"Anette Halbe Stunde"
Interview With (Sound) Architect Magnus Josefsson
When I asked Magnus Josefsson what topics he would like to discuss in our interview, he brought up the Bullerby Syndrome. Not only was I curious about his connection to Astrid Lindgren, but I also wanted to know a bit more about the vegan (sound) architect from Sweden who has worked with so many exceptional artists and lived in Weimar once.
Anne: Hi Magnus! How are you doing today? I've heard the situation with the pandemic is not so rough anymore in Sweden? Is it? Over here, everything seems to last a bit longer. Everyone is patiently waiting for the vaccines to flood the country finally.
"There is no such thing as vegan music"
Magnus: I'm excellent, thanks! Well, I must say that the situation has been relatively soft up here throughout that period.
Anne: It's so good to get to know some other vegan who is also interested in good music. So: Congrats on being vegan and your good taste in and talent for great sounds! I think it's quite a good combination. Do you believe there is such a thing as "vegan music"? Or "music for vegans"?
Magnus: No, I don't think there's such a thing as vegan music, not on a physical level. But perhaps on a metaphysical level.
Anne: The Post-Rock/Ambient/Shoegaze genre, which I love to name "the world of soundscapes", is quite a niche. This also applies to veganism still. Are there any other similarities to veganism that you think need to be mentioned?
"Eating vegan food is about making a conscious choice"
Magnus: Eating vegan food is about making a conscious choice. Ambient music and soundscape are somehow close to my experience of my consciousness. Music has no physical form, just like consciousness itself.
Anne: What do you think makes us vegans so annoying? I talked to so many of us overtimes, and I always get to hear, "It's so problematic to make any friends as a vegan. As soon as they hear you're not putting any animal-based food to your body, they seem to be offended and get going." Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I think it helps you figure out who is really friend material. Did you have the same experience?
Magnus: I think vegans are so hard to hang out with because they(many of us) constantly have to assert themselves and polarise themselves from others. It takes effort to get along with a salesperson or politician, who will continuously convince you of what to do or not. You wait or avoid the longest by going to the one who shouts the loudest!
"Identity often becomes people's greatest enemy"
The last thing I want is an identity. It excludes you from lots of other things and people. I really believe that identity often becomes people's absolute greatest enemy and problem.
Anne: I've talked to Belinda and Justin from Crippled Black Phoenix about the combination of veganism and music. They told me that they are using their music to transport the message and fight cruelty and exploitation against animals. Can you imagine doing that too? Or have you done it before?
Magnus: No, I would not do that. I'm not a political manifesto, and I think it's to diminish oneself and one's music if one pursues topics like that in work. It will be a relatively low level of art – I think. But well, on the other hand, other bands have done that over the years with success and credibility, for example, The Smiths. But I guess it's not for me.
"Weimar is a fantastic city"
Anne: You told me that you were living in Weimar for some time. Did you enjoy it? Do you want to name some of the differences between living in Sweden vs living in Germany? Especially as a vegan and as a musician?
Magnus: Weimar is a fantastic city, and I loved every minute there! It's a fairytale town where anything is possible. A small town with a lot of people and people from all over the world! It's very easy to be creative in Weimar, and it's easy to get to know new people. There's something about the energy there.
If I generalise, Swedes are much more antisocial than Germans. Scandinavians have a different need for silence and time for themselves. It's not like an idea among the people but something in the soul of the people. So it's clear that everything feels a little more alive when you come down to Germany. In addition, the underground culture is fragile in Sweden and much more robust in Germany. You even notice it in a small German town, which was one reason why I want to move down.
"Sweden and Germany both have great vegan options"
As a vegan, I think both Sweden and Germany are good. Of course, there are not so many dedicated vegan restaurants here, but there are barely any restaurants, bars, cafes in the whole country at all.
Music-wise I got a lot of inspiration in both Sweden and Germany to do stuff. Up here, we have great nature, clean water, great air but completely dead cities. So I need a bit of both worlds to feel ongoing and vital.
Anne: What brought you to Weimar? Did your move have something to do with your architecture studies?
"I studied architecture at the Bauhaus University"
Magnus: Yeah, I studied architecture there, did an exchange at Bauhaus University. I wanted to go to Germany and did not want to go to any of the bigger cities. I knew the Bauhaus school for such a long time and saw it as a dream to get enrolled.
Anne: As a passionate Sweden traveller, I can imagine it quite exhausting to move here. But maybe Weimar is one of the cities that isn't that typically German. Did you figure out any commonalities between the Weimar area and Sweden?
Magnus: I have spent a lot of time in Germany in my life, so I know what I was getting myself into. I toured the country so many times and lived in Berlin for one summer; we had the label in Hamburg with BF. When you're used to the silence in Scandinavia, you welcome the vitality and wildness down in Europe!
"I enjoy Europe's cultural diversity a lot"
Thuringia is the least populated part of Germany, and Småland one of the least populated in Sweden. But the difference is that here you may have to travel 70 km to go to a pub. In Thuringia, it is never further than 700 meters to a bar!
Anne: Sorry for being so rude not asking questions about your music first. I was so curious about the experiences of another vegan and the thing with Sweden and Weimar. You just did the mixtape "Anette Halbe Stunde" for Johannes Rögner's (Frittenbude) label Anette Records. It's a 30 min tape of outstanding experimental music. Congrats on that! Is Johannes a friend of yours?
Magnus: Yes, Johannes is a friend of mine; we met many years ago when I was in Bondage Fairies. We were signed to the same label, and we toured a lot together in Germany.
Anne: The tape is pretty much different from Johannes' other musical stuff. What inspired the both of you to record it?
"I recorded 'Anette Halbe Stunde' at an old brick factory"
I guess it was the nature up here in Småland and the old factory where I am working on my music that inspired me. We got a massive space in an old brick factory building at the river and a lake, mysterious and exciting. Meditation also took part in doing this mixtape.
Anne: You said you created a new way of working due to your pandemic- and geography-caused isolated situation? You told me music files flew back and forth in the air between Småland, Denmark, England and Scotland? Did you record it entirely remotely?
"I worked with artists from all over Europe"
Magnus: I did 90 to 95 per cent of the recordings in our factory in Fröseke by myself. And the other per cent is made in UK, Denmark, Gothenburg, and Sylvester recorded some stuff in Stockholm. I love to work like this and will keep that magic tool for the future!
Anne: This sounds like a lot of fun! Who else was involved in the production of the tape?
Magnus: I worked with Patrik Åberg and Johan Offerlind from the Swedish band Avantgardet. Sylvester Schlegel, who played with The Ark when they existed. Daniel Fridlund Brandt from Gothenburg and Theis Mikkelsen from Denmark. Then Constant Follower made the lyrics on the B-side. They are from Scotland and will release their fantastic debut album this summer.
Anne: You said that isolation might be the best medicine for social interactions. What do you mean by that? Did it inspire you?
"Isolation can be quite inspiring"
Magnus: Breaking routines is very healthy for yourself and your mental status, I think. See yourself from the outside in and not from the inside out. Something else happened when we were isolated due to the pandemic. You had to focus on yourself and deal with yourself and your inner self. I see deep diving in the inner world as the most significant source of creative output. I think this time has been fantastic, and I have a lot to thank the isolation for. But after a while, you start longing for people again.
Anne: You also did some of the recordings for The Amazing and Dungen, who is a member of Bondage Fairies (signed with Audiolith records). That's a whole bunch of famous German musicians – did you start your career over here or back in Sweden before you moved here?
Magnus: I started my professional music career 15 years ago as a producer in Stockholm. So with BF, The Amazing and Dungen, it's ten years back. It was after that that I decided to become an architect. So five years ago, I lived in Weimar and had the touring and producing part behind me for years. But now, I have stepped into the beautiful realm of music again.
Anne: The music you recorded with artists of several genres is quite versatile. Is there such thing as a genre that you feel emotionally bound to? Or do you agree with the thesis that it's all about the perfect moment?
"Every genre has good music"
Anne: When I asked you about the topics you would love to talk about, you named the Bullerby Syndrome. Is this the syndrome you get when you live in the often romanticised Astrid Lindgren book world of Småland? I suppose it may not always be as harmonious as everyone is picturing it in their head after all? Do you read Astrid Lindgren's stories when you are a child growing up in Sweden?
Magnus: Astrid Lindgren came from the region I live in, and my childhood was a bit like Emil in Lönneberga. So much of Astrid Lindgren's stuff was a little too similar to my everyday life and reality, so there was no relevance for me to read it. But yes, most Swedish children have read those stories, and my parents did for me as well.
Anne: You seem to be a bit of a nomad. You already lived in Weimar, Vienna, and at the moment, you're back in Sweden. Do you have moving plans for the following years? Or are you done with wandering? Is there a place on earth you dream about living there?
"I would love to spend a year in California"
Magnus: Well, I have lived in quite a few places abroad and several ones here in Sweden as well. We have a perfect life here in Sweden, but I lack culture and vitality. We will probably go out into the world for some time soon. My partner is German, and we have connections to many countries and places to see. I would love to spend a year or so in California. But Italy and Portugal seem excellent as well, and the Czech Republic is a favourite. But on the other hand, we really enjoy our time here in the countryside of Sweden.
When you don't have a family, you are free to move wherever you want; we only have to take responsibility for ourselves. It's a luxury!
"I am working on my debut album"
Anne: What's up next for you? Any ongoing projects, releases or tours?
Magnus: I have many projects now besides working as an architect; I'm starting my own record label with some friends – The Mirror Factory. And I work on my instrumental record, which will be my debut record in my name. I intend to release it in the fall. Then I work with a remix for a pretty big name. I also produce some songs with the very talented Samuel Heiligers from Stockholm.
Anne: Thank you very much for this sympathetic interview!
You can listen to Magnus' latest masterpiece, "Anette Halbe Stunde" on Spotify, Soundcloud, and iTunes, or purchase the Cassette here.