itsafever

Lucky Water

Sem rodeios, aqui está a entrevista que o simpático Daniel Bergstrom concedeu para mim por e-mail direto da Suécia. Daniel é o Lucky Misu, banda sueca que postei uns meses atrás, e está lançando seu quarto EP, "Buy me some time", pelo seu site. Ele também mantém um mp3blog de muito respeito que conheci há pouco tempo, falando sempre sobre bandas pops e desconhecidas do mundo todo. Respect. Vá e baixe todas as músicas no site dele, aproveita enquanto está tudo disponível.

How's your life in Sweden? Your daily routine and stuff like that. With some details, please.
I've been studying for some years now. Human Rights, Peace and conflict studies, things like that. I'm sort of done with it. But I want to finnish things off with a teachers education. The only thing, it looks like I wont get in. Guess I'll be working all summer and then in September I'll take it from there.
Studying in Sweden means quite a lot of spare time since we are usually just having two lectures per week. That means alot of time for recording music and hanging out with friends... Life is good.
I'm also working at this youth center teaching 15 to 18 year olds how to use a simple recording studio. It's great doing things you love and get paid for it!

What was the first instrument that you learn to play? And what was the first song that you wrote? What's your favorite instrument today?
I'm not sure if I have learned to play any instrument properly yet... Although, I started out trying to get my fingers to take chords on a classical acoustic guitar when I was about 13 or 14. I tried to write punk songs on those nylon strings... I don't know, it probably stunk quite bad, but at the time they were the best songs ever written. I think I've got a tape somewhere with some old songs on it. I should try to find it. Maybe I can get some ideas for new Lucky Misu songs!
Ooh, I don't know if I've got a favourite instrument. I like my Casiotone keyboard alot.

Is there a specific music scene in Sweden? Loads of twee and indie pop group still popping everywhere? What's your opinion about Swedish pop of the 90's?
This is a thing that I’ve talked with my friends about. How can it be so many indie bands getting all this attention, both from national and international press? There are several blogs writing only about Swedish music. Clubs that play only Swedish bands. I don’t get it.
I think it’s because we are spoiled rich people. We can afford to buy instruments and start bands. Also, all the bands inspire each other. Maybe it’s just competition.

But our neighbour Norway has alot of oil and are insanely wealthy. But their music scene is rather non existing. Other countries have their eyes and ears turned to Swedish music and maybe that explains why there seems to be alot of great Swedish bands around. If people would focus on another country they would find great music there too. I think the people in the bands listen more to American and Brittish music than Swedish. Trying to copy it. And then it turns out as Swedish indie.

Swedish pop of the 90’s, huh? I don’t know. At the time I was listening to punk. And hip hop like N.W.A, Ice Cube and Ice-T. Haha. And then the lofi struck me with Pavement, Sebadoh.
I did not listen alot to Swedish music then. I don’t do now either. But I do like Eggstone, Popsicle and the early Cardigans. That whole pop scene was on the radio too much. I was more punk than that. So I had to like it in secret... Ha!

You seem to be very prolific. You're the type of guy that compose in a couple of minutes? What's the first thing that you do in a song? Lyrics? eletronic basis? or in a guitar first?
You think so? I don’t know. It’s June allready and I’ve only recorded two EP’s and a couple of singles. Oh, maybe that is alot by the way. The thing is, I get so very frustrated when I can’t produce music and every day feels like a life time. But then, when things are working, I record like crazy. The last EP was done in barely two weeks. That is writing and recording the songs.
I usually make some kind of beat to begin with. To see if any ideas pop out of my head. I sit by the piano, keyboards or with the guitar, just trying to find something to use and build the song upon. It’s different from time to time.

Here, I'll imitate a question that you make to bands that you interview in your blog. For which band/artist would you like to open?
A very good question! Hehe. Shit, I don’t know. Maybe the fans of Architecture in Helsinki could enjoy my music too. I love AiH, and they seem to have alot of fun on stage and maybe they would let me do a song with them. Can you make it happen?

I have an Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and there is no such a thing as MISU. What's this? In Japanese is water(pronounced mizu). Is there a relation?
It’s not in mine either... Uhm. I might get in trouble... I was in Thailand some years ago with my girlfriend and in one of all the hotel rooms we stayed in there was this fan on the wall. It had a sticker on it saying Lucky Misu. We thought it was a good name for a band so when me and Moe Lodin started writing songs we called ourselves Lucky Misu. I’ve actually found the Lucky Misu fan company on the internet... On some Thai business list. What if they find me and sue me?
I did not know that it was water in Japanese. Good to know if I get thirsty in Japan.

Tell a story about "Buy me some time" EP.
What’s there to say? Hmm... It’s really just five songs. A bit more serious than the other EP’s maybe. About running around corners, missing people. Run Run Around is actually an old song that I found on my computer. When I found it I thought it would work as an instrumental song. But then I had to sing. I had to cover up my bad guitar playing.