Talking to the Director Behind the Solen Documentary 'Til De Som Bryr Seg'

Watch Part Three above

Watch Part One of

Til de som bryr seg

and read our interview with Solen here

Watch Part Two of

Til de som bryr seg

over at Radar here

The final episode of Solen’s self-produced documentary Til de som bryr seg – which follows the band on their first-ever tour in Norway – is finally here. Last year, Swedish film maker Simon Svéd went along and captured the weird mood of the band's five-day road trip, including three gigs, and almost zero fans at any of the shows. Although few people seemed to care at the time, now, one Grammis nomination later, everyone who doesn't, really should. Til de som bryr seg literally translates to "tho those who care."

Following our interview with the stars of the documentary, I called up director Simon Svéd to talk about the episodes, something called football shoe guards, Peps Persson, and his all-time favourite band Solen.

Simon Svéd. He emailed us this photo of himself in the shower. Noisey: Hi Simon: What's up?
Simon Svéd: Hi. I’m at work and I just had Spaghetti Bolognese.

Yum! So tell me why you made this documentary?
Two to three years ago, I followed Solen to a festival where they played. I think it was called By:Larm something. I was supposed to film their gig but it didn’t really turn out as planned. So now I got a new chance – I was better prepared this time.

What happened at By:Larm?
I don’t know, I wasn’t that good. I didn't focus.

So you basically fucked up?
Yes. Their gig was great. I was the one who fucked up.

Was it your fault that things got a bit weird during this trip as well? I get the sense that plenty of things went wrong?
This trip could probably have turned out better if I hadn't fucked up at By:Larm. So yes, indirectly it was my fault. Maybe. Photo evidence of Simon fucking things up at By:Larm.

What have you done film-wise before?
Only a few things. I actually haven’t filmed that much [my self]. I did a few small projects when I was at school, but nothing like this. I've made music videos and a mockumentary, with a friend called Joakin Lundin, about a guy who loves football so much he invents these… you know the things hockey players use to protect their blades – what's that called?

Hockey Blade Guards?
Hockey Blade Guards! Yes, so he makes guards, but for football shoes so that he can wear his football shoes all the time.

Are parts of this Solen documentary directed as well? Like when they run around looking for that music store, being all lost?
No, not really. Gustav is just really bad at finding his way – despite using the roaming function.

I think there's a really weird mood during the entire documentary, it’s a bit like watching the Office, isn’t it?
That’s something I like! That means I succeeded in creating the mood I wanted.

Alright. What’s your relationship to music?
I think that Solen is the band I’ve seen live most of all bands.

Continued below…

Does that mean that you don’t go to gigs much or that you've actually been to plenty of their gigs?
No, it’s really weird because the only band I’ve seen more than once, except from Solen, is Peps Persson. I’ve seen him live three times with my dad. But yes, I think Solen’s music is really good.

Do you think that Norway will care about Solen soon?
Soon, yes. Eventually, they will think that [their music] is super good.

I mean, they’ve got a lot of attention, and have been nominated at both P3 Guld and Grammis in Sweden. Why do you think there’s a difference between their popularity?
Well, that happened just after this Norway tour so maybe [going to on the Norway tour before the nominations] was bad luck.

Maybe. Finally, what do you hope people will get out of this documentary?
I hope that people will care about Norway and that they'll think it’s funny. I think it would be fun if people thought it was fun. And that everyone contacts me if they want to do a documentary.

OK. Thanks, Simon! Take care.

Previously:

Watch Part One of Til de som bryr seg and read our interview with Solen
Watch Part Two of Til de som bryr seg over at Radar

Solen are on Twitter. Markus is too. But Simon Svéd is on Instagram.