Band der Woche: Living Temples

Living Temples ist das Solo-Projekt des schwedischen Musikers Kalle Fagerberg, der in Berlin seine kreative Heimat gefunden hat. Mit fesselnden Electronic-Post-Punk-Klängen schafft er Musik mit absolutem Suchtpotenzial und nachhaltiger Wirkung. Das Debüt The Pickpocket erschien bereits 2016, und die aktuelle Veröffentlichung Glass hat uns besonders begeistert (Link Review). Höchste Zeit also für ein Band der Woche-Interview, um tiefer in Kalles Sound, seine Einflüsse und sein musikalisches Universum einzutauchen.

Fotocredit: Adam Love@adammunnigs

How did Living Temples come into being? What made you decide to start the project?
It was, like a lot of projects, just something that happened. It was a necessity. I’ve played in different bands since I was a teenager, but it’s always been important to have my own outlet. Living Temples is just the most recent of my solo projects

How did your band name come about, and what does it mean to you?
The idea of the ‘living temple’ is a person or a being passing on a message, vocally or some other way. I like the idea of embodying a voice, maybe even someone else’s voice. There is something spiritual in there.

When did music first become part of your life?
It has always been there. But thinking of an example of life-changing moments: after my older brother played Nirvana’s track ‘School’ for me, I never listened to music in the same way again.

When did you first fall in love with sound?
Probably the first time I heard the sound of a ‘nyckelharpa’.

If you had to describe your music in terms other than music, what would you say?
Exploration and coincidences.

What are you looking for in music? What are the boundaries that you look to explore with music?
I guess there is always that drive or obsession of making something better than the last thing you did. In terms of boundaries, I don’t really have any, except that I try not to work on things for too long. Music is also therapeutic for me. I think it was Omar Rodriguez Lopez who said that his tape recorder is his therapist. I think that fits. Making music is a place I go to when things are going well, and when things are not going so well.

What is sound to you?
A beautiful vibration experienced with your ears or your body.

Which person, artist or incident inspired you when you first started making music?
The first music I ever wrote was black and death metal, so probably Jon Nödtveidt of Dissection. He was a huge influence on me musically.

What themes are you currently drawn to in your work?
I haven’t really thought about themes necessarily, but there is the constant digging into myself and the culture in our society where I’m trying to find new things that excite me.

Fotocredit: Adam Love @adammunnigs

How do your surroundings impact your art?
Living in Berlin has made me far more interested in synthesizers, that’s for sure.

How does living in Berlin inspire your music? How much does urban culture — and your interaction with it — influence your work?
The techno/electronic/experimental scene here is incomparable, so it’s been a huge influence over the past 15 years, so it would be impossible for that to not seep into my work somehow. Your surroundings definitely have an impact on what kind of music you make.

How does the birth of a new composition happen for you? How does your compositional process work?
It usually begins with either a concrete idea for a melody, a bass line or something else. Or it’s really abstract, a sound or just wanting to use a certain instrument. After that it usually gets a life of its own, morphs and I try to follow where it takes me. Most of the time nothing comes of it! For every good idea, there are about 20 to 40 not-so-good ones.

In what ways is it different making music as Bootblacks?
Since the break-up of Liste Noire in 2016, I missed making music as a group. It’s also a lot of fun working with the rest of the band as they are very driven and open-minded. A big physical difference compared to how I usually make music is that we are separated by an ocean, so the communication, recording and composition is obviously very different.

What artistic influences, outside of music, have had a significant influence on how you approach your art?
I love to read. I love paintings from the Renaissance.

What’s next for you? What are you most looking forward to?
Looking forward to keeping on working on new material for both Living Temples and Bootblacks! New records will be coming out, hopefully this year.

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