Interview by Roberta Ilaria Rossi
Indie pop music always has been a bit undervalued but it hides lots of great new acts most of the time. This is the case of the Swedish band You Say France and I Whistle, that already got the chance to perform at the Fashion Week in Milan and that got a bunch of surprises. Here you can find what the lead singer Ida Hedene said to us!
Today FM has the pleasure of having Ida Hedene from You say France. Welcome Ida.
Thanks, nice to be here.
So, let’s start the chat talking about your band. It’s a Swedish indie-pop band called You Say France and I Whistle. Would you like to introduce us the biography of the band and how was this project born?The band was born out of the frustration to be cool. All the bands around us were really cool. We more wanted to release joy. So all become to be spreading joy.
Let’s talk about the band name. How was it born? If I’m not mistaken, this band-name recalls a song by Van Morrison…Yes it is a song by Van Morrison. We really don’t know who came up with the name. But we liked the name and also it reflected our view of silliness.
Your music career started in 2005/2006, and you’ve released the first EP in 2008. A few months ago, you’ve released your debut album, “Angry Men” and this allowed you as a band to spread your music around the globe. Are you happy about the final result?It was special to do the album. We decided to do it on our own so we got the style right. Now we have though recorded one new track with a producer called Adam Elk (The Mommyheads) and that was a new experience. So yes the album is really good, there are some things that could be better, but still yes we are quite pleased.
Did this record get good reviews and feedbacks from fans and media?Yes, specially in Europe. In Sweden it got pretty good. But the rest of Europe liked it more.
What could you say about the artwork of the record? Does it represent you as a band or the sound band, somehow?The picture is taken of a friend of ours. It’s like the opposite of the title “Angry men”… and then a nice picture.
Shortly after the release, you embarked on a European tour and you’ve played at some festival in Germany and in your native country. What could you tell us about fan reaction? And what about the fanbase do you gain in Europe?Right now we have got back from London from our first gig in UK. The fans are growing quite much and last gig in Germany we had over 7000 in the audience it was really cool. Also that they sing along on the songs.
No, it was that we were busy in Europe and couldn’t follow up in USA direct. We played at Midem and Eurosonic in Europe and had a month tour. So we released in USA when we were on SXSW in Austin, Texas.
From this album, you’ve filmed some music video for the tracks “OMG”, “Attaboy” and “When Lovers Die”. What could you say about this decision?Okay, “OMG” was a German decision from our first EP. The PR Company loved that song. So we did a video. That was refused (you see it on YouTube we are dressed up like animals). Then we did a quick one that got over 500000 views which is a kind of a follow-up on the first one. “When Lovers Die” had also two versions…one is very old…and the second one is recorded during our first USA tour…that is why we are in LA. Desert and NYC and Washington rescuing animals. “Attaboy” was supporting a single with “Attaboy” in USA. On our last gig on SXSW we throw out the animals. And the “Attaboy” video we actually finish the animal off in a kind of hate/loving way.
What could you say about the writing and the recording process of the record?The whole album was recorded by Claes in the band. The writing is several different people that comes in with ideas. Mainly Claes and Patrik. The recording is done in our rehersalroom in Täby Kyrkby took some months.
If you could describe the band/the band sound with few words, what adjectives would you use?Happiness, color and fun. That is what we are aiming for.
In the “About” box of your website, I’ve seen that among your interests there are: cowbells and washboard. Could you please explain us what about this weird interest?Yes, we use these as instruments on the record. Also other things. Do hamburgering is Christians special interest in hamburgers.
Inquiring after you, I’ve discovered that you played in Italy for the Fashion Week that took place in Milan… What do you remember about this experience?That is was crazy. It was really fun. But it was the first time we were outside Sweden. Then we had to change our set so we fit the catwalk…and we got it perfect. We did interviews for international TV there. You can see the whole thing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQPMppVMzEg
I’ve also discovered that you composed a song for One Night Only, called “Can You Feel It” and this song was used for the Coca Cola commercial. How was this “collaboration”, if we could name it so, born? How did you get in touch with those guys?More or less they got in touch with us. To tell the truth. Coca Cola asked “One Night Only” to do a song for the campaign walls. Unfortunately they could not do a song with that caliber. So Cola went out and searched and asked our management Musichelp and they gave them “When Lovers Die”. Coca Cola loved the song but wanted to change the lyrics for it. We never changed the lyrics on a song. But we said we can write a new one in the style of “When Lover Die”. We wrote “Can You Feel It” and sold the song to Coca Cola. Then One Night Only made a cover of that song. It has been written by us but since it is bought up by Coca Cola our names is not on there. One Night Only has their names, but that is just if they need to pick up a price for the song. So there is no collaboration on that song. Too bad we really like One Night Only and we would love to have worked with them.
What are your next goals?We are thinking of how we can develop the sound. We have one more song ready called “Old Men”, we have to decide how we want that one released.
Thanks for your time Ida. This was my last question. You have carte blanche to say something to You say France and I Whistle fans and our readers.Thanks for all support you fans has given us. Look out for “Old Men” hopefully really soon.
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