Civilistjävel! refers to his sprawling new record Brödföda as his “summer album,” but don’t let that deter you from listening to it this fall—or next winter. The record fits nicely into the Swedish artist’s larger discography, which is full of dubby, droning ambient music that sounds like mellow-falling Nordic snow slowly covering the windshield of a dirty Volvo. No doubt, his work has a singular patina. I had the pleasure of asking the artist (real name: Tomas Bodén) a few questions; give the interview a read, and listen to Brödföda, which is out now on FELT, below.

How does Brödföda differ from previous releases?

Civilistjävel!: In my head I had this idea that it had a brighter, more hopeful tone and have referred to it as my summer album. Though, I guess it's still just me expressing myself without filter, which for some reason often turns out a bit dark and moody.

I believe the new record is the longest thing you’ve ever released under this name? What were you able to express in 75 minutes that you couldn’t in 41, which is the length of 2022’s Järnnätter? 

It started out as a single LP, but since some of my tracks have a tendency to become quite long suddenly it was over 40 minutes, and then I realized it would have to be a double. For some reason I always think of albums in LP sides, so a double means it's based around four sides/sections. I did not have a specific expression in mind, more that it needed to flow through four different sections. Whatever specifically is expressed is up to the listener I guess. Every time I have a preconception of what I should do, the result is really crap, so I try and not to think too much about it.

Take us through the making of “VI,” your recent collaboration with Thommy Wahlström. 

I had this track with a folky minimal acid feel to it that needed something unexpected and wanted a wind instrument on it. Since Thommy is my neighbor and a really good sax player, I just asked him. It is the only collaboration on the album that was done in person. So the recording was unusually easy and relaxed. We recorded it in my living room with a microphone professionally taped to a chair, all done in one take.

I’m curious to know about how you structure your days. How often are you in the studio?

I make sure to record or do at least one music related thing every day. Even if it is just editing something or listening to old recordings and putting them in a folder, this is really important. Otherwise I would just be really lazy and never get anything done. Since I travel quite a bit, it is also important that it is relaxed, that it does not necessarily involve a lot of hardware and that the studio can be anywhere. Unfortunately I do have a problem getting music that I'm pleased with straight out of the laptop, so most tracks start with a hardware setup of some kind recorded straight to stereo in a very unprofessional way. The result is that there is usually a lot of editing, rescue operations and restoration work to do. 

 

Could you name and explain a few major influences on your work? Can be an artist, a mood, a genre—anything.

In general the art and music I really like are the things I yet don't fully understand. That is probably why I gravitate toward a lot of music that is not western. Preferably it is also small and ugly, to me that is the best aesthetic. I feel like a lot of contemporary electronic music, especially in the ambient/drone sphere, has a tendency toward the grandiose, which does not appeal to me at all. I prefer finding that small brown paper bag in the corner of a room, making a tiny crackling sound. For example the art of Rolf Julius is always an inspiration and a good example of this. In my mind the best electronic music is when you can really hear that it is just someone expressing themselves with minimal means, not so much caring about production technique or specific style.

What kind of music do you like to listen to for fun? 

Recently I've been listening a lot to Vietnamese music played with gongs and bells.

Favorite season, and why?

Autumn. It has the best light, and not too dark all the time. Just the right amount of light and dark.