Blod

“My only intention is to make beautiful music”

Blod is the melodic and melancholic recording project of 33 years old Gothenburg-based musician Gustaf Dicksson.

You started releasing music as Blod four years ago.

Gustaf Dicksson: I compiled the first Blod-tape Dop in 2014, but the recordings were actually mostly home recordings I did around 2002-2004. I recorded a lot of music back then but later I got tired of it. I made a lot of noisy tapes between 1999 and 2004. I gave some away to people I liked in my school but I don’t think anybody liked them. Much later I found a box with hundreds of tapes with old recordings from that time. I have problems listening to most of it today but some stuff I really liked. In 2014 I decided to make a tape from the old recordings with some of the parts that I still liked. I think I made like 20 copies and this time people liked it, which made me very happy.

I have played with some bands when I was younger but I really got tired of it. I don’t like to rehearse with other people and it only made me depressed to play together with other people. I can really envy people who like to play together, like jam or so… but I can’t. Or maybe I have not met the right people yet.

But you play in a band…

I play in a band called Enhet För Fri Musik and that is really fun because we never play together, we only record ourselves and later Dan completes it. I really enjoy working that way, it gives you the fun things of playing in a band but you never need to actually play together.

With Blod I usually make the tapes with no overdubs, only press rec on the tape recorder and play something when I have the right feeling. It can be piano, guitar, saxophone or some soundclips from my telephone, it does not really matter what instrument, the only thing I try to do is catch the right feeling. I think the tapes I make nowadays are very enjoyable and joyful to hear.

I have also made three studio recordings with Blod: Leendet Från Helvetet, Knutna Nävar and Livets Ord. On these recordings I have been to a real studio and recorded with overdubs and tried to work with a specific theme or mood on each record.

What is your intention?

My only intention is to make beautiful music. For me it also works like some sort of therapy, it’s very relaxing to play and it makes my stress and anxiety go away for a moment.

With a name like Blod, I thought it would be metal.

I have been told there are some other music acts named Blod. I don’t think we have anything but the name in common. I don’t care so much for noise and metal music but I can really like some of the aesthetic aspects of it and the white trash DIY-feeling in some of it.

With the pornographic image at the beginning of the “Knutna Nävar” video, I though “Knutna Nävarwould” be a noise record.

The nude pic is actually an older poster I made. The black and white one is the original artwork.

Ok.

But I am very weak for the “nude-art expression” and I think some of my music is very private and personal so I try to match the feeling in the music with the cover-art.

What was “Knutna Nävar”?

“Knutna Nävar” was a communist slogan in Swedish. I think “Raised Fists” is the translation in English. Knutna Nävar was also a very hardcore communist prog-band in Sweden during the 70s. Some of the sampled audio on the LP are from that band.

Why did you start the “Idiotmusik” series?

The “Idiotmusik series”, three cassettes and number four in the making, is the only way I don’t have to come up with a new title for every new tape, I see them closely connected to each other and I try to see them as a continuous project.

What’s ‘idiot’ about it?

I think the name fits the music even though I see nothing idiotic about it.

There’s something rather naive about the Blod melodies, something melancholic too.

I am not sure where they are coming from. I am not very technically skilled in playing my instruments, maybe that’s why it sounds a little melancholic. The melodies are something that pops up in my head from time to time. I like that kind of melodies.

In the clips that go along along with your music, there are often old images and pictures, things that seem to remind of childhood.

A friend of mine, Johannes Brander has made two videos for Blod songs, “Knutna Nävar” and “Livets Ord”. And Dan Johansson made a video for “Leendet Från Helvetet”. That has nothing to do with me or my picks of images, but I like the videos and I think they visualize the music in a great way.

Which place does music take in your daily live?

Most of my life is about music in one way or another.

Do you make music daily?

I don’t make music daily at all. But I think of the music I want to make when I get the time, so in some way you can say that I am making music daily.

Do you run the Music Lovers record store?

Yes, I started Music Lovers Records seven years ago with my friend Anders Björnsson. Now we run it with a third friend called Mathias Nilsson. Together we also run the labels Höga Nord Rekords and Omlott from here and also a cozy cafe called Kafé Höga Nord, wall to wall to the record store.

Are you involved in the Forlag För Fri Musik label?

Yes, FFFM is run by Enhet För Fri Musik. It’s a good platform to release our music and other music we like, without having to compromise with anyone.

Are you part of a Gothenburg scene?

I think that I am definitely part of a Gothenburg scene. We are some friends who work with similar expressions in music even though the music is very different. I really like bands like Neutral, Arv & Miljö, Enhet För Fri Musik, Sewer Election, Capers, Schakalens Bror, Fåglar I Bur, Blodvite, Ättestupa, Amateur Hour etc. but that’s just one music scene from Gothenburg. Then there is a pop-scene, dance-scene a psych-scene,… all very genuine I believe. Gothenburg is a very good town for music I think.

– Joeri Bruyninckx