Author name: Odalisque

An Interview with Joshua Idehen & Ludvig Parment text Emelie Bodén & Filippa Finn In this interview with Joshua Idehen and Ludvig Parment discuss their collaboration, born from Ludvig’s admiration for Joshua’s live performance with Benin City. Ludvig envisioned Joshua as a solo artist, leading to a unique collaboration with a focus on Joshua as the primary brand. They touch on the balance of creative input, emphasising evolving trust for fruitful collaboration. The interview explores the evolution of their sound, with Joshua gaining confidence and prioritising honesty. Ludvig notes the shift from overwriting to leaving room for lyrical finesse. Distinctive production techniques, like the use of a choir in the chorus, are discussed as signatures of their work. Looking ahead, Joshua envisions exploring lounge music with poetry and dreams of an orchestral album, while Ludvig expresses a desire for unconventional ventures, including jazz exploration. The interview offers insight into their dynamic partnership, hinting at exciting possibilities in future projects. How did your collaboration come about, and what drew each of you to work together?LUDVIG: I think what drew me to it was seeing when I saw you live for the first time in Benin City. I’ve respected you since hearing your music, but when I saw you I thought why isn’t Josh doing a solo thing, he really needs to find a producer that can get the essence out, and I didn’t even think of myself at the time. That’s sort of why I’ve been like what we’re doing absolutely shouldn’t be a band; we shouldn’t have a band name, this has to be your brand and you need to be the one like the main focus. JOSHUA: We’ve known each other since 2016 and tried to work with each on several occasions. You sent me music but I was too involved with my own projects. At one point you produced a few of Benin City’s songs in 2018 but that was as far as it got for a while, we were both kind of like in different relationships for want of a better word uh we never really found anything that kind of was us at our best. And then when I moved to Stockholm, both of us were free of everything else we were doing and in a space to do something new. This was in 2021: you know, I still have the first email when you had sent the first demo of Don’t You Give Up On Me, and you were like “er yeah i don’t have any ideas and i just worked on this for an hour so tell me what you think” and then i sent you something back just going “yeah i just wrote this the today in my kitchen about so a couple of caveats i think we should get a choir” anyway, the rest is history. How would you describe the balance of creative input between the artist and the producer in your collaborative process?LUDVIG: I think we both have a lot of space to do our own thing. I’ve never really worked this for this long with the same collaborator before, so I tend to view the way Josh writes to everything i do as a version of feedback, like okay, that enforces my decision on where I take the music and future music next. JOSHUA: Our process has definitely evolved since when we first started. On the first mixtape you made the beats and then you sent it to me and then I  essentially wrote to that, and i would have sometimes l’d have some feedback in terms of “here’s what I want to happen with this verse” but now there’s a lot more trust in the process. For example, we have this demo, where you sent the beat over and I wrote to it, and I had thought the chorus was somewhere completely different from where you thought the chorus went but you went along with my arrangement, and then you tore out some of my lyrics to give the track more space and the song is better for it. Just the two of us allowing the other a bit of space in the play pit and bouncing off the ideas and happy accidents. How has your sound evolved since you began working together, and what factors contributed to those changes?JOSHUA: I’m definitely more confident. I’m playing more with the rhythm in bars and also not resting too much on rhyming. Allowing for more space: there are a few tracks on the mixtape that, if I did them now, I would most definitely rip out whole sections and just allow the music to breathe. Also not trying too hard to be clever when I can just be honest, lol. LUDVIG: I tended to overwrite stuff before because I just made a beat and I didn’t know who was going to be on it so I always had to make sure everything’s in there. But now that I know how you work, how you write, I can leave much more room for you. Can you discuss any favourite production techniques that have become signatures of your collaborative work?JOSHUA: choir in the chorus for sure! i think that’s a definite signature like, no one else is kind of doing those.LUDVIG: combination of three things: dance music, spoken word and a choir, the last one we’re using it less and less now right but it is something that I think does definitely mark us distinctly from everybody else yeah. we’re not using that many sort of like tricks. Are there specific musical or creative territories you want to explore together in upcoming projects?JOSHUA: oh well i think uh i would like us to do a lounge album like KHRUANGBIN but with poetry, definitely an album with an orchestra.LUDVIG: It would be really nice to do something else like super left field yeah like where we can really just be unhinged, and jazz. shirts ETON Joshua wearspink suit HUGOshirt HUGOshoes Artist’s own photography Sandra Myhrbergfashion Filippa Finnhair & makeup Vanessa Eriksson Tonelliphotography assistant Rebecka Barlach Joshua wearsblack suit HUGOshirt HUGOshoes Artist’s

Suite Simone: An Electronic Celebration of Nostalgia text Emil Björnius Viggo wearsshirt We twotrousers Dickiesdress Baum und Pferdgartenshoes Dr. Martensrings Sif Jacobs Rebecca wearsshirt Urban outfittersskirts Baum und Pferdgartenstockings Swedish Stockingsshoes Dr. Martensearrings Clara Finaring Sägen One is pretty much a pioneer with over 15 years in the industry. The other one has had a meteoric rise to fame and could be seen playing at Boiler Room in Stockholm two years ago. In their new joint project, Suite Simone, Rebecca Scheja and Viggo Dyst let melancholy take a vital part in their genre-crossing music. Suite Simone is probably one of the most exciting things to happen to Swedish electronic music since DJ Seinfeld, and it is easy to understand why. Rebecca and Viggo share a love for vibrant, ambient and emotional melodies, which they successfully combine with merciless breakbeats. They do this with a mature yet playful sound. Rebecca has a lot of experience in the industry. Viggo describes himself as a true nerd who – in his younger years – preferred to produce beats while his friends played computer games. We meet digitally, and Rebecca and Viggo are about to start the day in their music studio. With different backgrounds, they complete each other. Rebecca’s career began in 2008 when female DJs were a rare phenomenon on the Swedish club scene. Rebecca & Fiona has been a powerhouse on the Swedish music scene for nearly a decade. On the other hand, Viggo released his first material on Spotify ten years later and has since studied music theory, lived in Berlin and worked with prominent Swedish producer La Fleur. How did the two of you meet? Rebecca: We met at a writing camp hosted by Vivrant Records. I was there as a producer, lyricist, and songwriter, and meeting Viggo was like love at first sight. Viggo: I joined the camp unexpectedly due to a cancellation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rebecca and I connected instantly, especially while creating “Lost in Love.” We decided to form a band after that session. You come from different backgrounds but share an equal love for electronic music. Tell me about Suite Simone: Rebecca: We share a lot of nostalgic love for the Basshunter era. Viggo comes more from techno, and I am from the house genre. In the project, we strive for a melancholic melodic language but also want to up the tempo. Suite Simone can be a little dark and sad at times. Viggo: “Lost in Love” is an excellent example of the spread of genres in a single song. You can find both UK breakbeat and some Italo vibes. I’ve never really landed on what I wanted to do, so the common thread has never been a genre but a language conveyed through all the songs. The first songs were a bit more 90s, then we’ve come up in years, so the latter has leaned more towards how Deadmau5 sounded in 2008. We’ve simply landed in a combination of EDM, trance and techno. don’t want to be put in a specific compartment. Viggo wearsshirt We twotrousers Dickiesdress Baum und Pferdgartenshoes Dr. Martensrings Sif Jacobs Rebecca wearsshirt Urban outfittersskirts Baum und Pferdgartenstockings Swedish Stockingsshoes Dr. Martensearrings Clara Finaring Sägen Tell me a little bit about the dynamics in your duo. Rebecca: I don’t think we have ever argued about anything. We have chemistry around the melody and in how we do things. It has been very effortless. Viggo: I’ve never been angry with you. We have a very mutual understanding. We are also responsive to each other. The work we do together must be completely open, “if you do this, then I will take responsibility for that.” It has been a satisfactory relationship. I sit at the computer and tweak things, but we try to have an equal relationship. Rebecca is with me when I mix, and I am there when Rebecca writes lyrics. Rebecca: I have learned incredibly much when it comes to mixing. I had Viggo’s role a lot while working with Fiona, so it has been nice to switch things up. Viggo is incredibly educational. When are you going on tour? Rebecca: We will aim to run hard this spring. Everything needs to be nailed down. Our album will come out this spring, at the beginning of March, then we’ll probably tour a lot. Viggo: You are so invited to our release party. If you had to choose, who would be the dream collaboration, and why? Rebecca: The only producer that would have been epic to work with is Timbaland. Viggo: So many good producers do similar things to us, but we can do that ourselves. Timbaland is a little something else. Regarding artists, it would be someone from a completely different world, like Enya, Björk, or Rozalia, maybe? Listen to Suite Simone’s new singel Ajuna! Viggo wearsshirt We twotrousers Dickiesdress Baum und Pferdgartenshoes Dr. Martensrings Sif Jacobs Rebecca wearsshirt Urban outfittersskirts Baum und Pferdgartenstockings Swedish Stockingsshoes Dr. Martensearrings Clara Finaring Sägen Rebecca wearsveil Sofia Corneskogshirt Sofia Corneskogstockings Swedish Stockingsshoes Talent’s ownrings Sägen Viggo wearsleather jacket Brixtol Textilesshirt Ahlvar Gallerytrousers Stylist’s ownshoes Stylist’s ownrings Sägen photography Sandra Myhrbergfashion, hair & makeup Filippa Finn & Emelie Bodénphotography assistant Rebecka Barlachfashion, hair & makeup assistant Vanessa Eriksson Tonelli Rebecca wearscoat PelloBellosunglasses MaxMaranecklace Sif Jacobsearrings Sägen Viggo wearsleather jacket Replaysunglasses Guessnecklace Sif Jacobs shirt LEVI’Searrings Stylist’s own coat Remakeshoes Dr. Martensnecklace Caroline Svedbom

Interview with the musician UMI text Wendy Bevan photography Wendy Bevan As I waited for Umi to arrive at my home in Los Angeles I watched the skies, that  had been a little heavy over the last days, darker clouds, heavy light, even some rain but still, golden outlines that held the clouds tightly, out of sight above us. The golden rays of the sun shone low, it was a classic Los Angeles afternoon.Earlier that day, I’d listened to some of Umi’s music and was keen to meet this young artist who was bringing a ray of light to the contemporary R&B scene. It was no surprise to me that minutes before she arrived, a huge, brilliant rainbow had arched itself over the Hollywood Hills in the distance, boldly glowing with each of its seven vibrant colours across the Canyons. A perfect entrance for Umi, the new musical artist and healer who loves life and feels guided by the elements. Who is UMI ? Umi is a multidimensional artist and healer. Umi is a friend who understands you and seeks to understand you more. Umi loves life Tell me about your inspiration behind your EP talking to the wind. You found the motivation to write this whilst meditating. How important is meditation in your songwriting and practising as a musician? It’s so important, in order to create music that is very authentic to me. It requires the outside noise, so you can create from your centre, versus the centre of others. So, every time I meditate I feel like all the extra clutter disappears and I get a clear inspiration of what I want to do and what I want to create. It’s like the healer to writer’s block, the healer to self doubt, the healer to confusion, it’s like my important centre practice. How long have you practised meditation? Like 8 years now. I started when I went to college, right when I graduated high school. I had so much anxiety every day, and I got to this point when I thought ‘I cannot live my life like this.” I heard about meditation from my mom who practises Buddhism, so I knew about mediation from her but never really did it growing up. So I tried this ten minute meditation and I had never experienced that much peace and quiet in my mind before. I literally started crying after that. I didn’t know it was possible to have such an empty state, so after that I thought “whatever this is, I’m going to dedicate my life to learning more about it.” So do you enjoy Buddhist wisdom? Mmmm I do! I love it because it’s very simple and it doesn’t demand anybody to believe it or to understand or believe; it’s just ‘this is what’s been passed down- it just asks if it resonates with you.’ It’s also very flexible, there’s many different types of Buddhism. The specific type my mom practices is from Japan, and it talks about the self as the universe and how we in ourselves are our own universe. There’s parts of it I resonate with and parts I don’t resonate with. I appreciate it because it’s more of a teaching than a formed belief. So, talking to the wind- what is the EP actually about? The EP itself is an experience and a journey. The title talking to the wind is about how when I’m confused I’ll sit outside and let the wind and the elements guide me. I think that nature has a very simple way of speaking their words. It’s just from the heart, it’s very simple like “Just be, it’s gonna be ok, trust.” It’s very simple. So when I was making this project, I think I was learning about trust; how to trust myself, how to trust my journey. In each song, I remember a different aspect of my life I didn’t trust, so I wrote the song to help me learn to trust more. The whole project really is about trust, so I hope when people listen to it, it gives them the same feeling of meditation, being outside, and that by the end of listening to the project, some type of inspiration clarity will arise through you. That’s the intention behind it. Vogue has quoted your r&b style as those spent at the beach and carefree summers in LA- how would you spend your perfect carefree summer? Ohhhh I’d wake up whenever I want to wake up, I’d stretch, I’d eat some fruit, and then I would go to the beach with some friends, I’d jump in the water, do mediation, see my friends and listen to some music and let the wind take us from there… How influential were the dreams you had as a child in your adult life? I feel like they have been a direct translation in a way. Ever since I was little I always saw myself on stage. But when I was playing music pretending to have a show or pretending to record in the studio or pretending to write a song, I knew that that’s just what I enjoy and love doing. I’d dream about it…. So I feel like those dreams remind me that I’m doing exactly what I feel is my purpose and what I’m inspired to do. Why else would I want to do that when I was so little, when I had infinite other things to play with and do… it’s cool, too, when I close my eyes I can still see the same dreams as I did when I was little. I can still see myself on stage, or being in the studio… all still on my mind, all stuck with me. You embrace love, life but above all feel ok with being lost in the world. When you feel lost, what gives you comfort and what guides you through darker times towards your light? That’s such a poetic question! I think back to all the other times I felt lost, and I was kind of okay in the end,