You may have heard us playing Animal by Backstrom featuring Bart Topher recently on Phoenix FM – but who is Backstrom? We caught up with him to find out more …
Tell us a little bit about your yourself?
I am a Swedish folk, country and rock songwriter. I made a comeback to music after a long break in 2023.
When did you first start to develop a passion for music?
I started playing mandolin first, but got an old crappy drumkit when I was around 10 years old. That’s when I first got hooked on it!
Which artists did you listen to while growing up?
Started out with British heavy metal, and I turned to rock’n’roll a bit later, and after that to country and folk. While playing drums I think I’ve done it all along the way.
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard you before?
Strong but not too complicated melodies and a wide span of influences from lullabies, folk, country to rock and more.
What music have you recorded and released to date?
I have released two songs in the country direction of which I will delete one for a better remix. Got two singles coming out on December 21 (Animal) and January 7 before my album “The Carousel” is released on January 18, 2024.
Which artists do you enjoy listening to at the moment – and do they influence your work?
I think Leonard Cohen and Mark Lanegan were my top picks for 2023 and yes, I pick up a lot of stuff from these great songwriters. For my album I tried to put harmonies in the “Cohen way”, for example. They kind of “dance around the lead” a bit and not just follow it directly as an example.
Who would your dream collaboration be with?
Cohen, but that will be hard to pull off.
What are your plans for the future?
After releasing this album I will take a break. After that I will look for a good lyric writer to work with since I prefer to write the songs from lyrics, and even more so from other peoples lyrics!
Where can we find out more about you?
