Pokal é Arne Barlindhaug Ellingsen, sueco de Estocolmo que produz um certo tipo de música que atualmente não me parece explorada, um pop sofisticado, elegante aos moldes de clássicos como Prefab Sprout, Aztec Camera entre outros, que combinavam o que há, como coloquei, de mais elegante e ao mais tempo com um enorme apelo pop sem nunca chegar perto do termo piegas.
Alguns singles e EP foram lançados pelo Pokal, mas eu sugiro que a iniciação se faça pelo belíssimo Lights de 2015.
Pokal é sofisticação e elegância extrema a serviço dos bons sons.
***** Interview with Pokal *****
I've been making music by myself since I was 13, but the Pokal project shifted gears 2 years ago when I decided to start releasing music (and challenge myself to finish songs instead of just starting new ones).
Q: Who are your influences?
I listen to music of many genres and have gone through many different phases, but I grew up in a home with lots of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Jazz standards, then I had a long period when I only listened to ambient electronica. Influences include Warp Records artists of the 90's (Aphex Twin, Autechre, Plaid), The Cure, Cocteau Twins but I’m also a huge fan of Milton Nascimento, Arto Lindsay, Suzanne Vega, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Todd Rundgren, Joni Mitchell and Beach Boys and more recent artists like Mac Demarco, and Ariel Pink. So it's a mishmash of all kinds of genres.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
The answer depends on the day and the mood but Prefab Sprout's "Swoon", Jim O'Rourke's "Insignificance", Brian Eno's "Another Green World", Stina Nordenstam's "And she closed her eyes" and Todd Rundgren's "Something/Anything" are some of albums that made a huge impression on me when I discovered them.
Q. How do you feel playing live?
I've haven't played live with Pokal as I never liked being on stage. But I’m going to give it a shot again soon. For me it's strange that you are expected to master and desire both creating and performing since they are so different things.
Q. How do you describe Pokal sounds?
I guess It's a mix of everything I like, combined in different ways. I like working with contrasts, putting together stuff that don't belong together, and to create atmospheres/moods and try to challenge myself in some way to break old habits.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Sometimes it starts with words, sometimes a melody or bass-line pops up in my head on the bus, other times it starts more traditionally with a guitar or piano or simply the mood of the day. Then I build a "skeleton" in Logic and play around with arrangement ideas and add whatever comes into my mind intuitively.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Recent favorites include Lumikide, Vesuvio Solo, Hanne Kolstø, Chairlift, Golden Daze, Marika Hackman, Hälledal, Vinyl Williams, Julia Holter, R. Stevie Moore and Oneohtrix Point Never - although some of these have been around for a while, they escaped my radar earlier on.
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I've created some remakes for fun now and then, but until they add something new to the song they'll stay on my harddrive. My brother and I used to have fun recording covers of a-ha songs from memory and since we didn't remember them correctly they became a bit strange and different. A very fun exercise.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Keep making music and explore new sounds and approaches, and trying to have a good time doing it.
Q: Any parting words?
Take care and thank you so much for showing interest in my music, and I hope to visit Brazil one day where so much of my favorite music comes from!
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Thanks
https://soundcloud.com/pokal
https://pokal.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/pokalmusic
