Theo Berndt Interview

Swedish Indie-pop outfit Theo Berndt released the single ‘Guess You Never Thought Of It That Way’ on 8th July. The band describes the track “as being a continuation of the story they started spinning with their last single ‘Atomic’ released at the back end of last year.” BBM hooked up with vocalist Emil Lundin recently. Here’s what he had to say:
Who is Theo Berndt?
From the beginning there was no Theo, but only a man named Berndt living in the small town we all grew up in. Due to the mythos built around him, his name was always associated with being a bit peculiar, or maybe weird. When forming the band we named ourselves The Berndt, not being sure of is Berndt actually was an actual human. Later on we could confirm this fact, and we felt the need to humanise our name. Theo Berndt was born.
Describe your music to someone who’s never heard of you.
Bouncy, energetic, indie pop music with angelic choirs and a lead singer that wished he was a member of Foo Fighters.
What does ‘Guess You Never Thought Of It That Way’ talk about?
The song is part of a theme that began to emerge when we decided which songs we would record. The theme’s “Patterns” and you could say that all songs have the “power of thinking” in common. ‘Guess You Never Thought Of It That Way’ is about how things you once thought was true changed with new experiences and how important it can be to not get stuck in old patterns. But instead admit that you actually were wrong and change with that fact.
How did the band come about?
The band was formed by me and Linus and Linus’ best friend Fredrik. We were all around 15 years old, and desperately wanted to be rock stars. No one could play any instruments, but our parents’ computer had a great microphone connected to it, so we were ready to get going.
Which artists influence you?
We like to summarise us with the sacred trinity Phoenix, The Mae Shi and the Penguin Café Orchestra. Phoenix for the smartness, The Mae Shi for the madness and PCO because they are so amazingly cool.
How’s the music scene in Gothenburg?
Aside from a still thriving metal scene in Gothenburg, I would say that the scene is not what it once was, but recovering. Since entering the 2010s, people have realised that it is easier to be a DJ than to be a band member if you want to score free beer and party invites. Previously Gothenburg has famous in Sweden for delivering heart-on-your-sleeve, energetic, indie rock outfits, but now the 2-person-and-a-laptop-constellation has seen to been working better. However, there seems to be some regrowth now, and the future looks bright. Check out Terras, Hagaliden and Manganas Garden (kolla om finns…) to get ya groove on.
What are your upcoming plans?
End of summer we are entering the studio again. This time for the first time working with a producer, Anders Lagerfors, who recently produced the excellent band Pale Honey. We had a sit down with him last week. The consensus of the meeting was, ”Let’s make it really, really weird”. We look forward to it.

Check Out Theo Berndt’s latest video – Stop Pretend