MIXTAPE 02

Passport To Stockholm

UNITED KINGDOM | INGROOVES

Photography by Joseph Fordham

Brydon Brothers holds in extremely high regards the talent that is rooted in our London DNA and for that reason who better to have pull together our Mixtape 2 than the extremely talented up and coming Passport To Stockholm. Their unique sounds takes us through a mix of British pop / folk / rock, but above all their music is delivered with a raw purity and brutal honesty. In a music landscape where heavily synthesized pop now influences all genres (even those claiming to be alternative or indie), this sort of guttural approach is a relief, and maybe even more than that. We caught them just before their gig at Barfly in Camden:

1) 'All at Once' is the name of your debut EP, what was the inspiration for the tracks and how did you shape your sounds?

I suppose we feel that this EP is our introduction to the world. We've been developing as a band for 2 years and in this time of evolution, there's been very little of our music for the world to consume. This EP provides a map of our creative journey up to this point.

The band was initially conceived with just myself and Tom on acoustic guitars and vocals. Then we added Mariona on cello and then finally Henri on percussion. Before Henri’s arrival we were deeply rooted in the acoustic genre but with Hen in the mix he has brought with him some electronic elements – he plays with a drum pad that we can load samples onto and also introduced me to the mini Korg synth that I now play on stage.

Like pretty much of all our songs the inspirations for the songs in this EP have come from experiences and relationships that we have enjoyed/endured. The exception to that rule on this EP is Chemistry. We wrote this song with our good friend and lyricist James Lee about a relationship he had with his childhood sweetheart at the time. Without disclosing every detail of this song - in life, sometimes you are fortunate enough to meet that someone who reinvents what love is. And the love you have for that person is like none other you have experienced before - it pulls the rug up from under your feet and you are on your arse - in a good way. But sadly, even if you are lucky enough to find that someone, life has that ability to turn up and take away your fairytale ending. As a band we are all very connected to this song. We lived in the story line all the way to the final scene.

2) Why are you called Passport to Stockholm?

Over the years we've hung out with some truly amazing Swedish people - musicians, artists, general cool dudes - and the lion's share of these awesome Swedes were from Stockholm. We are still yet to make our maiden voyage to Stockholm so we are hoping that this musical adventure of ours gets us to this mystical city that we hold in such high regard.

3) Who would you list as your main musical influencers?

I suppose growing up I was inspired by singer songwriters – with an onus on the vocal. Artists like Damien Rice, Ray Lamontagne and Paolo Nutini made me want to pick up a guitar and start writing. Later on when Tom and I began writing proper music I suppose we were inspired by what was going on around us in the London music scene at the time - Mumford and Sons, Noah and The Whale, Matthew and The Atlas and Ben Howard were coming through and bringing with them a plethora of acoustic instruments which really rang true with us at the time. When Henri arrived on percussion he brought with him electronic influences with artists like Bonobo heavily influencing the sounds and samples used in building his beats.

4) What is next for PTS?

We’ve just finished writing our second EP and so the next couple of months are going to be spent working hard on recording it ready for a March/April release. Sonically it’s a big step up from our first EP so we’re really looking forward to getting this out. We are also going to be embarking on our first headline UK tour in April which we are pumped about. Then before you know it – it’s festival season - and we’re already going to be playing in many a field this Summer.