Mamma Pappa Barn is a group that has a a really own sound and the only group I come up with since my upbringing is Kommo but it is a group Viktor (who has answered the questions) never have heard of… .april-2019

A little story about the group?

-Me and Mathias old band Quagmire was put on ice around 2008, but we were sure we two wanted to continue playing. We had tested another drummer I think but didn't get it right. At a party in 2009 we asked if Jonas from Culkin wanted to drum and then it was decided that we would make a trio that would be called Mamma Pappa Barn and that would be with Swedish texts. I was pretty slow started then because of small children and more, but in 2014 we actually started to rehearse. Songs were written and we recorded in 2015 what became our first album DÅLIGA NYHETER and it came out in 2016. In the summer of 2017 we began to record UTAN FÖRVARNING and it´s coming out now May 3, 2019. We have seen this more as a project than band from the beginning and the pace have been very calm because of family, jobs, studies, other bands we are in and so. But now we are starting to get a bleeding tooth and are going to play a bit in May with Soviac, Huvet and Aabe and are thinking of playing more out and giving out more music.

Tell us a little about every member, age, job, family, band before and band on the side?

-I, Viktor is 45 with three children in low and middle school age, girlfriend, cat and dog. Is an architect and works with hospitals. Playing bass in Legbiter for a couple of years. Former bands are Quagmire 97-08 and before that I fronted Spacebone (grunge) and played guitar in Pure Pain (industry). Living in Stockholm (from Uppsala originally) sings and plays guitar in MPB.

Mathias is 39 and has a one-year-old child and girlfriend. Living in Uppsala. Basist in MPB and in Quagmire before, played guitar and sang in Culkin (indie) with Jonas for over ten years. Has played bass in Kevlar, Shellfire and The Ghoulies. Are pharmacists and work with research at universities.

Jonas is 39, married and have two children at primary school. Lives in Stockholm and is from Haninge. Drums in MPB. Works with the design of strong energy. Also guitar and vocals in Culkin. Have played drums in Brisco. Was a member of Ellis the Vacuum Child. Has a weezercover band called Geezer and was stand-in on drums in Legbiter once.

All four from Culkin have made a record with Nandor from Brick on vocals a couple of years ago. It's really good, called Brick and is on Bandcamp with the artist The Depth Consists.

I can hear a lot of punk, indie, odd music and I will think of an old group called Kommo, I hear right? Was it better before?

-We all have broad music taste and the basis for us is Indie, punk and Hc. Kommo is nothing I recognize ...

What was fun before, I think is that the search for music was exciting. To find new good music you needed to travel, find record stores, read newspapers and zines and go to a lot of concerts and festivals. Now everything is online which is not as fun, but very practical of course. And good music is there all the time! Both before and now.

 
MPB or Mamma pappa Barn… .what are you called nowadays, is it just the acronym that applies? Are you happy with the name? If not the best band name had been busy, which name had you chosen then? I mean which is the best band name?

-We are called Mamma Pappa Barn but it is often that we say MPB, the name is a little clumsy. We probably say both and use both.

The best band name in Swedish must still be Sportlov and in English it is Born Against.

What is the best thing about playing live?

- Personally, I think it is great when it goes well live, then I am completely in the moment and the experience total flow.

Where is best to play, where is the worst?

- Have not played so much in the recent but at Copperfields and Kafe 44 you feel welcome and the focus on music feels strong. The worst thing you can do is outdoors in the day and with only some people in combination.

How is it to play this kind of music in Sweden today?

-Does not feel like there is a clear scene to relate to. Then it would have been easier perhaps to play within a clearer genre, then it feels like there are more blogs, mini festivals and the like. Could have been easier to reach out at the same time as we are drawn to what is less clear and mixed.

Huvet records give out our new album digitally, they also give out Soviac and Aabe, hoping for more of that. A gathering force for noiserock.

How would you describe your music in three words?

-Indie. noiserock. postpunk. God what good it is with compound words in swedish.

What does punk mean to you, is it just a word or is it a lifestyle? You don't exactly play punk off but there are influences I think ...

-Punk for us is primarily a relationship with music, playing what we like ourselves without taking into account different rules or some commercial speculation. For me, punk also means some kind of pretty direct appeal and that it is skewed, unpolished or raw done. Punk is the starting point for us so it will always remain in some way.

How do you see on download, mp3 and the like?

-We love Bandcamp very much. There the music goes to stream or download as mp3 or lossless plus the artists decide the price and get almost all the money themselves. Absolutely superb. And nothing annoying about either, but lots of good chronicles and music tips.

How do you think it is to live in Sweden today, politically? With SD and KD as lightly conservative parties ... or do you don´t give a damn about politics?

-We are a bit left  so this is a very frustrating development we see politically in Sweden last two or three decades with a hefty right turn of the whole society. Would wish there was some effective and easy way to stop SD.

Are there any good bands in Sweden today? In your hometown?

-Sweden:Rome is not a town, Tennis bafra, Soviac, Bitch hawk, Dimma, Bäddat för trubbel, Scraps of tape, Blessings, Det eviga leendet, Pyramido, Stockholm: God mother, Horndal, Stiu nu stiu, Tungsol, Aabe, Domkraft, The Sekt.

Do you play anything outside Sweden?

-No, but I think a little Denmark or Norway could be fun.

Other good bands from abroad?

-There is so much active good bands now ... Sumac, Baptists, Metz, Daughters, Whores, Low Dose, Hot snakes, Cult leader, Yob, Sleep, Mutoid Man, Radioactivity, Retox, Kowloon walled city. I can continue all day.

Your lyrics, what are you influenced by? Never in a language other than Swedish?

-The first album's lyrics ran out of a picture I got ... the feeling just after a big break of some sort. Think the first text was for Nanomalist. Then I continued on it to almost all the songs. A couple of songs are inspired by racism and fascists, work well to sing when you are angry!

The lyrics of the second album originate from an internal joke that led to me thinking about industrialism in Sweden. The thoughts that were around it have been rewritten and re-interpreted until it suited the music, and is more poetic than concrete. But I think it was a good mood.

Will probably not be anything but Swedish in MPB, the starting point was that it was enough with half-good lyrics in English. Now exclusively half-good lyrics in Swedish.

Is there anything you will never write about?

-Yes, that's for sure. Topics need to be within reach of my own experience, I believe. Would never write anything to just shock or provoke in general.

Politics and music, does it always belong together? Which is your most political song?

-No it doesn't have to belong together, I listen to a lot of metal and there is often anything in texts like gnomes, trolls and demons. Is there any part of the critically critical death metal type Genocide Pact, Memoriam and Pyrrhon in itself. Röntgen from the previous record I wrote the text to when age investigations of asylum seekers were relevant, it is probably the song with the clearest political connection.

Best political band/artist?
-Fugazi.

Do you think music can change someone's life, then I mean texts etc?

-Absolutely at a personal level, I think there are many stories about it. The social power of music can have a strong influence on groups as well, then both individuals and society are affected.

Your cover is really cool on your CD, who has done it. Who is it on the new album? Is it important to have a cover that you understand what type of music you play? Which is your favorite cover ever?

-Thanks! I have made the layout and Jonas has taken the picture (several years ago), the same layout on the previous album. It has been a thing that we are only three (plus Mattias Lindberg who is recording) who does everything. Can be nice in a way to leave cover for someone outside the band, but to control all creative moments feels good to us right now. We do not know the man on the cover, but he often goes past where I live.

Before, I think it is important that the music appeared in the cover, when record stores were significant. Today I think it does not play such a big role, but artistically it is always stronger with a wholeness.

The best cover ever is probably Action Park with Shellac anyway. Totally minimalist front and a detailed drawing of an amusement park inside, nice contrast.

Is it important to get physical records? Vinyl or CD or both? Is there any good record store in your vicinity left?

-No, I don't really think so. That's fine with Spotify, Bandcamp and so on. But we have all collected records from the beginning so for us it is important to give out physical music. Vinyl is really nice but expensive and takes a long time to get from the press room. CD have good sound, takes a week to order, cheap to do, low postage when sending so it has become the thing  for us.

In Uppsala wh have Open Mind, a nice store.

Please tell me something really fun that happened during your career on stage or behind stage etc?

-Jonas was bitten in the leg backstage by Pelle in Fireside when Ellis the vacuum child toured with them!

How does your audience look? Which type of people comes? Are you missing some types of people?

-This far it is most friends and old acquaintances, I believe. Saw this week that we had quite a few plays of the album on bandcamp so I can be wrong. Would like to see that we reached out to more people, think that we should work for others with mixed taste in indie and punk.

Please rank five favorite records, five favorite concerts?
Jesus Lizard - Liar, Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath, Neil Young - Harvest, Pixies - Surfer Rosa, the Clash - Give em enough rope
Chavez on Tantogården 97, Mission of Burma on All tomorrows parties 2002, Shellac on Pukkelpop 94, Sumac and Baptists on Kafe44 recently in march, Fugazi in Nurnberg 98.

Is it boring with interviews?

-No, it's fun to talk about music!

If you could choose five bands from the story, dead and alive to have a concert together with your band, which are the dream bands then?

-Drive Like Jehu, Television, Steel Pole Bath Tub, Unwound, US Maple.

Is music a great way to get out frustration and become a nicer person? Are you angrier today than you were younger?

- Absolutely, I had no active music project between 09 and 14, it was frustrating and I was probably a little grumpy during that time. Is angry in a similar way today as when I was young but when I was younger I thought more that anger would be productive and lead to something good. Today I try to avoid that feeling.

What is the weirdest question you got in an interview?

- Don't come up for anything, maybe this one?

Which is the question you never get, ask it and answer it?

-It would be fun with questions about amplifiers, instruments and recording. We are interested in it.

Tell us about how you record? Yes please ask. We have recorded the records in the Voilum studio which is located on the same floor in the Handenterminalen as the rehearsalroom. We have recorded the instruments live and put on the song afterwards as well as a few toppings with guitar, trumpet and choirs.

Future plans for the band?

-Play our gigs in May (10/5 Eskilstuna, 16/5 Stockholm, 17/5 Uppsala), and feel free to book more for the fall. Start recording something new in spring as we write this fall.

For yourself?

- Continue with Legbiter and MPB alternately in some smart way.

Words of wisdom?

- Brush your teeth at least 2 minutes morning and evening with a soft toothbrush and flour toothpaste.

Anything to add?

- Thanks for the questions! Sick fun that you had the zine for so long, hoping for a long continuation.