Band der Woche: Johan Baeckström

photo by Shippey Photography

Im letzten Jahr bin ich auf Johan Baeckström durch den Sampler seines Labels, We are Progress (SB-Review), gestoßen. Seine Synthpop-Melodien haben etwas Eigenes, das einen in den Bann zieht, außerdem ist er ein musikalischer Tüftler. Der Schwede hat mittlerweile zwei Longplayer herausgebracht, zuletzt Utopia (Juni 2018). Außerdem ist Johan die andere Hälfte der Band Daily Planet, die ebenfalls im Synthpop verankert ist. Ich war neugierig, wer und was sonst noch hinter dem Künstlernamen steht, und er hat sich ohne großes Federlesen meinen Fragen gestellt:

Who is behind Johan Baeckström?
Well, the answer to that is pretty obvious I guess – it´s me, Johan Baeckström. I write, perform and produce everything by myself, with a few exceptions where I might co-write with someone or do a cover version of someone else´s song.

If you had to put your music into a drawer and print a label on it, what would it say?
Actually, I don´t think putting a defining label on music, or any kind of art for that matter, is a very good idea. I´d just label it ”Good Music”.

Forget about genres for a second – Johan Baeckström’s music sounds like …?
I would say my music is always based around strong melodies. Without a strong melody it´s impossible to make a great pop song, no matter how many fancy production tricks you apply.

You are also part of the Synthpop band Daily Planet, how is the production of each album different?
The production part is actually quite similar, since I am the one producing the DP stuff as well, in my own, same studio. The difference is that for DP I usually start working from a song idea by Jarmo Ollila. Usually it´s a simple recording he has sent to me, of just him singing and playing his guitar, to present the chords and melodies to me. Sometimes it´s done the other way around though, with me sending a draft production of a song with no lyrics and vocal melodies for Jarmo to start working on vocal ideas.

photo by Shippey Photography

Which sort of mood produces the best songs?
I know a lot of people claim they write their best stuff when they are sad, happy, angry or even drunk. I really can´t say that a particular mood is the best – I need to be in a creative mood, which comes and goes over time. Sometimes you can´t seem to write anything good, no matter how hard you try. These ”dry” periods seem to be longer after you´ve released an album.

Which person, artist or incident inspired you when you first started making music?
I was always very inspired by the electronic music from the early 80s and late 70s. Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Alphaville, Howard Jones, Jean Michel Jarre and White Door are bands that influenced me a lot. It all started with Yazoo, though. They were the first synth based band I heard and their sound just blew my mind completely.

The Fairy-Godmother pops up in front of you and grants you a wish. What do you wish for?
I could think of a number of things, of course. A wish in relation to music would be that someone figured out a way for musicians to start making money from music again. I am honestly worried that future generations won’t have the opportunity to discover new great artists in the that way we did back in the days. Why? Well, for one thing – great musicians, producers and composers need to have a regular, full time day-job, which consumes a lot of the energy that they could have used to be creative instead, if they could make a living from their music. This will consume a great deal of their energy which they could have used for writing a new ”Bohemian Rhapsody” instead.

What’s next? Tour? Studio? Vacation? Something completely different?
I would love to tour, but at the moment nothing is planned other than a show in Gothenburg in November. Of course I hope for more bookings. I am also working on a few different projects in the studio, which I can tell you more about later on perhaps. (SB-Redaktion: wir werden dran bleiben!)

Baeckstroem Utopia