Thanks so much to Sebastian Johansson for the interview! I had written about this little known Swedish duo from the early/mid noughties some time ago. There was no contact through the comment section, but Sebastian wrote me an email and was keen to reminisce with me about his band! For you who have never heard about them, not only the interview is good news, you could find their songs on different platforms!
++ Hi Sebastian! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?
Hello! I’m not involved in the case of making music and I actually hasn’t been since Valentine Academy. But I listen to a lot of music. You know, that habit never changes. It’s such an important part of life. I also try to write about music, something I’ve done the last 20 years on and off. Though during the last years I’ve had some kind of urge to make music in some form again. Maybe!
++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what your first instrument was? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?
++ Had you been in other bands before Valentine Academy? What about the other band members? Are there any songs recorded?
++ Where were you from originally?
I’m from a small town called Tibro. Linnea was from Kalmar. We met at the indiepop festival Emmabodafestivalen in the summer of 2004.
++ How was your town at the time of Valentine Academy? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?
++ How was the band put together? How was the recruiting process?
Well we met at a festival and became a couple. I can’t remember if I had any songs at this point. I probably sat around with the guitar but no plans. I think getting into a lot of indie music and that whole scene made it happen really. If you want to do it just do it and there’s always people who will appreciate it.
++ Was there any lineup changes?
It was just me in the beginning. I asked Linnea a few months later if she wanted to be a part of it. I had this cassette TASCAM portastudio. ”Glenn Miller’s Airplane” and ”You Can Be My Wingman Anytime” was already finished by the time she joined me. She wasn’t used to singing in front of people so I had to leave the room at first when she did her vocals.
++ What instruments did each of you play in the band?
++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
Something I came up with a few years earlier. Sounded nice. ”If I ever record anything I will use that”.
++ The album came out on Popkonst Recordings who were fantastic at the time, a great run of different Swedish pop bands. How did this release happen? Did you contact them? How was the relationship with the label?
++ I am curious too how the album was recorded? Was it all done by yourselves? Did you go to a studio?
++ Another interesting bit of this record is the artwork, where I suppose these are you, Sebastian and Linnea? Or not?
It’s probably not us. We handed that bit over to Jonas Fust. A school friend of Linnea. He did the artwork in a Garden of Eden kind of style. Jonas later became the unofficial third member when he did all the sound effects and drums on the Slow-Fi EP. Great guy.
++ On the thank you notes, you only thank The French Resistant Movement. Tell me more about them?
That’s a typo! It should say ”The French Resistance Movement”. The guerilla groups that fought against the Nazis in France during WW2. I had just read a book about Jean Moulin so the french resistance ended up in the thank yous.
++ Another fun bit of the album is that from the titles of the songs you want to burn down the University of Berkeley (why?), that there is a guy called Mike from Glasgow and that Glenn Miller has an airplane… Did real life events inspire these tracks?
The song titles were important because they were often based on things I liked. Berkeley came from the whole 60’s counterculture which intrigued me as a teen. ”Mike from Glasgow” is some kind of tribute to Glasgow bands like Orange Juice and Teenage Fanclub. Sounds nothing like them though. Glenn Miller very tragically crashed with an airplane in December 1944. Still as mystery but he and the others probably went down in the English Channel. I had a 78 rpm record with ”Moonlight Serenade”. Great tune. If i remember it correctly ”Glenn Miller’s Airplane” was the first song I ever recorded.
++ Three years later the Italian tape label Best Kept Secret would get in touch and release the Popkonst album plus another EP, “Slow-Fi”, on a cassette. Again, how did you end up working with this label? Were you still active in 2008?
++ Tell me about the “Slow-Fi” EP. Why was it not released on its own?
++ Are there more songs recorded by the band? Unreleased ones?
There’s one instrumental track that I recorded by myself at a childhood friend’s home studio in Stockholm in 2006. I uploaded that song somewhere online but I can’t find it anymore.
++ One thing I noticed too, is that there is very little info about the band but the songs are on most digital platforms. What made you put all the songs up there, I feel most of your peers from the CDR days haven’t done so!
A few years ago I sat with the folder containing all 13 tracks. That’s the discography. About 17 minutes in total. I thought it would be fun to just put them up there. About 50 people will listen to the songs online. There’s no scene. But it doesn’t matter. It was fun times!
++ My favourite song of yours is “Sasha’s Summer in the Suburb”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?
That’s just me romanticizing suburbia. Sasha may be Sasha Bell from The Essex Green and The Ladybug Transistor. The whistling part is probably a tribute to ”Killing Thomas” by Funday Mornings.
++ If you were to choose your favorite Valentine Academy song, which one would that be and why?
++ What about gigs? Did you play many?
No gigs at all. We got asked once to play the New York City Pop Fest. We realised that this wasn’t possible due to our approach when recording the songs. We just had these ideas, picked chords that sounded good and recorded it. Then on to the next track. If you had asked us to play any track more than a day after it was finished we wouldn’t remember how to do it. These songs were only performed during a few days in the mid 00s when they were recorded. I find the fact quite beautiful.
++ When and why did Valentine Academy stop making music? Were any of you involved in any other projects afterwards?
Valentine Academy ended when we broke up. Nothing after this. Maybe I will record something one day but it probably wouldn’t sound anything like VA.
++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?
For me those summer days in 2005 when Popkonst asked us to make a few more tracks so they could release the album. Happy times.
++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?
I was 23 when we recorded most of the VA tracks. I’m 42 now with a lot less time for stuff like that. Haha. Office job, family with two preschoolers. So the hobbies are still mostly music during work and evenings. During autumn and winter it’s the NFL season so I watch a lot of football.
++ I’ve been to Sweden a couple of times but I’d still love to ask a local. What do you suggest checking out in your town, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?
I’ve lived 7 years in Stockholm and 8 years in Gothenburg. If you visit Stockholm do it any time of year and just enjoy. Gothenburg works during the summer months. Any other time of year the rain will come down from any angle possible. Haha. Record shopping is great in both cities.
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