I recently had the chance to sit with Christina during the current Contorture tour while at the ABC fest in Lille France. Christina sings for Agrimonia who Embers played with in Gothenberg and she plays bass for Contorture which Embers played with in Hamburg. Moving away to a quiet part of the expansive space being used for the festival to discuss whatever comes to mind.
Timm: Tell me your name and where you’re from.
Christina: My name is Christina and I’m from Gothenberg in Sweden.
T: And your bands are?
C: I sing in Agrimonia, and I play bass in Contorture.
T: So, we are playing tonight at the ABC fest in Lille with Contorture, and from what I can tell from playing with you in Hamburg, Contorture has political roots.
C: Yes, that’s true.
T: Can you tell me a little about that? Is there some underlying message that is always there, or is it changing?
C: No, I mean it’s basically the same message all the time, but I guess it’s that all the songs have different political messages, but it’s all the same kind of topics, day to day related stuff. It can have to do with the scene and how people treat each other, and how it’s just a reflection of the regular world, or whatever you say, and sexism and homophobia; all these regular punk topics.
T: Yeah, general punk topics about the way we treat each other and the way we live in this world, things of that nature.
C: Yeah exactly, and things that we think are not right in the world. Of course that is what we want to write about.
(interview interrupted by someone trying to join the conversation)
T: That being said, a good question comes to mind: how long have you personally been a part of the punk scene, crust scene, metal scene?
C: A year.
T: A year? I mean how many years?
C: Well, I would say that I got into the punk scene kind of late, but now because I’m old (laughter) it’s been about 20 years. But yeah, I actually started more or less when I went to the States to study, photography school. That’s when I met some really awesome people and went to Boston. I met some really cool kids, and they kind of got me into it… I mean I was already listening to punk in some way, but I was so much into the DIY scene.
T: I feel a similar way. I listened to punk for many years, but it wasn’t until I started traveling the country that I really found myself feeling drawn into the political aspect of punk, whatever that is. It could be direct action or it could be veganism or whatever.
And so tell me a little bit about Agrimonia. You said Agrimonia began in 2006, give or take.
C: Yeah, we started because we were a bunch of friends and wanted to do more heavy music, and I had never been in a band before, and I really felt that I wanted to be in a band and contribute to that part of the punk scene. I had been setting up shows for a lot of years before that, but I never played or sang or anything. So we were talking about having a band, and then we just started and said, “Well, let’s do something.” And so that’s how it started.
Back then we didn’t really know what we wanted to do except that we wanted to do some heavy stuff, and it kind of evolved during the years.
T: I know that I really like the music of Agrimonia. It moves me in ways that are rare from most bands that we end up playing with or that we find along the way. You know, someone tells me about a band. I listen to it. I know with Embers music it’s very personal, a very emotional attachment. Is there anything like that connection for you with Agrimonia’s music, or is it again political?
C: I would say that all of us in the band are political people, but we’ve never thought of Agrimonia as a political band, except that I write the lyrics and I try to have a message in there, but maybe it’s not so clear. I mean, if you read the lyrics, it’s not like you may see a message right away, but it’s kind of woven into them, trying to put it in other words. I like that people can try to guess or try to figure out what the lyrics are about.
T: I find that myself, there’s a song I wrote that’s on our newest album that I wrote shortly after my brother passed, which was at the end of our last tour. I went home and he died. Very vague and broad lyrics, but they are deeply tied to that time in my life, but it wasn’t until 3 or 4 days ago that I was thinking about the lyrics before we played, and I found even deeper meaning in them. More direct, a deeper meaning about bridges that had been burned and letting that go, and things of that nature.
C: Yeah, maybe it’s because you write something, but in your subconscious you really have another meaning and when you write it, it appears…
T: And took me years to figure it out.
C: I like that, when you discover new things about your own songs.
T: Yeah, it’s very nice.
C: Of course, for me, the lyrics are personal; personal and political.
T: Just hearing the style of music kind of gave me the idea that it might be something a little deeper. It’s very deep and moving…
C: We always, well not always, but a lot of times when we get interviews with Agrimonia, we get questions about the music being kind of dark and depressing, but my guitarist Pontus writes all the music. He always has the answer that for him, the music is not really depressive. It’s really positive. So I guess it depends on how you feel it…
T: Yeah, definitely I think it depends on what your inclination is and where you start out.
C: But I really like people being affected by the music. A lot of friends when they come up after shows tell us, “Oh, I was getting shivers. I was really affected by the music.” I really like that.
T: Yeah, that’s a great feeling.
C: Yeah, that’s what you want.
T: Something I should ask you is that you live far enough north, you live in Gothenberg, to where, as we experienced it, it stays light almost throughout the entire night. By definition, it would stay dark six months later. Does that in any way affect you, I mean if you’ve lived there your entire life it’s probably something you’re used to, but does it affect you when it comes to writing lyrics and music?
C: Yeah, in the summer it’s really light and it’s nice and you know. And as you said, you’re used to it when you live there, but I think that in the winter there’s a lot of dark hours in the 24 hours. I mean, you can wake up, and when you go to work early it’s dark, and when you go home from work its dark. You don’t see much sunlight. I guess it can affect you subconsciously, but I feel like a really positive person. So maybe it’s something you learn to live with.
T: So you are a few days into your tour with Contorture. How many more shows do you have, and is there any place you’re particularly excited to play?
C: We have this show tonight, and we have Antwerp tomorrow, and then Bremen and Copenhagen. So 4 more if you count today. I’m really looking forward to tonight, because a friend of mine is setting up the festival, and I get to play with you and hang out with you again, with Embers. I mean you look forward to all these shows, but then when there are shows where you meet old friends, that’s really special. Like Bremen and Copenhagen, you’re going to meet your friends, and Antwerp as well, because we know the people who set up the show, and it’s a boring answer but…
T: I had really hoped that we would play Antwerp, but it didn’t happen.
C: No, but I still get excited, I mean “still”? We haven’t played so long with Contorture. It’s only like 2 years or maybe 3 years now. I don’t know…
(laughter)
T: I would have had the same answer, “I don’t know. Some years?”
C: But I’m still getting really excited. I’m nervous about every show, because I haven’t played bass for more than the same time that Contorture has existed. So I’m really new at my instrument and getting nervous.
T: I was very impressed in Hamburg and expect that will continue tonight.
C: I hope so.
T: You all seem to play very well together.
C: Yeah, we are really good friends so you become like a group.
T: Yeah, you kind of become an entity at times, where everyone together creates one thing and you find that flow. At least that’s how I see it. Especially when it’s a group of friends.
After the recorder is turned off we continued to talk, Christina tells me that in her regular daily life she is a photographer for a newspaper. And we discuss Agrimona signing to Southern Lord records for their next 3 records. It’s exciting news, as it will bring this amazing band to a much wider audience. I wish her all the best as we part ways with promises to see each other again. An Embers/Agrimonia tour?? Who knows what the future holds…
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