They
may have been undervalued in the 1980s and 90s but the music
of CSN&Y, together and solo and in other bands has been
picked up by a whole new generation. And who better to put this all
together then Peter Holmstedt, creator of the Hemifrån
label (Music From Home) from Sweden. A wide range of artists and bands
take part in the double CD set Music Is Love - A
Singer Songwriters Tribute To the music of CSN&Y.
Of course for the title track and album title, Music Is
Love was the first track of the first David Crosby solo
album from 1971. Theres a number of tracks written by Crosby,
Stills, Nash & Young going back to the Steve Stills track
For What Its Worth, covered here by Ron LaSalle
from the first Buffalo Springfield album from 1966 while theres
a wide range of artists tribute covers here of Neil Young and
Graham Nash too. Producer Peter Holmstedt, coming from
Sweden, is more knowledgeable about American pop culture than many
Americans. Theres plenty of classy covers here including a fine
cover of the Steve Stills Manassas era It Doesnt Matter
by Cindy Lee Berryhill, Sugarcane
Jane doing Bluebird and Judy Collins with Helplessly
Hoping but it doesnt get better then the disc two closing
title track to Music Is Love, Crosbys classic elegantly
recorded in Liverpool England by pop singer Ian McNabb. A fine
tribute album by 21st century pop artists praising one of the great
artist institutions of the 20th century, the 27 track, 2 CD Music
Is Love is tastefully packaged with unique artwork and in depth
CD booklet filled with prolific liner notes by Dave Zimmer plus
information on CSN&Y and all the artists taking part. www.MusicIsLoveTribute.com
mwe3.com presents an interview with
PETER HOLMSTEDT of HEMIFRÅN
mwe3:
Where were you born, where do you live now and can you tell us something
about your background in the music world and how and when you became
interested in working in the music business?
PETER HOLMSTEDT: I was born in 1958 in a little town right
in the middle of Sweden called Arboga (River Bend). In
the early 1980s I moved to Stockholm for work, and in 1985 I
ended up at EMI Sweden, first doing work at their warehouse, and later
on taking care of copyright and royalty, being label manager for Blue
Note Records, as well as a lot of other stuff at the company.
In 2000 I was involved in setting up a joint distribution company
for EMI Music, Sony Music and Universal Music for the four Scandinavian
countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland).
Since 2006 Ive been running my own company Hemifrån,
which is all about marketing and promoting new, interesting music
(as well as some older class acts!) for the European markets.
I have three groundbreaking memories of music in my childhood. The
first one seeing Hep Stars (w/Benny Andersson of Abba) in Arboga at
age 8, the second one seeing The Beatles worldwide satellite
broadcast of All You Need Is Love in 1967, and the last
one seeing Jimi Hendrix in the movie Monterey Pop in late 1968.
After these three encounters, there was no doubt about it; This was
a business that I had to be part of, somehow!
mwe3: Can you say something about some of your favorite artists
from Sweden, then and now, and how the 1960s rock boom changed
the landscape of music in Sweden and in fact throughout Europe? When
did you become interested in music from the U.S. and the U.K.?
PETER HOLMSTEDT: My favorite artists from Sweden are still
some of the singer-songwriters emerging in the late 60s/early
70s, singing in Swedish, and forever changing the landscape
of Swedish pop music; John Holm, Mikael Ramel, Pugh Rogefeldt and
Anders F. Rönnblom.
As
I said, I got into the U.K./U.S. pop world very early in my life.
Already at age 7-8 I was a big fan of the Beach Boys, the Beatles,
the Byrds, the Hollies, Stones and several others, but the real turning
point for me was the singer-songwriter boom of the late 60s/early
70s. As a teenager I got heavily into Crosby, Stills, Nash &
Young (in all combinations), Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King,
Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Eagles and several others from that
particular period.
mwe3: What is the label philosophy of your company Hemifrån,
how did you come up with the name Hemifrån and what are your
goals with Hemifrån now and then and in the future?
PETER HOLMSTEDT: The philosophy of Hemifrån
is a very simple and straightforward one; I only work music that I
enjoy, I need to feel it in the gut, otherwise I wont
be doing a very good job, I think.
The name Hemifrån (which means from home)
originally comes from a conversation that a relative had with one
of my boys. This person asked Rikard (age 5); Where are you
from, my dear boy?, and Rikard answers; Im from
home.
The goals with Hemifrån are, and has always been, to create
an environment for the artists that Im working with, that should
make them feel right at home. Hemifrån
isnt as much a company, as it is a place for them to turn to,
with which ever question they might have.
mwe3: I was impressed by your turning the world on to the music
of the great Swedish singer-songwriter Klas Kvist. Can you tell us
something about Klas, how you met him, something about his music and
something about his Citizen K recordings as well as new music Klas
is planning?
PETER HOLMSTEDT: I first met Klas through a mutual singer-songwriter
friend by the name of Andreas Filipsson (a very talented one, I might
add!) in 2004. Klas and I hit it off immediately, as our taste in
music is very similar, Klas leaning more towards English music from
60s and 70s, while Im more into the American equivalent.
To
be real honest with you, I feel that Klas (or Citizen K as he calls
himself when recording) is one of the most talented singer-songwriters
in Sweden right now.
I was fortunate to work his album Meet Citizen K Somewhere
Up North in 2009, and hopefully Ill be able to do the same
for the forthcoming double album from Citizen K, entitled Second
Thoughts, to be released on Paraply Records later this year.
But right now you can hear a small taster from the album,
as a 3-track EP called King Of Second Thoughts on most streaming
services all around the world Spotify, Wimp, etc.
mwe3: Your production work on the new Hemifrån / Route
67 double CD set Music Is Love, a tribute to CSN&Y is great
and overall its an excellent release and features a wide range
of musicians paying tribute to the music of Crosby Stills Nash &
Young. How did the Music Is Love album take shape and can you
tell us something about your involvement in the album and how difficult
was it to coordinate a tribute album with so many artists from around
the world and will there be a Volume 2 of Music Is Love in
the future? How about some of the standout tracks in your opinion?
PETER HOLMSTEDT: Music Is Love was a real labor of love
for me and one of the other producers, dear friend Francesco Lucarelli
from Italy.
Francesco and I have known each other for nearly thirty years now,
and we often talked about how many great tribute albums there are
out there, dedicated to our favorite music. Tributes to The Byrds,
The Buffalo Springfield and The Hollies and several tributes to Neil
Young. Even a tribute to Graham Nash's album Songs For Beginners.
But there has never been a tribute to the collective body of work
of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Thats why we had to do
one!
We
worked really, really hard for more than two years putting this little
jewel together, and were really proud of the results. But, no,
there wont be a Volume 2. Too much hard work, I guess!
Its really hard for me picking a standout track, as I really
love them all, and feel that the album works really well as a closely
knitted unity. But the one that really took me by storm, and nearly
made me cry, was hearing an unfinished, unmixed, un-mastered mp3 of
Judy Collins interpretation of Stephen Stills Helplessly
Hoping Absolutely amazing!
mwe3: Youre also involved in a new album called Marks
& Bleeds from a fine singer-songwriter from Sweden by the
name of Mikael Persson. Theres some fine music rock and folk-rock
music on that album, the track Scarf Around Your Neck
is very impressive. Can you add in a little history on Mikael Persson
and his new album?
PETER HOLMSTEDT: Mikael Persson is one of the most talented
musicians on the west coast of Sweden. Hes been in a lot of
known and unknown bands in the town of Borås, close to Gothenburg.
Mikael
is also a very talented art director, and I first met him when he
and I did the cover art for Citizen Ks latest album, Meet
Citizen K Somewhere Up North. We have a great working relationship
and have worked on several albums since then, including I Like
It Better Here Music From Home, That Thing Thats A Whole
Lot Bigger Than This Hymns From Home, as well as his own,
newly released album Marks & Bleeds.
Acclaimed US singer-songwriters Greg Copeland and Janni Littlepage,
English-Italian songstress Luisa Jordan-Killoran and Swedish pop-oracle
Citizen K are just a few of the artists and musicians who helped Mikael
complete his sophomore solo album.
Early in the process of the new album, Mikael was offered an unreleased
song by acclaimed singer-songwriter Greg Copeland (Joan Baez, Jackson
Browne, Nico, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), "Roughhouse Boys",
and as always is the case, Mikael puts his own unique stamp on an
already amazing song.
Later on, brilliant singer Luisa Jordan-Killoran entered the picture,
and the project found the dynamics in the vocal arrangements that
were previously lacking. Just listen to the heartbreaking version
of Vince Clarke's "Only You", and you'll understand why.
In the eleventh hour of work the experienced songwriter Janni Littlepage
offers her services and the album feels at once like a finished, complete
unit.
Along the way, old friends and acquaintances, like Klas Qvist (Citizen
K), Thomas Pontén (Little Green) and Pelle Johanson, helped
out with both arrangements and production ideas.
mwe3:
What are some of your other interests outside of the music world,
for instance hobbies, travel, social causes, etc.? How do you find
time to relax and what relaxes you?
PETER HOLMSTEDT: My life is, and has always been, about music.
Traveling meeting musicians or seeing some great live music. Social
causes involving music in some way or another (Music Is Love,
for example, benefits the Equestrian Therapy Co-Op in Brandeis, California).
When I relax I listen to more music, and/or work on my ever-expanding
record collection.
mwe3: What are the plans for Hemifrån moving forward
and can you say something about new CD / DVD releases Hemifrån
has planned for 2013 and beyond?
PETER HOLMSTEDT: The next Hemifrån project
is almost finished and should see the light of day sometime around
late April/early May this year.
Its
a song cycle called The Golden Demon New Songs About Chaos
& Transition, and features the usual suspects, like Bob Cheevers,
Citizen K, Greg Copeland, Sid Griffin, Doug Ingoldsby, Luisa Jordan-Killoran,
Steve Noonan, Mikael Persson, Wendy Waldman, Michael Ward and Kenny
White.
It also features musical contributions from José Chepito Areas,
Julie Christensen, Kenny Loggins, Ed Mann, Joe Satriani and Chris
Solberg.
After that, well see...
Thanks To Peter Holmstedt @ www.Hemifran.com