Stockholm Perspectives #1: Norma
I spent years reading about definitive moments in people's lives, often sitting outside the window of my shared boarding house room, huddled with a book on the bit of roof that extended from under the aperture, smoking a cigarette, watching the light soften and fade as afternoon became evening, as daylight transitioned into twilight and eventually darkness. Already a distant and asocial young expatriate, consistently reading about these moments made me feel even more removed from the spontaneity and vehemence of life. I began to regard those profound, life-changing experiences as works of fiction, accompanying true love and happy endings in some dark masquerade which most of us would never be invited to.
In 2002, I took my first breath of Swedish air and moved into a beautiful villa just across from the Tunnelbana tracks in Kärrtorp. I remembering smiling widely as Ella and Judy Torkelsson helped me with my things across the Arlanda parking lot into their blue Volvo station wagon. It wasn't so much that I was so desperate as to accept any weak breeze as the winds of change, my last year in British boarding school is saturated with many of my most treasured moments, and I grew and matured quite a bit as my A-Levels loomed, came, and passed. There was a genuine moment as I exited the airport into that grey day, the first definitive moment I'd ever had.
Over the coming months, I fell progressively more in love with Sweden, Stockholm in particular. While Ella was in school, I would walk down to the center of Kärrtorp, take the train into T-Centralen, and walk along the water, through the cobbled streets of Gamla Stan, and the parks of Södermalm. I started to feel less like a stranger or a voyeur observing the city around me. As the year wore on, I started to make friends, many of whom I am still in frequent contact with today, and began the life that I am now thoroughly involved in.
People ask me what it is about Stockholm that left me feeling this way, and I've never been able to give them a satisfactory answer, not for myself anyways. It's like asking a true Yankees fan what it is about the Bronx Bombers that attracts their loyalty. There are obvious things you can point to - friends, a coffee shop, the public transportation, universal healthcare, etc. - but much of one's admiration and allegiance is wrapped up in wordless swells of sentiment, and excluding them seems to detract from the whole.
Having one of the more prolific and creative music scenes in the world (in many ways putting breath into those "wordless swells"), I thought I'd ask various musicians in Stockholm the same question that has been posed to me - namely, "What is it about Stockholm?", amongst other pressing inquiries.
The following is the first attempt to scratch below the surface, to paint various pictures of a multifaceted city in the music and words of some of Stockholm's most talented citizens. My thanks to Norma for being my first test subjects.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
How did Norma come about?
We're all kind of weird, in our different ways. I think that was what brought us together. Norma is all about us three. If you would exchange any of the members, the sound would be totally different. You could describe it as some sort of terrorbalance. We all have a lot of ideas going in different directions, but the result of the struggle is Norma.
Where in Stockholm do you guys rehearse? Where have you rehearsed in the past?
Right now, we actually don't have any place to rehearse. That is one of the biggest downsides of being a band in Stockholm, there are just no cheap dungeons for bands to evolve in. So for now, our apartment (Aron Sandell and Petter Bendelin's) will have to do. But you can't do live drums here, and if we continue like this, sooner or later our neighbours will come knockin'... In the past we've been in a couple of different shelters, but when your guitars start rusting and you have to do warm-up exercises for 30 minutes before you can play a song, you feel like there's just got to be a better way.
What inspirations are present on "1"?
Well, the songs that are on "1" all sprung out from sessions in a small shelter in Zinkensdamm in the summer of 2006. It was dark, humid, and kind of noisy because of the concrete walls. When we first came there, we didn't have an A-to-B plan of what we wanted to do, but because of the preconditions in the shelter, it was kind of hard for us to write proper 3 minute verse-chorus songs. So instead we ended up making 6-10 minute songs with non-traditional structures and few chords. You couldn't really tell if anyone changed chords anyway, so it was better to stick to as few as possible. Mentioning different bands as sources of inspiration is kind of boring, but everything from Pink Floyd and Neu! to Postal Service and Hot Chip inspired "1".
How much would you say living in Stockholm impacts you all as individuals and collectively as a band? Does Stockholm feel like home?
I think it impacts us a lot, both as a band and as individuals. Two of us are from the island Gotland which is a few hours by boat from Stockholm. There's a big difference in living on an island with 60,000 other people or in a city of almost 2,000,000. But I (Aron) would still say that I'm from Gotland and not Stockholm.
As for the band, I think it means a lot, too. Just look at the difference of bands coming from say Gothenburg compared with bands from Stockholm. A good thing about Stockholm is that everyone is really good at what they do, no matter if it's art, music, film or writing. So when people start to take notice of you here, you know that you've probably done something right.
Has Stockholm ever inspired a song - for good or ill?
"The storm" is a song inspired by life here, which of course is both good and bad.
Have any of you wanted to move away - and if so, where?
We've talked about moving to Germany because of the possibilities of getting ourselves a warehouse facility which is impossible here. Haven't made it there yet, but we'll see what the future holds.
What bars, coffee shops, dance nights, 'must see places', etc. would you recommend to a foreigner visiting Stockholm for a week or so?
I think all three of us would like to go out more, but there is little money and even less time, so none of us would be a great guide to Stockholm's club life. The classic, both as a concert venue and bar, is of course Debaser. All three of us have spent a lot of time there. Another favorite is Landet. Two of us used to live nearby. And AG, where we had the release party for "1", is cool. We mostly drink our coffee at home, or in the studio. And when it comes to must-sees, well Stockholm is more of a city that you have to experience by meeting people and hopefully learning where the greatest party of weekend is at.
Where do you guys typically hang out?
The new black is Kungsholmen, two of us just moved here. And then there's Söder, and the places I mentioned before.
On a Friday night, would you guys rather go out to bars/clubs, or to a house party?
We would rather go to our own house party than go out clubbing, because house parties tend to be more wild and you can play whatever music you feel like listening to. But, I mean, it's kind of tiring to clean up afterwards... So a little bit of both is a good recipe to a healthy and happy life.
What clubs have you played at in Stockholm? Which were your favorites and why?
Fritz's Corner, Ljummen i Gräset, Musik Scenario, and our release party. That's it. We've only made 4 appearances ever, if you don't count the ones a couple of years ago when we were experimenting a lot. My favorite was definitely Debaser, but all the gigs have been great. Norma live is awesome though, so hopefully we will hit the road soon.
The only show we ever did outside of Stockholm was on Gotland a couple of years ago; weird gig, we didn't have any finished songs, almost no lyrics, and the audience was really drunk... Did far better than you could expect under those circumstances.
Which bands inspired Norma? Are there any Stockholm-based bands that motivated you?
Our friends, Torpedo ( with Love Martinsen on synthesisers), Antennas and Existensminimum are all really great and huge sources of inspiration for us in many ways.
What does the future hold for Norma?
We're in the middle of recording our first album. Hopefully it will be released sometime this coming spring, and then following that there will probably be some kind of tour. We're improving every song we make, so we're already looking forward to making the next record, and then the next, and so on.
Norma is: Aron Sandell, Love Martinsen, and Petter Bendelin.
LINK: http://www.theamazingnorma.com/
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/theamazingnorma