Reminiscent of the Kooks, Sweden’s Tribe Friday is the ultimate feel-good band. Their track “Thank God!” makes me want to jump on my bed with the track on repeat, and really life should always be that easy, right?
Fresh off a world tour, we were able to catch them no doubt mid-sleep for an exclusive interview.
Kristyn: Hi Tribe Friday, nice to finally meet you! I’m obsessed with your music (seriously) and want to start the interview asking who your influences are?
Hi Kristyn! A pleasure to meet you too, and big thanks for liking the music. It’s honestly gratifying to know people other than our mothers are listening.
Our influences stretch really wide between the four of us. Personally, I’m a big Strokes fan (obviously), but also listen to quite a bit of heavier music. My favourite band of all time is a post-hardcore 4-piece from Michigan called La Dispute, ha. As for the others – Anton listens to a lot of psychedelic music, Robin loves funk and nu-metal, and Isak is really into post-punk and random ambient stuff. So it’s a really varied palette. Makes for interesting songwriting!
I read that you started as an after school project, are you all still in school?
You read correctly! I was actually around 12-13 when me and Anton started playing together. I wish we all were still in school, because it’d sound really good, but unfortunately we’re not. I’m at uni right now, and Isak is starting next semester. The other two are working in between touring. It’s a grind!
Will uni affect the band’s plans in the fall?
We’re actually planning on going even harder with Tribe Friday this fall. Everyone sort of has the mindset that ‘we don’t need money, clothes or food as long as we get to play music’. Don’t want to give too much away, but there might be some extensive tours in the works right now…
I’m in New York and all I can dream of is being in some European woods with lots of books, is it really that boring in the Swedish woods?
You’re welcome to come visit anytime! It is kind of boring, to be honest, but that’s fine – it just gives us more time to make music, which is why we moved out to the woods in the first place. Also, the fresh air is really nice. I was almost in tears when we came back from the US last time (NYC air is tough – I don’t know how you guys do it).
I’ve never been to Sweden so I will definitely be taking you up on that. Alright on to your music, is your songwriting collaborative or is one person mostly in charge of writing the lyrics?
It definitely depends on the song. Some tracks we just jam together in the studio, some are written by 2 or 3 of us, and I also write some of them on my own. We don’t really have a set method of writing, which is good, because then it doesn’t turn into boring work. I always do write the actual lyrics though. I think it’s a case of wanting to understand them properly when performing.
What’s your dream bill?
Whoaa, that’s a hard one. Probably The Strokes, The Kooks, us (because then we could hang out backstage), and Public Access T.V (listen if you haven’t heard, they’re amazing). That’s what I feel like jamming out to right now. I think you’d get a different answer from each band member though (Robin says: “Incubus, Tool, Rage Against The Machine and Slipknot).
If you could play anywhere in the world (either again or just like flying to outer space) where would you?
There’s a big arena/soccer stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden called Ullevi. I’d like to fill that shit. Playing a show on Mars would be cool too. But probably very impractical.
Do you find that being younger helps or hinders getting shows, going on tour etc?
I’d say it helps in general, because we look better now than we’re going to look in 10 years. People are ageist, man.
What do your parents think about all of this?
They’re all super supportive! Like, insanely supportive. We haven’t come very far, but the progress we have made in the last couple of years wouldn’t have been possible without their help. Thanks, moms and dads!
What does success look like for you?
Just getting to play music without worrying about having a roof over our heads. That would be plenty.
Favorite place that you’ve toured so far?
Oh man.. I have to say NYC/US east coast. It’s crazy over there, despite the tough air. Germany is pretty great too, though.
And also (this is one of my favorites) what’s the weirdest, greatest, or coolest fan story so far?
Our fans are super cool and down-to-earth in general, so I don’t really have too much weird shit to tell you.. We did have a guy recite lines at us from one of our ‘vlogs’ while we were trying to have breakfast, though. That was a bit strange. But it was still nice of him to acknowledge our existence.
Watch their latest video “Freaky” below!
Credit: Ana Karotkaya