I'm Kingfisher - Interview

We're always looking well beyond our shores to seek out new talent (I really must stop copying William Shatner). We've covered bands from the USA, Australia, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia and so on, and now, we've found the fantastic "I'm Kingfisher" (Thomas Jonsson) from Sweden. We recently reviewed his fourth solo album 'Arctic', and it was a cracker of an album, inspired in part by his reading of Swedish author PO Enquist's novels. Grace speaks to Thomas to find out more:

You've done quite a few live shows this year, how did they go?

Thanks for asking. Actually, I've been really happy with almost all the shows this year and I feel like I've taken a few steps forward. Tragically, with a painful accuracy, I've always royally screw up about one show a year and this year was no exception. Chester sucked. Sorry!

Was there anything that stood out as one of the best bits?

Knock on wood, but it feels like after years and years of practice I've finally learned how to describe for the sound guy how extremely loud I want my guitar to be. Generally, there are a few unforgettable moments around almost every show and that's one reason why touring is so fantastic. But to mention one, playing with Damien Jurado at a sold out Södra Teatern in Stockholm in April was one big highlight.

As you are from Sweden, do you prefer playing in different countries and cities, or do you prefer to play to your home country?

I really love the feeling of going abroad for touring. It's surprising how much you can feel at home in let's say Leicester, Nottingham, Austin or Florence. And having said that, I never feel so extremely far away from civilization as during those few times I've played in my old home town.

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Obviously you have released a lot of material over the past few years, which would you say was your favourite album or EP to record?

The last one, 'Arctic' definitely. Together with my debut Hope to Her, those were the most fulfilling albums to make yet. Still, as Hope to Her was my first album, the recordings were also sprinkled with huge amounts of anxiety. There was of course some anxiety in Arctic too but also a big presence of control. I think both me and my producer Carl felt the same. And we're currently recording our 5th album together.

Your last album 'Arctic' has been described as indie-pop and anti-folk, what made you want to create such a different genre of music? Did you come across it by just experimenting with different sounds?

I think it's partly about progress, a wish to dig deeper into songwriting and partly about which music I listen to myself.

Who was your main inspiration for wanting to be a musician?

A friend of mine named Jari, whom I studied together with back in 1998 was the person who inspired me to strap on the guitar. I had been writing stuff for a while, so it was not really that big step to add music into it. But it felt like a big step for me.

Where did you first start practising when you were starting out?

Everywhere and whenever I got the chance really. As I'm mostly playing alone with guitar, I can fit in a very small amount of space.

Do you have any advice for new up and coming bands given your extensive experience of touring and recording?

Never adjust yourself and your music because of what you think the audience would want. Just the fact that you're making music for a public purpose and are trying to do that the best you can is enough.

You can find out more about Thomas here: http://www.imkingfisher.com/

Interview by Grace