• photography by SANDRA MYRHBERG
    stylist JOSEF FORSELIUS
    hair & make up CARINA FINNSTRÖM
    Mikas Looks
     
    jacket PATRIK GUGGENBERGER
    rings BACK
    headpiece MARIA NILSDOTTER

    An interview with Adele Kosman & Marcus Borrman

    Written by Jenny Lacis by Jenny Lacis

    Visual, Vast and Variable - For BDK is more than music

    Dreamlike but determined. Tough but emotional. For BDK is balancing their music on a thin line, but still standing firm. We meet Adele Kosman and Marcus Borrman to talk about their soon to be released debut album; how they got their name and why black is such a great color.

    They met in a bar in an old, well-known and boring club in Stockholm, where both felt misplaced. They started talking and minutes later they were heading off to another club where they also felt a bit odd. But it wasn’t a complete waste of time; they did find their shared passion for music. This happened in 2012 and after that night For BDK was born. Since then they’ve released a couple of beloved songs, they’ve got a record deal with Warner and they’ve played at some great festivals.  

    JL: How would you describe For BDK for someone that doesn’t know who you are?

    MB: For BDK is dark but at the same time it has some bright elements. We are constantly developing, but always making dramatic music that arouses.

    AK: I would say that we’re an innovative band that plays dark and cinematic music with a little glimmer of pop.

    JL: Okay, and soon you will release your debut album after working on it for a long time. How does it feel?

    MB: It feels terrible. Terrible in a way that the record is like our baby that we have nurtured and now it’s time to let it stand on it’s own. It’s exciting but also frightening, because we’ve put our hearts and souls into it. The album will be analyzed and people will give their opinions on it when it’s released, good or bad, either way it will be scary.

    AK: I think it’s exciting and liberating, it will be nice to have it done. I had a lot of anxiety before, but now it feels good. When it’s released it will be a lot easier to work on new songs. And it’s going to be nice to work without pressure again.  

    JL: For how long has music been such a great part of your lives?

    MB: Since I was about eight years old I’ve been playing both different kinds of instruments and genres like transverse flute, punk, metal and indiepop. What I’ve been listening to has shifted through the years. After listening to both metal and Indiepop for a long time I eventually turned to electronic music, it felt like the best way to produce music in the exact way I wanted it to sound.  

    AK: Music has always been important in my life, but it wasn’t before I was 16 that I started to sing in a gospel-choir and later joined an indiepop band.  

    JL: Where do you find inspiration for making music?

    MB: A lot of my inspiration comes from film scores, like that in Melancholia (Von Trier, 2011) and Inception (Nolan, 2010). That’s the kind of music that grabs you and leaves you a bit emotional. I also listen to other genres, like classic music, hip-hop and electronic music.  

    AK: Since I sing and Marcus produces the music, I focus more on our lyrics, where dreams often inspire me. If I have to name artists that inspires me it would be FKA Twigs and Planningtorock.   

    JL: Can you tell us about your name For Bdk (For Body, Drugs and Kicks), how did you think that up?

    MB: Oh, actually it comes from a painting that I spotted at a café in Södermalm in Stockholm. It presented a woman laying down, smoking, with a text above saying: “She traded her body for drugs and kicks”, and I thought that if I someday will start a band I’m gonna call it For body, drugs and kicks. When I met Adele I suggested it, but she said that it was too long, so we decided to make it For BDK instead.

    JL: You both seem to be interested in clothes. How important is clothing for you, as individuals and as a band? And where do you find inspiration?

    MB: I don’t have a well thought-out style that I follow, I just put on what feels right at the moment. What’s important with clothes for me is that they are simple, with clean cuts and preferably in black. Black is a fantastic color. It communicates so much, but at the same time nothing at all. There’s like an underlying power in it.

    AK: For me it’s just as important as an individual as in our band. It’s a big part of life, since we wear clothes every day. What you wear is definitely a powerful way of making impressions and effects. And it’s fun. I’ve always had a need of dressing differently, and it’s getting bigger and bigger. I love to leap out, and I don’t know where it will end, what I will end up wearing, he he. I find a lot of inspiration from Brooke Candy, a crazy rapper, and from others on Instagram. And sometimes from people on the street.

    JL: Are you making any impact on each other’s styles?

    MB: I dress in whatever I feel like wearing and in clothes that I feel comfortable in, and I don’t think that I got any impact of Adele’s style. We’re dressing as two individuals, but our two styles go well together. As a band I think we have a unified style, and that it works as an amplification of the music.

    AK: I think that we might influence each other a little, but that we have two different styles that combined become a great combo.  

    JL: Do you have any favorite designers?

    AK: Ann-Sofie Back, Acne and Denim Is Dead. Though, I mostly buy my clothes in second hand-shops or at Tradera.

    MB: Our Legacy,  Adidas, Nike and KLAUN Collective are my favorites.  

    JL: How is a perfect Friday night out in Stockholm for you?

    AK: We’re often at Kåken, it’s a nice place to hang around in. Some nights when we feel like making the most of the night we go to Under bron/Trädgården or maybe Berns.

    JL: And as a last question, what’s the music collaboration of your dreams?

    AK & MB: There are so many, but to mention some we would really like to work with Burial, Jamie XX, James Blake and FKA Twigs.

     
    Marcus wears
    shirt PATRIK GUGGENBERGER
    trousers ADIDAS 
    sandals CUSTOM MADE
     
    Adele wears
    dress PATRIK GUGGENBERGER
    jewelry BACK
    faux fur ADELE’S OWN
    shoes TIGER OF SWEDEN
    feather boa, skirt & leggings STYLIST’S OWN
    top TIGER OF SWEDEN
    pvc top worn over NOOID 
    shoes NIKE
    bracelet BACK
    faux fur ADELE’S OWN
    Marcus wears
    top & vest PATRIK GUGGENBERGER
    trousers ADIDAS
    shoes NIKE
     
    Adele wears
    jacket PATRIK GUGGENBERGER
    skirt WEEKDAY
    shoes TIGER OF SWEDEN
    headpiece MARIA NILSDOTTER
    Adele wears
    bra top ADIDAS
    belt as necklace TIGER OF SWEDEN
     
    Marcus wears
    top TIGER OF SWEDEN
    Adele wears
    bra top & trousers ADIDAS
    skirt STYLIST’S OWN
    shoes & belt as necklace TIGER OF SWEDEN
     
    Marcus wears
    top TIGER OF SWEDEN
    shirt as skirt PATRIK GUGGENBERGER
    shorts ADIDAS
    tights YVETTE HASS
    shoes NIKE
    feather boa STYLIST’S OWN
    top TIGER OF SWEDEN
    pvc top worn over NOOID
    Marcus wears
    jacket MARCUS OWN 
    top TIGER OF SWEDEN
     
    Adele wears
    skirt & leggings STYLIST’S OWN
    shoes NIKE
    bracelet BACK
    vest & top PATRIK GUGGENBERGER
    skirt MONKI
    faux fur & rings ADELE’S OWN
  • Sarah Moon - The Red Thread

    Written by Michaela Widergren

    Sarah Moon's current exhibition at the Swedish museum of photography, Fotografiska, in Stockholm is an adaptation of the french folklore story and book called The Blue Beard, it's about la mainmise, she says in french, the power of love that allows a man to kill.

    We grab two chairs and take a seat in the middle of the exhibition, tonight is the opening but nothing's ready yet. There are men drilling holes into the walls, the windows have been covered up making the room dark with just a few spots lighting up the art pieces. The walls are painted in a Cardinal red color, fitting the name of the exhibition, The Red Thread or as the original title in french Le Fil Rouge.

    SM: This is the fifth story I've done like this, mixing photos and video, the mediums is very reduced. I only shoot for three or four days and then I retell the story with what I've been able to capture during that time.

    MM: So everything we can see here is put together during those three of four days?

    SM: Oh, no. The editing takes a long time, but the filming, everything filmed has been done during three or four days, it's all a home production.

    MM: And the photography?

    SM: I do some of the photography during the filming days and then I have a few older pieces that I fill in with, for example the image of the seagull. That's why the story is very important to know, so I write underneath all of the photos, you know, that is the red thread. I've re-done all of the texts to fit my version of the story, the words are my own interpretations of The Blue Beard.

    There are mostly photographs in the exhibiting room, all with one or two sentences written underneath them which makes walking through the exhibition like reading a short novel, it's very captivating and allures you to read them all very carefully not to miss anything. There is also a film being prepared to be shown and in the end of the expo there are a few female portraits with large sculptural frames around them, almost like altars or obituaries.

    MM: Can you tell me about the obituaries?

    SM: I call them le tombe. The main character in the story, the girl, she goes into the forbidden room, and the tombs are a reconstitute part of that happening. So there's one tomb for each previous wife and the one that's empty is for the one who's telling the story, the heroine, the other four are already dead…

    The Read Thread is a part of Fotografiska's unique collection and will be shown under a limited time until the 7th of June, so escape the sunlight and go experience the storytelling of a true icon, Sarah Moon.

    Image courtesy of Sarah Moon & Fotografiska.

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