If it’s up to perfect melodies, the Swedish are No. 1. Nearly nobody writes, produces and plays the swedish version of melodic pop folk indie rock like the mighty FRISKA VILJOR. The band makes people smile and jump and wave their hands wherever they play – it’s a never ending joyful feeling of listening to real music from the hearts of some of the nicest guys around the music scene. With every album they get a little bit bigger in Europe – and by now their shows in Germany are sold out.
entertaim.net had the chance to talk to Joakim Sveningsson and Daniel Johansson – they both are FRISKA VILJOR – a few hours before their overwhelming gig at the Buergerhaus Stollwerck in Cologne.
This is part II of the interview by Martin Hannig / photos by Christina Eddiks
entertaim.net: Could you please introduce your touring musicians to our readers?
Daniel: Oh yes. We have 3 of our friends with us playing. Tobias plays the bass, he has been around since forever, almost from the start. Emil Nilsson our keyboard god, a nice, tall, good looking happy guy, he’s been around since 2009. And we have a new drummer in the band, Henrik.
Joakim: There was another drummer, Markus, he was with us for a long time. But he’s with his family and his kids and don’t wanted to tour with us.
entertaim.net: I’ve been wondering about every swedish pair seems to have children. A very high number of babies in your country. Opposite to Germany where we have less and less…
Joakim: .. maybe we love each other more (laughing all around!)
entertaim.net: That’s why you’re getting those melodies together…
Daniel: Yeah. I mean it’s fun to have kids. It’s great. I always wanted to have 3 or 4. Now I have one. I’m gonna help increase the rate…
entertaim.net: What was your most impressive gig in your career? The gig you look back on and find it very remarkable or awesome.
Joakim: That was at Immergut 2007. Our first headlinig tour. It was the last show of a club tour. we finished off at Immergut in a tent. And for some reason it was packed. I guess the word got around. And we went on the stage and we were like (makes an amazed voice). We thought of 200 showing up, but it was about 1200 or 1500.
Daniel: We were just overrun, by our own feelings and by the audience. We lost our virginity then….
entertaim.net: And then you became ROCK STARS! 🙂
Joakim: Nooo. The fun part is, we can fast forward to yesterday. Yesterday we played our own show before 1500 people in Berlin. So, yesterday will be another mark in our career!
entertaim.net: That much people! I was kidding about you being rock stars – maybe it comes true now!
Joakim & Daniel are laughing.
entertaim.net: And tonight? How much will show up for you?
Daniel: It’s sold out for a week!
entertaim.net: They could have booked a bigger place than this, I guess.
Daniel: Yeah, we should have play the Live Music Hall. What’s the capacity?
entertaim.net: About 1200.
Joakim: That would’ve been perfect, because we are sold out for a week now. But tonight will be fun, when it’s sold out.
entertaim.net: Friend of mine told me about your appearance at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg. Which was also in a tent, at Fliegende Bauten, just the two of you.
Joakim: Yes that was our last duo show, and I think it was one of the best shows we’ve ever done!
entertaim.net: What are your plans for this year?
Joakim: Well first we have to take care of our families for a while. Then we’ll go to do some club shows in Spain, and maybe in Sweden. Then we are supposed to do festival shows in Germany like Hurricane and Southside, and in Austria as well. And then after that a 2nd tour leg in september/october. We need to do Hamburg and Stuttgart and a couple of those we’ve forgotten.
entertaim.net: Are you better known in Sweden than in Germany?
Daniel: Well, the media in sweden works in a different way than down here. Here it’s more diversed. We had a big thing going on in Hamburg before we spread out to the small cities. Sweden on the other hand is so centralised around our public service. We have one big radio station. If you get rotation there, you are good, if you don’t – then you start working on the next album. We have 5 songs rotating there, so radiowise I would say we are bigger in Sweden than in Germany. But on the other hand we would never be able to do this kind of tour at home.
Joakim: It depends on the geography. It’s a big country with only 9 million people.
Daniel: Just a few big cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö you can play when it’s not weekend. Otherwise it’s based on weekends. I mean, it’s a lot of good bands there!
entertaim.net: Yes, I think it’s like in your genes: so much good musicians there, going abroad and having that huge bag of good songs to play. Sweden is a musicians country, maybe like in Norway.
Daniel: They are similar – but not as good as us (laughing all around).
entertaim.net: Sweden for me is the home of melodies. From Ulvaeus/Andersson to Ace Of Base, Cardigans, your generation – all these brilliant melodies …
Joakim: Ja! I think it’s heritage from ABBA. They were really great.
entertaim.net: You are – hmm – not the new ABBA, but in that path…
Joakim: … in the path of Lennon/McCartney…
Daniel & Joakim laughing loud
Daniel: That was irony by the way!
entertaim.net: Thanks for talking to entertaim.net. Wish you a good show tonight!
entertaimnet.wordpress.de 