I first met/saw Wildbirds and Peacedrums live last year on the Bella Union Stage at Wireless Festival. They made an incredibly impressive and spectacular noise without loud guitars, bass, violins, brass, harps, synths or any of that guff. They’ve been a favorite of mine since. Here’s an interview with them.
You’ve got a compelling energy onstage. Do you try to distill that into the records? Is that a challenge?
To perform live and in the studio is two completely different things. We have tried to have the same input in the studio as we do live but it’s just not possible – try to talk to an microphone the same as you do to a human and you’ll see.
You’ve been doing a lot of travelling recently. Do you do a lot of writing when you’re out on the road?
Actually nothing, it takes to much effort to perform and travel that there’s almost no energy left to be creative. So we can brag with not a single new song in over a year!
Indie fans in the UK have been really enjoying a lot of bands from Denmark, Sweden and other areas of Scandinavia for a while now. There’s a lot of good music coming from your part of the world at the moment, do you feel like you’re part of something special in this respect?
Sweden has a great history of artists that are doing creative music and finding ways to go international with it. We have had great opera singers, an amazing prog-scene (Träd, Gräs och Stenar) and then bands like The Knife who’re doing great because of their originality and independence. I think the creativity comes from a deep urge to get away from our small towns…
There’s a really nice friendship community of Swedish bands that you guys are part of, which must be enriching in a lot of ways. Do you find there are specific ways in which having a diverse group of talented friends really helps you when it comes to being creative yourself?
We are very fortunate to have such an inspiring and supportive friends (not just musicians), but it is not at all like a collective or any like that, everyone is more into experimenting in their chambers hiding secrets from each other. I love it.
You’re playing the Union Chapel with Loney Dear in September, can we expect any collaborations with your old friend Emil?
If that happens it should be a surprise for all of us!
What have you been listening to recently? Anything new and exciting? Or some old classics?
Since our collaboration with Micachu we’re having a musical crush on her, besides that I can mention El Perro Del Mar and Durruti Column.
Wildbirds & Peacedrums “There is No Light”
You play a lot of interesting instruments. Are you often on the look out for new instruments to experiment with? Have you picked up anything interesting to play recently?
Our collection of instruments are a steady growing backyard of junk and jewellery just waiting for their turn to find their place…
If you could go somewhere far away an exotic in the world and be trained the local music culture on the local instruments, where would you like to go?
I would choose Korean drumming.
What’s been the most satisfying gig you’ve played recently?
Last summer it was a stunning festival outside of Berlin called Goldmund, this summer there was another fantastic festival outside of Berlin. They sure know how to take care of their spare time. Oh, and the drum circle we did in at The Coronet was amazing.
And the worst?
Those shows are meant to be forgotten and buried – but I want to mention Cambridge May Ball as one of the most humiliating show this summer, though I don’t think anyone can agree with us because no-one was there to watch it!
You recently chose to collaborate with Micachu for a BBC Radio 3 Late Junction session. What made you choose Micachu? What was it like re-working some of your material with new musicians?
As mentioned before Micachu and She Shapes is a favorite band, and we’re honoured that they joined us at the session. It was extremely rewarding to play with people other than just the two of us!
What’s the most complimentary thing that someone could say about Wildbirds and Peacedrums music?
That would bring really bad luck for us to tell!
Mariam, your lyrics are a very prominent element of the music. Do you have any main literary influences for them?
I’m inspired by movement, attraction, destiny and faith, all the things I feel, analysing that. Remembering my childhood, all the sadness that can fill a body and how to make it come out, trying to transform it to comfort and strength, maybe just trying to comfort myself.
Me and Andreas sometimes discuss lyrics that we feel different things about, to unite so we aim towards the same core in the song, but there is really no need to try and explain your lyrics to another person; people should feel them. You shouldn’t force explanations onto people, lyrics should be free just like music. Otherwise I would write a book instead.
And finally, is there anything more annoying for you than being compared to The White Stripes?
If we could get one of our songs to be sung by millions of football fans I won’t complain! Imagine drunken men trying to find the pitch on complex melodies with lyrics about lost childhood. That’s beauty!
Wildbirds and Peacedrums are a Swedish husband and wife duo. Andreas and Mariam make intense, bluesy, stompy indie music. I first met/saw Wildbirds and Peacedrums live last year on the Bella Union Stage at Wireless Festival. They made an incredibly impressive and spectacular noise without loud guitars, bass, violins, brass, harps, synths or any of that guff. They’ve been a favorite of mine since. Here’s an interview with them I did the other week.
Hi, Andreas. You’ve got a compelling energy onstage. Do you try to distill that into the records? Is that a challenge?
To perform live and in the studio is two completely different things. We have tried to have the same input in the studio as we do live but it’s just not possible – try to talk to an microphone the same as you do to a human and you’ll see.
You’ve been doing a lot of travelling recently. Do you do a lot of writing when you’re out on the road?
Actually nothing, it takes to much effort to perform and travel that there’s almost no energy left to be creative. So we can brag with not a single new song in over a year!
Indie fans in the UK have been really enjoying a lot of bands from Denmark, Sweden and other areas of Scandinavia for a while now. There’s a lot of good music coming from your part of the world at the moment, do you feel like you’re part of something special in this respect?
Sweden has a great history of artists that are doing creative music and finding ways to go international with it. We have had great opera singers, an amazing prog-scene (Träd, Gräs och Stenar) and then bands like The Knife who’re doing great because of their originality and independence. I think the creativity comes from a deep urge to get away from our small towns…
There’s a really nice friendship community of Swedish bands that you guys are part of, which must be enriching in a lot of ways. Do you find there are specific ways in which having a diverse group of talented friends really helps you when it comes to being creative yourself?
We are very fortunate to have such an inspiring and supportive friends (not just musicians), but it is not at all like a collective or any like that, everyone is more into experimenting in their chambers hiding secrets from each other. I love it. (more…)
