A Free Man

Our musical tour of Sweden continues with today’s guide, Matthias Strömberg of The Bell. The Stockholm and Malmo based trio released their debut LP “Make Some Quiet” in February to a fair bit of critical acclaim. They’ve earned comparisons to 80’s icons like Echo & The Bunnymen, New Order and The Church. These are fair, but “Make Some Quiet” is undeniably a 21st century record.

Some readers may know that A Free Man recently became A Free Dad. Any of my fellow Dads out there probably know that fatherhood infiltrates every feature of your being. So, apologies to the non-parents out there, but when I heard that Matthias welcomed his second child a few months ago I had to ask for some parenting tips. Don’t worry, though, we talked about music as well.

AFM: First of all, let’s take care of introductions. You guys released “Make Some Quiet” in February. Can you tell us a little about the players on that record?

MS: I am Mathias Strömberg, lyricist and vocalist, Nicklas Nilsson and Jan Petterson are musicians and technicians. They have the hands-on production role while I float around, much due to the fact that they have the studio in their town.

AFM: The Bell get a lot of comparisons to some of the darker English New Wave bands (Echo & the Bunnymen, The Cure, New Order). Are those fair comparisons? Where do your musical inspirations come from?

MS: I guess those are the easies comparisons to make. Although, we were all teenagers in the 80’s, so we listened to those bands then rather than lately. But I would say that our inspiration lies in some electronic, but mostly guitar based British and American 80’s indie. However, we listen to contemporary music. We work hard to stay current rather than trying to emulate a certain decade or style.

AFM: Which track are you most proud of from the recent record?

MS: I think that “I Am History” is the most worked through track that represent us the best. And yes, it is the track I am most proud of.

AFM: The production on “Make Some Quiet” is nicely done - dense, with a nice bit of fuzz. Who was turning the knobs? Where was the album recorded?

MS: Thank you. We have done it ourselves in our own studio in Malmö and some of the vocals was recorded in a Stockholm studio. It was mastered, very delicately, in San Francisco.

AFM: I’ve been hearing quite a few remixes of your music lately. Do you have much input into who does the remixing? What’s your favorite remix of one of your tracks?

MS: Yes, we have a lot to say about it, but the thrill is just putting it out there for new and interesting talent to “take care of”. My favourite is definitely the Whitenoise remix of “I am History” – a potential radio disco hit.

AFM: Let’s talk a bit about your homeland. Something seems to be happening in Sweden. There are tons of great indie-pop acts coming out of Stockholm and other cities right now. What’s going on? Is there something in the Swedish water? Where are all these fantastic bands coming from?

MS: Sweden is a good breeding ground for artists in this particular vein. We have always been taken care of by both our local governments, public radio and tv, and by people that have been starting labels without a financial agenda, for the love of the music. In that sense, I see a lot of likeness between Sweden of today and Britain and the US of, say, 20 years ago. And with the web the audience is global so bands can still make it big with very small means.

AFM: On your myspace page you list both Stockholm and Malmo as your home city. I know that there is some great music coming out of Gothenburg as well. Where’s the best place for music in Sweden? Is their competition between the different cities?

MS: I’m not sure. I think that people in Stockholm would benefit from a bit of fighting with Gothenburg, trying to challenge them to the pop throne. But Stockholmers imagine themselves to be “a bit better than that” and would rather compete with London or New York. Silly but true. So: the best bands will always be from Gothenburg.

AFM: What other Swedish bands should we be paying attention to?

MS: The Embassy, Studio, The Radio Dept., The Tough Alliance, The Field

AFM: I’ve heard a lot of good bands coming out of Denmark recently as well. Who would win the battle of the bands between Sweden and Denmark?

MS: Sweden without a doubt. Denmark has too little, too late. Sweden is in a different league. We are the second largest music exporters in the world, for Christ sake. What does Denmark have? The Raveonettes? Please.

AFM: Fightin’ words! Let’s change directions a bit to cool things off. I know that you recently became a father, as did I, so I hope you won’t mind some parenting questions. What kind of music do you play for your little boy? How do you gauge his reaction to different music?

MS: My daughter really digs good old rawk and roll, but she’s getting into some dancier stuff now when she can control her movements …. My boy is a little calmer as a person and I think he might be into jazz or just electronic ambient stuff.

AFM: When I became a Dad I found that a lot of the ways that I looked at things changed almost overnight. Has fatherhood changed your musical outlook?

MS: Yes, I am a lot more open now. Or at least I’d like to think I am. And I don’t spend my weekends digging through piles of garage and soul in an old dumpster of a record shop anymore. I spend It in the park with the sun in my eyes and kids laughing or crying around me. It was bound to make me a bit more lasseiz-faire, so to speak. What will be will be, it is not the end of the world if I miss a concert (or ten) and it is not of great importance if we sell a lot of records …
And also, I don’t have time to spend on stuff I don’t like. Before, I could really listen to a song or a record a hundred times just because I “knew” there was something there. Not anymore – if I don’t like it the first time I hear it, it’s the dumpster. I guess that means I am less open, after all.

AFM: Have you written any songs for kids yet?

MS: Well, I make up songs the hole time but I wouldn’t say “written”. There is The Fart Song and The Poo Song. You know, the usual … just what sticks at the moment.

AFM: What instrument is your son going to learn to play first?

MS: I think he will be into playing the guitar. So daughter on drums and son on guitar. That seems like a beautiful combo to me. Maybe they’ll be the next White Stripes and pay for my early retirement …

AFM: Bonus - What artist would you nominate to be Sweden’s musical ambassador?

MS: The sarcastic answer is sooo easy here, so I’m gonna go with the serious one: I think that Tomas Öberg of Bob Hund/Bergman Rock/Sci-Fi Skane would be a brilliant spokesperson for Swedish music. A lot of integrity and a lot of humour.

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I wonder what the sarcastic answer would have been, Agnetha Fältskog? Thanks to Matthias for spending some time on A Free Man’s virtual couch. Check out two of the tracks we talked about:

MP3: The Bell - “I Am History”
MP3: The Bell - “I Am History (Whitenoise Remix)

You like? Then buy The Bell’s “Make Some Quiet”, available from eMusic, and Amazon.

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