The Cardigans
formed in Jonkoping, Sweden in 1992. Nina Persson
(vocals), Lasse Johansson (keyboards/guitar),
Bengt Lagerberg (drums), Magnus Sveningsson
(bass) and Peter Svensson (guitar), released
their first album, Emmerdale, in May 1994,
which spawned a hit single, Rise and Shine
in their native country. This was followed up by
their second album, Life, in 1995, which
went on to sell one and a half million copies
worldwide. The Cardigans then returned with a new
single, My Favourite Game, and their
current album, Gran Turismo. They joined
beeb just before pre-recording their latest
single Erase/Rewind for TOTP. The Cardigans live on
beeb
Charlotte
Fletcher asks: "Someone told me that your
new album is named after the Playstation game and
that the track My Favourite Game
is about being rubbish at it. Is this true?"
Nina:
"No, it's not true. The term existed long
before that...it means great travelling and we
thought the title was beautiful. Had we known it
would be connected to the Playstation game, we
wouldn't have used it. We saw the name on it but
didn't think how big the game was."
Jen
Pearson asks: "How come you chose Jonas
Akerlund for the My Favourite Game
video - and what was your opinion of his vid for Smack
My Bitch Up?"
Lars-Olaf:
"The reason we chose him was we liked his
previous work...also he has done a lot of
commercials. The main reason was he came up with
a good idea and he's Swedish of course."
John
Peters asks: "Were you surprised that you
were forced to change the ending to the My
Favourite Game video so that it could
be shown on TV?"
Nina:
"I think we were surprised...all along we
realised a lot of different TV stations would
find it offensive...but we would never make it
intentionally offensive and the original cut is
still the best. We had to do it and it's also the
original video of the track."
Mikael
Borjesson asks: "You guys seem inspired by
Black Sabbath and other "hardrock"
bands but still have a soft pop sound, is the new
album harder?"
Peter:
"It is a bit harder but not very much
because of bands like Black Sabbath...For some of
us it's our roots."
Peter
Higgins asks: "Hi Gang. Have you any
collaborations planned in the future and will any
of your album be remixed. (Love the new
album)?"
Nina:
"We don't really have any plans..."
Peter:
"There are some artists doing remixes of our
songs but not like a full album, in the end it's
probably going to be the whole album."
Nina:
"It's hard to appreciate hardcore stuff as
that's not really what we're about, when it's a
cover and they come up with something new to the
song, which is interesting, rather than just
adding a dance beat."
DRI
asks: "Will there be any new material soon,
B-sides maybe?"
Lars-Olaf:
"Not that we know of...we are in the middle
of touring so it's difficult to be creative...as
soon as we get time."
Elliott
asks: "Are you going to be touring in the UK
soon?"
Nina:
"Yes, maybe April."
Bengt:
"A lot of shows...check out the website, it
should be on there, but definitely April. We have
a day off in Wolverhampton!"
Peter:
"Belfast, Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester,
Wolverhampton and London."
Bengt:
"As well as The Royal Albert Hall."
Peter:
"We have just finished North America which
was great, completely sold out."
Lulabelle
asks: "Nina, have you heard the Divine
Comedy song called Sweden
which mentions your name?"
Nina:
"I haven't but I have heard of it and heard
the lyrics but I am curious and very flattered.
We hope Sweden is mentioned in a good way! Divine
Comedy isn't really known in Sweden, maybe a
bit."
Damon
A. asks: "How do you feel about Lovefool
being associated in people's minds
with Leonardo Di Caprio?"
Nina:
"I hope that's not all it's known for. That
song will forever be the one associated with him
and you can never really complain about having
such a big hit. We were able to take some time
off and made a new album with fresh material. We
still play that song at live shows."
babe4ever
asks: "How do you find the British
press?"
Lars-Olaf:
"We don't really get to read it too much, we
leave for different countries so we don't get
time, but when we do, it's hard to understand
it."
Nina:
"It has a language of its own, and it's
quite powerful."
Lars-Olaf:
"When I read something, it never comes out
the way it should, in Sweden it's the same."
Smackrat
asks: "When u play in Sweden, do you sing in
Swedish?"
Nina:
"No, we never do. Right from the start we
wrote English lyrics. People are surprised when
you form a band and sing in Swedish."
Peter:
"When we tour, someone from the audience
always yells "sing a song in
Swedish"."
bambam
asks: "Will you release Higher
or Hanging Around as
singles?"
Lars-Olaf:
"Hopefully both...the next single should be Hanging
Around but we don't know yet, although I
would like to release Higher as a single.
They would never release something we are not
happy with."
clara
asks: "When do you come to Holland?"
Nina:
"1st April in Amsterdam, but again we are
not too sure of the schedule."
bubblegum
asks: "When do you come home to
Sweden?"
Bengt:
"Tomorrow. We have five days off and then
it's off to Japan. We flew in from Los Angeles
today."
erica
asks: "What do u think about the Japanese
music scene?"
Peter:
"Don't know much about it. It's difficult to
understand, it's like their musical language is
different as well. The structure of the song and
the way they sing is totally different. I have
seen a few videos on MTV and it's cool, like
weird rockabilly bands with big quiffs."
Hayden
Beresford asks: "What is the symbolism of
the "felix" being thrown out of the car
and being run over?"
Nina:
"There is no symbolism at all."
Lars-Olaf:
"And if there is, you have to ask the
director."
weezle
asks: "Who do you define as your target
market?"
Nina:
"I think we are a lucky band in the sense
that our age range is global...mostly students
between 15-30 but that's not the majority, and we
have hardcore heavy metal fans, through to
classical music fans."
Roy
Shtoyer asks: "How come you've never been to
Israel?"
Nina:
"I don't know - write a letter to Polygram
in Israel."
Peter:
"The market for our music in that country is
not really big enough and a tour costs so much
money, so when we finally get through, it could
be a wasted effort."
mendonca
asks: "Have you any plans for 2000?"
Nina:
"The plans we know of are touring...we are
the kind of people who don't plan, but after 1999
it will be a year of relaxation and maybe record
a new album...we don't know yet."
Lars-Olaf:
"We will try to write a really good song on
New Years Eve."
Jimbob
asks: "Ever thought about writing a
musical?"
Lars-Olaf:
"Actually yes, but it was a couple of years
ago I thought about it...I wrote one on the tour
bus on the spur of the moment about our T-shirt
guy who is called Bill and the musical was called
Mr Bill."
babe4ever
asks: "Who designs your clothes?"
Nina:
"We don't have any certain designer, we just
put on what we fancy. We have no stylist. I have
a friend who makes stuff so I would probably wear
that."
Lars-Olaf:
"We are our own stylists."
Tom
Chandler asks: "What do you think of the
English music scene?"
Nina:
"Some good stuff, some bad stuff. Radiohead
is outstanding, Manic Street Preachers, Paul
Weller, Massive Attack are all good. The Smiths
and Morrissey are good too."
Lars-Olaf:
"Motorhead are good."
Rory
James asks: "Are there any other heavy metal
tunes that you're itching to cover?"
Nina:
"At the moment, no, we are doing our own
music but should we ever want to do a cover we
have loads of ideas although it won't happen for
the forseeable future..."
Peter
Higgins asks: "Do you think the soul of The
Cardigans is 'pop' and the 'indie' edge is just
being smart?"
Nina:
"I think that the soul of The Cardigans can
just be whatever people want it to be...if people
listen because they like indie rock, we're happy,
if they listen because they like pop music then
we're happy. Good music can be found
anywhere."
Sinead
asks: "Did you see the Abba medley at this
year's Brit Awards? If so, would you turn up to a
Cardigans medley by the newest teen popsters, in
20 years time?"
Lars-Olaf:
"We didn't see it...but it would be
nice."
Chris
Wade asks: "You named yourselves after
knitwear, but can any of you actually knit?"
Nina:
"When I was younger I was an excellent
knitter...I knitted a sweater although I haven't
done it for years now."
Lars-Olaf:
"We tried to do it at school but I was the
worst in the class."
bubblegum
asks: "Why did you hate your homeplace in
Sweden-Jonkoping?"
Nina:
"We didn't hate it...just like any young
person, we wanted to leave there and try new
things but it wasn't because we hated it. We were
doing music and it's not the best town for the
music scene."
megan
asks: "What would you like to see change in
the world of music in the new millennium?"
Peter:
"We don't really care about the Millennium,
nothing will change."
Nina:
"The one thing which should change is that
people shouldn't be surprised when they see a
talented woman in the music business. It's great
Lauryn Hill is doing so well to win lots of
Grammys."
beeb:
"Now some final words from the band before
they go..."
Peter:
"Thank you for your patience..."
Nina:
"...and thank you for wanting to talk to us
-
|