Unedited Kristoffer Ragnstam interview
Here’s the raw version of the e-mail interview with Kristoffer Ragnstam.
September 3, 2008
I dont think we’ve got special sound.and why Jens and I play in USA are probably more that we found people who belive in US and constantly give us great tours etc.so more luck than sound.
Thats easy.I grew up with english music and I only been listening to english music. So when i started to do my own stuff did english felt best.allthough it can be strange sometime to write in a language thats not my mother tounge.but hopefuly do the record buyrs understand what Im trying to say:-)
iii) How do you feel that your artistic process changed (or didn’t) between “Sweet Bills” and “Wrong Side of the Room”?
I had a vision together with Joel(co:songwriter) and Chris.We would like it to sound home made and pure. thanks to the vision did we have a very simple process making the Wrong side album.Plus that we had been touring a lot so my band and I knew each other much better this time
Maybe in the future would you/I be able to record a full song at a decent quality.that would be fun.I use it more like a scrapbook.
v) Can you cite some of your influences? And who among your contemporaries are you a fan of?
I love musicians who play music like there is no tomorrow.People who make me thing they do it very much in a solid honest way.I like bands like:queens of the stone age, Slayer, The roots, Kings of Leon. Daniel Lanois etc.
vi) I really enjoy your witty, wry, and self-deprecating lyrics (and it would be great if they were posted to the Internet!). They definitely focus closely on the personal – entanglements and disentanglements, attractions and apologies. How do you decide what to sing about? Do you ever think about singing about more ‘serious’ subjects, or are you committed to singing about the personal?
Oh the lyrics should get posted any minute.My web page are pretty new new and need some minor changes.but when it comes to lyrics do i think my weapon is to sing about my normal life.cause alot of weird stuff happend there.and it maybe sound forced to sing about something else.Sometimes it can be very serious to me but end up like a normal thing on the lyricpaper.
vii) Can you talk a bit about what it was like working with engineer Chris Brown (Blur, Radiohead, Supergrass)?
Wow! Its a dream to work with him. His been a part of many of my favorite albums.like RIDE.
I love Chris and he´s one of the people in the music Biz that i respect the most.not only thanks to his CV.but probably more cause he’s constanly honset and only say wha he thinks.no charade or theatre.just 100% Chris Brown.and thats very inspiering.
viii) Besides your New York shows, any upcoming plans to tour in the US?
I will tour all over.Europe, Japan and back to the United States.plus take care of my new born son
zed equals zee 
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