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Interviews

Tobias Ljungkvist (11/09/01) - work in progress.
Mattias Olsson (05/13/01) - although he is no longer in the band, I asked him a lot of questions about his past and present bands and projects. He sent me very detailed answers, so be sure to read the interview.
Nicklas Sandström (04/11/01) - my first interview. Rather short, but nevertheless interesting. I couldn't find other (English) interviews with the band (yet).

Tobias Ljungkvist (11/09/01) top

Can you still remember which was the first song Reminder wrote and played and what it was like?
Yes I can. Of course this is the way I remember it, Anders and Nicklas might have experienced it differently. I visited Nicklas and Anders at Nicklas parents' house the winter 1995 after having discussed music and the possibilities of forming a band with them at a party the weekend before. They had already been working on some songs solely for acoustic guitar and vocals, but wanted to add bass. I didn't have a clue what they sounded like or if I even was good enough to join, so I remember being kind of nervous.
One of the songs they already had written was called 'Gallows Bird' and I remember it as the only song that fitted the new constallation of two acoustic guitars, bass, lead and backing vocals. I always felt that it was the song that strongest contributed to forming the musical identity of Reminder during that period. It definitely contained the melodic drama and melancholic elements that signified alot of later songs (for instance Can't do, Neversong and Limelight) and it remained as one of the peaks of our repertoire for quite some time but, unfortunately, never applied to the more massive and complex instrumentation that followed when Mattias and Thomas joined the band.

Why didn't Thomas Johnson (who played piano on the first two eps) appear on the "Creativity"-ep? Was he ever a full member of the band?
This, of course, depends on how one defines "full member". For about 1.5 years Thomas rehearsed continuously with us and played on concerts and on demos. He contributed with a lot of ideas for musical arrangements and melodic themes, as much as anyone else, in fact, so I would definitely say he was a full member then. Thomas has a very contemplating perspective when writing music. I always got the feeling that his musical insight ran deeper than everyone elses, and even after he left the band, which was about a year before the first EP, his ideals remained. I have sometimes caught myself thinking, what would Thomas have done with this bridge, etc?
Thomas is currently a PhD student in theoretical fusion plasma physics, pretty advanced stuff that no one else understands. He quit the band when he realised he wouldn't have enough time for both music and science. The first two EP's contains many songs written when Thomas was an active member and we all agreed that a lot of the things he wrote and played really benefited the songs, and no one could play Thomas stuff better than Thomas. In addition to the piano he handles analog keyboards (such as the mellotron, Hammond organs, moogs) very well, thanks to the Anglagaard years, probably. The songs on Creativity were all written after Thomas left (except for the song 'Creativity') so as a consequence of that, we played the keyboard overdubs ourselves.

Do you prefer recording in a professional studio under the pressure of a limited budget or setting up recording gear at home and record there in a familiar surrounding?
When it comes to improvised and experimental overdubs and backup singing I prefer a familiar surrounding, definitely. But when recording the basic bass tracks, I've always managed to focus better in a real studio environment, knowing that the session time is limited.

Why do your songs always have so negative words in their titles (NEVERsong, CAN'T do anything about it, LOST sincerity, BROKEN tone)?
It had never occurred to me before you mentioned it. Unfortunately I cannot give you an arty answer such as; 'It has to do with the subconsciously depressed and decadent minds of the members of Reminder'. No, I think the choice of song titles is merely a matter of coincidence, nothing else. The pattern you suggest is not intentional, but the lyrics and choices of themes, of course, are intentional. If I was to answer the question why is there such a high content of negativism in our lyrics, I would say that it has to do with the fact that we usually are more creative when feeling sad and hence, negative emotions are over-represented.

Mattias Olsson (05/13/01) top

ÄNGLAGÅRD:

Have you ever tried to write a short song, like 'only' 5 minutes?
We never really thought of our music in those ways. We started out every song with maybe 10-20 different themes on the drawing board and we just learnt each theme as well as we could and after that we started to piece the arrangements together best we could. We often spent time working on themes and how we best develop and use them. By changing keys, tempos, instrumentation etc. we tried to suck out the most of every piece. We never used all the themes that we started with in the first place. Also some material was added along the way and bridges between moods and themes were often made up as we went along.

The credits of the "Hybris"-album say that you played 'waterfall'. How do you play a waterfall?!
I think the waterfall was some kind a percussion instrument with shell shaped clay bells. They were supposed to sound like a waterfall but they sounded more like the rattling of bones. You played by shaking it slowly or something. They are on the album somewhere.

What is the exact name and origin of the 'Krigssong' you played live in 1993?
The song was originally called Krigssång and was written and recorded by the swedish progrock band trettioåriga kriget on their second album. It was our way of paying homage to one of the best prog bands to ever come out of sweden. I have since then met the members but have mostly had contact with their drummer Dag as he is still active as a producer and engineer in Stockholm. He boroughed my Mellotron and Moog for a band he worked with.

Would you have liked to play on Genesis' "Calling All Stations" album?
I don't know really. It is a tough question. I heard album quietly at a restaurant once and I was a bit disappointed by the material especially when you think of how great of a band they used to be. Me and Andreas often take out and listen to The Lamb Lies down on Broadway.

What were the reasons that caused the band to end its career?
I think we all felt that we had reached a point  where we had lost contact with each other and there was a lot of personal clashes in the band. One of the big issues were that people hadn't been showing up at rehearsals prior to the recording of Epilog and that really caused a rift in the bands structure. We were pretty disciplined and when someone drops out and turns their back on it caused a lot of tension.

PÅR LINDH PROJECT:

I don't know the "Gothic Impressions" album yet. Can you tell something about the album, the people, the recordings?
This is one of the albums that I feel the least pleased with. We recorded it between the first and second Änglagard album and it was a really intense rehearsal period. Listening to it now it sounds in many ways as the musical opposite of Änglagård. We always strived to break some of the clichés around prog rock and to do the things differently. Gothic Impressions were much more an exercise in keeping those clichés and ideas alive. I liked recording it and playing on it but listening to it now I don't think it holds up to well.

Pär Lindh was the guy behind it. It was his album very much and his "vision". Me and Johan helped him in some ways with arrangements and the colourings but it was pretty much the Pär Lindh Show. It was recorded at his Parents house on very primitive equipment.

PINEFOREST CRUNCH:

How much do you contribute to the songwriting?
I have written maybe one or two tracks for every album ( usually one turns up on the thing ).  The songwriting duties are mostly taken care of by Åsa and Olle. I have a larger part in the instrumentation, arrangements and the productions of the recordings.

What was it like to record "Water Garden" with Jim Warren?
It was a really interesting experience. The second Pineforest Album was recorded very differently from the first. We went to Radioheads managements studio and recorded almost half the album in England during late April early May which was a wonderful time to be in England. I have learnt a lot from Jim when it comes to recording and I had the pleasure to have him staying at my house during the Swedish part of the sessions so I had lengthy discussion with him on subjects like production, recordings etc.

Why is the official PFC homepage "not working yet"?
The new Pineforest Album Panamarenko is coming out in Late June in Japan so right now we are compiling material and discussing how it should be set up with people are good at this computer stuff.

WHITE WILLOW:

You played the drums on their second album "Ex Tenebris". Did the band pre-arrange all the drum parts or were you able to contribute your own ideas ? How long did it take to record your parts?
I did all the arrangements for that album at home. Studying the material and learning the parts. It was recorded digitally in a studio where it probably would have been better to stay with analog for a while longer. A lot of technical problems.
I recorded that album in two and a half days but in hindsight I would have wanted to spend more time with it and to work more with the arrangements in themselves.

REMINDER:

Is it your tambourine on the cover of the first Reminder EP? Why is it broken?
Yes it is one of my tambourines. Åsa uses that one live so it has been pretty beat up due to the fact that when she plays live with Pineforest Crunch she plays flute, theremin and sings which means that she sometimes isn't too gentle with the tambourine.

Can you remember when and how you joined the band?
I got a phone call from an old school mate who told me that he was recording a demo with a really good band. They needed someone to play drums on it and he asked me if I could drop by. I recorded the songs and when I was done I stuck around and helped out a bit more with the recording. A couple of weeks later they were supposed to play a gig and needed a drummer so I said yes and before I knew it I was in the band. I think this was in 1996.

Did you play a lot of cover versions in the beginning or did you already focus on your own material?
We played only original material when I was in the band. I have never been too much of a fan of when bands play original material mixed up with covers.

How many percussion tracks did you record for a song like "So gently"?
The whole verse rhythm is just me playing on the drumkit. Besides that I think there is a tambourine on the choruses and bells on the loud outro part. The end section is two Marimbas and two Glockenspiels.

Why did you leave the band?
I had pressure from my English Management company that they felt they couldn't take responsibility for the eventuality if I needed to cancel sessions or gigs with Reminder for the sake of any Andreas & Jag activities in England. Andreas & Jag started to commute to England for meetings and showcase gigs almost every three or four weeks. I had also during the last stages of the completion of the album felt that the band wasn't really trying as hard as I felt we should. Sometimes taking the easy way out of recording and production issues which I think is very important not to. I have always set the music first and when the wish for commercial success sometimes clouded the artistic vision of the band I felt very betrayed and sad because of it.

ANDREAS & JAG / GELLER:

As far as I know Andreas is Andreas Jansson and Jag is you. Actually I only know the song "Anyone's dad". Can you tell me a bit about the band history so far?
Andreas & Jag were formed in the Autumn of 1998. We started out mainly because we felt that we wanted to indulge in the sanctuary of recording and that we wanted to work differently than we had done with any other band. We wanted to record fast and spontaneous using the equipment I had in my apartment that was more or less Änglagård's old backline with Mellotrons, hand drums and analogue keyboards. I also wanted to get away from the aspect of being " the drummer " so we started to use loops and old autokomp drum machines as the rhythmic base for the recordings. A lot of the early material was pretty acoustic and is sometimes recorded in a pretty sketchy adventurous way. These first recordings are compiled on a demo CD called The Uri Geller Syndrome.

To enhance this idea of fast recording with spontaneous overdubs we started to bring in guests for the recordings and also live. We find it to be very interesting to hear how musicians react to what they hear for the first time with an instrument at their hands. We have so far had over thirty different people on our recordings and live stages. In the spring of 1999 we toured America with an all American band. When we got back we were very fuelled up by the experience and went back into recording mode. We returned to America during the spring of 2000 as well as a joint venture with Pineforest Crunch and Reminder. This meant obviously that was playing three sets a night with three bands.

So far we have recorded 26 songs on two CD's They new one is was finished about two months back and is called Everyone Loves You.

Have you ever noticed that all the bands you played in have common names that are hard to find in the internet? (Andreas & Jag, Reminder, and Anglagard ).
Well I don't really think any of my bands have been to good at the whole internet end of things. But that is supposed to change, both Andreas & Jag and Pineforest Crunch are working on their homepages as I write this.

Why do you have a Swedish name but English lyrics?
The name means Andreas & I like in the King & I. Internationally the band is called Geller but in Sweden we haven't really done the name change yet.

Do you miss playing complex epic (Änglagård-)songs sometimes?
Occasionally I miss a good old fashioned 15 minute bash out with complex time signatures and loads of orchestral percussion and stuff. I produced an album with Texan Prog rockers Deadwood Forest about two years back out which was good fun. But right now I am very pleased with being on the production side of the recordings.

Who are your favourite drummers?
I like Elvis Costello's drummer Pete Thomas a lot for his sounds and timbre. Bill Bruford will probably have a special place with me as well Stewart Copeland. I love Tom Waits "sense" of rhythm.

What are your favourite bands?
A couple bands that I like are Kraftwerk, Elvis Costello, John Cage, Neil Finn, The Eels, Aphex twin, Can, Genesis, King Crimson, Tom Waits, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainright, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead to mention but a few. One artist that I am really fond of is a "new" artist on Peter Gabriels label called Joseph Arthur. Great solid songwriting and interesting production. I also like Pavements last album and Beck's last two albums. I am also very fond of Electronica and old 60s easy listening albums by Les Baxter and his likes.

Any further comments on your future plans, side projects I forgot to mention, upcoming concerts or releases?
Right now Me and Andreas are working on a debut "real" mini album with the working title Leather Gun. It will be released on the english label Fierce Panda sometime late August early September. There will also be a single out from that mentioned album.
I am also working with my own solo project called Molesome which is a kind of collagey melting pot of electronica, pop moods and sounds. It started as music for a fashion show but now I think ( knock on wood ) it will turn into a full length album sometime this summer. This project grew out of a new found love I have which is to write and perform music to old Silent Movies.
On the side of that I am also currently working with Olle Söderström from Pineforest Crunch on a project called Nanook of the North which is very light pop with dark sounds, moods and lyrics. We are working on a ep that also will be finished sometime this summer.  Sometime this late spring/summer I will start with the artist Akaba s debut album.

I am currently developing the recording and production side of my life as it is now which is fine by me. I am constantly finding new projects that awakes me and interests me which is a blessing. I am also building and developing my own studio where I will hopefully be able to host full scale recordings and bands sometime in the near future.

Nicklas Sandström (04/11/01) top

Who came up with the name Reminder?
Tobias and I. We had different name proposals that we posted to a Swedish television show named "Knesset". The program helped us to pick Reminder.

Somewhere a song named "Accidental story" was mentioned. Will it ever be released on a regular album?
I hope so. I like the song. The song is about a short travel in the Swedish tube.

Any plans for the near future?
We have a short tour the forthcoming week in southern Sweden.

Is there a band-leader (dictator?) in Reminder who pulls the strings and writes the songs, or is each member an equal part of the band?
Each member is an equal part of the band. But I, Anders and Tobias write the songs. We have a new drummer now. His name is Jesper. He is a great drummer and person.

Who is the most punctual person in the band (who shows up in time at the rehearsals, etc.)? Who is always late?
Tobias is the punctual person. Anders and I are the late guys.

How many arms does your (ex-)drummer, Mattias, have?
Two I hope.

Do you play any cover songs during the rehearsals or live?
I really like this question. On our last tour we played Sade "Every Word" and my personal favorites a-ha:s "Summer moved on" I saw them live in Oslo 25/3-2001 it was a great concert.

Which song do you usually play as the opener at your concerts?
Talk it out is a good start.

You've already played on a boat and in foreign cities like London and Riga. Is there any place or city where you would like to play one day? (Madison Square Garden, North pole, Vatican, on an airplane, in a bath room, Stockholm,...)
For me it is Wembley (smiles)

Have you and other band members any hobbies outside musical world?
My hobby is university studies and floor ball.

Do you like Star Wars?
I love Star wars, great question. I am waiting for Episode II.

What are your favourite books?
I like Tolkien and Astrid Lindgren.

Where will Reminder be in 5 years?
Beyond the stars (smiles) I hope we still are a band in 5 years.