Tag: Gbg
I think it's fair to say that Jerry Bowman is a Göteborg scenester. I know that many people bristle at the term, but really, how else do you describe someone who is not only a prominent member of the local media, but also a show promoter and respected blogger? And yes, this week's guest in our ongoing Gbg-spotlight series. I mean no disrespect! So with that, on to the questions!
How long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you/keeps you there?
I've been walking the streets of Göteborg since 2001, when I got a job here. I'm from a small town on the west coast of Sweden, where everybody dreams about Göteborg. I pictured the city in a romantic haze, and when I moved here that image turned out to be true. I'm staying because I've found my home.
Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound or attitude? If so, how would you describe it? Any prominent examples you'd like to cite?
There is no Göteborg sound. That's a myth created by the media. I think it's more of an attitude, a feeling of being the underdog. No one has ever really called Göteborg an underdog though, it's more of a self-inflicted position. People in Göteborg like to be the dirty, obnoxious dog compared to Stockholm. I think that Göteborg is more open to music that speaks from the heart. The bands just let it flow, they don't really give a shit about what's 'right' or 'wrong'.
A few examples are: Autisterna, Pen Expers, They Live by Night, Peter Sjöholm, Mormors Systrar and Cobra Charlie.
What is it that makes Gbg different from other major Swedish cities?
What sets Göteborg apart from all other Swedish cities is that, statistically, one person gets hit by a tram here every day of the year. We live in constant fear of these huge monsters! And fear generates creativity and fellowship!
How about if you were hosting an out-of-town visitor- what are the must-see places you would take them?
I would take him or her to the harbour. We have the biggest harbour in Scandinavia and it's located right in the city center (there are both pros and cons about that). Harbours are exciting. I would show the visitor the 'Broder Daniel-crane' and where they shot the video for "Shoreline". Then we would go to see a concert, of course. Hopefully Koloni would be arranging something that evening. If not, I would take my guest to Klubb Sandviken, the club run by me and my girlfriend. Needless to say, it's the best club in town. :-)
I know are a champion of many local Gbg acts- who are a few (more) of your current personal favorites?
Love & Happiness, Tilde Hjelm, a guy called Jesper from Frölunda (a Göteborg suburb) and Pats, the singer from Hospitalle who is now writing songs in Swedish. The last two have no MySpace pages... yet.
Of those favorites, got a particular song you'd like to share?
"Stop, wait or go" by Love & Happiness.
Listen below...
Love & Happiness - Stop, wait or go
None of the various interviews I have in the works are anywhere near ready for posting, so our weekly Göteborg spotlight post won't contain the usual insightful content you've come to expect. Instead I bring you a track from the Black Sun Records 1994 comp "Metal Militia: A tribute to Metallica". Despite featuring a lot of big names from the 90s Gbg metal scene, In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Ceremonial Oath, etc., this collection sucks balls. The only halfway decent track: Snotrocket's cover of "Escape", originally found on my favorite Metallica album "Ride the lightning". The thing is, Snotrocket isn't a real band - it's a pseudonym. Now I know that's Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, Skitsystem, Disfear, etc.) on vocals, but I have no idea who the rest of the band is. Is it At the Gates trying to avoid contractual obligations? Other Gbg all-stars? No clue. Either way, here's the track for you to enjoy.
Snotrocket - Escape
If it wasn't for At the Gates, It's a Trap! would not exist. They were the very first band I ever heard that I associated with having a distinctive "Swedish" sound and I can still fondly remember the day I brought home "Terminal spirit disease". I must've listened to it at least three times in a row; it was an absolute revelation. When the follow-up album "Slaughter of the soul" came out, I listened to it at least once a day, every day for six months straight. So yeah, when I say that At the Gates changed my life, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. Taking that into account, I am extremely flattered that AtG guitarist Anders Björler agreed to participate in this week's Göteborg feature.
Would you say there is a particular Gbg sound or attitude? If so, how would you describe it?
Gothenburg stood for melody, while for example the Stockholm sound was more Punk / Rock influenced. However, the Gothenburg bands didn't have that much in common. They all had unique styles.
Was there already an established metal scene in Gbg back when AtG first started? Was there ever a point when you realized that there some something special or distinctive going on or did that only happen once you started to get international attention?
There was no metal scene at all. There was only Grotesque [vocalist Tomas Lindberg's old band with scene vet Kristian Wåhlin aka Necrolord plus fellow AtG founding member Alf Svensson] in the Death Metal scene. A couple of Thrash bands like: Intoxicate, Pagandom, Dead End, Valcyrie, Megaslaughter etc...
We didn't realize how big it was going until after we split up. At the Gates were never a big band. We were basically a very small punk band that played melodic death metal.
How close-knit was the Gbg metal community back in the early 90s? Were there any rivalries?
It was very close. Especially the Billdal scene with bands like Dark Tranquillity, Desecrator (Anders Iwers, now Tiamat, and Oscar Dronjak, now Hammerfall). It was a very creative atmosphere. If there was any competition, it was a silent one. i.e - you tried to create the best music possible.
We all met at eachothers' parties, and we hung out at gigs etc. It was basically a large group of friends.
How do you think the city influenced the sound? Are there any particular artists, labels, zines, venues, etc that stand out as having helped shape the scene?
Dolores records was very important. It was also a record store. Through them I got into Carcass in 1989, the rest is history.
I also think that the Gothenburg weather served as an influence for the sound somehow. It's really melancholic sometimes. Very grey and rainy. I think it's very similar to let's say: Seattle.
Are you still based in Gbg nowadays? If so, what keeps you there? How would say things compare now to the old days?
Me and Martin live in Gothenburg. Adrian lives in London. Tomas lives on the east coast of Sweden. Jonas in the middle of Sweden.
We are all older. We experienced the At the Gates thing when we were kids basically. Everything has changed. The venues are closed down. People have moved or they have quit playing music. Basically what keeps me here is friends and family, but I can almost live anywhere in the world. I don't like to be stuck at one place too long. I have lived in other places in Sweden for a while, but always seem to come back to Gothenburg in the end.
Lastly, do you have a particular song that you think best reflects the city?
Cold :D
HUGE thanks again to Anders for contributing and be sure to check out the various At the Gates reunion gigs happening this summer. Also, keep an eye out for a new record from his current band The Haunted as well!
At the Gates - Cold
It's Saturday again so that means it's time once again for our weekly series on the music of Göteborg. Our guest: Dieter Schöön.
How long have you lived in Gbg? Where did you move from and why?
Since 92, moved from smaller town called Alingsås about 30 minutes away by car. I moved to join a funkband based in Gbg called The Punk Funk Union.
Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound?
I don't think there has ever been a particular Gbg-sound, I think it's more like an attitude and vibe around the very purpose of making music that could maybe be described as a Gbg thing, rather than sound.
In my opinion, the main Gbg purpose of making music has always been more about making great music rather than great money or success. This might be cause of the fact that there never really was a big record company operating in Gbg at all; the big ones have always been seated up in Stockholm.
Maybe people are just more serious about music here.
What advantages does living in Gbg offer artists? Disadvantages?
I think the lack of bigger record companies is both good and bad.
If you could pick up and move anywhere else in the world, where would you go?
Köln is a great town! Big river splicing the town up in two parts with four or five big bridges along the river, the terrifying dirty drome wich is covered by creepy sculptures of demons and devils on the surface... Köln is nice I think.
How has the city inspired you? Are there any particular songs of yours that you would say are a direct reflection upon the city?
I think the harbour is a very inspiring place at night with its orange lights and stillness and yes, I think "The harbour's cold" and "I'll go there", both of them are fairly reflective of the city.
Seeing as how I've previously posted "The harbour's cold", here's "I'll go there". Enjoy!
Dieter Schöön - I'll go there
This week's guest in our ongoing Göteborg spotlight series is Johan Gustavsson. Besides being a triumphant Guitar Hero player (seriously!), he keeps himself very, very busy performing music solo under the alias Tsukimono, as well as playing with groups such as Scraps of Tape, Viktor Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble, Alina, the new band The VIII Arms Around You and tons more. Keeping track of 'em all is near-impossible. Anyhow, I had questions and he was happy to supply some answers:
How long have you lived in GBG?
I've basically been living here for a year now. The first 6-7 months I kept working in Skåne, the south of Sweden, where I'm from. That meant a lot of driving and more or less living in my car, traveling between 3 different cities all the time.
But now I'm here and have been here full time since August 07.
Where did you move from and why?
I moved up here from Malmö for love. I met the greatest person and we decided to try and make it work out together. I was also losing my apartment in Malmö and I needed to get out of the situation I was stuck in at the time. Things have
worked out for the better.
Favorite part about the city? Least favorite?
I really like Gbg in general, I like walking in the city even though I do it a lot less than I'd like. I live in Majorna and
there is just a lot of nice things to look at and to take to heart.
Least favourite? The weather... for sure. Windy and rainy... but it's ok.
Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound? If so, how would you describe it?
Nah, I think what's so good about the music from Gbg is that it's all really diverse. You can find anything here, and
most of the time it's pretty damn good too. And with people like Christian Pallin/Koloni around who organizes shows and happenings all year-round, you get pretty spoiled with
opportunities to see interesting and odd bands/artists from all over the world.
How would you say the city inspired you?
I've been getting more back into punk and hardcore/metal again... which is great! There's a good scene here.
Started a few new bands, played with great people, met wonderful people with a real desire to do good and who have their
hearts 100% in what they do. It's pretty hard to not get inspired by stuff like that. I've also been getting better at saying no
and to not go everywhere and not do everything. To have the ability to not do things is very liberating.
Is there a particular piece that you've done that you feel was directly influenced by and/or provides a good reflection of the city?
Well, there's also a compilation coming out entitled "Gothenburg 08", which will be released by Fang Bomb... it'll feature me, Viktor Sjöberg, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words and many others... the track on there is about Gbg but since it's not released yet I'm not sure that's a good idea.
However, my new album coming out on Kalligrammofon, the "Heart attack money" cd, kinda touches on Gbg a lot too, so let's go for "Gloomy Sunday". It's being mastered this week Henrik Oja (The Spacious Mind, Säkert!) and Jonas Rosén (Female Anchor Of Sade, Asterisk*) so I'm super-psyched to hear the results soon.
Look for the album to receive a proper release soon, but in the meantime, here's the unmastered version of "Gloomy Sunday" to whet your thirst. Highly recommended!
Tsukimono - Gloomy Sunday
Instead of our typical Göteborg-related post this week, we're taking an entirely different approach by asking an outsider to look in. Our guest: Sir Eric Beyond of Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde.
For the record, what city do you call home?
We call Stockholm our home.
So, when was the last time you were in Gbg?
We were in Gbg in December and played at Preview festival. It was arranged by the great label Kning Disk.
What's your impression of the city, its people and its music?
It's a great city for underground music, and the audience seems much more interested in alternative pop music than the Stockholm music scene. That is probably not true, but they seem happier.
Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound? If so, how would you describe it?
Yeah there is something in the way of singing that lots of Gbg bands have. Some perfect mixture of stupidity, "I dont give a fuck-attitude" and pure joy. Gbg bands are more "real". We, Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde, the creme de la creme in Stockholm, take pride in being fake. Which is very real to us.
BUT, I think there are many more girls making interesting (and crap) music in Stockholm, I am more interested in listening to that. Damn, I wish that I was a girl...
When you think of bands/artists from Gbg, who is the first to come to mind?
The first Gbg artist that comes to my mind is Dishdishdance, she, Malin Dahlström had a brilliant performance with dancers at the festival where we played. She rocks. Don't know if she recorded anything. The two little songs on myspace wasn't even close to what I heard live. Totally different story.
Lastly, what exactly are you working on right now?
NOW I am building a four meter high catapult that I'm going to use for shooting crap on the parliament building in Stockholm in April, to protest against Swedish weapons export.
We are also makin new music that will be released maybe this year, maybe next.
Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde - Democracy
Saturdays in 2008 are devoted to the music of Göteborg. This week's guest: Joachim Nordwall aka The Idealist, head of iDEAL Recordings, also a member of The Skull Defekts. When I think about the new sound of Gbg, iDEAL Recordings and their contemporaries such as Kning Disk are exactly what come to mind. This is where art and music intersect to create something bold and innovative, something that hasn't been done before.
So how long have you lived in Gbg?
I've had Gothenburg as my base since 1996, but lived in London for a while in 1998 and traveled a lot.
Where did you move from and why?
I had lived in Paris and Umeå in the north of Sweden. Paris was great and I still see it as home when I go there and Umeå was kind of a disaster, so after one year of studies up there I needed to go south again and somehow ended up here. I didn't intend to stay for long, but accidentaly got stuck. It's quite easy to fall in love with Gothenburg.
Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound or feeling? How would you describe it?
Yeah sure. Gbg is friendly, rough sometimes and very democratic. It's a harbour town which and the second biggest in Sweden, similar in size to Oslo I guess.
What advantages does living in Gbg offer artists? Disadvantages?
The music scene has always been pretty good here, especially punk and rock, but also experimental stuff and dance. There's clubs to play, plenty of rehearsal space and we fool ourselves that we are close to Europe since we're only a few hours north from Copenhagen. Berlin is close too, you can drive there in ten hours if you're fast and sober. Disadvantages are that Gbg is small, not much new blood is coming in and the art scene sucks. We have very few good galleries here even though some known international visual artists live here. But then again, there's plenty of bars and illegal techno parties going down. Good ways to get loaded.
I know you work with a lot of scene veterans, but who do you think are the up-and-coming talents in Gbg right now?
Sure - there are a few of course. I like Pistol Disco - a duo doing Suicide-like dark electronic crack pop. The Extended Head seems to be doing some great stuff, his latest demo was a killer old skool dance punk thing. Other than that, some of my fav acts are from here. Like Studio, José González, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words and Contemporary Punk Unit.
Lastly, how has the city inspired you? Are there are any particular pieces from The Skull Defekts/The Idealist/iDEAL that provide a good sonic reflection of the city?
I am finding inspiration in loads of places. I live here, but travel a lot so my inspiration is honestly coming more from other places. Home is where I rest and work. I rarely lift my head to actually enjoy the view if you know what I mean. Gbg is a good place to be left alone and I leave it alone too hahaha. The Skull Defekts are recording and rehearsing in a hidden part of the hospital here which is of course extremely inspirational. We're there at night time only and it's a rather weird atmosphere up there. It's hard to name something but if I would choose one GBG anthem on iDEAL I'd probably name Henrik Rylander's "Traditional arrangements of feedback" but maybe more that Henrik is very Gothenburg to me than an actual sound to the damn thing.
Unfortunately, you'll have to go elsewhere to hear that Rylander piece, as Joachim specifically requested that The Skull Defekts accompany this post. And really, who am I to argue? Especially when the selected track is so good.
The Skull Defekts - The secret
Our 2008 series on the music of Göteborg continues this week with Samuraj Cities. The band just did a batch of dates in Germany, but they managed to answer a few questions for me before they left:
How long have you lived in Gbg?
We are all born in Gothenburg.
Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound?
No. I don't really think so... It's such a wide range of music that comes from our city, everything from pop, electro, noisemusic to metal. But there may be bands that sound a little bit similar. Maybe because people get inspired by each other or because some of the people play in many different bands.
What are your favorite Gbg hangouts? Any decent venues or record stores to recommend?
We really like Pusterviksbaren, a nice bar with alot of great concerts. Not so huge, but thats a part of why it´s so nice... Also there is a little pub called Skål, where we use to end up. Klaras is great too...
I like to run around in fleamarkets and by old vinylrecords. There are some good record stores like Blenda, Skivhugget and Bengans... the rest is pretty boring. When we come to new cities; record stores and musicstores is the first thing we are looking for...
How has the city inspired you?
Most of the things that inspires us, are not from Gothenburg. We are dreaming about going out on tour and seeing new places. It is very inspiring to see that some of our friends and many bands from our city are so successful, and most of the people we meet on tour are very friendly and positive towards you when you say you come from Gothenburg.
Is there a particular Samuraj Cities song that reflects the city?
We are working on a new song now called "Hisingen you give me the creeps".
Seeing as how that new song is unavailable to me, here's "Thxa1000000", the lead single off their 2006 debut album "Cheap deluxe". Hopefully we'll get to hear some new music soon.
Samuraj Cities - Thxa1000000
When people talk about the Göteborg sound, if they aren't talking about metal, then they are probably talking about two bands. Bad Cash Quartet is one and I'm sure I'll get to them eventually, the other is Broder Daniel. It's a sound of alienation and yearning with broad, anthemic melodies and anchored by pounding, garage-rock beats. No other band embodies the sound of teen angst better than Broder Daniel. There's a certain sophisticated simplicity to them as well, a feeling that's readily apparent when you hear something like Anna Ternheim's emotionally devastating cover of "Shoreline". It's evocative of a certain place and time, but translates easily. "Cruel town" is about Gbg, but it could be about anywhere.
Broder Daniel - Cruel town
Week #2 of our Göteborg feature. This week's guest: Kristofer Åström. As with last week's post on Björn Kleinhenz, Kristofer was kind enough to answer a few questions about his adopted city.
How long have you lived in Gbg?
About 4 years. 3 years in the countryside outside of Gbg and 1 year in the city.
Where did you move from and why?
I moved from Stockholm after 9 years. That wasn't really my kind of town. I find Gbg easier to live in. And friendlier.
Favorite part of the city? Least favorite?
Haga and Linné are my favourites. Avenyn is the least favourite.
Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound?
Yes I do. Can't really pinpoint it and I don't consider myself part of it, but there's something special about music from Gbg.
And how has the city inspired you?
It has brought me a lot of inspiring friends and a more active social life which has brought me a lot of ideas.
Today's featured track is "The dark" which comes off his most recent release "RainawayTown", the one album that topped my year-end list for 2007. It's also an album that could not have been made in any other city, as indicated by the title and yes, the sound. The distinction may be hard to pinpoint and Kristofer might even try to deny it, but I think it's true.
Kristofer Åström - The dark
Saturdays in 2007 were dedicated to the music of The Bear Quartet and now, in 2008, we're opening things up beyond a single band to explore the music of Göteborg, Sweden. Past, present and future, we'll do our best to examine it all and make some sense of it over these next 52 weeks. First up, we start nice and easy with my good friend Björn Kleinhenz:
How long have you lived in GBG?
6 years
Where did you move from and why?
Sölvesborg. It's way down south. You'd understand the move had you been there. It's just a small small town.
Favorite part about the city?
Having being able to make it mine. My friends and the few little spots I like to think of as my own. Small things you do that have a meaning to you.
Least favorite?
I guess any city gets a bit too small for you no matter what the size. Sometimes you just wanna flee 'cos it seems as if everyone knows everyone and it's quite stressful at times. It's like a Dallas episode.
Do you think that there's a particular GBG sound?
No I don't.
Lastly, how has the city inspired you?
I've written the songs for my new album here. I don't think they could have been written anywhere else. For good and bad.
Unfortunately, Björn's new record is not quite ready for primetime just yet, so here's a track from 2004's "Trans pony". Enjoy!
Björn Kleinhenz - Better company