In this interview spotlight, I chat with Junodef about their single Close, adapting during a pandemic, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
We are all from a small town in the south of Sweden called Lund. Usually, we describe our music as the love child of PJ Harvey, Chelsea Wolfe and Elliot Smith. Another word we sometimes use to describe our music is doomsday pop. Our music is moody and melancholic with strong melodies and a heavy sound. Lately our music has become more electronically influenced and we experiment a lot with synths and drum pads. We’re heavily influenced by acts like Portishead and Massive Attack. If you’re looking for happy music you have come to the wrong place.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
Junodef was formed in 2015 by Karin (guitar and vocals) and Tyra (Bass and vocals) who have played together in different constellations since the age of 13. The band was later joined by Rode (synth) and Norea (drums). Only a year after the band was formed, we decided to move to London to try and reach out to a bigger audience. To every member of the band music has always been what we want to do, and we have always taken it very seriously and worked hard. I think to all of us there was never really any other option but to do music.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
Because this song was written mid-pandemic we didn’t have a chance to get into a space and try it out together before recording it, so what you hear is an arrangement done completely remotely. Usually we play songs live for months before actually recording them, which gives us space to think and change our minds a lot. Going straight from writing to recording was a completely new process, and I think there’s definitely something valuable in committing to the initial idea and limiting the re-thinking and re-shaping of a song. In regards to themes and approach to songwriting Close is much more production based than our previous releases. Writing the song was like going to an Ableton-circus. The approach I took when writing Close was really to use it as base for learning new things about the software, and although the song sounds quite simple it is a result of extensive trial and error…
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented times? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
The biggest challenge was definitely not being able to play live! When the first lockdown hit we had just come back from a European tour supporting the UK band Editors, and going from playing shows at 3000 cap venues to hiding in the Swedish forest alone was a massive contrast. We all went back to Sweden for the first London-lockdown, and being able to be close to family and get a breathing space from our everyday life in London was really precious to us all. I think we all needed a break and it turned out to be really great for our creativity. We managed to meet up a few times whilst in Sweden and a lot of the material we’re playing live now are songs we wrote during those sessions.
What was the last song you listened to?
Norea: Godless by The Dandy Warhols
Karin: Father’s Son by Celeste
Tyra : Cut Connection by Jesca Hoop
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
I mean I kind of need to say vinyl, just because it’s something so special and comforting about it. And I just like having a physical copy of the music. It makes me feel like I’ve gotten a little bit closer to the artist, somehow. And I think if I’m listening to music on a streaming platform, I’ll probably end up jumping around from artist to artist, skipping songs and kind find it difficult to just relax and enjoy the music, because there are just TOO MANY OPTIONS. If I just put on a record I’ll listen to it all the way through and enjoy it the way the artist planned it.
And it’s obviously a really good way to support artists, to buy their record. Not much money is made from Spotify and similar, as we all know.
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
Probably instagram on a daily basis. That’s where we post the most things! Everything from info about upcoming gigs and releases, to us being silly and stupid on the instagram stories. We just got TikTok as well, where we’re being extra silly, so that could be a fun place to follow as well. But then we have all the rest like facebook and bandcamp as well!
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
Oh no, thank you for your time! Yes, please listen to our new single Close, out now, and let us know what you think of it! Send us a message on instagram or facebook, it’s much appreciated.
