• THE MOTIVEZ: JUSTICE LOCKED INSIDE

    Written by Ksenia Rundin

    Justice locked inside our old
    theater
    Fear of tragedies
    Tragedies of a Biblic
    proportion
    Waste emotions”

    Giving one of his famous lectures, almost 100 years ago, the British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell, was concerned with “the problem of determining what is the relation called meaning.” He would use the word “Napoleon” that “means” a certain person. Thus, in saying the word “Napoleon”, one is asserting a relation between this word and the person so designated. Let us take the word “music”.  It might be hard to come up with an exhaustive definition for it but music is easy to recognise, when one is hearing it. Oxford Dictionary defines music as “sounds that are arranged in a way that is pleasant or exciting to listen to.” Aristotle compared music with emotions, interpreting the former  as a principle of movement on the sense level. Meanwhile, Plato claimed that music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything by becoming a moral law. We see that the definition of the word “music” describes emotions — pleasure and excitement — that are inherent in us humans.If we now consider what sort of object a word itself is, as a physical thing, not as a meaning, we discover, according to Bertrand Russell, that a word is not something unique and particular but consists of a set of occurrences. Further, a spoken word has two aspects, depending on how we regard the latter — as a speaker or as a hearer. Considering now the meaning that music and lyrics create we might regard it from these two perspectives — a listener perspective and an artist perspective. An artist is both a creator and a kind of  “speaker” of his or her music that people may like or reject. Justice of one’s feelings suddenly becomes locked inside one’s own soul, where those feelings are born by the meaning that relationship between lyrics, music and the personalities of composer, poet and singer constitute. Ostensibly, a song becomes a complicated element of relations between people creating it, making it alive and the audience, bringing them in one or another way together with each other and, in the first place, with their own self. Trying to understand the process of creating music and/or songs, Odalisque met the man behind the lyrics of the Swedish band The MotiveZ Nebojsa Grujic and spoke to him about the band, music, lyrics and the challenging times. The band released their first album 'Alexandria' in March and it is available on Spotify. During the COVID-19 period the band worked hard and a new song called ‘Breath of Fuel’ is their latest “Corona baby”.

    How did it all start with the band?
    After a long time in the music business, I ended up standing alone with a lot of compositions in my hands. I was not able to record and I phoned an old friend of mine and asked wether he could play some guitars on these songs. He said, “Definitely! But I am going to bring someone else who is more into Rock.” And this is how we met Sale. It was just a year ago and we clicked directly. On the first day, we recorded four songs. There obviously was a lot of Macallan and Rémy Martin involved but it was great. So, we clicked straight away and he said that he had a singer and that was a guy from Croatia called Davor. I had some compositions that I thought should be sung by a girl. And I called a girl named Hilda and she jumped on straight away. And then Jesper came into the picture. I think they did a great job. I also phoned some other old friends offering some songs they could do. The song ‘Preach’ they knocked in one night. Hilda performs live quite a lot and has her own projects as well. This is how we sort of combined the record - everybody knew somebody. We had a drummer, who was filming this show and he also made some very prominent bits for a number of songs.

    How many are you now in the band?
    Now we found a new member, a twenty-five-year-old guy called Stephan. So, we are four people in the band right now but we are always open for collaborations with other artists. However, we have realised that music has no age limit and now we happen to play with different artists of different ages from time to time — experimenting sort of. It appear to be very motivating for us as a band and as individuals.

    What do you think keeps you together, besides music?
    I think, a feeling of freedom and creativity. I have been creating my whole life and therefore, I, for example, clicked with Carl Lagercrantz’ artworks, which ended up on our first album cover and even on the cover for our latest single “Breath of Fuel”. I have an idea but it is about how you would express my idea. If I want to play a guitar to find a right motive for my lyrics, I can simply put it in my computer that would do all this midi and it will sound perfect. However, we prefer to play physically and to use the technology to experience the product that we have accomplished. A lot of our recordings have been conducted in merely one take. Moreover, a lot of solos are pure improvisations. Therefore, my idea of music and freedom is that I give you this gutar line and let’s see what you can do with it. If I have lyrics, we would sit down, trying to adjust. When I gave my lyrics to Hilda, I wanted to see what she could do with it.

    What kind of music do you play?
    I would say it is a mixture with Rock as a foundation. It is a sort of old school. Most of these compositions include two guitars, a base line and some melodies. Then again, it is about how these melodies are expressed by the vocalists and how these gutar lines are going to get developed. There is a singer’s soul that have to compose it.

    Could you say a couple of words about the name of your band and how it is connected to the music you play?
    You alway have to have a goal but to give you band the name ‘Goal’ would sound like a hooligan football. ‘Motivations’ sounded like a brilliant funk band. So, we came up with ‘Motives’ and then my friend artist Carl Lagercrantz came up with the Z as ‘MotiveZ’, and he had a connection ‘from A to Z’ that we hadn’t thought about. We are still under construction, because we have to use it and this is so brilliant. Alfa and Omega have been used in Biblical stories and this is musical one.

    Do you have a studio for your rehearsals?
    Yes, we have it out in Taby and it is a brilliant place. We are going to start recording there. Our first record was done at another place in Huddinge. Now we will try to record in the jamming room, like really really old school. It is a friend of ours who built that studio and it is a really old-school studio. It is very inspiring and different from ordinary jamming rooms that you rent, where you are usually two by two and cannot breathe. In this studio you can make you a cup of coffee and there is even a sauna.

    Who writes the music?
    Mostly, it is me. Both music and lyrics. I usually say that I present them. I like the freedom of how you would interpret them, how you would play the riff. Maybe instead of playing F-sharp minor, the guitar just goes down to A major.

    Do you have any discussions about lyrics within the band?
    Always. I am not a singer and people who criticise my lyrics have to say more about poetry or literature. I always write about politics and about being hurt by somebody, being insulted.

    How do you keep yourself inspired?
    I try not to go agains individuals. Once, I had a song about one individual, a journalist who got on my nerves. Usually, I try to observe a phenomenon. One of the songs was about the pain of not belonging but the sweetness of the longing. Sometimes, if you change venues, if you change apartments and if you change schools, which I have done, you feel like you do not really fit in, you do not really belong there. Things are not going the way you would want them. Once, I was totally broke, hanging out with my friends, surrounded by pretty rich people, who were loaded with cash, while we were not. At that time, I experienced that sweetness of longing. This is a paradox of life. Thus, there are a lot of things to write about. It is about duality of longing and not belonging. I am not trying to preach but to raise questions within different areas of life.

    The title of song ‘Broadway’ was intentionally misspelled and people called me up saying it was misspelled. My answer to it was, “So is Manhattan.” Everything is kind of misspelled on the record. The name is misspelled. However, this particular song was my personal experience, while watching a great Broadway show. The audience consisted of multiracial and multinational, quite wealthy people, clapping their hands to celebrate that the justice won at the end of the play. At the same time no one even bothered to give a couple of dollars to the beggars outside. They were clapping their hands inside, not bothering about what was going on outside. I got a bit chocked. Therefore, the song starts with the words, “Justice locked inside an old theatre.”

    If your band was an artwork, what would it be?
    I think it would be a painting, portraying something like French Revolution, Declaration of Independence — some kind of protest, definitely. Alternatively, it could be some knights on a march towards freedom. It would be early Romanticism of the 19th century.

    How do you keep your spirits up during these challenging times?
    We keep producing, because now it is the time for us to spread, to build and to compose even more. I am writing lyrics all the time now. This time, however, we will do it differently. The singer now wants to be more involved into the creative process. The first record is more about guitar with some base on it. Now we will work more on developing the melody on vocals. I find this time very creative, because Sweden shows its own way, some other European countries have a more stringent strategy. And I find this time amazing. As a band, we are expanding now and doing a lot of creative things in the old school way. One of our guys drives a truck delivering milk. He could not lock himself down because someone had to do his job. I work as a teacher, where I mostly teach in social sciences and English for the grades between 4 and 9. And I had to do my job during the entire #stayhome-period. Children need to be looked after, therefore they needed to keep coming to school.

    Has your presence on Spotify helped you to be out there for your audience during COVID-19?
    Yes, definitely. We have noticed that there has been an expansion on Spotify since the lockdown. Already, at an early stage, our guitar player suggested that we had to spread ourselves on Facebook, Sportify and other social media.

    Has the COVID-19 period affected your lyrics?
    I think so. I belong to those people, who wants to reflect over what is going on at the moment, the current events. I am telling a history what I have been through, what other people have been through. The thing that triggers me off is the injustice on the individual level or on more social level. Look at the elderly people who have worked for sixty years and now they cannot even leave their apartments. Some lucky ones have a garden. But what about the rest? They are locked in the concrete jungle.

    What kind of support would you, as a creative entrepreneur, like to have in such challenging times?
    It is a good question. I have been going around town now and there are places, there are arenas, there are squares. And we have an amphitheatre out here on Langholmen. So, what I would like to see is an opportunity for music bands to perform on those stages. Perform for people. If there is electricity there, you can perform, while you are still keeping a social distancing.

    Would you consider to perform in a digital mode?
    Our singer really wants us to do that. It is a great idea but it would be nice to keep the physical performance and, maybe, play outside.

    What advice would you give to musicians who have just begun their music journey?
    Do not give up! Just do not give up!

    Could you say a couple of words about your future vision?
    We want to expand and to keep on creating new music.
    “One spin on those heels
    One ride on the wheels
    One hang for the chills
    One tear for the bills.”

  • photography by SANDRA MHRBERG

    stylist QIM CLAESSON

    grooming MOONA NARANCIC

    Shivers Down the Spine with Tussilago

    Written by Ksenia Rundin

    Nowadays many of us choose to avoid social contact and stay at home, amusing ourselves with reading, writing, doing nothing, suffering, pondering or simply listening to a music. And this last component we wanted to bring up, when we came up with the idea of doing interview with the Swedish music band with a beguiling name Tussilago. While preparing the interview, we wonder why we actually want to listen to music and why we don’t. How Listen to a music often results in a pleasant emotional response. Neuroscientists Anne Blood and Robert Zatorre at McGill University in Montreal conducted an intriguing study in 2001, by, with the help of magnetic resonance imaging, measuring cerebral blood flow changes that appeared in response to subject-selected music that elicited the highly pleasurable experience of “shivers-down-the-spine” or “chills.” The study also exposed changes in heart rate, electromyogram, and respiration. The final result showed that listening to pleasurable music activates brain regions called the limbic and paralimbic areas, which are connected to euphoric reward responses, similar to those we experience from sex, good food and addictive drugs.

    Already in 1956, the philosopher and composer Leonard Meyer in his book “Emotion and Meaning in Music” surmised that emotion in music is based on what we expect and whether or not our expectations become satisfied. When the audience’s every expectation was met and when no expectations were met, were found to be ultimately unsatisfying. Connecting music theory with and aesthetics to psychology and neuroscience, Leonard Meyer was among the first scholars to explore the relationship between game theory and music composition. He also suggested that the value of a musical work was in direct correlation to how well the complexity of the work engaged the listener. Besides creating their own music, Tussilago’s band members listen to a music a lot, both old pieces and new ones. Now you at least might have a clue why and become curious to test the music theory on yourself. After a two-year-long lull, Tussilago make a comeback with a new album “Sense of Me”, influenced by such names as Tame Impala and Brian Eno. The song with the same title is a co-production with the composer and musician Petter Winnberg from the Swedish band Amason. 

    How did it all start with Tussilago?
    Samuel and Rickard and Zacharias (Vacation Forever) had a band with two others previously to Tussilago, but when the lead singer left to study medicine abroad, the band became an experiment. After a couple of months our old friend Pierre came back from a year abroad, and when he took the spot as bass player, Tussilago was finally complete. 

    Why did you choose to name your band Tussilago?
    When we got our first gig we still hadn’t decided a name. Tussilago had come to mind from when Zacharias mom found a cat in a trash bin close to their home in Portugal. We were there at the time and got to take care of it together. It was named Shanti, but Rickard always called it Tussilago. We had a few options for our band name but couldn’t decide. When we had only a few hours until our first live show, we just took Tussilago and stuck with it.

    Who is your audience? Has it changed since you started?
    We have a pretty mixed audience, or actually maybe not, since most of them probably live at Södermalm in Stockholm. I remember in the beginning, when you could see statistics on Spotify for the first time, we thought it was interesting that there were something like 65 percent women listening. That has changed since, I think it is 60 percent men now for some reason. We have a really wide range of age though!

    How have you changed since 2011, when it comes to music, lyrics and the band as such?
    A lot and not so much at the same time. We still listen to a lot of the same stuff we did then, but I think we all just like a wider range of music now. The band has gone through some phases over the years but the spirit stays the same. We still jam, goof around and hit our heads over the lyrics.

    What has been the biggest challenge for you as a band so far?
    To open for Dungen. 

    How has COVID-19 affected your music and lyrics?
    A lot, but probably mostly subconsciously. What feels most different is to have a bigger amount of time at your disposal, normally we have to squeeze sessions and jams into the schedules of our lives but now everything has a slower and smoother pace. Lyric-wise, we will soon see the difference, we have mainly been jamming instrumental songs lately.

    What upcoming projects do you have?
    We have some live shows that have been cancelled that we hope will be moved to a period later on, and we are working on new material in the studio now. Stay tuned!

    Is there any dream project that you would love to do?
    To build a raft and take it to New Zeeland! With the band. One that you could live on, and make music. But it would have to be really big if we were to succeed. I don’t know, it would be great though.

    Link to one of Tussilago's latest songs Talk Talk:

    https://open.spotify.com/track/4bvjNNtOhOZUQmFkYfHxux?si­dl0THedpQJO9AWW9KlEmyA

    Pierre wears
    leathera jacket ACNE STUDIOS
    cardigan OUR LEGACY
    trousers BLK DNM
    Rickard wears
    blazer ADNYM ATELIER
    shirt & trousers ACNE STUDIOS
    Samuel wears
    smoking jacket BLK DNM
    knitted sweater OSCAR JACOBSON
    jeans ADNYM ATELIER

    Pierre wears

    smoking Jacket & trousers BLK DNM
    t-shirt & shoes private

    Rickard wears

    Leather Jacket BLK DNM
    cardigan ADNYM ATELIER
    t-shirt & trousers BLK DNM
    shoes stylist’s studio

    Samuel wears

    blazer ACNE STUDIOS
    shirt & shoes stylist’s studio
    jeans ADNYM ATELIER

  • blouse vintage COMME DES GARCONS
    skirt FENDI
    boots ALAIA

    photography by JESSE LAITINEN

    amake up YIN LEE using MAC COSMETICS

    hair LYNDELL MANSFIELD

    Interview with Wendy Bevan

    Written by Mari Florer by Fashion Tales

    Each song tells a story and opens a door into another world”

    Wendy Bevan arrived home to her hometown Los Angeles in the nick of time, right before Trump closed the airport gates to protect the Americans against COVID-19, the virus that is on top of every human's mind nowadays.
     
    Bevan has been working in London, finishing her upcoming album – a collaboration with the producer Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran). She is proud of the result and excited to release the album later this year.

    I video call Bevan, when she is back home in her classic 1930´s Hollywood Apartment. She is in a good mood after have talked to her parents in London. We start talking about the weather in California. “It´s morning and the weather is nice — a perfect day for hiking!” She smiles.

    M: Are you staying home?
    W: Yes, I will do, but I don´t have to yet. I think it´s quite easy here for me. Because in London I’d have been in a small place with lots of people. Here I have my own place, which is big enough and even includes my studio.

    M: Please, describe your home. How does the interior look like? 
    W: It’s a classic 1930’s Hollywood apartment, pink from the outside; and reminds me of a little space ship in its shape. I have a papaya tree, roses and birds of paradise in my courtyard and the apartment itself has a huge amount of natural light, which I absolutely love. Its beautiful throughout the day and the light constantly shape shifts through the windows from morning to evening. The interior is very simple, chic  1970’s meets a mid-century modern vibe. I’ve tried to design it so the shadows cast from the light are not disturbed.

    M: Tell me about your collaboration with Nick Rhodes – how did you two meet each other? 
    W: Nick and I met through mutual friends and we have been collaborating on my second album for the past 18 months. 

    M: Why is he producing your album? 
    W: We both think in a very visual way, what constitutes a huge asset for our album collaboration, including building mood boards, finding picture references that create a visual world, echoed in the music. He completely understood the sound I wanted, what usually appears to be difficult to find in a collaborator. I love the world Nick has conceived with his projects in the past, including Duran Duran. Furthermore, he still very much continues creating an amazing, rich world that stands the test of time. It possesses a permanence that makes the songs sound like they were from another world.

    M: What is your favourite Duran Duran song? 
    W: That's a tough question!! To name a few, I love; Hungry Like a Wolf, A View To A Kill and Union of the Snake. 

    M: Tell me about your new songs – what is your inspiration behind them and how does this “record” stand out from your earlier releases? 
    W: This album is one of my favourite projects so far. For me, as an artist, it’s a big step up from my past releases. It feels like we’ve captured something extremely special; Nick and I have sonically created a very, otherworldly, unique sound that is hard to put into words. We have cast a wide inspiration net for this project. Hopefully, it conjures up different feelings for every listener to relate to and question. 

    M: Do you write all the lyrics yourself? 
    W: Yes, I write the lyrics for the songs. Lyrically, it’s my world and Nick is a great source of inspiration when it comes to support and nurture my ideas. It makes my lyrics become something strong. I’m proud of my work, where each song tells a story and opens a door into another world. 

    M: What projects do you have during 2020? 
    W: This album is my main project this year, which I will be focusing on the most. Setting up up a live show and performing all the songs live is one of the things that I’m most passionate about but, may now may have to reaches how this will happen under the current situation. But, now we have the album completed, this can start to develop as we understand how to adapt to the new world. It’s an exciting time.

    M: You have fantastic outfits and are a true inspiration. Do you have any favorite boutiques? 
    W: Thank you! I have always loved dressing up. I think I got this from my grandparents, who were terribly glorious and worked in the wool trade. I also inherited my love for theatricality and costume from my parents, who were theatre actors. My grandfather's first wife, Doris Langley- Moore opened a museum in Bath, England with her clothing collection, which is still open today and where you can visit her archive. She was one of the first female fashion historians and a truly dynamic and rather scandalous woman for her time…. I’ve always found a huge amount of inspiration in fashion and costume. It informs some of the characters I have created in the past through music and pictures. There are some labels that I love older and new, but I do like to buy a lot of vintage pieces that possess real elegance and shape. Some of my favourite designers are Thierry Mugler, Westwood, Comme des Garçons and Dries Van Noten. I’m also a big fan of the newly vamped label Ganni. I particularly love their 70’s flared pants! In fact, anything with a 70’s edge, also 1940’s & 50’s is my vibe. 

    M: How does an ordinary Friday look like for Wendy Bevan? 
    W: No day is ever the same for me, as I may be in the studio from early hours either recording or taking photographs. If I’m not, I have a routine that works for me. Before working out every morning, I get up and meditate for at least 20 minutes. Later, I try to squeeze in a hot yoga class during the day at some point or go for a hike. While living in LA, it’s easy to get into a healthy lifestyle, fresh juice and amazing vegan food. Normally, I start the day by writing some lyrical ideas, I try to discipline myself into this routine otherwise words are in my head during the day and the written page is lost. By the afternoon, I may be in a rehearsal or even in the studio recording something. By late afternoon and before sunset, I try to practice the violin and spend some time practising on my vocals. Since living in LA, I have also started to draw and paint a lot. If time allows, I might spend some moments doing this during the day - it's a great creative release for me. Throughout the quarantine, I’ve been working on several different projects including a new series of surrealist self portraits.

    M: If we want to look at your art projects – where can we see them? 
    W: Follow me on my instagram @wendybevanofficial or check out my website www.wendy-bevan.com. I’m also represented by RSA (Ridley Scott Associates) for my photography and moving image work, you can follow my work there too. 

    M: What dream of yours haven´t you realized yet? Why so? 
    W: I have so many dreams, it´s hard to realize everything by now, but surely, I will one day. I look forward to the future. Mainly, it´s about remembering those dreams through the hard times and keeping focus on your long-term goals. That´s not always easy, especially when life throws so many surprises on your way. But these days, I stay focused and dream of the future with my feet on the ground. In 2020, I’d love to be performing my work more, it´s how I build my world. But, it´s hard to plan right now, no one knows what the future will look like.

    M: Which of your qualities are you most proud of? 
    W: One of the things I most enjoy about life is the opportunity to be kind to one another. I have a big heart and like to be there for the ones I love. I have been practicing Buddhism over the last few years which has changed my life perspective. As an artist, things are not always secure and life offers a lot of uncertainties. At some point, I needed to understand how to create balance, which I feel I can now easily achieve with meditation. This foundation allows me to be who I am with some clarity. Maintaining self-belief throughout your career is a real challenge that I have faced many times. It has also helped me maintain stability throughout the isolation period of COVID-19.  I’m proud of the quality of strength and courage that somehow I seem to be able to sustain no matter how hard the storm is. 

    M: Name three people that have inspired you the most in your life? 
    W: My sister, my mother and my father. They have been my foundation, my house, my day, night and sky of everything I have learned and become. As I grow in this world, my understanding of human nature has become integral to knowing and loving my family. I now can imagine having my own one day.

    dress ROTATE
    coat with faux fur CLIO PEPPIATT
    boots TOPSHOP
    jacket JEFFREY BRYANT
    leather & lace skirt CLIO PEPPIATT
    boots & gloves ALAIA
    jacket JEFFREY BRYANT
    leather hot pants R&M LEATHERS
    boots ALAIA
    corset, veil & stockings SIAN HOFFMAN

Pages