Friendly Folk-Pop for the Kids: Hey Marseilles at Vera This Saturday
Seattlest Pix 09Nov21
Excavator Rampage in Stanwood
Can't Miss It: Weekend Edition Nov 20-22
Little Big Band Talks Respect, Honor, and Action
Sweden is a country like no other. Somehow, its disparate raw ingredients, a few of which include a rich history of inclement weather, rule by Vikings, close-knit communities, and welfare states, have created some of the most affable, accomplished, and worldly people on the planet. Melding influences as varied as those that shaped his homeland, Emil Svanängen (under the pseudonym Loney Dear) creates some of the most beautiful and epically arresting music found anywhere on the globe. Like his fellow Scandinavian brethren Sigur Ros and fellow countryman Jose Gonzales, Loney Dear brings the world intricately crafted emotive music on a larger-than-life yet incredibly personal level.
Catch Loney Dear tonight at the Crocodile. Locals Grand Hallway and Champaign’s Headlights will open. (Tickets: $10 adv, 21+)
Special to Seattlest: Matt Whiting of the music blog Back Beat Seattle caught up with Emil.
More often than not, solo artists simply go by their own name? What prompted you to go with a pseudonym and what led you to pick the band name you ended up choosing?
I don’t know how to answer. I felt like I wanted to a pseudonym. It felt really uncool to use my whole name. I guess these days I wouldn’t mind if I had my own name as an artist name, but I don’t know really. Yeah, it’s pretty nice to have a name on the thing you do actually.
Could you talk a little bit about the first part of your band’s name?
For me, it’s pretty easy. It’s like a loner, a person who’s longing, a lone wolf. I guess close to lonely as well. It derives from the word lone. So, it’s all about that. I’m just happy if it brings out people’s imagination. That’s why you have a name of things I guess. I almost made up a new word. It seems like I made a new word because no one else is using it.
What prompted you to perform in English rather than in your native tongue?
I started to sing in English just because people wouldn’t be able to hear what I sang about. Or not as easily. Then when I did my first tour of the States, I realized this was super important. I was instantly thankful that I started writing music in English. From that point, it is has been growing. Now the lyrics are a big challenge. I love it. I’m like a micro-poet. I really like to describe just the moment in time, like the single picture of something, a certain mood. Sort of like micro-storytelling. That’s what excites me most right now.
Can you talk about some of the main societal differences you’ve noticed between Swedes and Americans?
I think Western society is pretty much the same. There are different variations. I guess I’m a bit more "American" in that way that when I think what I do is good, I say it. But I often say I don’t think things are very good that I do. I guess I’m just more honest with what’s driving me, really. The American society that I’ve discovered is post-internet. Information moves faster these days and with the people I meet, I don’t really see any difference at all. The people I meet, when I’m playing music, seem so similar.
A lot of Scandinavian music shares the common thread of creating a feeling of an almost cinematic atmosphere. To what do you attribute your interest in creating such rich textures?
I just always loved that kind of music. I need to be interested in the music I’m making. I just love when the music keeps growing onto you and when it’s strong emotionally. I just love that kind of music. It’s what keeps my interest in music, really. Emotional music.
Are there certain aspects of your musical personality that you identify as most reflective of your Northern European upbringing?
I guess the obvious answer would be the sadness and the darkness in the music. But I’m not sure if that’s true. I don’t really believe in those differences. I think it’s more about what class of society you are from or what class of world you’re from. And I guess being born into the middle class in the States or in Sweden is pretty similar I guess.
What bands would you count as most influential to your sound today?
I really admire what some of the Brooklyn bands are doing right now. I’m really happy that Radiohead exists. I try to not listen to them that much, but I think what they are doing is really important. I hope, though, that I’m walking my own path and exploring that.
Your tour schedule over the past months boasts some of the biggest names in the world of well-made, thoughtful rock. Of those you have toured with to date, who have you learned the most from on a personal and/or professional level?
Right now I must say, I’m trying to convert Andrew [Bird] into some kind of mentor for me. Like an unofficial mentor. I’ve learned a lot from Andrew. He’s sort of taken a big part in my life in a nice way. I’m really glad I met him. Just before I left for my American tour, I met up with him for dinner in Stockholm, he was playing there. It’s nice to have people to talk to about what this whole thing is all about. You’re really on your own a lot of the time.
Many have compared your sound to a number of critically-acclaimed artists including the Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, and Sigur Ros, to name a few. Which comparisons do you feel are on target and/or flattering, and which are less so?
Flaming Lips, I love what they are doing. I don’t feel any connection at all. I almost wish there was a connection, but I don’t feel it. Grandaddy is not a band I know about really. And for Sigur Ros, that’s amazing music. It’s very flattering to be compared to that music. They sort of want to build up that world that I’m working on trying to build as well. That’s a nice thing I would say. I always like when people compare to bands I didn’t know. That’s on target for me, that’s nice. It means I’m doing something special.
I guess I’m walking a very narrow road, doing what I want to do because I want to make new music, but it makes things a bit slower for me. But I think it sort of pay off in the end in music quality.
Who are you listening to these days?
A lot of Brooklyn bands for the moment. I really like what the Grizzly Bear people are doing. I really like what Animal Collective is doing. I really like what Beirut is doing and what Sufjan is doing. I only know Beirut a little bit, I met him a couple of times but I like that sort of music. It’s heartfelt music. It’s really true music.
What would rank among some of your favorite cities and venues?
I have some really strong relations to some venues. Some of them are venues that I may not be playing at for a number of years myself. Some of the shows we did with Andrew, actually the Moore Theater in Seattle, the Warfield in San Francisco. I really like small venues in Brooklyn. I really like Union Hall, I’ve played there a lot of times. I really like playing Schuba’s in Chicago, a wonderful place. It’s sort of more fun every time. I feel, I’m sort of right at the start of it, and I will have more favorites in the future.
When it comes to places, I really like the West Coast; Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle. I really like New York, and Chicago is wonderful as well.
What else do you have planned for 2009?
I’m going to start recording and writing when I get home. We had a real sucky label in Europe, so we’re not touring because they did a remarkably bad job with the record. We’re probably going to almost re-release the record in Europe. I’m going to use that time of no shows to start recording, which is a good thing. I hope the next album is going to be faster than the last one. And I’m coming back to the States in September.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Um, probably splitting hairs here, but Headlights is not from Chicago- they're from Champaign. It's 3 hours south. Kind of like saying someone's from Seattle when they're from Spokane. :)
~A Headlights-loving Illinois transplant