Today we publish an interview with the Swedish music composer and data scientist Linn Friberg, who curates the INTENT series on Kalamine Records
https://soundcloud.com/linnfriberg
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/linn-friberg
- Welcome to this written interview for the Cian Orbe blog!
Hi Sábila, and thanks a lot for inviting me here!
First, I would like to share something that would hopefully alleviate some tension within those who are reading this interview… about “the case of mistaken identity”, which I found quite hilarious until losing some newly made contacts, very likely due to this issue.
During the 2010s I was working with a musician currently located in Norway, who was living before in the same metropolitan area I am “from”, or which I consider “home”, one of… (I will explain it in a moment) – Greater Stockholm. Her full name is Trine Maria Linnea Friberg Nielsen, also known as Riversky. My name is Linn Ruth Friberg, and we are not related. It is something quite common in Scandinavia; for instance, there was a Swedish ambient music project Bocksholm, consisting of two guys named Peter Andersson, from the same town, Boxholm, with population of roughly 3000 people and famous for its cheese, mostly. The population of Stockholm County is roughly 2.3 million people. And, my name, Linn, is not a diminutive from Elin, Malin, Linda, or Linnea, it is a separate name, originating from Norway and mostly in use starting from Gen X and millennials. By the way, I am not revealing anything she, or anyone else I am going to mention, would not approve of.
So, I was not active as a recording artist during the most of the 2010s due to other life priorities back then and was looking into possibilities to start producing music again in 2019. The easiest way in was following the steps of Trine, who was publishing through netlabels, this is exactly how I discovered Cian Orbe, Completely Gone, Argali records, etcetera.
And Trine wanted to separate her artistic activities and her personal life during that time, so she was going by Maria, Linnea, and other names artistically. So, in 2019, Trine finally released some of the albums by Tuatha, our old band, via Cian Orbe, and I felt like “okay, I am going in!”. Invested into equipment (NI Kore 2, dated but powerful), came up with a project name (Nimbostrata), recorded some tracks and sent the tracks to diverse compilations. Felt very welcome, someone even donated a small amount of money for my samples, which was very flattering, and then I started to receive strange questions and realized that I was being mistaken for Trine, who had her son not long before that and severed links with the music community. After that, the interest in my music from these people waned at once. Fortunately, I was able to find other netlabels and establish connections and friendships by myself later, with those who never had any contact with Trine. But still, even if – being brutally honest here – Trine is much more talented than I am, and burying this talent was an utter disgrace, especially given her training at The Grieg Academy – still, it did hurt to witness people turn away like they did.
Everything did turn out well in the end; I am in touch with some of the finest talents in experimental music the world has to offer, and I know exactly what I want out of my “career” as a music producer. Even if Trine is focused on her family and is unlikely to produce anything new in both near and far future, she found time to “make amends” for her decisions by putting together music produced by her, her friends, and others, and launching a very special podcast on Audius, MedMera. For the sake of creating a sense of mystery and other reasons of her own, she stripped all the labels from the music and flushed it all into numbered episodes, with all due credit to collaborators where it was impossible not to credit the artists. All the albums by Tuatha we could not publish otherwise, the whole archive of the modern incarnation of Nova Beat Estate run by me and, nominally, Trine, and a lot of other stuff is packed into these 214 episodes. The series existed in different forms since the 2000s; earlier projects by Trine and other producers became seamlessly integrated with MedMera, stretching the final incarnation of the series over almost 15 years. Given the Tier 3 status on Audius and its blockchain architecture, and the “fair use” law for podcasts, it is guaranteed that this music will be stored forever.
Feel free to check it out here: https://audius.co/medmera – or tune into Dots Unlimited Radio, the channel DIY Mix. The producers who were credited for taking part in creation of the series were Trine, I, and two other artists I met during the late 2000s: Chris DeBry from Texas, and Fabian van den Eijnden, a Dutch music producer living in Egypt.
- What is the meaning of your artist/project name?
Right now, I do not use any artist or project name for my own stuff, just my personal name. What exactly was behind Dawnbreaker or RAINE, or even Nova Beat Estate/LCD Soundhouse, in terms of initial ideas, I do not even remember right now, it was 15 years ago. Nimbostrata was associated strongly with my stormy mood during 2019, plus it was a link to RAINE, an attempt to process the residual emotions associated with… how things ended between me and Rahner long time ago. Tuatha was not started by me, but I think Trine told the story behind the name somewhere. Images Without Resemblance was an inside joke between Trine and me and, as any joke, it was very short-lived. Ann Or Lunda is a Swedish word “annorlunda”, meaning “different”. Oriondrive does not have any particular meaning, but it feels like a generated word, and this is a generative music project, after all. The Itinerant is a stillborn audio drama, and the concept behind Telepathic Ensemble could be explained best by the artist who started it.
- What is the concept behind your music project, how do you categorize your own music?
The best way of understanding my music, and who I really am, would be if you look at it all through the paradigm of being a third culture kid (TCK). You see, I cannot really answer to the question “where are you from”, even if I am rooted in Greater Stockholm and nearly everything that I have in my life is located there, including my apartment, friends, and family. When you are a TCK, you are influenced by many cultures, but embraced by none. I was born at the rift between nations, worlds, cultures, in a sort of no man’s land, a child of an aerospace engineer and a physician. Followed along to different places, boosting up my ability to speak different languages from the childhood, but always being treated differently than the others. After graduation from high school in yet another place I completed certain vocational training within IT, packed my bags and left that place in the 2000s, never coming back. Being a TCK implies that your home is not within cultures, places, or countries, but with people you have in your life, which creates the constant feeling of impermanency. For some time, I considered Cyprus my home, because someone once important to me was living there. Then, once the link to Cyprus was severed, I came to Uppsala, and my father just slammed the door in my face. We did not have any contact since then. Fortunately, my mom was living in Stockholm since she married someone else, so I was able to stay there. Autumn 2013, staying in a tiny room in northwest Stockholm, in the apartment owned by two guys from Turkey... I am quite proud of these humble origins, since in a timespan of just seven years I managed to root myself in Stockholm from scratch. But, even if Stockholm absorbs nearly everything and I cannot call myself in legal terms anything else than Swedish due to being a Swedish national, in certain ways I still feel quite alien, and the pandemic does not make things easier. I am extremely meticulous in my work, but I am yet to find home in anything else beyond work.
So, how does it all relate to arts? I am not consistent in my music genre-wise, having played and produced experimental and ambient music, metal/post-metal, trance, IDM, Berlin school, industrial, vaporwave, New Age, even indie pop, but I never felt that my music could be a purebred example of any particular genre. But then, music is supposed to be as impure and as impermanent as anything else in nature, so this fact by itself brings on a lot of healing, and I just follow along with wherever ideas and intentions take me.
Also, as a junior data scientist, receiving rigorous training in statistics, mathematics, and programming right now, I started to think in terms of data when it comes to music and arts. My greatest fear was always about doing things wrong, messing up, failing, and having the doors slammed in my face; this is the reason why statistics and data science suit me better than pure mathematics otherwise, since it leaves a lot of room for (random!) error. Trying different approaches, quantifying the results, making decisions based on data… it all resonates with the approach taken within experimental music production, and a lot of fears are being alleviated within all these processes. By the way, I am going to publish analysis of the podcast on my personal website soon, dealing with intermittent demand and appropriate forecasting methods.
- Do you release music only under your main project? Do you have other active or past music projects or monikers? When did you start making music? What was your first band/project?
Let us start from the beginning. I am active music-wise since 2005 officially, before that I was just dabbling in music making. My first artistic alias was Dawnbreaker, founded initially for the sake of releasing a soundtrack I produced for the school video game project, and my first bands were RAINE, with Alex Rahner, and Tuatha, with Max S. (legal name Malachai Shachaf, before his Aliyah to Israel known as Maxim Solodovnikov).
I was running my own record label as well, Nova Beat Estate, with Rahner. During that time, I was working as an IT technician and, as said before, was having a certain connection with Cyprus; the idea of creating a label was born when I was administering a certain server hosting music and podcasts, and I wanted to "release" some of my music via that server. The alias LCD Soundhouse was used for sound design and mastering within the label. Artists on the label, among our own projects, were Joonas “Hubris” Hahto, Shifty K, SMC Sound System, and others, long inactive and completely forgotten by now. But, through the label activities, I met Trine, Chris DeBry, and Fabian van den Eijnden; Nova Beat Estate managed to release albums by Chris and Fabian before it ceased to exist for almost a decade. Dawnbreaker and RAINE ceased to exist along with the label in the beginning of the 2010s, and Tuatha went into comatose due to problems Max was experiencing in Israel. Then I was, as said, inactive music-wise for a long time. Trine joined and eventually took over Tuatha during the 2010s.
Highlights: https://hearthis.at/cian-orbe-collection/06-back-to-the-self (it is mostly Trine though, my input for the final version of the album was minuscule)
Then, I started making music again as Nimbostrata. I think that the essential piece by this project is this one: https://kalaminerecords.bandcamp.com/track/rage, but the most successful track was this one: https://kalaminerecords.bandcamp.com/track/s-r-ta. I would like to mention this track as well, highlighting diversity of the project: https://hvedrungrsmil.bandcamp.com/track/halo-early-mix-by-the-kinetic-collective
Nova Beat Estate was resurrected for a short time as a production alias in 2019-2020, releasing albums by Nimbostrata, Images Without Resemblance (Trine and I), The Itinerant, and the first batch of INTENT compilations, I will get to it in a moment. Almost everything could be listened to via the website of Kalamine Records.
Ann Or Lunda (The Order of Scythe & Vine and I), Oriondrive (Thomas Park and I), and Telepathic Ensemble (Artificial Memory Trace and other artists, sometimes I am in the mix, sometimes not) are quite special projects, significant steppingstones in my “career”. First, I was invited by The Order to perform vocals. I am a very bad singer, so, in the end… we have not been in touch for a long time. But then, I became interested in generative music; The Order program hardware synthesizers to perform according to sophisticated algorithms. Thomas Park a.k.a. Mystified invited me to collaborate as Oriondrive, and this project is based on algorithms even more; all the music is generated using Python code, all the lyrics are generated with neural networks and read through the speech synthesizer, and even cover artwork is generated. The only human involvement here is mixing and effects. I also participated in beta testing of the GenerIter SDK, which made the process Thomas is using in his music production available to everyone. And Telepathic Ensemble is even more unique; all the music is performed/produced live across time zones during a specific and very narrow time window, and the generative approach is mixed with “organic” in a much more spontaneous and intuitive way. Instead of generating words using an algorithm I write down words almost unconsciously during the time window, and these words are read then through the speech synthesizer.
Highlights: https://archive.org/download/Ann_Or_Lunda/05-Beundringar.mp3 (Ann Or Lunda), https://emerge.bandcamp.com/track/the-mission (Oriondrive), https://alfa00.bandcamp.com/track/tband-2405-pt1 (Telepathic Ensemble).
And, of course, the INTENT compilation series. A bit of backstory behind this one: during 2017-2019 I had a strong interest in alternative therapies, since I had a lot of unresolved emotions to deal with back then and was willing to try almost anything, especially after receiving my first Reiki treatment from Trine in 2017. I stumbled upon a book, “Biocentrism” by Robert Lanza, which proposed the idea that biological consciousness creates reality, rather than the other way round. Then, months later, after a long walk I went to one of the shopping malls in Stockholm and stumbled upon an installation inspired by Yoko Ono's Wish Tree; I made a thorough research of ideas behind this project. And then, in the end of 2019, I went to a workshop by Aleksandra Chaladus in Stockholm, dedicated to “intention setting”; the workshop was structured in a certain way so all the attendees would get inspired for running their own projects. This is how the idea for the series was born. So far, two iterations of the project were produced: INTENT 2020 and INTENT 2021.
The goal of the project was and is setting intentions at the end of each year for the coming year. I never expected any results and let the project “grow” by itself, which resulted in a lot of submitted audio material. I never rejected any submission, adapting the structure of the compilations to the material and attempting to create continuous flow on all the volumes. The compilations are meant to be listened to in their entirety, and everything is mixed and mastered very carefully, so the result always sounds better than the sources. I also create cover artwork and produce short write-ups for the contributors based on the information I find about them online. My own goals for 2020 “manifested” successfully regardless of the pandemic, and I asked some participants about their progress in the end of 2020 and received a lot of positive feedback. The artists known as Zumaia and Deborah Fialkiewicz have been essential within production of the series; the former hosts the series on Kalamine Records, and the latter promoted the series heavily.
The links to the compilations: https://kalaminerecords.bandcamp.com/album/intent-2020-solid-state, https://kalaminerecords.bandcamp.com/album/intent-2020-liquid-state, https://kalaminerecords.bandcamp.com/album/intent-2020-vapor-state, and https://kalaminerecords.com/intent-2021. Everything here is worth of a listen.
The INTENT series are released annually, so, during the year I attempt to solidify the intentions through another series, PARADIGM. Basically, these series consist of short EPs featuring me and my friends/collaborators, released irregularly during the year via the same Kalamine Records. So far only two EPs were released, and two more will be released in 2021. The series could be found here: http://kalaminerecords.com/paradigm
- Favorite music genres?
I always appreciated metal music in different forms. Right now, I find that music by the Swedish treasure Meshuggah alleviates a lot of bottled-up negative emotions, especially before and after the exams. During the last summer I tried to listen to the whole discography of Tangerine Dream. I enjoy diverse music: Morcheeba, Mel Tormé, Solar Fields, Aes Dana, Front Line Assembly, Biosphere, Godflesh, Dälek, VNV Nation, Gridlock, Juno Reactor, Delerium, a lot of modern “progressive house” during the workout in the gym… I do not think it is about genre, it is about the vibe I resonate with at the moment.
- Which kind of inspiration do you have from the place where you live? Is there any inspiration from your country in your music?
I really do not know whether Stockholm or my current city, Norrköping, actually influenced me in any way music-wise. I could say that some people influenced certain recordings tied to certain geographical locations, but I prefer to focus on the positive and squeeze the “juice” out of other things in order to keep going.
- Who is your favorite visual/plastic artists who inspire your work?
These artists are mostly quite obscure. Kosmoplovci, Seire Productions, Farbrausch… a lot of stuff associated with demo scene. The work by Vincent Villuis influenced me as well.
- How do you see the current Underground music scene of the music genre that you are involved?
I do not really think I am “involved” into anything. As a female composer I am not supposed to exist, I should be doing anything else with my life than creating music, especially this kind of music, so, in the end, I am quite invisible. The benefit of being an outsider, though, is absence of any expectations, the perpetual state of tabula rasa in everything I do, and this is something I am very comfortable with. And, given that many aspects of music production generate data for further analysis, I am more than comfortable with a role of a “spider” hiding behind the wall, gathering data once in a while. This is exactly what I want out of my “career” in music: data. I value friendships though, so almost all collaborations I enter and dedicate my time to imply some form of personal contact, even long-distance penpalships. Without it I would not bother to continue, to be honest, since this kind of music does not hold any monetary value.
- Favorite popular & underground composers/music projects?
I enjoy music by State Azure and other artists who create modular ambient music. Just recently I discovered a YouTube channel called SpaceWave – Cosmic Relaxation; the composer behind this channel grew up in Fruängen, one of the suburbs in Stockholm where I lived for quite some time during the 2010s and listened almost exclusively to Solar Fields, Biosphere, and other ambient electronica, and now I wonder whether quiet and ordinary residential areas like Fruängen inspire creativity on a subconscious level, ha-ha…
- Do you perform live? If you do, can you describe the experience to us?
I used to, purely for the sake of documentation and connecting with others, but not anymore. I cannot deliver necessary “impact” when performing live; even if music could be very intricate, people tend to become bored during performances. Therefore, I confined myself to playing improvisational music at the events in various small venues and yoga centers in Stockholm: Noden, Studio Hanami, Shine, Yogansa, and others. I do not have performance anxiety, but, in the end, I lost interest in playing live completely, and I do not plan to go to these venues anymore, due to living in another city and – being brutally honest here again – my failure to form long-lasting connections within the local wellness community during the late 2010s. Sometimes it just does not work at all.
- What is your favorite song, composition, or album created by yourself?
I mentioned some highlights, pieces carrying the essence, or most successful pieces already, it does not mean that I like these pieces per se. One of my favorite pieces is this one: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/linn-friberg/paradigm-fiat-lux/the-arrival - because it gives away positive vibes and hope.
- Tell us about the concept & the creation process pertaining to your EPs/albums.
As said before, I just follow along with wherever ideas and intentions take me. Nearly all tracks by Riversky featuring Nimbostrata were produced by me using the samples by Trine, due to the obvious reasons explained above. I still have some samples which were not utilized in any track yet, so if Riversky ever pops up again in collaboration with me, you know who is responsible for the result. Nearly all the collaborators send me WAV files to work with, but one of them offered MIDI files, which I appreciate a lot. I feel that I can fuse myself with the ideas by other artists much better if I work with MIDI files instead of samples. By the way, my current setup includes Reaper DAW and Spire VSTi.
- Tell us about the underground music scene in your city.
I never had any substantial contact with anyone within the local scene except Trine; I suspect that most of the producers worth mentioning are just like me, outsiders locally but becoming known internationally. And, due to local politics, I doubt that “the scene” would survive beyond the pandemic; many venues have closed during the past ten years due to noise complaints or incredibly high rent. But the city and the society are continuing to undergo rapid changes, so no one knows how it is going to look like in a couple of years.
- Any news for the second half of 2021, or for 2022 music-wise?
Recently I produced two official remixes for Zoviet France, both could be listened to via SoundCloud. Also, Treetrunk Records have released an EP featuring remixes for Zumaia I produced with the latest version of GenerIter SDK. The EP could be listened to and downloaded here:
https://archive.org/details/OdditySpiraleRemixes
PARADIGM-wise, I am planning to release two EPs in 2021: “The Arrival”, stemming from the track I mentioned above, and yet untitled collaboration with Brainquake. Obviously, I will produce INTENT 2022 in due time. Soon I will create my own music archive on Audius, using the same concept as MedMera but using my own separate account; even if technically I can maintain MedMera too, the account belongs to Trine. My main focus though, except school, will be analysis of MedMera and INTENT so far, as said above – the latter will be mostly descriptive due to absence of monthly data – and a lot of coding. Before announcing INTENT 2022 I have to create an app for track submission and, possibly, playback, so I could get data out of it and perform analysis. Everything, including some of my schoolwork, will be available via my website and the GitHub repository.
- Any other thing that you want to say to your listeners?
In the end, this interview could serve as the most comprehensive introduction to me, my music, and my goals. I really do not like dwelling on the past, and there are so many things to experience on the brighter side of the life spectrum, so my intentions are clear – out with the old, in with the new, and fast forward into the future!
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