Klotter is a really good young band from Östergötland which plays hard to describe but really good music. I advise you to check them out right away! April 2024

Please tell me about how you came up with the idea that you would play together and when was this?

-We have all played in bands since high school, and after different constellations we decided during a lunch break in the spring of 2021 that we would play harder and rawer music.

Please tell me a little about every member, age, bands on the side?

-Hugo Eriksson, 22 years, bassist

Karl Holmberg, 22 years, drummer, Solo project: Stiggy James

Henrik Scheer, 23, guitarist and singer

Sebastian Sjösvärd, 23 years old, guitarist. Plays in the Proletärorkestern´s big band

Were you surprised when no band was called Klotter before? Or is there any other band. How did the discussions go when you took the name or was it just done right away?

-We wanted a band name that was easy to say to someone else at a party. Henrik came up with the name when he saw all the graffiti along the railway between Stockholm and Södertälje. Nowadays it's really easy to see if a band name is taken or not, which contributed to us choosing Klotter as a band name.

Om du inte vet, så är du dum... Does this album title allude to anything in particular?

-The name comes from a scribbled wall on an electrical cabinet near where we lived in Norrköping (when we recorded the album). It doesn't allude to anything, but it's a pretty attitude-rich title that makes the listener think.

You were nominated for Newcomer of the Year by Gaffa(?) how did such a thing feel?

-Both by Gaffa and by Manifestgalan! Of course, it's great to be recognized by well-established associations and newspapers, even if that's never the purpose of us playing music.

I think you guys are very hard to put in a particular genre... I can imagine that what you are inspired by is very different groups? Is there any groups you have been compared with that you are happy about?

-It's true that we have taken inspiration from many different groups, and we change our taste in music quite often. We often hear that our music reminds us of Kent, Arctic Monkeys and Bob Hund, which we listen to. Usually it's the case that three people in the band listen to a band/artist but the fourth doesn't, which may contribute to the fact that we never tried to steal an artist's sound straight off.

Do you care about reviews?

-It's always fun to hear what people think about our music, whether it's good or bad. And we always appreciate that someone wants to write about us. Then we don't put any weight in what the reviewer's opinions are, no matter what kind of opinion it is.

You ́re at Gaphals, how come it became Gaphals?

-They were local and they offered vinyl records.

You sing in Swedish, there was never any doubt that you would sing in Swedish?

-In previous bands the lyrics of our songs were in English, but Henrik felt that it was difficult to write songs that were about his own everyday life and growing up in another language.

Would it have been easier to come up with lyrics which is more banal if you have sung in English?

-Maybe, some of our songs on the next album (not the EP which will be released this spring) have some simpler lyrics, but it was something of a conscious choice to have complicated lyrics on the first album.

Tell us a little about the following songs...

-Alk & Hål

-Hembränt, grönt & tramadol

-TNE

-Alk & Hål: The title is inspired by the songs "My echo, my shadow, and me" and "I, Me, Mine". They divide something into parts, when in fact it consists of one and the same thing. A fairly simple text that is about confronting personal relationships with alcohol.

-Henke Hembränt, grönt & tramadol: For me, the song is very sarcastic in its lyrics, in a way it's more wordplay than message that was my ambition with writing the lyrics. More specifically, the verses then.

-TNE was my attempt to write a song inspired by Cornelis' "Brev från Kolonien". I like how his lyrics turn the story around every other phrase. The story itself is a hodgepodge of stories from high school as well as general observations from nights out at sunkhak.

You don ́t want to have so much politics in your lyrics or do you think that you ́re political or is everything politics?

-It's all politics, our lyrics on this album are pretty descriptive. We are only expressing our feelings and thoughts; Sometimes it's political, sometimes it's not.

Are you politically active yourselves?

-We are not active in any party, but we don't like the short man who leads the government, or his Scanian sidekick.

Which is your favorite band when it comes to political music?

-Sex Pistols, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Marvin Gaye, some of Ebba Grön's lyrics too.

I know that you call yourself indie-punk bands but I think I hear some early 70's metal too, is it something you listen to?

-Do you mean early 70's? In that case, we have taken inspiration from Black Sabbath (listen to the part before the solo in Spring, for example). Otherwise none of us listens to metal, but we have all grown up with Nu-metal.

Punk, what does it mean to you, is it only a word or is it a lifestyle?

 -You'll have to ask a real punk!

Is there any really good bands in Sweden that you want to highlight?

-Beverly Kills, Stilla Havet, Tomas Rimeika, Dixie's List.

Östergötland is where you come from and it have been a stronghold for good music, do you listen to any old Östergötland groups and have any favorites there?

-Hugo and Sebbe listens to Lars Winnerbäck, Sebbe on Eldkvarn.

Tell us a little about the following...

-The record that made you want to play music yourself?

-First record you bought?

-Most embarrassing record in your collection?

-The record which makes Klotter sound the way you do?

-The record you would like to have been on in some way?

Sebbe: The record that made me want to make music is Aerosmith's self-titled debut album, I had played Guitar Hero Aerosmith and it inspired me to want to listen to them. The first record I bought was Nirvanas Incesticide, I bought it at a record fair here in Linköping during my teenage years. My most embarrassing record in my collection is Sten & Stanley's Bella Bella. The record that makes my contribution to Klotter sound the way it does is Kärlek & Uppror by Ebba grön, I listened a lot to it when our first album was made and I have taken a lot of inspiration from the computer parts. If I could be a part of an album, it would probably be some kind of 90's shoegaze album, but I can't say exactly which one.  

Hugo: The record that got me started playing was Dookie by Green Day and it was my dad who introduced me to their music when I was little. My first record that I got was Isola by Kent and it is still played in vinyl players today! The most embarrassing record I own is Pinkerton by Weezer, it's probably their best record according to me but what the hell.. It's Weezer, after all. For me, the album that has contributed the most to Klotter's sound is Led Zeppelin's first album. It was constantly running in my headphones while we were recording our album. Last but not least, I want to tell you about the record that I would have liked to be a part of doing, and that is Handen i fickan fast jag bryr mig by Veronica Maggio. I think it's an absolutely fantastic album that captures the feeling of youth, + Salem Al Fakir was the producer.

Kalle: My interest in playing music started on drums and bass in parallel, when I usually learned songs on Twenty one pilot's album 'Blurryface'. The first record I ever bought was a Japanese original press of 'Off The Wall' by Michael Jackson from the Linköping record fair a while ago. The most embarrassing record I own has to be 'Turn Back The Clock' by Johnny Hates Jazz, but I love it with pride anyway. The album that makes Klotter sound Klotter for me is 'Haha' by The Garden. The songs we started jamming on that started the whole band were extremely inspired by that album drum-wise. I would have loved to be there when Donald Glover and Ludwig Göransson produced the songs for Childish Gambino's 'Awaken My Love'.

Henke: I would say that it was when my childhood friend showed me "Please Please Me" by The Beatles that I felt that I wanted to play in a band. Before that, I had mostly played music to play with records, but after hearing that record, I also wanted to try to write my own songs. Shortly thereafter I bought my first record: Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, I remember that it was on repeat in my room for probably 2 years in a row. Then I have a hard time saying if I have any "embarrassing record", possibly an old CD from Levi's that contains commercial music they used. Real old man blues. As we said before, it's so different from member to member where we took inspiration from, but for my part, I still think that this first album sounds like it does because of Arctic Monkeys' "Favourite Worst Nightmare". And if I had been able to participate in any record that already existed, it would certainly have been one of the Beatles' later albums, probably Rubber Soul or Revolver, where the atmosphere was still reasonably good.

You release the record on vinyl, is it important for you to get out the record physically?

-Yes, we all love to collect vinyl records, so we have always dreamed of releasing the record on vinyl. Before that, we made our own CDs because we wanted a physical copy of our music.

Do you have any plans for new releases?

-Yes box, an EP in the spring and more releases will come very soon after that.

Five favorite records right now?

-Sebbe: Snus i motvind - Mats Rådberg, You'd prefer an astronaut - Hum, The Bygones - The Bygones, The action is go - Fu Manchu, Chocolate & Cheese - Ween

Hugo: Masayoshi Takanaka - BRAZILIAN SKIES, Ween - The Mollusk, Sticky Fingers - Land Of Pleasure, Kjell Höglund – Tidens tecken, Milky Chance - Sadnecessary

Kalle: Toro Y Moi - Mahal, Young Gun Silver Fox - Ticket To Shangri-la, Herbie Hancock - Lite Me Up, Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest, Arctic Monkeys - Humbug

Henke: "Color Theory" by Soccer Mommy, "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" by David Bowie, “Folkmusik för folk som inte kan bete sig som folk” by Bob hund, “Rubber Soul” by The Beatles, “Du & jag Döden” by Kent.

Is it many livegigs, where have been the best so far?

-We play a lot live, it's hard to say which one is the best. We had a DIY gig at the music house in Norrköping that was super fun, as well as another in a basement on Walpurgis Night 2022. Östgöta Nation last time was really fun too.

What is your strength live?

-We always have a good mood and energy.

Which kind of audience do you draw, young/old, punks/popkids or how is it?

-All sorts of people, mainly younger people or or people in our age who listens to alternative music.

Which is the biggest band you have played together with?

-Beverly Kills or Stilla Havet. We were supposed to be the opening act to Doktor Kosmos but it didn't work out.

If you could choose five bands to have a concert together with Klotter, both dead and living bands, which would the five dream bands be then?

-The Beatles

The Garden

Mac DeMarco

Arctic Monkeys (early, RIP)

Bob Dog

Futureplans for the band?

-We will release quite a lot in the future and have many ideas on things we want to do within and outside the music. Then we're going to record new music and play a lot live.

Futureplans for yourself?

-Blank. Becomes too vague and confusing for us to answer.

Wisdomword? -"Peace and love, peace and love." -Ringo Starr

Something to add?

-Thanks for the interview!