kids could afford at the time. Any money we made from gigs went into a kitty for recording or gig related expenses. I never saw a cent from this band, but that’s the way we wanted to do it.

++ “Faithfully Patient” 7″ was next. This one was released by Amos. Who were they? Who was behind this label and how did you end up signing with them?

AMOS = A Month Of Sundays. So, self released basically.

++ I really love the A side, “Faithfully Patient”, and was wondering if you could tell me the story behind this song? What inspired it?

Neil will have to answer this. He wrote the song. In fact I think he wrote all the songs and brought them to us to mould into the AMOS sound.

++ “Seesaw Child” was your next record and on this one Dom Mariani guest appeared! How cool! Were you friends? Or how did this collaboration come to be?

Dom was a friend of the band. I think Neil and Dom got to talking and arranged for Dom to co-produce.

++ “Idiot Star” came out in 1994 and something that always caught my attention from this release is the art, the photos on it.  Who is the kid in the photos?

I believe that’s an old photo of Neil. (But I could be wrong) I know the single cover for Faithfully Patient is Neil’s legs.

++ You also appeared on a few compilations. For example on the classic “Out of the Woodwork” that featured many of the best Australian bands at the time. Do you remember how you end up there?

I can only remember the studio session. Not sure how we came to do it or who asked us to get involved.

++ If you were to choose your favourite A Month of Sundays’ song, which one would that be and why?

Any of the ones I recorded with the band. ha ha  I really enjoyed all the songs Neil wrote during my time in the band. He’s one very talented songwriter.

++ Was there ever interest by other music labels? Perhaps big ones?

Not that I know of. We were hoping the momentum would keep going after our Eastern States tour but it all kind of seemed to slow down a bit and that’s when I started contemplating leaving the band.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

One of my personal favourites was supporting Spy vs Spy at Curtain Uni on 9th Sept 1988. I was a big fan of that band at the time so they were rock Gods to me.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands?

Once I left AMOS I started up a band called Cartoon Horrors for a few years and then got into Rockabilly in a big way. I form a Rockabilly outfit called Johnny Law & The Pistol Packin’ Daddies and released 4 full length albums and 1 single. We’ve played in places like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France etc. As of Dec last year the band has been performing for 20 years.

A few years ago I also started up another band called Atomic Stagecoach where we take 1980s songs and tweak them to sound like they may have been written and recorded in the 1950s. It’s a really fun band.

++ Has there ever been a reunion? Or talks of playing again together?

Not with me there hasn’t.  I turn up to their shows when I can. Sometimes Neil even gives me a shout out from the stage. ha ha

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

E-press magazine loved the band. I have all the articles ever written about the band while I was with them.

++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

For me it was working with legends like Dom Mariani, Errol Tout and Greg Dear.

Winning a West Coast Rock award for Most Popular WA Cassette.

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Listen

A Month of Sundays – Faithfully Patient

Thanks so much to the Gula Gången gang for the interview. Gula Gången is a superb Stockholm band that formed a few years ago, who released one album and is about to put out their second one. As I really enjoy their music I thought to learn more about them! Check their Soundcloud if you haven’t so, you’ll be surprised by their songs!

++ Hi there! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? I hear there is a new album coming up?

Yes we’re good. John is back from Berlin with a crystal meth addiction, but he’s loving every second of it. And yes that’s right, the album is out on Spotify 10th of June, please listen to it so John can keep up with his brand new lifestyle.

++ Tell me more about the album? Will it be released in physical format or will it be only available digitally?

This album is more eclectic than our previous albums. All the uncertainties in the world and all the changes, made it impossible to keep our mind focused on a theme or sound. We are also a diverse group with many different influences so it feels natural to just go with the flow and try new things.

It will be released on spotify but we are also planning to release one copy (yes, ONE copy) of the LP on Vinyl for a special event. We are not really sure when yet, but we will keep you posted when we do.

++ There’s a cool photo on the artwork for the album. Looks like a big family photo. What is the story behind it?

We are like a big family. Shiva is the street smart savvy mom, John is a sexy mom with a drug addiction, Leo is the bad mom with a bad taste in men, Adam is the talking dog and Simon is the awkward step dad who time to time knocks on your door while you are playing “The Sims 2” and asks if you can play together. A traditional family with great values and traditions in a spooky cursed house (right next to the lake).

++ There’s one song on the album, “Sommaren 21”, that made me wonder how you spent the last few summers, with the pandemic. We would get news that Sweden was doing things different Covid than the rest of the world. How did the pandemic affect you and how did it affect this album.

The weird part was that everything was allowed except for Rock’n’roll. We didn’t have any lockdowns so we could rehearse and hang out as usual. But almost all our shows got canceled due to restrictions. We were worried at first about everything that was happening but it felt good doing music together. It helped us, being able to focus on something creative and take a break from reality for a while.

++ There’s a video for this song too. It’s a super cool one. Where was it recorded? And who came up with this fun idea?

Thank you! It’s filmed in a gazeebo and a park named “Vita bergsparken”. We usually celebrate our birthdays and summer holidays with friends there. Fun fact! Carl Anton (famous swedish singer) used to have a tv-show theire. The music video was made by Andre Cordova Rudstedt, Elias Ljungberg and Erik Lokind. They were studying film so we asked if they could make something with us, they came up with the concept. All we did was show up and they told us what to do, a great luxury. Also, the music video is a fruit fetisch propagande video. Made to advocate the fruititarian lifestyle.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what your first instrument was? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

Leo: my first records was mainly hip-hop: Eminem, Fattaru, Gorillaz etc. But when I was around 10-11 I fell in love with early Swedish punkrock, hanging round in the parks skating and listening to bands like Ebba Grön, Grisen Skriker, KSMB. At that time I started playing everything I could get my hands on but primarily trying to play all of their songs on guitar.

John: The first music I remember hearing was Cantaloop by Us3. My first CD was Rockafellars skank- Fat boy slim. The first album I bought with my own money was Fresh by Teddybears STHLM.

Shiva: When I was 15-16 I started to listen to 80’s pop music (Depech Mode, Duran Duran and A-ha). I loved 80s music and movies, the bright and horrible clothes, the big hairs and synthetic sounds.

++ Had you been in other bands before Gula G´ången? What about the other band members? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

Yes, here is a list of all the bands we have played in.

On Spotify:
Psykofant
Makeout Point
Paint sniffing survivors
Stockholmskretsen
Turbotutte
AK47

Not on Spotify:
Husband
Kennedy
Bacchus
Johnny Swish and the Bitcoin boys
PC-Cat
Hommeage
The scars
Vii är fett två
Personlig utveckling

++ Where were you from originally?

We are all born and raised in Stockholm, except Shiva who is born in Uppsala. Simon also spent some of his childhood in Varberg, a small coastal town. This might explain his love of the ocean.

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process? What instrument did each of you play in the band?

Leo was just about to graduate at Chalmers University, his parents had pressured him to become a lawyer all his life. But when he stood there with the student hat in hand, he threw it on the floor and exclaimed: “No, I do not want this! I’m going to be a musician! ”

Leo quickly packed his bag and moved to Stockholm, a city where he did not know anyone. During a wild evening at Marie Leveau, he met John, who also liked music. They came in contact with Simon Hjort who demanded that they do dubstep, otherwise they might as well play guitar pop. Said and done.

They recruited cabaret singer Shiva Kazemi and provided a rehearsal room. Outisde of the rehersal room, they heard the janitor drum a beat on his broomstick and rassle with his keys. They noticed he had a perfect sense of beat, that man was Adam who becamse the bands drummer.

Gula Gången was born. And it was beautiful.

++ How is Stockholm these days? Are there any bands that you like? Any good record stores? What about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Good bands in stockholm that we like: Urban Dentist, Viagra Boys, Mama Sonic, Cinadriel, Madminton, Nya karolinska, Albano Spa, Lucifers Sunshine, Hnny, John Död.

Best bars: Loch Ness in Mariatorget, Piloten in Skarpnäck, Mickel Räv i Hökarängen and Patricia (party boat) in south stockholm. Nomad  and Patricia is good place to discover new upcomming bands.

++ Something that is always impressive is the amount of quality bands that Sweden produces. Do you have a theory for why that is? I’ve heard all sorts, even the water that you drink!

John’s says that he heard Sweden is the only culture in the world that dances to melodies instead of beats. Its deeply rooted in our culture. Which explains the most popular club song which is ‘Shoreline’ by Broder Daniel, which is impossible to dance to. Leo pointed out that even when Swedes made famous death metal we made “melodic death metal”.

++ How is the creative process for you? Where do you usually practice?

We rehearse in Skarpnäck, Mostly we all just add on eachothers tunes or someone has an idea and then we create the song together off that idea. For example, “discovampyr” was based on Shiva’s idea to make a disco song about vampires. No band in the world really knows how a song is written, it kinda just happens in different ways.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Gula Gången was a tunnel in South Stockholm famous for being creepy and disgusting. But it was quite funny because it didn’t look so creepy because the walls were covered with this tacky bright yellow tile. John and Simon actually met there for the first time when they were 18 which is funny because Sid Vicious real name was John Simon and John has a cat named Sid after Sid Vicious.

++ You released in 2020 the album “Spela Allt Från Ditt Hjärta”. It quickly became a favourite. I always wished that I had a CD or a vinyl version of it. Why didn’t that happen?

We are too poor

++ Has there been any interest from labels in releasing your music?

Not that we know of. But you never know what’s cooking in the halls of glory.

++ On this album you collaborated with Olle Strandberg. How was that?

John: Olle is known as the swedish Robert De Niro, a professional through and through. Always gives his best, always does his homework and never lets a production down. He’s always joking and playing around being hilarious but the second you step into the studio it’s strictly business. Listen to his new debut solo EP 2 poplåtar & månladningen and his old band New Feelings. It’ll make you feel young again.

Simon: I would also say that he is somewhat of a party animal as soon as the work in the studio is done, but mostly he is an animal on stage.

++ Where was the album recorded? Who produced it? Was it you? Was it your first experience at a recording studio?

We did it all by ourselves, but Simon can probably tell you the most about it. We did it in our rehearsal room in Skarpnäck, which is pretty small but it does the trick.

++ I like the simplicity of the art for this record. And the second album artwork is nice too. Is any of you a graphic designer perhaps?

John: Everyone in Sweden is a graphic designer in some capacity. The difference is some make money of it while other make records.

++ I notice your albums are on the short-side. Just 9 songs on both. Why is that?

We have a short attention span and like to release our music as quickly as possible, ideally close to summer because we make “summer fun music”, but we also feel like albums are cooler. So short albums are the way to go for us! We have only been active for 3 years and released two albums, imagine our discography in 10 years!

++ And I have to ask, why did you choose to write and sing in Swedish? I ask as many Swedish bands prefer singing in English.

John: We like to do a lot of local references in our songs. For me the songs come alive that way, like a miniature Sweden that exists in our songs, filled with people and places we know, love and hate. Perhaps one day we’ll do an album with translations of our songs to learn people about Sweden, called it Sweden for beginners.

++ My favourite song of yours is “Vi Är Det Nya Normala”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

John: After the first chord round you can hear a beer can being opened (2 seconds in). We did that live in one take.

Simon: John also kept drinking the beer and we kept on recording, you can’t hear it but it’s there.

++ And from the new album “Ensam” is also a top track. What can you tell me about this track which is also your last single?

John: Last summer we reread The Lord of the Rings so all the songs we wrote back then all had that theme. The old Swedish translation of the book is really beautiful so we wrote a lot of songs about Bucklebury Ferry  and the Green Dragon. We find the Shire very inspiring as a way of life. Ensam is a play on words. Ensam = Alone, En = One, Sam = Samwise Gamgee. It’s about the relationship between Sam and Frodo and Sam’s struggle to help Frodo through these dark times. Really it’s about the friendship dynamics, when you wan’t to help a friends who either you can’t help or are resisting your stretched out arm. It’s also a bit about asymmetric friendships, that horrible feeling that your relationship means more to you than it does for the other part. Being alone in a relaptionship, therefore the title Ensam (alone). And it’s also about that even the smallest of us can make the greatest difference. Which is what The Lord of the Rings is about. – J

Musically for me it’s based around the guitar riff in the chorus. I take inspiration from difference guitarists on difference songs where I try to write a write like they would. Sommaren 21 is based on a riff I wrote years ago with a friend when we tried to play like Graham Coxon of Blur. With Kommunikation from the last album I wanted to play like Conny Nimmersjö and Johnny Essing from the swedish band bob hund, which is much more melodic rather than chord based. With Ensam I tried to write a riff like Bernard Sumner played in Joy Division. When we wrote our first song Likfärd (never released) we translated our favourite Ian Curtis lines into to swedish.

Simon: The bass riff that starts and drives through the song is based on a Cat Stevens-inspired acoustic piece I’ve written. I showed it to the band and Leo played the bass-notes and instead of Cat Stevens it sounded very post-punk/joy division. I’ve also made a full version of the acoustic piece with lyrics inspired by The Hobbit instead of Lord of the Rings, hopefully it will be on our next album. The Swedish translation of Tolkien’s works is quite hard to read but contains lots of beautiful poetry.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Gula Gången song, which one would that be and why?

John: Mine is Till Besvär , which is the most fun to play. I was really proud of us when we wrote it, the first song I used a capo to and I love the complex chord structure, and it has a great tempo when we play it live. Perhaps in hindsight the studio version we released is not very representative of how I imagine the song, it’s a lot harder with distorted guitar than we usually play it. From the new album it’s the second track which I forgotten the name of, although I had nothing to do with that recording. I was in Berlin working on my crystal meth addiction when they wrote that so I first heard it in the finished form and I thought it was the most beautiful song ‘we’ve’ written. Sommaren 21 is also really fun to play and has great tempo to it. Usually the favourites are the ones that are fun and easy to play with a good tempo, that you can rely on when playing live. If a gigs doing badly the complex songs are a hassle, when you have to get the sound perfect. Its difficult to recreate the sound from rehearsal to live, I never understand how band does it. But then again I never really tried.

My favorite is dum dum dum, of all songs I’ve ever contributed to this is the one i’m the most proud of. When I first time I heard it recorded I knew that we had something great going on with this band. The song just kinda happened by itself, with Shiva behind the genius behind the foundation of it. It’s really simple with only 2-3 chords through the entire song which makes it easy to find new elements to play it. When people ask me to show them a song from my band, this is the song I show them first.

The song John forgot the name of is called “Skymningssagor” and it has quite a weird story behind it. I was looking for a recording of “ensam” and I found a project on my computer called “emo” and it was the guitar and synthesizers from that song. I had no memory of ever recording this but I loved what I heard and then Leo added electric guitars and Shiva some ambient singing to it. And it was beautiful!

Simon: I have some sort of memory of trying to make something in the style of “summer ends” by the band “American Football” and I think this was it…

John: Dum dum dum is the right answer. Just a perfect piece of popmusic. It’s like Simon says, I started playing C and F and then Shiva just started singing the chorus which really is the whole song. I stopped playing but Simon told me to keep going because something special is going on here. It’s important to give each other compliments when you play in the band, if you like something someone is doing you should tell them that. When we recorded it wasn’t supposed to be a duet but for some reason we came to that conclusion. We love Olle we’re all good friends and he lived closeby so we called him and 20 minutes later he arrived on his bike, happy go lucky. Me and Leo went out on a beer run during recording of Olles part and when we came back he’d come up with the “oh wama” part we sing in the 3rd verse which backs the harmonica solo. The spice that Olle gave the song was really the sriracha on the cake.

++ What about gigs? Have you played many?

John: A few. Not that many that we might hoped for. We debuted in the summer of 2019 and recorded our first album during that fall, come spring when the record was about to come out and we were looking forwards to festival gigs the pandemic happen which halted our progress. The gigs we have played have all been great really.

++ And what were the best gigs so far? Any anecdotes you can share?

John: Last year we played a gig in Malmö in the south of Sweden. It was our first gig as a quintet since Adam joined which gave us all a great boost. We had a great train ride down and had ate great food but got way too drunk, at least I did. I don’t really remember much of the gig other than that I spend more time on the floor with the audience than on stage, but the audience were great. It was the first time the clubs were open for a long time so everyone was exuberant and it got really messy and loud. As I said I don’t remember much but afterwards I was told that I played a solo version of Obladi Oblada which I really hope isn’t true because I don’t know how it’s played. I was the first one home that night.

++ And were there any bad ones?

John: For every like four good gigs you always get a bad one, which can vary in badness. Some are horrible, some are just not that good. You can’t really avoid doing a bad one every now and then unfortunately, you used have to learn from it and move onwards. Usually it has to do with being too tired or having too much to drink. Ironically some of the best ones are also due to having too much to drink so you can’t really read too much into it. It’s good if the audience also had too much to drink then you’re in symbios. If not you’re in trouble.

++ Has there been any interest from the radio? TV?

We have played two times on P3 (one of Swedens biggest radio stations) when they had a show called “Pop and Indie” which played lots of smaller acts. It was such a good show but they stopped making it earlier this year? What the fudge?

A German podcast called “Eleven Pop Songs” has also featured our music, which is really nice cause we always love it when our music manages to get through to people in other countries. Like now!

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

No, but we don’t give them any attention so it’s OK.

++ What about fanzines?

Not that I know of, but isn’t that the point of fanzines that you don’t know about it? Simon, Shiva and Leo have a fanzine about skeleton factories or something but I don’t think they’ve written about us.

I’ve put a Gula Gången-cameo in one of my comic book fanzines- Simon

++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

We wrote a new song the other day. It was my first rehearsal back from Berlin and it was great being back playing rock and/or roll again. Simon started playing a bassline and sang a song about us as a band on a bus and I joined in playing the simple chords, then Leo added a great melody on his guitar and Adam added a great beat on the drums. Shiva played something beautiful on her synth and in the matter of seconds we all knew we had a great new song which we’re looking forwards to working on. The best songs are the simplest to write. Sometimes you work on a song for years and you never really work it out, other times you just play something and sing something and you have your biggest hit. Those times when you try something for the first time and you can all know that it’s special and you can feel each others energy, those times are the biggest highlight. Also last year we played in Örebro we had an open bar and tried every cocktail they had was a highlight. Cocktails are really expensive in Sweden due to high alcohol taxes so if you get the chance to get loaded for free you cherish it.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Crystal meth and Pokémon cards.

++ I always like to ask my UK friends, what football team do you support? I thought why not ask my Swedish friends now! Are you Hammarby fans? AIK? Djurgårdens? And if you go to the matches often?

John: Hammarby, all of us. That’s a dealbreaker, sooner or later bands break up if they don’t support the same club. Some of us have season tickets, others attend sporadically, but we all share the love.

++ Been more than a few times to Stockholm and I love it. But I’d like to ask a local about what you would suggest checking out in your town, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

“Bottleshop” is a must, it’s a brewery and beer store and we released a “Gula Gången”-beer with last year. When it comes to food, “Günthers” is worth checking out, it’s a sausage stand (“korvmoj” in Swedish) that’s often compared to the soup nazi in Seinfeld.

“Fuang Yuan Shi Wu” makes the best affordable Chinese food and “China!” makes the best pricey Chinese food.

Most of these places are very close to Medborgarplatsen and Skanstull in Stockholm, those places are filled with hidden and not so hidden gems.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

John: Disco sucks and Free Palestine.

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Gula Gången – Vi Är Det Nya Normala