Svenska Akademien is a new band for me but when I got their CD Tändstickor för Mörkradda I was on immediately. Their reggae in swedish mixed with a little bit of hip was really good. Martin(Sture) was answering my questions on a warm augustday 2004.

Some history thanks, I hadn´t heard of you before this record and don´ty know anything?

-We started as a trio for about 4 years ago.  Simon (Don) did

beats,Martin (Sture) andIvan (GeneralKnas) was toasting and rapping. With that line up we released a 12-inch record (Snapphaneklanen) and an album (med anledning av). The fullength came out 2 years ago and we played a lot and then we took  Patrik (Phelar Öfv) and Leia (Titti Tång) to play on the gigs. It felt good and after the summer they became permanent members. When we started to do new material it felt as we want to go on further,much because of that we as youngsters played in “real bands”, with “real” instruments.. Last summer we played live a ninemenband with Sture on drums and rap Don on guitar and vocals, Knas on toast, Titti on vcoals, Phelar on guitar and vocals, Oro on percussion, K on drums, Lance a lot on bass, Räven on Keyboard. With these line-up we recorded the record and the most of the songs became more ”live” this way. Before this summertour Phelar wanted to quit the group and in for her came Agnes ion vocals and keyboard.

Please tell me a little about every member, age, work, family and something bad about every one

-Martin (Sture) and Ivan (Knas) is 26 and they´re old schoolmates.Simon (Don), Johan (Räven) and Larsa (Lance a lot) is 27. Leia (Titti

Tång) and Joseph (Oro) s 30. Kenneth (K) is the oldest, and he´s 33. The youngest of us is Agnes , she is 22. We are as a big family and we like musik and independent thinking. The most of work extra sometimes in the social care or study. I haven´t anything bad to say about none of them except that they´re very talented every one of them in different things

Isn´t it hard to be so many in the group?

-It can be a little bit messy sometimes, but we go well together. It have it´s bad things but it´s nothing I will change on. I can´t se who I don´t want to be in the group. It´s only nice!

There is not so many who plays reggae in swedish , it feels like it was Peps the latest, what do you think that is that way?

-It isn´t that way, fact is that it is done a lot of reggae in swedish. But it´s not seen so much in media, it´s rock which is the thing. And isn´t anyone see you, so is it so that you´re not are, was it someone who said.

I haven´t heard your first record(how can I get it?) but was it more hiphop then?

-You can surely buy the record on some recordstores on the net. It was more hiphop then you could say. It´s so that everything was programmed and it not´s so much backbeats on so many songs on that record.

You like hiphop also I can tell, I can hear some influences here too? Is there any good hiphobands/artists in Sweden?

-Some of us likes hip hop, other are more amused of doing it for themselves. The musictaste in the band is very mixed, from punk to jazz. Personally I don´t listen so much to hiphop but Swedish acts that I like is Timbuktu and Promoe.

Other bands in Sweden

-No brain! But sure it´s a lot of good bands in Sweden, many backupbands which noone notice

How did the reviewers react on your record Tändstickor för mörkrädda av?

-Mixed, everything from very good to really cool wellwritten bad reviews.

Do you care about reviews?

-I don´t do it personally. Especially when we think of that we´re never been hyped in media but we still plays in front of a lot of people, who wants to dance and sing along. It drains reviews with heaviness.

Which do you trust the most, the good or the bad ones?

-None of them.

Which is the most peculiar review you ever have got?

-”The only stage this clown will be play in is in a circus ". Or something in that style, and the music they talked about was our first demo. That I think it´s funny. 

From where came the name up to the new record?

-I haven´t so good check on that, but I know that is coming from a poem. And we thought that was a good name, a little bit pretentious.

How is a good gig with you?

-The audience is with us, then we can do a really good gig. All in the band loves to play live and is it contact between us and the audience is impossible to fail. Wonderful!

How do the audience who come to your gigs look like?

-It´s very mixed, and that´s the fun thing, both old and young, punks and reggaepeople. We seems to have a really broad public.

You have really political lyris, is it important to have an opinion? 

-Without a doubt! Don´t you say what you think you agree. And we think about how the world look like so is it a shame if you don´t engage yourself and you have an opinion. It´s important that you do it in a way that suit you. But of course is it important!

Which is most important when you do a song, is it a good lyrics, good melodies or to have a refrain that people remembers?

-Everything! One things makes the other, it can be the music which inspires the lyrics or then it mustn’t be so. It varies from song to song. But I don´t think you should write a song just because of the lyrics, then it´s being too progressive. And if you have a thinking of melodies which does that people remembers it isn´t bad if the melodies is stucked in people head, but I don´t think it´s being good if you do a melody with only a “hitrefrain”. It´s not going to be true then

Which band/artist does the best political lyrics?

-Nobody. All do in their own way, I don´t think we can compare that way to write a political lyric can be so much.

Can music change anyones life?

-The punk changed my life, it gave me selfconsciousness and belonging and it did me to the one I am today. I dopn´t think I´m alone to feel that way

Reggae have many times been mixed up with drugs, where do you stand there

-We have no bandpolicy or so, we aren´t that way. I´m personally it´s critical to all politicians today and then I mean the drugpolitic also. 

Where do you stand in the Mp3-question? What´s the best and what´s the worst with MP3´s?

-Mp3 is good I think it´s a way to reach out with your music even if it´s not fucking commercial. I hope it can make the big record label go under , the ones that do nothing for the music. The bad thing with is that it can be hard to finance new recordings if you can´t been paid for them but if you buy records from the one you like and go to a lot of concerts  so can you do your thing to promote the thing, to support it    .

Do you download? Why or why not?

-I don´t do it,  don´t barely know how you do. But i get from others and have no problem with that, But a I buy a lot of records too, things I like, everything as the thinking up above

Should a record be copyprotected?

-I don´t know what it is. Pass.

Please rank your five favouriterecords, five favouriteconcerts and five most important things in life? 

-I cannot rank records that way. I have been on some really good concerts but I cannot come up with them now. Capleton on Summer Jam this some was a fat experience, Bounty Killer too. But what the hell, I cannot come up with the others. 

But important is love, afterthought, striveness ,musik, to live right now but with dreams

First, latest and most expensive record ever bought?

-The firstmust have been FYC,  thought they were really fat when I was in intermediate level . And I had a cassettetape with Hasse Andersson when I was younger. The latest was a liverecord with Donny Hathaway. I haven´t bought any expensive record what I can remember, isn´t the collectertype.

The most embarrasing record in your collection?

-I saw a while ago that it is a record with Marie Fredriksson in my collection. That isn´t so fat!

How do you think it is to live in Sweden? Then I mean politically, is it happens too much or too little? 

-It happens too little, that must the most with some heart think. If it happens anything is it something scary, terroristhunting and other shit. The world is sick and that can we say about Sweden too which sometimes can feels like a middlewayarsehole. But we´re coming from Sweden and in some way we like it. But that it´s mostly the nature and that is fantastic everywhere there it have been left in peace.

What do you think about Anna Lindh, Tony Olsson, Bingolotto and Markoolio?

-The Anna Lindh-thing wasn´t surprising, the world is getting harder och in many ways I have some understanding for these attacks when it is done by people with a brain behind. But I will not say that I think it´s good. Tony didn´t came so far away, boring to be photographed in his panties after some days when you probably dream about the freedom. Bingolotto have I never seen and I don´t thinking of begin to see it.

But I can understand that people plays, it´s more profit there than to be willing to do something as oursociety looks today. Markoolio was drunk somewhere I saw somewhere. But I don´t think so much about him.

Futureplans for the band?

-Play, play, play and then we´re going to do some new material.

For yourself?

-I have no life except the band almost, so now it is as same as the the band.

Wisdomword

-Look after them yourself, build together parts of the things you have found to an own opinion and questioning it all the time

Something to add?

-I´m more used to do interview ”live# . But i did a good try!

Have a good time!

/Sture