You just released your second album Our Ill Wills. Was it easier this time around?
Bebban: Maybe not easier but we felt much more confidant - safer, I guess.
When you first came over and started playing in the U.S. was there ever a sense that you had to conquer America?
I don't think we've ever felt that kind of pressure because when we first started the band, we didn't have any ambitions at all. We just wanted to play music. That's the way we felt. We thought it was all just a fluke and that we were really lucky to be here and play in America - but we're kind of cautious that way.
You have fans all over the world. Why do you think your music translates so well from country to country?
I don't know but I think that's what's so great about music because there is no country of music really. It's sort of a cliché but music really is the international language. Take a band like Dungen, another Swedish band, who sings in Swedish and people still really like it. I think a message comes across anyway even though people don't know what they're saying.
What's the music scene like in Sweden? Are bands friendly with each other or is there a sort of rivalry among the various musicians?
We stick together I think. We're kind of similar to the Canadians that way because it's a tight little scene in Sweden. I was talking to someone about that a few days ago but strangely it's not like that in all of Scandinavia so we don't know anything about the indie bands in Norway or Denmark really. It's separated that way but I think within each country everybody is really tight.
Who came up with the title Our Ill Wills?
Adam did.
What’s the story behind it?
It's partly about, because we've all been spending so much time together, we know each others worst sides. We didn't before the band because you have to be together 24 hours a day before you really see that. Also, it's about the collective personality that we've kind of become as a group that is probably not very nice when you're not in that group. We can be too tight.
When you finish up a tour, do you immediately split up or do you still spend time together?
We always say that we're sick of each other and that we're not gonna see each other for awhile but we always see each other anyway.
What are some things that you really love about the new album?
I love "Hard Rain", the last song and "South America” is one of my favorites too.
You sing lead on "Blue Headlights". Is that something you asked to do or did you have to be talked into it?
No, it really wasn't meant to be anything. I like to make music on my own. I always, at home, sing into a tape recorder and then one time - I think because someone was playing some chords in the rehearsal space - this song just sort of popped into my head immediately. Then, I just started humming something. It was kind of a scary thing for the whole band when somebody else steps up to the mic. It's not something that's always the best thing to do. We had to kind of talk about it.
Would you want to sing lead more in the future?
Absolutely, but I don't know if I would do it with this band because I think Adam's [Olenius] voice is such a big part of our sound and so many people love that.
Tell me a little bit about making the video for "Tonight I Have to Leave It". It takes place on a cargo ship.
It was great. Ted [Malmros] makes all our videos and he can never explain to us what they're about. We always ask but he knows what he wants. The idea behind the "The Comeback" video was just that he wanted to build something and we were going to use some form of construction but this time, he said I want to be on a ship. We really enjoyed making this video because we actually started to believe that we were going away on that ship. We each had our own cabins and we decorated them with things we brought from our rooms at home. We decorated the crap out of the whole boat and we were sad when we had to leave because we are really serious about going on a tour with a boat.
You could pull up into harbors up and down the coast.
It would be so much easier than being on a bus in some ways. It would be like a real home and we all love the sea.
When you were growing up, what kind of music lessons did you take?
Actually, in Sweden, all children have to learn to play the recorder. It's silly but when we're eight, we all have to go buy a recorder flute.
Were you good on the recorder?
Nobody gets really good on it but then once you play it for two years, you get to move on to any other instrument of your choice and you can take lessons for free all throughout the school year. That's why I took piano after the recorder. We learned the guitar too and stuff.
Are there any women in the music business right now that you really admire?
Yeah, Feist - that's almost too obvious. There are almost more women than men who are interesting because women, like Feist, tend to have really strong personalities. I should have thought of this before because there are so many I'd like to mention. The two girls in Essex Green are really amazing. There are just so many.
When you were younger, who were you listening to?
My uncle gave me tapes with Madonna and Pet Shop Boys on it. My first favorite was when I was six. I was really crazy about Elvis. I don't know why. I guess I was kind of crazy about America cause in Sweden, when I grew up, it was kind of socialist and Elvis with the pink shirt and strong colors on the record album - I thought that was really something.
What advice do you have for musicians who are just starting out?
Don't be afraid. Look to get inspired but don't look too much at what other people are doing or listening to. I think that's a mistake. That's my challenge. When I see someone I really like, I'm tempted to mimic them but you have to trust your own voice or the music you have inside you already.
Shout Out Louds are currently swinging through the U.S. again. They’ll be back in the NYC area on October 25th (Bowery Ballroom) and October 26th (Music Hall of Williamsburg). |