Movits! has an infectious sense of humor to match their Swedish charm. Not that we weren’t expecting the jazz and swing trio to tickle our tummies, but it is nice to hear a band have a lighthearted personality that coincides with their entertaining tunes.
You might be wondering just how we know the persona of Movits!? Well, we had the opportunity to shoot them a couple of questions. While they did answer every question with some wise words, they also threw in some sarcastic remarks that reminded us that life should not always be taken so seriously. So hats off to the Swedish trio, who have helped unearth a side of us that tends to get lost within the negativity life brings.
Before we dive into the interview, we think you ShockYa readers need to be a bit more familiarized with Movits! Lets face it, you don’t often hear jazz and swing tunes of a Swedish band on the radio. The trio consists of vocalist, Johan Rensfeldt, multi-instrumentalist, Anders Rensfeldt ?and saxophonist Joakim Nilsson. The band’s debut album, Äppelknyckarjazz, dropped in 2008 and gained the attention of Stephen Colbert, who welcomed the band on “The Colbert Report” to make their U.S. debut on his show. Most Recently, Movits! released their sophomore album, Out of my Head, on April 5th via Slimstyle Records.
We might not fully be able to understand or sing along with the Swedish tunes, but that doesn’t mean Movits! is incomparable to American music. In fact, we think the exact opposite. Movits! has much more innovative instrumental sounds and vocals than a majority of American bands. Put their playful personality alongside their music and here is a band that can outplay, outperform and outinterview just about any band that crosses its path.
Check out our interview with Joakim Nilsson.
What drew you guys to the world of music?
Well, we don’t really like music at all, but it had to be up to someone to save it. Why not us? No, seriously, Joakim has played music since the age of 8, so for him it was natural. Johan and Anders were more into sports back in the day, but always had music present at home. The transcendence came gradually and before anyone knew it, they were musicians.
What is the meaning behind your band name, Movits!?
The name Movits! alludes to a character called Father Movitz, starring in many songs made by the Swedish 18th century musician Carl Michael Bellman.
Are you inspired by any American musicians of the past or the present?
Yes, indeed. We take a-lot of inspiration from American artists, both past and present. Everything from Benny Goodman, Cab Calloway and James Brown to Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne and Outkast.
As a Swedish music group, what do you like and dislike most about the American music scene? Is it very different than that of Europe?
We like it a-lot that the audience gets really involved, especially at our live shows. The Swedish audience can be a bit shy at times. One thing that we see as a problem in both the States and Europe is that commercial music tends to get too much airtime. It makes the music a bit too homogeneous, everything sounds alike.
Have you had any interesting or funny stories while being in America that you would like to share with your fans?
We get to see so many different things on the road that it”s hard to single them out. Everything from meeting crazy rednecks at all night gas stations to ending up at crazy house parties with amazing people. But a good way to keep track of the things we encounter is to tune in to our tour blog on www.movits.com
What was it like having your debut album, Äppelknyckarjazz, released in America? Was it one of your goals to have your music cross over to the U.S.? or was this unplanned?
It was really unplanned from our part. We were invited to play on the Colbert Report back in 2009 and after that we realized that there was a market for our music here. That is the official story. Unofficially, we’ve been planning to overthrow America since day one! Confuse and Conquer!
What was it like being on The Colbert Report? Do you owe a lot of your fame in America to this show? Do you consider yourselves a political and/or comedic band?
Being on the Colbert Report is in itself not that different from being on any other TV show. Except the fact that there’s 5 million people watching and that they are really good at picking up on what Stephen promotes. We understand that a-lot of the stuff that has happened in the US after that is because of the show. But as we said earlier, it’s all part of our master plan! Political band? Oh yes! Comedy act? Hell no! But you don’t understand us anyways, so I guess it’s up to you.
I got to hear your latest album, Out of My Head, on Stephen Colbert’s official website. It is so refreshing to hear music that isn’t afraid to push boundaries. Congratulations! What influenced the lyrics of the tracks of Out of My Head?
Everything from the current situation in Sweden and the world to being on the road in an RV. To put it simple, they’re dealing with what’s going on around us at present.
What instruments and forms of technology were used to create the beats of the tracks?
We use pure magic, plain and simple! It’s a mix of live instruments, horns and layered drums. There are no samples in our music, we record everything from scratch with live musicians.
I hear just about every genre of music in your album. From swing to rap to pop to hip-hop, your album keeps a listener continuously intrigued. How would you classify your sound?
We don’t, haha. As you said, it’s a mix of a-lot of genres and we try not to categorize it too much. We get inspired by a-lot of different music and use that inspiration to make our own.
Got a favorite track off the album?
Oh, that’s a hard one! It differs from day to day. But all in all, we are very proud of the album.
What do you hope to accomplish with your music both in Europe and in America?
Our goal is to be able to do what we love and in the way we love doing it. We consider ourselves blessed to be able to take our music to all these places, even though we sing in Swedish. And we always aim for world dominance!
by Lonnie Nemiroff
