Author: Magnus Nilsson

Robert Johnson of Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks tells the stories behind the tracks on the album “Pussy Was Wired for Sound”.

Ask for “Pussy Was Wired for Sound” by Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks in your record store or buy it from us.

Duke’s Spasms

Gordon Presley (co-composer and producer) and I share an interest in John Carpenter in general and “Escape from New York” in particular. The best action film of all time and the best film score that isn’t Italian. Isaac Hayes gives an unforgettable performance in the film – as Duke.

Almodóvar’s Delusions

People generally think I bury myself in old Super 8 films and, like Lux Interior and Ivy Rorschach, collect kitsch and horror. Nothing could be further from the truth. I like Spain, especially Valencia. I adore Penélope Cruz and I love Pedro Almodóvar’s films. I can’t pick a specific film – I’ll take them all. Johan Wallnäs on organ and vocal effects perfectly captures women on the verge of a nervous breakdown. ¡Buenas! 👊💥

Mushburger

Gordon Presley and I play a right old mess. We barely know ourselves who’s playing what. It’s probably a ‘father-and-son thing’, I suppose, because now that Gordon’s started writing songs, they sound very much like my songs. He’s welcome to protest if he wants to. The title alludes to hopeless waves in a surfing context, and if there’s one thing we’re bad at, it’s being surfers. Worse than the Beach Boys, actually.

Voivoid Tensions In Hell

A tribute to one of the best-dressed men in music history, Richard Hell. As if that weren’t enough, he was in the right place at the right time in the 1970s rock scene down on the Bowery in New York. Television, Heartbreakers and The Voidoids make for a pretty impressive CV – but I remember him best for his tattered T-shirts and generally sleep-deprived look.

Fantastic guitar work by Jonathan Doe, which I reckon Richard’s guitarist Robert Quine (R.I.P.) would have appreciated.

Genocide In Space

Why a song about mass murder in space? Well, because one of Link Wray’s best songs is called “Genocide”. As I never want anything to sound 100 per cent retro, the “space card” is always a good way to get round the problem. Achieving both reverb and a hermetically sealed sound also fascinates me. Love it.

Fuzztone CEO

Who wouldn’t want to be the FUZZTONE CEO? Here it’s Jonathan Doe who lets rip with a mind-blowing solo several solar systems beyond Tune In, Drop Out blah blah blah… Love it!

Menopause Surf

Well, that’s what I’m called in Swedish. The Menopause Surfer. It was the cultural figure Marcus Törncrantz who coined it, and as everyone knows, you don’t just choose a nickname – you write a song about it instead. 😉

Link Wray Is Back For Good

Even as I was writing the song, I could picture a naked Link Wray – very much like T-2 – being dropped from the sky, only to then steal the clothes off bikers at a pool hall. It practically wrote itself. Great vocal effects too from Johan Wallnäs in the background.

Die Mauer Surf

Gordon Presley wrote this one himself and wanted me to contribute a backwards solo. When the song was finished, we both thought it sounded very much like Punchdrunks who’d got lost in Berlin. Great stuff, Gordy!

Dean Stockwell

Best film scene? Gosh, that’s impossible, but when Dean Stockwell sings in “Blue Velvet”, it’s definitely up there. From a child actor in films starring Errol Flynn to a supporting actor giant in a huge number of favourite films. I don’t know why I think of Dean when I hear those muffled synths. Håkan Lidbo has also added details to the soundscape that are far beyond my level of understanding. ❤️

Bullets Argue Well

Ennio Morricone. How does one pay tribute to him? The greatest, in my eyes. Impossible to answer. I’ll make a valiant attempt anyway with a Western theme. My daughter Olivia and producer Tobbe Einestad’s daughter Svea contribute backing vocals. Backing vocals were, after all, one of Ennio’s many hallmarks. Jonathan Doe plays what must be the first wah-wah guitar in the band’s history. Swell. 👍

Viva la Biafra Bay Ray

Two gentlemen with a past in the legendary Dead Kennedys. Unfortunately, they’ve been on a collision course with each other for ages. This is a musical peace pipe – or a joint, depending on where they happen to be. Punk, Punchdrunk style.

Theme from Pasolini’s Mind

I’m one of those who would have loved to see a sequel to *Being John Malchowich*, but starring Pier Paolo Pasolini. This Italian jack-of-all-trades died a brutal death under mysterious circumstances in the 1970s, but managed to create a few masterpieces before that. At least, that’s what I imagine the sounds in his head to be like.

Where can I find the album“Pussy Was Wired for Sound”?

Ask for “Pussy Was Wired for Sound” by Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks in your record store or buy it from us.

The sensational single “Fuzztone CEO” is the first release from the new album by Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks, due out on 11 September.

If you’re a music connoisseur, you’ll already be familiar with Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks, who are among the most respected names in worldwide surf rock. However, the band’s nearly 35-year history hasn’t been plain sailing.
They have always challenged mainstream tastes and refused to pander to their own audience.

This has resulted in some missed opportunities and silent phones, but it has also meant that the band has continued to explore, surprise and present astonishing music of the highest artistic quality without interruption.

On 25 September 2026, Fanfar! will release another Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks album, ‘Pussy Was Wired for Sound‘. This album cements the band’s individuality whilst leaving the door open to past triumphs such as the classic album ‘Fried on the Altar of Good Taste’.

Just listen to the first taster from the new album, ‘Fuzztone CEO’, which is released on all digital platforms on 11 September. If that doesn’t set a new standard for surf rock, there’s no justice in the world (spoiler: there’s no justice in the world, but anyway).

To celebrate the album’s release, Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks will perform live on 18 September in Stockholm and on 25 September in Gävle.

‘Pussy Was Wired for Sound’ will, of course, be released on all streaming services, as well as in a limited edition of 300 copies on orange vinyl housed in a laminated gatefold sleeve — the most lavish release we have ever produced.

Now it’s time to celebrate! 🎉

Today sees the release of ‘Surf på svenska’ (Surf in Swedish), the new album by Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks. The leading exponent of distorted, guitar-based surf rock continues to surprise. Here, Robert Johnson talks about the album himself.

It has always been a question of when rather than if. Around the time of ‘Aloha from Havana’, Per Thorsell even designed a cover for ‘Surf på svenska’, which was called ‘Aloha from Hälsingland’ at the time. That was in 1997. The project never got further than the cover, which we translated literally into Swedish. However, Thomas Öberg and Jonas Jonasson from Bob Hund then came up with other ideas and the original plan was forgotten.

It would take 20 years before the idea resurfaced. At that time, I was a big fan of Tonbruket and went to all their gigs. Johan Lindström from Tonbruket was working on his newly formed septet and wanted some feedback. Strange, in hindsight. I spent a whole day in his studio listening to music and taking files home with me. I also helped out with a couple of tracks. I remember us knocking over SJ stools in the entrance hall of the studio. I told Johan that I thought his titles were weak and gave him lots of suggestions, such as ‘Lugnets Industriområde’ (The Lugnet Industrial Area), ‘Ålkistan’ (The Eel Chest) and ‘Kräftriket’ (The Crayfish Kingdom). I remember him seeming to agree, but when the album finally came out, the songs had ordinary titles and there was no mention of my help. I didn’t care that much though. I had got to see my favourite guitarist in action. That was enough.

Then, Johan played on one of my records, so we were even.

Instead, I contacted Martin Hederos from the same band to ask if he would be interested in playing what I had seen. He was cautiously positive, but he already had a thousand projects in the pipeline, so it didn’t go beyond being a fun idea.

Another year passed before I approached Mattias Bärjed from The Soundtrack of Our Lives. It took him a year to respond, and he gave me the same answer as Martin. I also realised that it would be time-consuming and costly, and that he lives on Gotland, which would make logistics complicated. Much as I love his film music for Mikael Marcimain’s films, I decided not to pursue it.

It was now 2024, and I decided to make the album myself. I only had two requirements. 1. It would not feature any guitars. 2. It would feature the accordion. This was a difficult starting point, given that I’m a guitarist and I definitely can’t play the accordion. But I love the accordion. I love folk music, and Jan Johansson’s ‘Jazz på svenska’ is the best album ever produced in this country. No one else comes close.

It all started with the titles. Then came the music. I knew it was going to be beautiful. And it turned out that way. I devoted more time to this album than I would like to publicly admit. More than to any other project I have worked on. I worked hard, received help, and resorted to both traditional tricks and modern technology. In other words, I did everything that other musicians have time for, or that record companies are willing to pay for, at Atlantis Studio. I care as little about moralising as I do about deliberately playing the wrong notes on records and releasing versions that no sane person would keep. I have images and sounds of songs in my head twenty-four hours a day. They don’t sound or look like other musicians’ songs. How do I know that? I just know. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything that sounds like my music. Never have. I’ll never hear anything like it either. No awards. No money. Just the occasional good review. Nothing more. I’ve had to explain this to everyone except Magnus Nilsson at my record label, Fanfar! I think he trusts my musical judgement. But I’m not sure. So I’ll keep making records until he tells me to stop. Then I’ll stop. Then I’ll just box.

It’s Magnus who wants this to be a Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks album. I don’t get involved in things like that. I love this music, but I’ll never perform it live. It’s just not that kind of music. In fact, I don’t think you can even drive to it. You might be able to listen to it on headphones during endless train and plane journeys though. I don’t do that either.

Beautiful.

Listen to and download “Surf på svenska” at Bandcamp.

The Yngsjö Murder

‘Yngsjömordet’ is about the last woman to be executed in Sweden. A fantastic 1960s film starring Gunnel Lindblom, Gösta Ekman and Christina Schollin. No, ‘Skånska mord’ with Ernst-Hugo Järegård is not better.

Tattooed Johansson

A little gangster romanticism is nothing new; it has always existed, and I have read countless stories about Salaligan (The Sala Gang) and dynamitards. The Swedish title is ‘Tatuerade Johansson’.

The Lugnet industrial area

‘Lugnets industriområde’. Before Hammarby Sjöstad, people used to go to underground clubs in Lugnet. Motorcycle clubs held parties there, and people played pool for money. Me included.

The glimmer of Handsome Bengtsson

‘Bildsköne Bengtssons glimt’. See ‘Tattooed Johansson’ above.

Alkeby in Dragonhagen

Dragonhagen was a dance hall in Brottby, Roslagen. I once met Djurgården’s goalkeeper Björn Alkeby there in the early 70s. He was bigger than any musician I had ever met.

Säter’s permanent pavilion

In Stockholm, we had ‘Beckis’, or the formal Beckomberga Hospital. In Dalarna, it was Säter with its ‘Säters fasta paviljong’, where the notorious Lars-Inge Svartenbrandt and others ended up. I think the name is mainly so eerie.

Sup i Ålkistan

A drink in the eel box… On the way from Brunnsviken to the Stockholm archipelago, boat owners would stop for a drink. It’s unclear why.

Sista vilan i Jomala kyrka

The final resting place is in Jomala Church. On my mother’s side, I have relatives from Åland. They are buried in Jomala Church. People from Åland are different. They are all sailors and don’t think it’s ever windy. Since reading ‘The Old Man and the Sea’, I have been afraid of the sea.

The Forsby-Köping cable car

‘Kalklinbanan Forsby-Köping’. That would have been a boy’s dream come true. The Forsby-Köping cable car was a cable car that suddenly appeared when driving to Gothenburg on the old E3 motorway. I would have done anything to ride in one of the baskets.

Kräftrikets förbannelse

The curse of the crayfish kingdom. I don’t actually know if there is a curse, but there should be!