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!
