Rassion aan tafel met The Tallest Man On Earth

 

 
Weken hebben we uitgekeken naar het optreden. Na honderden keren al zijn youtube filmpjes te hebben bekeken, en tientallen keren over hem gedroomd te hebben waren we alleen maar bang dat hij enorm tegen zou vallen, want als je zo’n hoge verwachtingen van iemand hebt kan dat bijna alleen maar. The Tallest Man On Earth.

Dinsdag avond gingen Cath en Dieuwer in versnelde ganzenpas op weg naar de kleine zaal van Paradiso. Wij zijn de altijd vertraagde hiphop optredens gewend en waren dan dus ook veel te laat voor het voorprogramma. Nadat we ons naar voren hadden gedrukt door het vrij pretentieuze publiek, stonden we vooraan tussen allemaal conservatorium meisjes. The Tallest Man On Earth, 170 centimeter schoon aan de haak, kwam het podium op klimmen. Niet in zijn eentje maar met een dozijn gitaren. Een optreden van een man met een prachtige rauwe stem en melancholisch gitaar werk, hoe zou dat ooit kunnen tegen vallen? Tijdens het optreden zorgde hij ervoor dat hij elk meisje in een straal van vijf meter zeker vier seconden intens aankeek. Laten we het erop houden dat de vloer glibberig werd.  Op het moment dat hij “ Where Do My Blue Bird Fly” speelde was het vooral vechten tegen het kippenvel en de tranen. Een 26 jarige Zweedse muzikant die ongekende gevoelens in je los speelt.

Na het wachten tot hij al zijn fans een handtekening en een cd had verkocht konden we Kristian (want dat is zijn echte naam) dan eindelijk aan zijn spijkerkraagje trekken voor het interview.

When did you start making music?

When I was 12 years old. I’ve been in rock and punk bands for a long time, until I was like 21. Then I started messing around with other stuff. In 2006 I recorded my first EP with this kind of music.

What inspires you to write music?

That’s a hard question.. everything I guess. First of all the music I listen to, I listen to a lot of music. Good music makes me want to make good music. I listen to music and it makes me feel really good. I want to learn to do that, so maybe people could like my music the way I like other people’s music. Other than that I guess everything inspires: meeting people, travelling and just life.

Who do you look up to music wise?

A lot of people, I listen to a lot of different music: old music, country, new stuff. I look up to Justin Vernon from Bon Iver he just helped me a lot. And lots more but it’s hard to pin down.

Because you’re often called the young Bob Dylan, how do you feel about that?

Yeah, I love Bob Dylan since I was fifteen. I don’t know what to say about it, I’ve been listening to Dylan so much in my life and he means so much to me. And of course I’m so inspired by him that also sound like him, but it could be worse you know. I could sound like David Bowie. I mean, I love him but if I sounded like David Bowie it wouldn’t be as fun. I can’t hide my love for Bob Dylan.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Sweden on the countryside in a tiny town and I just moved back to it.

Did you move back there to make music?

I make music everywhere, also when I travel. But it’s nice, when you travel a lot and see a lot, to be back home in the middle of nowhere. I love nature and the countryside, my house is by a lake and forest. I don’t know where I’m most inspired. You collect inspiration, you go around meet a lot of people do a lot of weird shit. You remember that and put that into songs.

What do you love most about what you’re doing right now?

Meeting people, I meet a lot of nice people. Unfortunately I don’t really have the time to really get to know them, but when you travel alot you get lonesome some times, so five hours with a cool person is a nice thing to have then.

What do you hate the most?

Travelling! Yeah I know its contradiction haha. I have to do the shitty parts to get to the good parts. Airports I hate the most because I have flied so much in the last two years. I don’t know if people can imagine that, but if you play for 50 minutes it feels like you have been working for 24 hours because you travel so much. It takes a lot of energy.

We noticed you getting annoyed to some notices in the venue (phones ringing, glasses falling), do you have a low concentration?

I’m sorry if it looked like that, I’m not easy irritated, it’s just fun to play with if someone yells out something or someone drops a glass. It makes the performance more lively because I don’t have much, it’s just me on stage. 

We noticed a lot of girls all melting during your performance while they are with their boyfriends. How do you get along with the guys?

The guys like me too, I never had problems with that. One time in Dublin a couple of weeks ago a guy pissed me of though.. I had this guy came up to me with his girlfriend saying he liked the show alot and then he said “hey man you can get 15 minutes with my girlfriend”. I was like what the fuck?? I didn’t want to speak to him anymore, but he wanted a signed cd for his girl. So I wrote her the longest letter with: “Who is this fucker?” You meet a lot of stupid people. But I never had problems with guys beating me up, I have this kind of problems instead haha.

What are your goals for the next ten years?

Stay alive? I don’t know, make the best record ever! Just keep on writing songs and see if I can be satisfied. I’m pretty excited about my next record; it’s done and probably coming out in the beginning of 2010. But first, after I’m finished my tour trough the Netherlands, I’m taking some time off. Because I recorded my new album between tours and it feels like I’ve haven’t been free for ages. It’s going to be great to have some time off, I’m going to go to the states and just hang around and chill.

What’s up with your name?

It sounded cool.

So, do you feel on top of the world right now?

No, not really. It’s hard work. It seems easy on stage, but it’s not that easy. Sometimes you travel and have to perform and you feel like shit. You have to save all the energy for stage. I don’t feel on top of the world right now. But maybe in 10 years.. One day I’m going to feel on top of the world, that’s my plan.

 

Tekst: Dieuwer
Foto’s: Cath