Totally Stockholm 1
the oldest, having been there in some form when y
ou first made contact about music in 2013. Can you tell us a little more about that song, and how it’s developed over the years? Cathartic is a nice word for it! Death To All Things Pop is a phrase that refers to the transience of all things, and the bittersweet notion that everything will end. It has taken some different shapes and forms, as a Farväl Till Ungdomen B-side called Kyrkogårdar Och Sommarregn, for example. When you write in that way, from different places, was it then a challenge to come together and translate the music to a live setting for your live shows? It was pure joy. It’s never fun to try to imitate the album sound-by-sound, noteby-note. Instead we collected a bunch of great musicians and just tried different arrangements out. They were so amazing, and while they were very attentive to our visions, they also brought their own characteristic sound and beat to the mix, which is exactly how we wanted it. And then we got to play in these beautiful theatres which suited our live sound perfectly. What I like about DTATP is the sense of space and air on the record. The music moves so slowly and gracefully, and nothing feels rushed or stressed. It feels like you’re not afraid to let the music breathe and take the time to build and get where it needs to go in its own time, which contrasts with a lot of tightly-written pop music. Was that effect something you were going for in the writing? We just wanted to make something that was pretty and reflective, that felt vulnerable. Yes, a lot of it has a slow and graceful mood and this is probably a consequence of what we were striving for. Space is a precious thing in a crowded world... You released your last single Tystnaden with a B-Side, Trött På Kärlek. B-Sides are becoming a bit of a lost art in music, are they still something that hold a charm for you? Yes, there are many examples where the B-side is just as good as the A-side of a single. Yet, the band and/or the record label obviously has doubts about the song, or they wouldn’t have put it out as a B-side. Into the Groove by Madonna was released as the B-side to Angel. Going Down was the B-side to The Stone Roses Made of Stone. Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac was the B-side to Go Your Own Way. Velocity Girl by Primal Scream was originally the B-side to Crystal Crescent. God Only Knows was the B-side to Wouldn’t it be Nice? The list goes on… Finally, now that the album’s out, what’s next for Kassia Klein? We’re not much for planning, but we have a bunch of musical fragments and lyrics that we have started working on. Next year, we will start recording again, though we cannot predict when we will be finished. We are also planning to do some shows, and hope that we can keep the exact same fabulous live band together for that. Death To All Things Pop is out now on Luxury. 15