La Suède serait-elle une des nouvelles terres promises de la Techno ? Depuis deux ans environ, de nombreux artistes ont commencé à faire forte impression aussi bien dans les dj booth que dans les bacs à disques : Skudge, Bleak, Rivet, Abdulla Rashim… Fishermen est un jeune projet mené par deux producteurs vivant entre Stockholm et Gottenburg. Martin Skogehall aka MRSK & Thomas Jaldermark ne sont pas de simples pécheurs mais leurs productions ont déjà élu domicile sur de label emblématiques de la scène suédoise : Skudge White et Kontra-Musik. Curieux, nous leurs avons demandé un Phonocast afin de découvrir d’un peu plus près leur univers musical. Par la même occasion, nous les avons brièvement questionnés sur leur travail ainsi que sur cette scène dont nous ignorons beaucoup de chose. Bonne écoute.
Could Sweden be the new promised land for techno? For approximately two years, a lot of artists have started to make huge impression in dj booth as in the records racks. Fishermen is a young project lead by two producers based between Stokholm and Gottenburg. Martin Skogehall & Thomas Jaldermark are not really working in the seafood industry, but their tracks have already been released on figurehead Swedish imprints as Skudge White or Kontra-Musik. Curious, we asked them a Phonocast in order to discover in details their musical universe. Also we thought relevant to ask them few questions about their works and this scene on which we don’t know so much. Good Listening.
Fishermen on : Facebook / Soundcloud / Discogs
How did you meet?
Martin: We are Martin Skogehall and Thomas Jaldemark from Sweden. We got to know each other through the techno scene and thanks to Internet about 8-9 years ago. We started to chat on MSN but we never made music together before, we were just talking about music and sending tracks back and forth. We actually didn’t meet in real life until this spring 2013 after releasing the first ep´s for Skudge and Kontra Musik. We made those in our separate studios since we live very far from each other, one of us in Stockholm and the other one in Gothenburg. But when we finally met it was like meeting an old friend. We started drinking beers and produce together in the same studio from day one.
Where come from the name Fishermen?
Martin: Actually we named the first song/sketch we made Fishermen…. and we took that name from there. Since this moment we felt it really fitted the sounds we’ve been making. I’am also really into the sea stuff and a big fans of the TV-series “Deadliest Catch”. Of course we also like to fish.
There are so many themes and inspirational stuff that can be explored around the sea and the oceans. Storms, waves bigger than skyscrapers, submarines, naval battles, harbors, ships, all those mysterious depths with weird deep-sea creatures that’s no one ever seen etc. etc.
How this project came to birth?
Martin: I wanted to make something new, something dark, slower and more experimental, a new project. Thomas felt the same thing and sent me a sketch one day and I just added some stuff and then we sent it back and forth a couple of times and soon enough the first track was made…
Both of us were on the same mindset about what we wanted to do and we had a lot of fun in the creation process so we continued the same process with new tracks and within a month, we had the material done for the Skudge White EP.
I have always been into weird experimental music like everything from Sonic Youth to Aphex Twin and Black Metal whereas Thomas has always been into EBM, Dark Wave and Industrial weird things. Mix in some techno and house in that and somewhere there in the middle we found a playground perfect for us.
On this project, you released a two Ep, one on Skudge and one on Kontra Musik, Rivet also released on those two labels. Is there a link between the two imprints?
Martin: In our opinion those two labels are very nice platforms to release things. They understand our way of produce electronic music and are they are very open minded guys. Skudge is run by an old friend so that felt natural and Thomas knew Ulf from Kontra Musik before. They were the people that we were sending tracks to from the start and they liked it. With Rivet it’s nothing special, he is just a great musician, dj and a really nice guy.
Previously, you already released on Skudge as MRSK, could you tell us more about this project?
Martin : That’s my house/techno project that started out on Rush Hour with 1 Ep and a remix of Anthony Shake Shakir. It was followed by 2 releases on Skudge and a couple of remixes on different labels. I still make music like that of course and I love it, MRSK is just me myself and I. I released one Ep this year on Skudge and a couple of remixes. There is one or two other Ep’s coming up this year that I’m working on now, so MRSK is ALIVE!
Thomas, do you also have other musical project except Fishermen?
Thomas: My friend Pehr Herb from my old hometown Jönköping and I have a project called Kretipleti, its more classic technoish productions than the Fishermen stuff. We also have small label together called YTA Recordings where we release whatever we feel like. So far we released a 7″ vinyl of post-punk electronic with Pehr’s band Haul, and a cassette album with my ambient project ETCETC.
It has been three years that we see the Swedish scene considerably growing renewing. Is it just an impression or was it always there and nobody was paying attention?
Martin : There’s always been a scene here, but the audience grown a lot lately, electronic music became very popular the last couple of years in Sweden. A lot of us that started in the 90s had home computers and was making music just for fun but since the interest grew the artists got discovered.
Does the scene is the same in Gottenburg & Stockholm or Malmo?
Thomas: I’m not particularly fond of the scene in Gothenburg, its mostly “deep house / tech house” which is not my thing. There are some good parties now and then but I don’t frequently go somewhere, maybe I’m getting old. One favorite place is Röda Sten, they have a nice venue and a great beautiful location under a bridge. I used to live in Malmö before, it was better there. There, the scene is very healthy with everything from small underground parties to good clubs. They have good promoters (for example Ulf from Kontra Musik) that keeps booking fresh stuff. Can’t really compare them to Stockholm since I haven’t been there a lot (kinda big distances in this country…)
Martin: In Stockholm there is a a lot of good DJ´s and promoters. There is almost something interesting club or artist in town every weekend if you want to dance. Skudge have their club nights at Berns, its a huge and great venue. There is also a lot of Underground parties but to be honest I don’t get out dancing that much anymore, I like my studio time more… Last summer I saw Jeff Mills outside under a bridge at mid day in Stockholm, that was fun.
How is structured the Swedish Scene? Is it like a big family or not so much?
Martin: Actually it feels like everybody knows each other, probably since the country is kind of small.
On the project Kritical Audio you’re working with Robert Elster, who is doing many mastering’s. Does the fact to work with studio guys like him had a role in the way you produce right now?
Martin: Robert and I has known each other since kindergarden and we made music with eats other from 2003-2005 and we are still friends, he is really good at mastering, he knows what he is doing. The sound we make has nothing to do with him but he has learned me and others a lot thru the years, how to use different machines and effects.
Did you have any musical activity before to be involved into electronic music?
Martin: I started out as a drummer at 7 years old. I played in different rock bands thru out the years; I was a real rock guy as a youngster. I heard electric music for the first time when my step sister played “Kraftwerk – Autobahn” for me and I loved it because it had car samples and the song was very long…
After that Robert Elster introduced me to Acid House and stuff like early Plastikman and I was in love. Later I discovered that you could make so much strange and cool sounds with machines and computers at home so I got tired of rehearsing with my bands and quit that. I have been playing, producing, preforming, recording, and collecting music since I can remember.
Thomas: I’ve been an all electronic guy since my childhood, all my four older brothers listened to metal/rock stuff but that didn’t appeal to me so I went the electronic way. I played the clarinet when I was 10-12 years but I don’t think that counts but it did learn me how to read notes so guess it was pretty useful.
On what projects are you working right now?
Martin : Right now we are finishing up a new Ep and working with stuff for the album, we have about 15 tracks it’s almost done. So our main focus to finish these songs… We’ve also started working on a live act, that’s going to be a challenge to get that the way we want it but it will be lots of fun.
What is the hardest thing for you as artist?
Martin : Not making any money (laugh)… No, right now this is just for fun, it’s like collecting comic books, painting or restore old cars… If it is not completely fun we would quit. I think the hardest thing is to find time for music making at the moment, we both have 40 hours’ workweeks and it’s not always easy to find the energy or inspiration after a soul-sucking day at work.
Could you tell us more about this Phonocast ?
Martin : Basically it’s a mishmash of the producers and labels we listen to at the moment. Since we are on two different locations we decided to make half each, so one of us started it and the other continued from there.
Playlist:
Powell – A Band [The Death Of Rave]
Dj Overdose – Fabriek [Creme Organization]
Disco Nihilist – Greasy Grind [Running Back]
Ivvvo – Hunter [moun10]
Frak – 666 [Kontra Musik]
Samo DJ – Leggo [Long Island Electrical Systems]
Fishermen – Ribbonfish [Skudge White]
Dro Carey – LB Extended Trip [The Trilogy Tapes]
B.D.I – Paper Tears (Same Victories, Same Mistakes) [Running Back]
Kassem Mosse – Broken Patterns [Nonplus Records]
Ike Release – Cosmic Supreme [MOSdeep]
Massimo Di Lena & Rio Padice – The Octave Lord Of Ring Mode [Royal Oak] 13. Drvg Cvltvre – Heatbeat [Viewlexx]
The Cyclist – Bones In Motion [Leaving Records]
Streetwalker – Future Fusion [Cititrax]
Dario Zenker – Chris De Slurgh [Ilian Tape]
Clouds – Drone Function [Fifth Wall Records]
Wishmountain – Walkers [Accidental]
