Hey friends.
So – level with me here – you ever like, shotgunned a bunch of beer in an IKEA parking lot and ended up totally fucking trashed looking at all the Swedish furniture names and drinking those dope ass lingonberry juice box things all while pondering the meaning of life? You ever like, dropped a bunch of LSD and chased it down with some Wal-Mart Benadryl and ended up slapping on a He-Man wig and riding an eagle through space to a shirtless space god who’s playing the flute? No? Well, clearly you aren’t on the typa shit that’s coming out of Sweden from an artist called Axel Ruby who is a part of the Random Bastards collective based out of Umeå, and that’s fine, because I’ve risen from my slumber and psychotic depression to tell you all about it.
So, if you’ve listened to our podcast recently (I apologize in advance by the way) you know that I love the Swedes and have a deep appreciation for the artistry that comes from the land of vikings and cinnamon buns and evidently riding around on huge eagles wearing a blonde wig. And since most of our readers/listeners/lovers/haters are all fans of metal, listening to music that is not in English isn’t super weird around here. With the rise in K-pop and now, irish hip-hop legends Kneecap, we exist in a time where connecting to someone else in a foreign language is so easy. Like Bong Joon-Ho said regarding subtitles, “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” and one could easily extrapolate this quote into music. Music, film, art, is how we learn about other people, their cultures, their lands, their fears, and the things that are important to them. These ever flowing and moving pieces of humanity allow us to connect across time, language, distance, and many other divides, and it allows us to share in the beauty and horror of human experience, together, as humans.
I mean, you don’t have to get all philosophical about it either (I tend to wax idiotic about things, sorry man but I did, in fact, inhale), you could just take some Duolingo lessons.
So, Axel Ruby. His album Kristall came out in January via Random Bastards and it’s got some hella bangers on there. Kalvin Clyne, Vägen Hem (the road home), Blommor sprit, och andra things (flowers, liquor and other things) etc are all bangers with a couple of them bordering on fuckjams for people who wear body glitter and take their gin straight with a side serving of MDMA and honestly – it’s… so refreshing and such a gift?
Some of you, may be wondering by the way, what in the sweet fresh hell is Random Bastards. Well, they’re an artist collective – a ramshackle crew of music makers, hip hop artists, photographers, visual artists, singers, and producers who create together. One of the more famous acts inside this collective is, of course, Trainspotters – a Swedish hip-hop duo consisting of Erik Hörstedt (Erk) and Hennes Sigrell (Kap) who have adopted a lot of West Coast hip-hop vibes and mixed it in with their Northern Swedish flavour into something they refer to as “Dirty North”. The beats for Trainspotters are made by Academics (Alexander Juneblad), a prolific musician, philosopher and apparent cryptozooligist (Alex… please come on our podcast and bro down with us about dimension hopping Bigfoot and if you think Mothman has a fat caked up ass or not), who also does a lot of other work in the Random Bastards crew.
This brings us back to Axel Ruby. He and Alexander Juneblad apparently entered into some strange cloudberry and cinnamon bun induced shared psychosis and created this project, that is just as much a vibe as it is music. Combining elements of acid, jazz, straight ahead power pop, Euro, and electronic music, Axel Ruby features songs that are danceable, perfect for a morning after come down, or, aforementioned fuckjams. There’s a playful nature (see the He-Man wig) that mixes with fairly philosophical lyrics that muse “Cigaretten och andlighet är allt som jag vill ha idag” (The cigarette and spirituality are all I want today) – from Blommor, sprit och andra things or even, “Du mumla nåt om paradise, Chauffören drack lean, Han gav mig life advice” (you mumbled something about paradise, the driver drank lean and he gave me life advice). For me, this reminds of some faded photograph, generalized decay, Swedish version of Lana Del Rey shit and honey, I am so fucking here for this. I have become officially obsessed™ with Axel Ruby and truly the whole Random Bastards crew – I think they just have such a vibe and such a fresh take that I find interesting and dare I go so far to say it – uplifting? Also, as someone who grew up punk with a DIY ethos, I admire the same vibes when I see them in others – I admire people who broadcast realness in their creations and interactions and appreciate the very genuine nature inherent in Random Bastards.
So many of the people and artists I love so dearly, have this kind of whimsical playfulness to them, and this is where I think, Axel Ruby/Academics just hit so close to home for me. I’m generally a bit exhausted with a lot of media that feels a need to be… serious and awful and horrible constantly 24/7 with no relief. God forbid a girl have hobbies and want a little whimsy in life, right?
Axel’s new track – “Örnen har landet” (the eagle has landed) comes equipped with a weird LSD trip of a music video in which Axel takes flight on a big ass eagle and ascends to the heavens to find Academics, shirtless and caked up, playing the flute in some kind of Dark Souls ass Final Fantasy ass Blade rave scene ass final boss and it’s honestly so very charming. The vibes, as the kids would say, are immaculate, and truly, I think we all could use a little fun in our lives to distract from the extreme levels of despair and bullshit that seem to pervade and destroy so much of the human capacity for joy these days.
Anyways, Axel’s album Kristall is available everywhere, don’t let it being in Swedish dissuade you from checking it out, and the new video for “Örnen har landat” is on youtube:
I dare you to watch and not have a little smile on your face and a blonde wig in your Amazon shopping cart at the end. For real. I can’t even explain the horrific amount of times I’ve listened to Kalvin Clyne – whomst amongst us can’t relate to feeling a lil bit like a knock off, a side piece, second best? I know I can, and godspeed to anyone who pulls up beside me when I’m on my way to work and gets to hear me singing along to it.
There’s a lot of joy present in the music and creation of Axel Ruby and truly, I hope he continues to spread his big ass eagle wings and share more weirdness with us in the future.
Hejdå, fuckers!
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