Name: BOREAL SUN
Members: Matt Roberts (trumpeter, composer, conductor), Liselotte Östblom (singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist)
Nationality: British (Matt), Swedish (Liselotte)
Current release: BOREAL SUN's debut EP Dawn is out May 17th 2024 via Bridge The Gap. That same day, they will also perform live at Ronnie Scott's in London. Find out more about that show directly on the club's website.
Recommendations:
Liselotte: Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, a book by Angela Davis
Matt: I’m currently enjoying Ghosts of my Life, a book by Mark Fisher.

If you enjoyed this interview with BOREAL SUN and would like to stay up to date with their music, visit the duo's Instagram account. Matt Roberts also has a personal website and so does Liselotte.



What were some of your earliest collaborations? How do you look back on them with hindsight?

Matt: I’ve always been in bands, ever since I was 13/14 years old - brass bands, punk bands, jazz bands, dub reggae bands. I always saw them as opportunities to write original music and to have it performed. I look back and see how valuable those experiences were, both in terms of communicating my own ideas, and in terms of responding to the ideas of others.

That was the beginning of developing the skills I now use everyday in my creative music practice.

There are many potential models for collaboration, from live performances and jamming/producing in the same room together up to file sharing. Which of these do you prefer – and why?

Matt: This project began during the COVID lockdowns, so file sharing was a central part of how we collaborated. Not being in the room when musicians are recording your ideas means they might not be interpreting them exactly as you intended.

This means you need to communicate your intentions with total clarity - for us, this meant a very rigorous demo’ing process, and some very precise musical notation. This presents challenges, but there’s nothing more exciting seeing a file transfer request in your inbox, rushing to the computer to drop it into your project.

Liselotte: We started with the end product of recording in mind. Matt had already written the grooves/harmony and foundation for the song. My role was a lot to come in and evaluate the form, chop some bars, so that it would better suit the vocal line.

Our writing sessions have always been studio focused and production heavy. As we compose the lyrics we also think about backing vocals, horn arrangement, the form and potential solos … It’s a very holistic writing process and so much fun!

How did this particular collaboration come about?

Liselotte: Building on three years of Instagram following and supporting each other’s gigs here in London, it took a lockdown to make this happen.

I was producing lots and posted when I was in studio mode and I guess Matt got inspired and asked if I was down to record something on this one track. I guess he was happy with the result because here we are, three years later, with a full EP and a new band.

What do you generally look for in a collaborator and what made you want to collaborate with each other specifically?

Liselotte: Trust and deep respect. Matt and I trust each other’s input and musical ears. Composing, for us, feels like trying out different ideas. In order to make the final choices and come to an agreement, there has to be trust in the other person’s opinion.

I love working with Matt because there is a direct communication and positive feedback. When we like something we start to kind of laugh and be genuinely happy, like we hit a jackpot. It’s just a very easy and creative working environment for ideas to flourish.

Matt: For me, it’s about whether somebody has the musical vocabulary needed to engage with the music you’re writing. Not only does Liselotte have the technical knowledge needed for this project, but she also has the bright, soulful vocal sound I was always imagining.

It also helps that we’ve checked out a lot of the same music. This is useful when you’re writing together because you can reference things from recordings. It’s like a shared language.


BOREAL SUN Interview Image by Chris Hargreaves

Tell me a bit about your current instruments and tools, please. In which way do they support creative exchange and collaborations with others?

Liselotte: Microphone, Logic and the scissor tool! Having the right form and flow is essential for any song. Recording ideas, demoing, trying to create the version closest to the result so we know what we need to add or change. Are we perfectionist? Yes. Do we explore different options? Yes.

Matt: Before we move to Logic, most of the material is composed using a notation software called Sibelius. This seems to surprise people, but it’s the way I’ve always worked. Liselotte is also great with notation, so we’ll use that to finalise the vocal melodies, lyrics and backing vocals too.

I don’t know how else we could have written some of the songs on the EP: "<html> Code" for example.



Is there a piece which shows the different aspects you each contributed to the process particularly clearly?

Matt: The final track on the record, ‘Can We Take a Moment?’, was the first instrumental demo I sent to Liselotte. The chorus she came back with is the chorus on the record.

I couldn’t believe it. Not only did she totally get inside the crazy harmony I’d written, but she’d written a catch-y hook and the lyrics felt so right.

Decisions between creatives often work without words. How did this process work in this case?

Liselotte: I don’t know if I personally experience that no words is better than clear communication. Both Matt and I are perfectionists, and we know what we want and are not afraid to articulate it.

Matt: Yeh, the communication is pretty free-flowing between us.

What are your thoughts on the need for compromise vs standing by one's convictions? How did you resolve potential disagreements in this collaboration?

Liselotte: For the most part we have the same opinion on musical choices, but when we don’t (and it does happen), talking and explaining why is essential to remain friends and not enemies in an awkward silence pretending tension doesn’t exist. We trust each other and I have great respect for Matt as he has for me.

Compromise is essential, none of our songs would sound as eclectic, and fire, as they do now if one of us didn’t push for a specific thing and the other trusting that choice.

Was/Is this collaboration fun – does it need to be?

Liselotte: So much fun! And for us, and our band, the community sits at the heart of it. The laughs, the food, the friends (and amazing colleagues) that are involved in the EP. The moment’s we’ve shared surrounding this writing process has been so life-giving.

We’ve always had great vibe but the friendship develops over time. We are actual friends and we like each other genuinely! I feel as if Matt’s been there in a very transitional and crucial moment of my life and he’s supported me in ways he doesn’t know by just being there and have a listening ear whenever we have our writing sessions.

Collaborating with one's heroes can be a thrill or a cause for panic. Do you have any practical experience with this and what was it like?

Liselotte: Absolutely, and yes on thrill and panic! I feel extremely blessed to have these experiences and now can call heroes my collaborators and some of them my friends.

Whether it is Gregory Hutchinson, Robert Mitchell, Alex Hitchcock, Robert “Sput” Searight, Myron Butler or Doobie Powell; I always doubt myself a little bit and want to do my absolute best. There is no option of not delivering the utmost of my abilities, and you won’t know until you’ve actually done something together.

Sharing the stage with Casey Benjamin on GroundUP festival earlier this year was a crazy full circle moment for me personally, since his music has had such an impact over me and the sound of my whole generation. I can’t still believe Casey is not here with us anymore.



Matt: I’ve always found working with my heroes really rewarding. All the great musicians I’ve worked with have been very professional. You’re all there to do a job and get the project over the line. There’s no time for panic - just gotta bring your ‘A game’ and try and enjoy the process.

One of my heroes, Rob Mullarky, is on our record! He added some beautiful synths to our track ‘Horizon (Now is the Time)’.



His involvement meant so much to me as he’s been such a huge influence over the years.