A decade since the release of their debut album, sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg — the musical forces behind the Swedish folk-duo First Aid Kit – have just put out their fourth LP, Palomino. Ahead of its release, the two sat down with staff writer Kira Weaver. They talked about folk as a form of rebellion and shared how working on their new album helped them rediscover why they make music during a time they were questioning continuing.
STARTING OFF, I WANTED TO ASK WHAT IT WAS LIKE GROWING UP IN SWEDEN TOGETHER? HOW DID YOU COME ABOUT STARTING TO COLLABORATE AS MORE THAN JUST SISTERS?
Klara Söderberg: I don’t really remember a time where we weren’t singing together. It was our thing that we always did. We had a band together when I was six and Joan was eight. And [we] wrote choreography and songs. So it’s always been there.
Growing up in Sweden, I would say we had a safe childhood. Loving parents who were always there—
Johanna Söderberg: Our dad was in a band during the ’80s. We grew up in a musical family, always a guitar laying around somewhere. Our parents actually met in a rock club— their favorite band was “Talking Heads.” We found country music kind of on our own.
KS: A lot of people grow up around the kind of music they end up creating. That wasn’t the case with us.
JS: We rebelled. Our parents were very “We’re Punk!” And so we rebelled by listening to softer sounds.
DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST INFLUENCE, THE ARTIST THAT STARTED TO PULL YOU IN THAT DIRECTION DURING THOSE YEARS?
KS: Yes… I remember we loved the film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” — the Coen brothers film. Always sang those songs, from the film, around the house.
There was also the band Bright Eyes that I had started listening to when I was 12. From there, we started to explore that genre, and got kind of obsessed with that style, and very soon started playing ourselves.
WHEN YOU STARTED, HOW WAS IT LIKE NAVIGATING THAT RELATIONSHIP AS SISTERS VERSUS THAT AS ARTISTS/MUSICIANS?
JS: I mean, we were so young when we first started. I don't think we really understood what was happening. We kind of just went for it. It’s only now, lately, that we’ve had time to reflect on how hard it’s been on us, as sisters.
It’s been so amazing to get to do what we do together. But we’ve had to do a lot of work to get here. We’ve had to heal, asking ourselves, “How do we mend our sister relationship from all of the issues we have had from working together?”
It’s not easy, we spent more of our teen years together, always working and always on tour. It was quite special and different.
DO YOU THINK BEING SISTERS IMPACTS YOUR SOUND, MAKING YOUR MUSIC MORE HEARTFELT ALMOST?
KS: God, I don't know…
JS: I think there’s something with our voices that’s special. There are certain (motions hand between them in a gesture signifying a bond).
People, listeners love a sibling duo, us as well. Country brother duos like The Everly Brothers, The Carter Family... so many.
There’s definitely something to it. We didn’t realize it when we started, though. It was other people mentioning to us— “You have something.”
KS: It’s been helpful. Getting to do all these things you only ever dream of, it’s kinda scary. Having someone next to you the whole time that you know so well and trust — a person who knows you better than anyone — I think that makes it safer, too. When we sit down to write the songs, I feel very safe with her, my sister. And on stage, I always have Johanna there with me by my side. It’s a comfort.
WITH THIS RECORD, PALOMINO, THIS ONE IS THE FIRST ONE YOU WILL HAVE RECORDED IN SWEDEN SINCE THE BIG BLACK & THE BLUE. WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE TO RECORD AT HOME AGAIN? DO YOU THINK IT HAS INFLUENCED YOUR SOUND, BEING ABLE TO RECORD THERE?
JS: Yeah, it definitely has influenced our sound. In the past, we had always gone to America to record. Just cause all of our producers and favorite musicians are there. I definitely feel they still lended their touch to this record, Palomino.
But, It was so nice for us to find creative people right around the corner. I don’t know why we always thought we had to go all the way around the world to do so… We didn’t. There [are] tons of creative people here, in our own backyard, as well.
I think it influenced the sound by maybe making it less country. Our last few were more country-sounding. But that was also what we purposefully— we wanted that. Like, “Ok, so no pedal steel.”
KS: Yeah (nods in agreement).
JS: Trying to try something new, a little bit more poppier of a sound. And our inspirations were “ABBA,” so definitely got a bit of a Swedish flair, (laughs).
And it was a really nice process. We didn’t have to rush it because of the pandemic. We got to flesh it out and take our time with it. It was more of a nine to five thing rather than in the past [where we were like] “Okay, [we’re] in this space for ten days. We have to make this record, it has to sound amazing.”
We just had so much time. And it was great. I think it really benefited the record.
YOU TALK ABOUT BEING ABLE TO FIND CREATIVES RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER… I HAD READ THAT ON ONE OF THE TRACKS, “RIGHT AROUND MY HEAD,” YOU WROTE WITH BJÖRN YTTLIN. AND THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU HAD USED AN OUTSIDE SOURCE WHILE WRITING OR TRULY BROUGHT SOMEONE INTO THE CREATIVE PROCESS, RIGHT?
KS: Yes, Yeah!
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WRITING FOR SUCH A LONG TIME, WHAT DREW YOU TO TRUST HIM WITH THAT ABILITY?
KS: I mean, well that started with… we both — both together but also separately — had started writing with other people. And not for First Aid Kit, but just writing for other artists. Just trying that out… It was really fun and a challenge, but a good challenge. It kind of, you know, [made us] not stuck in your own head anymore. We were just intrigued, you know — [like] “What if we tried this? It won’t hurt anyone.”
It’s always been a very sacred thing to us, our songs and the fact that we’ve written them on our own. But I think a lot of this record was letting go of the ideas we had and what the music had to be. That's how we went into it with Björn.
We ended up writing two songs on the record on our first day with him. It feels like we had a very similar… We like the same kind of melodies. We don't like complicated things; [we like something] very simple but immediate.
It’s just so nice to let go sometimes. When I let go of my guitar and let someone else play something. And that was what happened both of those times — [for] “Nobody Knows” and “Out of My Head.” He, Björn, was just playing, and we were just singing. It just brings out something different.
YOUR LAST ALBUM, RUINS, IN 2018 WAS CENTERED AROUND A BREAKUP. IS THERE A CENTER FOR THIS ONE, SOMETHING THAT TIES ALL THE TRACKS TOGETHER, IN YOUR MINDS?
KS: I mean I wanna say nothing as clear as that. That was definitely “a breakup record.” This is more like our previous records, before that, where it’s more of a mix of what we have gone through the past couple of years. I think there’s a little bit of referencing the title of the record… It's sort of about like growing up, and freedom.
JS: It’s about maturing. That sounds so boring but it is about just growing older. I think it’s about getting to know yourself better. Accepting who you are. Going through things but seeing it from a different perspective than before.
KS: Not as self-deprecating as I think Ruins was.
JS: And for us, I think making this record was coming back to music. For a bit, we weren’t even sure if we wanted to continue with the band. We were going through a really rough time. From being burnt-out to going through breakups. And for a while we didn’t really know.
We had lost touch with music and feeling passion for it, and that was scary. Making this record was like pure joy. It really was a celebration, in being able to understand why we started making music again. To me, that’s what the record is.
WRAPPING UP, WHO WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOUR BIGGEST MUSICAL INFLUENCE?
KS: Well, one that comes up on all of our records that we keep writing about is Gram Parsons. So I feel like we have to mention him. And Emmylou Harris in that, if they can count as one. Their harmonies, and just the way they approach that type of country. The way they sing is just— it just feels very real and very moving.
Who else Johanna?
JS: I mean, Leonard Cohen I would say. And Paul Simon, maybe? Who would you say for this record?
KS: Fleetwood Mac is also, like the Tango in the Night record. That was a big inspiration for this record.
DO YOU HAVE ANY NON-MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS FOR YOUR WORK?
KS: Film I would say.
JS: Yeah.
KS: Our mom was a film teacher so we grew up being bombarded with film and that kind of story telling.
JS: I’m trying to think of a specific film or director.
KS: Richard Linklater was going to come to one of our shows one time and I was freaking out. He didn’t end up coming— though he’s always welcome!
FINAL QUESTION— DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF WISDOM?
KS: We’re just trying to figure it out as much as anyone else.
JS: I don’t know, I feel like the older I get the less judgmental I am of other people. I think everyone's carrying so much inside them that you don’t know… so tread carefully. [Be] open minded to other people.
KS: Also to yourself. I think we are extremely harsh on ourselves. I’m fighting that all the time.
In the music, somehow, I can let that go when I’m really in it, which is why I think it’s something so powerful. You forget yourself. You forget about everything else. And you're just in it... It’s a wonderful feeling.
