Name: Björn Yttling
Nationality: Swedish
Occupation: Producer, multi-instrumentalis, composer, improviser, songwriter
Current Release: The new Yttling Jazz album Illegal Hit, inspired by the likes of Brian Eno, Jean-Michel Jarre, Nino Rota, Charles Mingus und Thelonious Monk, is out via Year0001.
Recommendation for Stockholm, Sweden: I recommend going on a boat trip to the archipelago, can't beat that really. Go out to Bullerön and see where Strindberg and others used to drink and party and create.

[Read our Brian Eno interview]
[Read our Jean-Michel Jarre interview]

If you enjoyed this Björn Yttling interview and would like to know more about Yttling Jazz and their music, visit the band's official homepage. They are also on Instagram, and Facebook.

For a deeper dive, read about the thoughts of some of his creative partners in our Peter Morén interview and our Lykke Li interview.



What were some of the musical experiences which planted a seed for your interest in jazz?

I learned a lot about jazz in high school in Västerås in Sweden. One of my class mates was Magnus Lindgren and going to school with him really made an impression on me.

It’s really neat that we still are friends and he’s playing some mean clarinet on ”School bus on a weekend" and also great tenor on "Yttling Jazz #2 (Flox st.)".



What does the term jazz mean today, would you say?

Really don't know what it means to most people, but to me it means doing music with mainly an acoustic sound which has some improvisation and sounds free and cool.

As of today, what kind of materials, ideas, and technologies are particularly stimulating for you?

Today I like to record in a room with other musicians.

But when I edit and work during post production, I like to be alone and make my decisions with no other input than myself.

What role do electronic tools and instruments play for your creative process?

I don't use a lot of electronic instruments but I do like to use the computer for editing and overdubs. But most sounds I get by using the analog equipment in Ingrid studio in Stockholm.

On the song ”Malgomaj” on the new album and a few more I used an old electronic instrument called Omnichord to get just the right shimmer.



Thanks to technological advances, collaboration has become a lot easier. What have been some of the most fruitful collaborations for you recently and what approaches to and modes of collaboration currently seem best to you?

I’m a big fan of The Tallest Man on Earth and getting Kristian (his real name) to remake "Illegal Hit" was a fantastic thing for me.

Just hearing his ideas and lyrics on a song I made is mindblowing.

For many artists, life-changing musical experiences take place live. How do you see that yourself?

When in high school we had a maths teacher that was running the local jazz club Village. He let us in for free so we could see all the top musicians in Sweden come and play. Lennart Nilsson for the win for sure.

Also having the great guy and piano player Esbjörn Svensson as a piano teacher in my teens was huge.

How, would you say are your live performances and your recording projects connected at the moment? How do they mutually influence and feed off each other?  

Trying to record all live performances and see if there are ideas I can milk.

Ímprovisation is obviously an essential element of jazz, but I would assume that just like composition, it is transforming. How do you feel has the role of improvisation changed in jazz?

I don't know really, it's getting faster and longer maybe?

And I’m not sure people who can solo really well spend a lot of time writing songs. Songs will always be number one for me but I definitely respect a great soloist.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to improvisation?

Just trying to make it sound cool and survive and not faint.

The Montreux Festival intends to preserve its archive of recordings for future generations. Do you personally feels it's important that everything should remain available forever - or is there something to be said for letting beautiful moments pass and linger in the memories of those that experienced them?

I think you should record whatever you like - then it’s up to everyone if they want to listen to it not.