When I first heard Moto Boy I had just fallen in love and every note in his heart – filled ballads was filling me up with electrifying chills. Lyrical songs sang in a voice blending roughness and tenderness in perfect proportions, as an ideal soundtrack for a modern love story. Balancing between the total honesty and mystery, Moto Boy aka. Oskar Humlebo creates his own universe, where glam tunes mix with angelical choruses, twisted Berlin vibes and almost operatic singing.
After releasing three full albums and two EPs, Moto Boy is now participating in a special project, paying homage to another multitalented artist, Björk. On the 50’s birthday of the Icelandic queen of musical unconventionality, Moto Boy, Jenny Wilson and Edda Magnason will all sing together with the concert ensemble and choir of Norrlands Operan in Umeå, Sweden. The project entitled ”Made by Björk’’ will also come to Stockholm – don’t miss the concerts at Berwaldhallen on the 3rd and 4th of December!
We caught up with Moto Boy to ask about his connection to Björk and his own artistic journey.
You are current with a special performance dedicated to Björk on her 50’s birthday – MADE by Björk. Where did the idea come from?
It is the brainchild of Hans Ek, and I believe he´s been cradling the idea ever since he scored the Polar Prize ceremony for laureate Björk in 2010.
Hans has this fantastic ability to create flowing tides of music rather than song to song arrangements, so this will be a deep dive into the sound and feel of Björk´s musical world.
How was it to collaborate with such different artists like Jenny Wilson and Edda Magnason?
I love them, they´re both amazing singers and people! They are very different singers from both me and each other but we fit perfectly together, it´s a very cool and wild combination.
Which approach or attitude towards music and art as a whole do you think you share with Björk?
Hard to say, but I think we both strive to make music without compromising, to put unique and personal expression in front and create something interesting and pure to ourselves.
What is your favorite Björk song?
There are so many, Björk has been a great idol of mine since I was a teenager. But I have to say “Play Dead” stands out a bit, I spent months listening to nothing but that song, it has such a powerful melancholy to it, and her singing is out of this world..
You have a background in jazz and have worked with both orchestras and opera. What’s it like to come back to the great concert hall environment? What do you find special and different from your regular touring?
Both worlds are wonderful in their own ways and I love being in both. The great difference of course is the mobile vs stationary thing I guess, when you´re in one place you can pack a much heavier punch and be more planned and precise. On tour things are always more spontaneous and chaotic, which has a charm in itself. It´s like the difference between a jumbo jet and a motorbike. I love them both!
Your last album was recorded after some dramatic twists: a flood in your studio, loosing your voice on tour… are you working on a new one already and how is it going?
Yup the last album was cursed from start to finish, and it nearly finished me off. But I can be pretty persistent, stubborn and single-minded, for good and for worse. I am working on a new album but I´m letting it take a little time to find new inspiration and experiment with different sounds and approaches. If you ask me today it´s going well, but if you ask me tomorrow, it might be the opposite. Like always, I hate it and love it.
You are sometimes described as androgynous and over a long period of time everybody was just asking about you wearing lipstick. How did this image come up and how important is it for you?
I wanted to, and still want to, do stuff that’s interesting and non-boring. I guess the lipstick became boring after a while when that became the norm, so I changed it and do other stuff. The whole androgynous thing is fun and inspiring, gender norms are extremely boring, stupid and suffocating. They really beg to be fucked with!
Who else would you like to collaborate with or include in your music?
I´d love to collaborate with Icelandic composer/producer Olafur Arnalds at some point, he´s scored one of my songs (Keep Your Darkness Secret) but we´ve never done a full on collaboration.
How do you create these lyrics out from your subconscious?
I´ve always wanted to make sort of collages of lyrics rather than telling stories, focusing on the feel of it rather than precise meaning, kind of like Björk or Cobain. I wanna paint a picture, a mood, more cinematic than storytelling. I´ve been drawn to melancholy and darkness for as long as I remember, I guess I just find it more interesting than the happy feel-good kinda stuff.
Like in “Keep Your Darkness Secret”, which is a statement around the fact that we usually are not allowed by social norms to have that shadow, darkness in us, something we all have, there´s this pressure to be happy and delightful which eventually drives you insane…
What do you personally think about or feel during a show?
I try to let go of all ambition before a show, as soon as you start thinking “this is an important show” you fuck it up. I just want it to be a great and beautiful experience for you and me, and not something routinely and mundane. If you´re not balancing on the thin line between control and chaos you´re not doing it right.
On your website one can read that you describe yourself as ”Singer. Guitarist. Romantic. Swedish”. What does each of these words mean for you and how does it describe you as a musician and person?
Haha, I like the Zoolander sound of it:)
It is what it is, and I liked the “Swedish” part since, I mean, there is this classic northern melancholy in what I do, and it sounds like a cheapish faceshot actor slash musician slash model slash stripper slash dogwalker slash whatever kind of resume card slogan:)
You are working on a new album with your other project Pikko. Please tell us a bit about it and how is the band project different from what you do as Moto Boy?
Pikko has been my secret love affair and hiding place for a long time, and we´ve kept it to ourselves and our friends, soundtracking our own parties, not wanting to taint it with the hassle of the music biz, but lately it´s turned out so good we wanna share it for the first time since 2007.
Pikko actually predates Moto Boy and has always been there. They´re kind of orbiting each other, co-dependant, no Pikko no Moto.
Pikko has always been the crazier one, where we lose it completely and do all the weird wonderful stuff we want to, and I indulge in sounds rather than songs. I´m psyched to say we´re releasing it early 2016.
You’ve been recently touring/travelling through Chile and Mexico. Any special memories?
I´ve been playing the guitar with The Cardigans, been doing it since the Gran Turismo tour of 2012.
It´s been the ride of a lifetime, and we’ve become a very tight unit. I knew it would be a great experience but I never really expected to get 4 new best friends from it. They’re the best people and I hope this goes on forever.
How do you feel you evolved as a musician though the years? Your plans and dreams?
Well, I´m better at everything, but that’s not always a good thing, experience can be a downer to. Doing music should be kind of like losing that virginity over and over. In a way I feel more like a serial killer than a craftsman, I keep chasing that high and keeping mementos from past kicks, and it’s pretty compulsive. Good thing there’s really no limit to what you can do though, I mean, the more you learn the more you know how little you know.
Credits:
Words by Weronika Pérez Borjas & photos by Jessica Lund