Dead Vibrations

Consisting of Christian Jansson, Elmer Hallsby, Josefin Ahlqvist Lyzwinski and Louise Erdman, Dead Vibrations break the sound barrier with their heavy tunes. Just listen to their eponymously named debut album, released in January – it will blow your mind. The Stockholm-based band combines the darkest aspects of psych rock with minimalist shoe gaze, accompanied by angry drums.

They explain their own sound by saying that it’s characterised by their previous individual experiences as musicians. “Everyone has their own way of playing and musical peculiarities that go in different directions, which I believe makes the final sound unique,” says bassist Hallsby.

Jansson, Dead Vibrations’ vocalist and guitarist, says the album stands out quite a bit from their previous releases, since they did not have to work to any deadlines when producing it. This allowed them to take their time and let the music grow. “The songs became more thought out and were allowed to breath for a while until we felt fully content with them. It allowed the ideas and thoughts regarding the sound to flow naturally. It’s a mixture of something beautiful and evil, like a summer’s day with dark clouds and tense air pressure,” he says.

Dead Vibrations seem to live and breathe music. They describe it as their medicine and a great passion, something you sense listening to their tracks. To be absolutely free and without boundaries triggers their evolvement and keeps their creative spark alive. “I think that we evolve musically by not having any boundaries. We’re free and able to do whatever we like, making music in a way that feels the most comfortable and fun for us,” says Jansson. “I believe that as long as we don’t put ourselves in a corner of a genre, we will continue to be innovative and creative. It has worked very well so far.”

For all of the band members, their first really strong memory connected to music can be found in their childhoods. Drummer Ahlqvist Lyzwinski recalls her parents playing music that ranged from Neil Young and Björk to The Knife and Led Zeppelin. “Just as Josefin, all my early music memories are connected to my home and upbringing,” says Hallsby. “Early mornings in front of ZTV probably left some kind of imprint as well. It’s easy to get stuck in shallowness when you talk about things close to your heart such as music, but the fact is that music is such a striking medium. It still dazzles me. There is no time for it to pass through filters of consciousness. It still gets you and that’s what’s beautiful about it.”

The band’s style reeks of an updated and personal take on rock’n’roll, which is probably why the Whyred clothes worn in the shoot look like they have been part of their wardrobes for a long time. “If I find something skintight that I won’t sweat away in I’m pretty satisfied,” says Hallsby playfully. “We do also often help each other out finding garments that will make us look collectively cool.”

When it comes to fashion and style icons Ahlqvist Lyzwinski drops PJ Harvey as an inspiration – “Style-wise and regarding attitude.” Hallsby opens up about his soft spot for suits: “I like to look a bit sloppy, dirty and undone, but still a bit half-luxurious.” Their frontman seems to have an even more creative approach towards clothes. “I have started using more colours and lighter ones, which is weird,” says Jansson. “I think that I miss summer and try to remind myself that the sun actually exists. It’s probably going to be the other way around when the sun comes back.”

With the debut release behind them, a Scandinavian tour in April with NONN is what’s next on the agenda. This will be followed up by a new album release at the end of the year. Dead Vibrations really seem to have found a golden productive artery.

HOLY

The project of Hannes Ferm, HOLY, is like a bag of candy, mixing sweet and sour. He’s building a unique musical universe consisting of ’60s garage, lo-fi pop influences and melancholic atmospheres that get torn apart by glam-rock riffs. All topped with a voice softer than satin.

From Umeå, north Sweden, Ferm now lives in Stockholm and studies art at Gerlesborgsskolan while he makes music. Does studying another art form influence his creativity? “I think studying art has given me the possibility to get inspired by things I otherwise would not have been exposed to,” he says. “It’s also taught me to think in an abstract and conceptual way, something I couldn’t do before.”

HOLY’s second album, All These Worlds Are Yours, was released in January and explores soundscapes in an experimental way, avoiding the trap of stagnating in how he makes music. “I believe the formula is angst and inferiority combined with a genuine interest in exploring unfamiliar musical areas,” he says.

The album carries the same qualities as the ’60s psychedelic movement, yet also has elements of the early-’70s glam-rock scene mixed up with modern garage DIY vibes. The result is the sound of a 21st-century Bowie or Rundgren, just to mention a few. “I think that seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show is what triggered the start of the process, but I also listened to classic early-’70s rock – Lou Reed’s Transformer and Diamond Dogs by Bowie,” he says. “[With this album] I wanted to explore every part of that world, the aesthetic aspects but also the music and theatrical parts.” He reveals he had also wanted to work with rock’n’roll clichés: “I realised these clichés are so damn beautiful. I came to the conclusion that a song can feel both powerful and fragile.”

When it comes to HOLY’s visual work and aesthetics, such as the music video to the almost-impossible-to-pronounce track ððð, you get the impression that Ferm gives this a lot of thought. “What’s most important is that the visuals and music match and evoke the same feelings in me,” he says

As for fashion influences, Ferm mentions Liberace, the entertainer famous for his extravagant clothing, but being busy travelling, he doesn’t really have the time or energy to pack his suitcase or think about putting together an outfit in the early mornings – “I just take whatever is on the floor closest to my bed.” Judging by his look, this probably means that Ferm only owns great clothes.

Even though it has only been a few weeks since the release of All These Worlds Are Yours, Ferm has already got grand plans for HOLY in the year ahead. “We will do a few festivals this summer and some shows during the fall. I have also started to record the next album, so I’m going to try to finish it during this year as well,” he says. Ferm has found a creative drive that leads him to explore unknown musical landscapes. Like astronauts in space, he steers his steps towards ground where no one has walked before.

ShitKid

In many ways pure and raw in its expression, yet very well made, ShitKid’s music makes an upfront and direct impression. It’s something that has made her output strong and powerful, beating like a hammer through the constant buzz of music releases.

A lot has happened for Åsa Söderqvist, aka ShitKid, since she first uploaded her self-titled debut EP to the internet in 2015. Söderqvist is insanely productive and has released singles and a full-length LP since, as well as received music awards. She doesn’t seem to have a very complicated relationship with her own creativity, though. Her main driving force is that she finds making music fun and lets everything evolve from that mindset. “When I make music it’s often because I happen to fall into it. Sometimes I feel all hyped instead of tired for a whole week, so it’s hard to tell. But I find making music fun, and that’s always something. If I get stuck or if it sounds bad, I just do something else until making music feels fun again,” she says.

Her relationship towards music hasn’t changed that much since the start, but as she points out, it’s only been two years since she started out. “I still play music the same way, using the same instruments. OK, except there are two songs with bass in it, that’s it. But on the other hand, I want to try making the next album in a completely different way,” she says.

The media has often depicted Söderqvist as unpredictable and even a bit cocky. For those of you who have seen her live, you might be tempted to agree, but Söderqvist is fully aware of how she’s being portrayed. It’s clear that she owns the situation and plays by her own rules. Mainly she’s the one in charge of the way journalists write about her, contributing to their coverage of her through her use of social media. “I love that Örnsköldsvik Allehanda, a small local newspaper, wrote that I got kicked out of Manifestgalan due to my caption on a photograph uploaded on my Instagram. I think that they’ve missed rock’n’roll or something,” she laughs.

ShitKid’s aesthetic is undoubtedly DIY and it has a visual mindset that permeates her videos and covers. Söderqvist confesses that she doesn’t think that much about it but accepts there are normcore aspects, a kind of anti-fashion approach. “I’m probably pretty normcore apart from the fact that I’m also crazy,” she says. “Then it’s great to have a band like ShitKid where you can use it as an image. It is something that has developed from me being emo while I was growing up, until I became boring and stopped wearing make-up.”

Söderqvist seems to have a pretty relaxed attitude towards what she wears and is often found in normcore clothes, sometimes with an added little twist of irony. She mentions her friend and style icon Moa Romanova Strinnholm as an influence when it comes to fashion. Also, the Whyred rock’n’roll aura really fits the punk side of her artistry with its playful attitude towards fashion norms, mixing casual dressing with finer tailoring. But she confesses that she hates shopping. “I really hate buying clothes and I get in a panic when visiting stores,” she says.

It probably won’t come as a surprise that this creative mind has a lot going on, with new music in the pipeline. This time around she’ll begin by creating the songs as usual and then let her band members, Arvid Sjöö and Lina Molarin Ericsson, interpret them. “Unlike me, they know their instruments. I imagine it will be easier to listen to and more professional, but still using the same musical foundation,” says Söderqvist. Later this year, ShitKid is going to USA and doing more gigs. As Söderqvist herself says: “There aren’t any more awards to win, so that’s probably what I’m going to do.”

Evolvement is all about challenging yourself, daring to question your standpoint and the way you process and work with your ideas. Dead Vibrations, HOLY and ShitKid are all great examples of how good the result can be if one dares to go outside the usual patterns. They’re artists who are representing the wonderful diversity of our wide musical landscape and keep exploring unknown territories.

Team credits
Words by Amanda Båmstedt
Photography by Dan Sjölund
Styling by Pejman Biroun Vand
Hair and make up (Dead Vibration and Holy) by Lillis Hemmingsson
Hair and make up (ShitKid) by Elva Ahlbin
Stylists assistants Hedvig Holgersson and Emelie Berglund
Special thanks to Whyred

Fashion credits
All clothes by Whyred

Lead by the charismatic frontman Nils Krång, Cat Princess is one of the most thrilling new bands to have emerged from the Stockholm indie scene this year. Coinciding with the release of their debut EP (entitled ”Please Me”), we met up with him for a photo shoot, a chat about creativity, and, frankly, just to get a glimpse into his fascinating mind.

”To me it’s about being able to express emotions that are received by the senses,” he says thoughtfully. “You create something that others can perceive. It’s not enough to have a thought; surely one can think in a complex way, but to me it has to turn into something concrete in order for it to be regarded as creativity.”

What do you think drives creativity?

– I feel great when I get to do something that has to do with music, art… or food! Something that is consumed by the senses and evokes emotions. Whether it creates thoughts is secondary. If it creates thoughts but not emotions, I have failed with what I wanted to accomplish.
– The best thing about creativity is that it’s a way to communicate. Maybe I can make you feel the same way as me through something I’ve done creatively, rather than if I’d just told it to you. The spoken language is not as colourful as the creative language. You don’t always need to talk about it; the impression is more than what can be conveyed in words.

What are the limitations in the creative process when you’re a part of a group, and what needs to click in order for it to work out?

– You need to be open to changes and that things might not turn out exactly as you had planned. The group is something larger than you, so you need to give the others as much space as you’d like to take. And you need to have the mind-set that the result will emerge by itself without you trying to manipulate it too much.

How important is spontaneity?

– There are some frameworks that are difficult to step outside. For instance, it might be difficult to change the song’s structure when you play it live. But it’s nice when it feels as if the song has a life of its own. If something happens, it happens, don’t try to correct it. It’s difficult to put words on it, but I feel that it’s important for us to let the music out and be free. It must live its own life.

What emotions do you think your music conveys?

– I think it’s funny when there are a lot of things happening within the same song. That there are different parts, that the tempo is changing, that you never feel safe. Thus, there might be a multitude of emotions conveyed in the same song.

– It’s like meeting someone for the first time in a long time. It can ignite several different emotions, and these are complexly woven into each other. At the best, that’s what I want our songs to be like. Maybe it’s sadness, excitement and anger at the same time. I like it when there are multiple layers. It would be fun to explore how many emotions you can convey in one song. My favourite records are probably those when you’re thrown around all over the place.

How do you think music, fashion and art merge into one another?

They complement each other. It could be fun to create a dissonance between the feelings of a song, and how it’s presented visually. If you strive for a particular artistic expression, I think it’s necessary to take into account all that’s around it; the music and the clothes effect how the art is perceived. If you wear the wrong clothes and it’s the wrong music in the background, the idea you had in the beginning could be destroyed.

Credits:

Words by Jonatan Södergren

Photo by Nora Cederin

Make-up by Alejandra Cerda

One day in 2003, a friend and I met at a Stockholm coffee shop to discuss business ideas. It was one of those serious conversations about our futures and, more specifically, about starting our own business.

Before arriving, I had been shopping for one of those tape recorders that journalists use (to do research for a book I was writing). I spontaneously turned it on in the middle of our conversation just to try it out. The following is an excerpt from our conversation.

Friend: “Okay, hit it. What are the ideas you’ve come up with? I want to know all of them, even if you think they suck. No shame. We’re brainstorming here. Go for it.”

Me: “Cool. Here we go. You love dogs. I love dogs. Right? French bulldogs, especially. What if we start a company that designs premium clothing for French bulldogs? Called something like Frenchiewear. That would be so cool.”

Friend: “What? I’ve never heard of anyone who pays premium dollar just to clothe their dog. Also, the name sounds like clothes for French people. It’s just weird.”

Me: “Okay. Well, what about pencils? Everyone uses them, but most are shitty. Either you steal them from class or get them for free from somewhere. But imagine a store that specialises in pencils. Antique pencils, high-tech modern pencils, artistic pencils – whatever your needs, you can find the perfect pencil just for you. Like a Nike store, but for pencils.”

Friend: “Seriously, dude, are you for real? An entire store just for pencils? You’d go bankrupt on day one. They don’t exist, because only a weirdo would give a damn about their pencil. Give me something good.”

Me: “Okay, okay. Look, we travel a lot together, right? And sometimes we end up in an airport that we really love, without understanding why.”

Friend: “Yes. Like last month, when we were in Budapest! Damn, I love that airport.”

Me: “Exactly! I think the secret lies in the carpeting.”

Friend: “The carpeting?”

Me: “Yeah, I think the carpeting in airport terminals is the critical factor that makes an airport nice or crappy. I’ve been fascinated by airport carpeting for a while, to be honest. I’m thinking we could create a website that reviews carpets in airport terminals. We could make serious cash from advertising on that site.”

Friend: “Carpets in airports? Who gives a shit about carpets in airports?! I thought we were having a serious conversation about a money-making business, man.”

Me: “What if we create a TV show where we travel the world and document elevators in buildings?”

Friend: “… … …” Me: “Or an online community for people who believe they’re vampires.”

Friend: “… … … … …” Me: “Okay, last suggestion – an international event for rubber-duck racing.”

Friend: “You’re fucking insane.”

Now, my question to you is this – do you think I’m insane? Do you think my ideas were stupid? Chances are that you probably do. And if you do, you’re actually the one who’s insane. Here’s why.

First of all, I have a confession to make: that entire conversation is made up. But there’s a critical element of truth in it: all the ideas that the imaginary version of me came up with are 100% real. Yes, there is a website dedicated to reviewing airport carpets. There’s even a 14,000-fans-strong Facebook page dedicated to the carpet at Portland International Airport, Oregon.

In other words, there is a large number of people who passionately care about the weird stuff above. How is this possible? And why is this even important? Because of these three reasons.

1 People are naturally weird I’m weird. You’re weird. Maybe you don’t buy clothes for your French bulldog. Maybe you don’t believe you’re a vampire, or maybe you don’t care about pencils, but you’re weird in one way or another – either through a hobby, an interest, a secret fascination, something.

For example, I love jet airliners. In fact, I love them so much I purchased flight-simulation software, a flight stick, throttle, the whole shebang. In my spare time, I spend hours in front of my homemade flight simulator. I calculate routes with maps that are synched with real-world airline traffic and I fly. From Stockholm to Reykjavik. From Berlin to New York. I might even be able to land a real Airbus 320 by now (well, I know how to get the autopilot ready for landing, so if the autopilot is broken we’re done for). I’m not making this up, I love doing this. It’s one of my many weird fascinations.

And guess what? There are hundreds of online communities for people like me. We fly planes together, discuss their aerodynamics, even design our own planes, sell them on online stores specialising in flight-simulator airplanes… You get the idea. There’s a sprawling and bustling online world that awaits and welcomes all hobbyist computer pilots who are out there in the world.

So, what’s your weirdo fascination? You have one, too, I know it! If you’re afraid to admit it, or think people will ridicule you, here’s a piece of inspiration: I had a colleague who had a passion for laminating stuff and therefore actually had a laminating machine at home. Yes, a machine that laminates paper and makes it plastic-y. Again, not making this up. This colleague loved laminating stuff, among many other interests, of course, and I think it’s freaking awesome.

2 People seek other people who share their interests and values For as long as us humans have existed, this behaviour has been deeply rooted in our DNA. But until now, the seeking part has been really difficult. Weirdos have been suffering in silence for millennia, afraid of being cast out from their social tribes if they deviate too much from what’s considered normal. Reason 3 solves this problem.

3 Technology – or more specifically, the internet This is the most critical and exciting reason. This is what connects reasons 1 and 2 and renders all of the crazy weirdness I told you about before possible. You can connect with anyone on the entire planet. So, if you have a weird idea, a weird fascination, a weird whatever, chances are there will be thousands of other people around the planet who are weird in exactly the same way as you. And for the first time in history, you can actually seek and find them. You are no longer alone, and never will be, if you choose not to be.

So, in summary, the reasons all the weird stuff is possible are 1) we are inherently weird in our unique ways; 2) we are programmed to connect with other people, and the more unique the reason for our connection, the deeper the connection; and last but not least, 3) we now have the means to connect with virtually ever other human being on the planet.

In other words, being weird is not weird any more. Technology and the internet killed normal. We can see it in every facet of our world today, and it’s not only visible on the surface, such as in the examples in the beginning of this story. In fact, the uprising of weirdness and niche interests is completely transforming how the entire economy works (more on this in another article, perhaps, but in the meantime, you can check out a piece that appeared in Wired called The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, who saw this happening already in 2004).

That’s how much of an impact and power the weirdo in you has. And whether you decide to turn it into a business, start a community, or just find like-minded people to share it with is entirely up to you. None is better than the other, as long as you don’t keep it a secret. Because if you do, you’ll never forgive yourself the day you realise what you’ve been missing out on.

So, step up and dare to be the real and weird version of you. Because you were born this way and you should celebrate it. And there are billions of us who want to celebrate it with you. See you around, weirdo <3

Credits:

Words by Dr Ashkan Fardost

Cosplay Couple; Suvarnabhumi Airport Terminal, Bangkok

© David Mckelvey; Chicago International Airport

© Nicola; © Gaetan Lee

Links:

FRENCHIEWEAR

The Carpet at Portland Airport

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson