Interview: Weatherday

An interview with Sputnik, Weatherday’s Mastermind On Their New Album, US Tour, And More.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

James Klein (JK): So your album just came out, you just played a show for hundreds of people, how are you feeling right now? 

Sputnik (S): I don’t know, mostly it’s a relief because there’s been a lot of people who have been aware of the album even before I probably should have mentioned it. I learned kind of the hard way, what it’s like to mention that you’re working on something earlier than you probably should. But I thought the plan was to make a short little project and then it got out of hand and I got too ambitious, which is usually the case. 

JK: No, it’s great! So, this album you’ve been working on since the release of “Come In” and other than the other side projects, it has been the main Weatherday project. How has this album evolved in the past six years, as you’ve been working on it? 

S: Well, when I first started on it, like I said, it was supposed to be this quick little project where I was gonna use it to gain experience. And my thought was to make a really explosive EP and the EP turned into a whole project. And that project has kind of changed form a little bit, but took shape a few years ago and I’ve been trying to just gain experience and polish that. 

JK: Yeah, I mean, you definitely have. It’s a great project. One of your intentions, you said going into it was describing it as kind of a pop album

S: Yeah it’s my conventional one haha.

JK: Why did you decide to go for more of a pop song structure with shorter songs and catchy hooks for this album? 

S: So basically, I was thinking that through Weatherday and my other projects, I’ve been writing songs in a certain way and I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, and write a bit more conventionally, trying to do something that’s different, make some hooky melodies and stuff like that. It was a really fun experiment. 

JK: Yeah, it’s a great experiment. Another thing about this album is that you’ve mentioned that it’s a sequel to “Come In.” So revealing as much as you want to, how did the themes develop between these two albums? What makes it a sequel? 

S: Well, a lot of the themes from “Come In” are developed by this, if you would imagine like a stepping stone, it would be that the themes that you heard from “Come In” have developed and landed on this other stepping stone, which is “Hornet Disaster.” So it’s a lot of stuff that has the DNA of “Come In,” but I’ve hopped to a completely different space with it. That’s why I feel like it’s familiar, but it’s a new spot. And the story, a lot of it is personal experiences, so anything I make might be seen as a sequel of sorts, but this one is supposed to be like, in the series of albums that I’m making.

JK: You said it would be like a trilogy? 

S: Hopefully, I would like to make something like that. I don’t think I would want to drag it out further than a trilogy. So we’ll see what happens after a third album. 

JK: Okay, cool. So, more on this album, I mean you released it only 23 hours ago. How has the reception been? How have you felt about what people are saying about it? 

S: It’s been way more positive than I expected, honestly.

JK: Really? 

S: Yeah, way more positive. 

JK: How come?

S: It seems like “Come In” has gotten a lot of hype and it created a lot of hype for this new album. And with that comes a lot of expectations and people seem really happy with it. I know that often when I build expectations, I’ll usually get let down because I often expect too much when I do it, so I try to avoid doing that. 

JK: I think you definitely met, if not exceeded, the expectations on this one.

S: Thank you, I appreciate it!

JK: You’ve been playing a lot of these songs at shows already and some of them you’ve already released before the release of the album. I think it’s been a great reception and having the whole project together must feel good. How do you feel after that? 

S: Overall it’s probably relief. It’s just been so much time trying to work towards getting to a point where I can restart the process and feel like I have an end goal in sight if that makes sense. 

JK: That makes a lot of sense. So, for some specific songs on the album, the song “Pulka” is one of the first songs that you’ve released that is written in Swedish. How does it feel to use your native language on a song, and do you think you will maybe do that more often? 

S: From making this song, I feel like I would probably make more songs in Swedish. I’ve been avoiding that because I think growing up listening to a lot of music that’s in English the songs in Swedish have seemed too close to home and it feels like it’s too much like my everyday language. And when I write lyrics, I kind of write it in a different way from the way I talk. Writing in Swedish felt like it would be too close to how I talked. But apparently, I was completely wrong! 

JK: Thank you, that’s super insightful. On the song “Aldehydes,” there’s a lot of string work in there, I think it’s the cello. 

S: Yeah I play the cello.

JK: I play the upright bass and I think it’s so cool that you’re incorporating cello into your music. 

S: Oh sick!

JK: How many instruments do you play and how have you incorporated them into your music? 

S: I have different levels that I can play instruments at. At a surface level, it’s a ton of instruments. I especially had a phase when I would pick up anything that I saw. I was like seeing a banjo and knowing that, oh, it’s tuned in thirds, like the intervals of thirds between the strings. And so I could figure out how to play it. So on that level, I can probably play a ton more instruments than I actually can. 

JK: Yeah, I mean, once you have the basic knowledge, I feel like it’s applicable to so many other instruments. 

S: Yeah exactly. And so usually I can get away with using the renaissance flute on “Green Tea Seaweed Sea” I could get away with using it just like that, cause I don’t know the placements from my fingers on it, I just figured out the melody that I liked and wanted to use that. 

JK: Once you record it, it’s not like you’re bringing the flute out at the show.

S: (laughs) Exactly!

JK: Do you think that you would ever bring out a flute or cello or anything else at a show, or would you just stick to the basics? 

S: Cello might be hard if it’s me playing. I could totally bring out a flute. I was thinking if I had performed “Green Tea Seaweed Sea” on this tour, I would have probably brought the flute and taught one of my live band members to play it. 

JK: I think you should do that. That’s one of my favorite songs so far.

S: Thank you, I appreciate it!

JK: Now more about your talent, not to flatter you too much. You’ve mentioned before that you do all of your own visual art. Is that still true? 

S: That is still true. I’ve had a couple of exceptions overall when it comes to my art and stuff where one single cover and one album cover for “Lola’s Pocket PC” was not done by me and on “Hornet Disaster,” the intro track, the solo on there is not done by me. Everything else is done by me. 

JK: How do you think that adds to your whole image and character, being the main artist for all of this?

S: I feel like it makes it so I can definitely indulge myself a bit more. But I like having full control over how the expression looks. So that’s why I prefer working on stuff. 

JK: How do you think doing your own art helps the music? 

S: I think it definitely helps in a way where people seem to like when there is one person who’s pulling all the strings and it’s their own expression. People really like that today and I have always done that. So I think that’s totally a benefit. 

JK: Yeah, that is really cool. You’ve mentioned this love of doing DIY things and how having DIY shows is really important. As you’ve become, you know, a bigger artist with a lot of eyes on you that you never expected, how have you been able to maintain this DIY feeling? 

S: I’m glad to hear that it is like that because it’s not been a super conscious thing. I think I just tried to do things my own way where I can. Obviously with touring, I’m a bit represented right now in terms of booking, so I get some help with that because I’m not social enough to build those connections. But I try to play at smaller venues when I can. I prefer those. It’s more intimate. 

JK: Yeah, this is a great venue. I had never been here. You don’t even realize it’s a venue when you’re outside.

S: It really doesn’t look like it. 

JK: So we’re in Somerville right now at this great venue. What’s your favorite thing about having shows in Boston or Massachusetts? 

S: Whenever I get here, the thing I’m most excited about is the scenery. I think it’s really pretty around here. And I still wish that I would have an off day in Boston so I could get some more time to look around. I’ve had one before where we went down this one street and drove around the city. It was really nice. I enjoyed it. 

JK: Yeah, I love the city. I’ve been here for two years. Before that, I lived about four hours from any major city. So I can totally feel that being here is so nice. 

S: I like that it feels big but in a small way. 

JK: Yeah, it’s like a major city. If you say Boston, everyone knows what you’re talking about, but you can walk out and it feels just like a neighborhood. 

S: Yeah, there are a lot of cities where you see a certain type of skyline and I feel like this one sticks out in a way. 

JK: And it helps. It can feel more like a home.

S: Though, as a Swede, the skyscrapers are really interesting to me. We don’t have them. 

JK: Oh really?

S: We don’t really do it like that, so it’s always kind of magical when I get here. I’m like, oh right, everything’s a lot bigger. 

JK: Yeah, that’s cool. There are no skyscrapers in Sweden?

S: I bet we have them, but overall, we haven’t started building like that yet.

JK: You can work on it, but Sweden is beautiful, you don’t need to change anything.

S: I’m happy with it the way it is right now, but who knows? We might make some really good skyscrapers. Skyscrapers Two: The Sequel. 

JK: (laughs) Just like this album. And then you can make it a trilogy. 

S: (laughs)

JK: So, more about this album. On “Cooperative Calligraphy,” there is a sample of Sheldon Cooper in the beginning (saying “I am overwhelmed. Everything is changing and it’s simply too much.”) Can you explain how that ended up there? Do you watch the show?

S: First of all, the sample in itself, he’s real for that.

JK: Yeah he is real. It works perfectly with the music, I didn’t even notice it at first.

S: (laughs) It stuck with me. When I started watching TV shows a bit more on my own when I was really young, “The Big Bang Theory” was one of the first ones I watched. It was at the point where all the shows you know are like “The Big Bang Theory,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Simpsons,” you know? So that one I watched all the way through, and I remember liking it a lot, and then I totally fell off of it, and now a lot of people, especially on the internet, are not too happy about the show. It’s definitely flawed. I’m not trying to defend the show, but it has its moments. 

JK: Another thing about TV shows is you have the song “I Think You Should Leave.” I’m a fan of that song and the show itself with Tim Robinson. I was just wondering if you also watch the show. If you do, what’s your favorite joke or bit from it? 

S: That always changes. I’ve rewatched sketches from the show a ton of times, like a lot of times, and it always changes. Right now I really like the sketch from the third season where he goes to this sitcom and he sits in the crowd and he hears that when you laugh, they have mics and they’re going to hear you. And he keeps talking about this story. That’s good. I really like that one.

JK: Yeah, that’s a good one. I mean he’s so funny

S: I especially like it because he explains himself and the people listen. They’re like “alright.” They’re in on it. It sticks out from the rest, ‘cause usually he’s in the wrong or he’s the outlier. 

JK: Like he’s not that absurd.

S: Exactly, but this time, they found some common ground. I think that’s really sweet. 

JK: That’s awesome. So another question about media. A lot of your music and image revolves around video games. What have you been playing recently? 

S: I’ve been playing some games recently. Once I finished the album, I felt, “Oh, I have some extra time. I don’t have to work on the album. I can put away some time to play video games.” So I finally got to play “Outer Wilds” and that was really good. It was a good game. And I think it’s really nice that the fanbase is really good about not spoiling stuff. It’s a good game to experience. Also, I’m obsessed with “Noita” right now, the Finnish game. 

JK: Oh, what is that? 

S: My favorite game right now is “Rain World,” this game is a lot like [“Noita.”] It’s a lot like it. It’s about exploring and trying stuff out. 

JK: That’s cool. I love open-world exploring games like that. If “Hornet Disaster” were a video game, what type of game would it be? 

S: It wouldn’t be one of my favorite games but it would be one that I really like a lot. An obvious answer would be “killer7” because I have a song at the end, “Heaven Smile” as a reference to that game. It would probably be a kind of violent game with a lot of action. I think the game’s fans would probably really like the controls for the game or something like that. It’s a bit more technical. 

JK: One thing I wanted to point out is that you’re great at interacting with fans, not only online but also after shows. Do you have any interesting fan stories to share before we wrap up?

S: I should think about some of these and find a way to explain them better because I feel like if I would mention some of them, I would probably hurt someone’s feelings. But there have been some characters. Usually, it’s someone who hasn’t heard my music before who comes to the show and brings a different vibe than expected.

JK: That’s funny. Well, thank you so much for your time. Just two more questions. What are you most excited about for this tour and what’s next after the tour? 

S: I’m really excited that this tour could start without any problems. Last time I had some visa issues. It got really messy. It was stressful. 

JK: Yeah, I was talking to someone who was supposed to be at the New York show and they were disappointed not to see you then, but they were here tonight! 

S: That’s why I’m excited because I get to go back to a lot of the cities that I should have been in. And we tried to add Chicago and Detroit to the best of our abilities. And Vancouver. So we’re trying to hit a lot of different cities. So I’m really excited about that fact and also again, the relief from having the album done, people have heard it now, I can play the new songs and they’ll recognize them. It’s nice. And what’s next after the tour? I’ll probably be working on some side projects, like “Five Pebbles,” “Lola’s Pocket PC,” type stuff. 

JK: Cool. Thank you so much for taking the time for this after the show. I feel like we’re both really tired now.

S: Thank you!