INTERVIEW: Slim Loris — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

Slim Loris

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IT has been cool chatting with…

the chaps of Slim Loris. Their E.P., Wild & Untamed, is out and I was interested to know about its current single, Hideaway. The Swedish-based band talk about their style of music and how they got together; whether there is more material coming later in the year – they tell me what gigs they have approaching.

I was interested to know whether they get much time away from music and what advice they would offer any new artists emerging; if they could support any artist alive today, who that would be – they end the interview by selecting a song each.

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Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?

Very well, thank you. Been an exciting week, what with our video being released and our E.P. release coming up this week.

For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?

We are Slim Loris from Stockholm, Sweden; a four-piece band that plays Indie-Rock mixed with ‘Scandicana’: a melancholic Swedish version of Americana.

Hideaway is your new single. Can you tell me about it and how the track came together?

It’s a song of finding a safe place or hideaway to get away from the troubled times.

It started off as a guitar line that our guitar player Robert wrote and presented to me that I turned into a song. We knew from the start that we wanted to do something different with it than our normal guitar, bass and drum setup. We had some ideas that our producer Pecka Hammarstedt took to another level. Very happy with the outcome.

The video is pretty amusing! Whose concept was it? Do you get a big say in how your videos are presented?

It was all our director, Jonas Hong Soo Eriksson’s idea; his interpretation of the song. We know what he is capable of and pretty much gave him free hands with it.

Is there going to be more material coming soon?

We aim to put out an E.P. a year so, hopefully, next spring there will be new material out.

How did Slim Loris get together? When did you begin recording music?

It started out as me (Mattias) and Robert getting together just jamming in 2009.

We´re old friends from our school days and fancied playing a bit together again. Songs started coming together and we recorded a few demos in the early days and felt we needed to take it further; so we added my old band mates from a band called Celebrate the Sun, Leon and Jonas, and recorded our first album, Down to Earth, in 2011.

Did you all grow up in musical households? Which artists inspired you to get into the industry?

There was always music around for all four of us growing up and a bit of amateur playing, too. Me and Leon grew up on our dads Beatles collection and – that’s been a major influence ever since. A lot of '90s stuff like Britpop and Trip-Hop with a sort of D.I.Y. mentality has also been a big influence.

What do you hope to achieve in 2018?

Hopefully, for as many people as possible to get their eyes up for our music and to be able to get out and play live as much as possible: our favourite place to be.

Have you each got a favourite memory from your time in music – the one that sticks in the mind?

Playing at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and going on a U.K. tour a few years ago was the highlight for all of us. Being influenced by The Beatles and U.K. music, in general; it was a massive experience going up on that stage.

If you could support any musician alive today, and choose your own rider, what would that entail?

Tom Waits. Just a genius - and makes music like no one else.

Some local beers, JD and coke; Loka (Swedish mineral water), some lighter food for three of us and stodgy belly filler for our drummer.

What gigs do you have coming up? Where can we catch you play?

So far, it’s only a few ones in Stockholm booked, but there are more to come.

On 25th May, we will play at the festival IPO Stockholm; a great festival with lots of brilliant bands (Southside Cavern at 9 P.M.).

Is the stage somewhere where you all feel at your very best? How does it feel getting up there and performing to the people?

It’s our favourite place to be. Everything else just fades away and you’re in a moment of pure ecstasy, more or less. All the hard work with recording is getting paid off there, basically.

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

Just have fun and do what feels right and find the right people to work with that can see your vision and take it further.