Did you know that Sweden has 25 provinces which have no administrative function and only remain for historical legacies and the means of cultural identification? Enter, Swedish duo Post Pines from the province of East Gothland (sic!) in the south of Sweden. The two of them – pictured above, Julius (left) and Joakim (right) – released their debut EP Past Eyes on Swedish indie label Meraki Force just last month, and if you are one for grand soundscapes and detached vocals, you are in luck! The EP carries four songs, instantly creating a great natural and welcoming atmosphere with yet a very mysterious tone underneath. On point vocals, matched with perfect synths and a minimalistic attitude.
Attached is exhibit A, Blood and you can pull a stream of the EP over at Soundcloud, and Spotify. Meanwhile, Team Poule sat down with Julius and Joakim to find out what makes the Post Pines.
Who are you and where did you meet?
Julius: We’re two mellow, emotionally filled creatures from two separate countryside villages in the region of Östergötland in Sweden. Currently residing in Linköping, which also is the city where we met.
Joakim: To be very specific we first met at a festival, we lived next to each other in a camp called “The Swamp” I think? I don’t really remember what we said to each other but yeah, I was pretty dizzy and I probably thought that I’ll never meet these people again. A couple of months later I saw Julius at a coffee machine in the complex where we both worked and I started to stalk him on Twitter. And yeah…
How did your composing process look like for this EP?
Julius: Us two, a dark room, synced up synths, a handheld microphone and a computer set to record. We often just sit down, blank canvas, start fiddling with sounds and let our intuition kick in. I write snippets of lyrics almost every day and when Joakim starts to play some arpeggios on the guitar or a synth, lines and melodies tend to find their home naturally. The sub bass usually follows and then we’re off into space.
What was the most exciting part of making this EP?
Joakim: For me it has been the experimentation, or rather the exploration. Without saying it out loud we’ve been exploring different parts of our selfs and a lot of different sounds that can recreate what we’ve found and maybe fill in the blanks that was missing. It might sound pretty cheezy but that’s my spontaneous feeling.
What is the best place to listen to your music?
Julius: We hope our music can be, both the void and the thing that gently fills it. The friendly lady in the otherwise empty waiting hall at the remote train station, where you’re waiting for the cancelled conection. The stranger who ask you the right questions and help you sort you out, before returning to the everyday hassel of being you.
Joakim: I use music to reassemble myself and for the most part when I want escape. I really hope that our music can help or contribute to this escape as well. Every now and then everyone have to escape for a moment. Escape to that state where there is nothing else but pure emotion, it doesn’t matter if it’s a happy place or a sad place or a place of despair. The importance of it is that it’s a little glade in the middle of all this noise and that glade is yours and only yours. I hope people can find this place when they listen to our stuff, no matter where they are in the physical world.
What is next for Post Pines?
Joakim: I would say to explore further, become better musicans and to do more live shows.
Julius: If we’re shooting straight, of course to make more music. I think we found a much more soild ground in our selfs making this EP and I’m exited to continue climbing the threes we’ve planted.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Julius: I’ve been listening to ‘EARS’ by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith for a while now. I really enjoy the way she structures her pieces of art. The compositions alone can make me smile in a similar way, say a provocative painting can make one do. Small, suprised giggles.
Joakim: Our manager Linn told us about two artist called Fjäder and Jana Sleep a while ago, so I’ve really been listening to them lately. That and also a guy called Michael Masley. And I also wanna do a shout out for this dude Colin Stetson!
Rad, gonna be checking those out, thanks Julius and Joakim!
Post Pines’ debut EP is out now on iTunes, and everywhere.
