"I wanna be a trillionaire;" a beautifully disjointed interview with jj frotnwoman elin kastlander (gothenburg, sweden)
Mysterious, Hip-Hop-loving Dream Pop duo, jj burst onto the Indie music scene sometime back in 2009. Elin & Joakim soon inked a deal with Sweden-based label, Sincerely Yours. In a similar vein to Nine Inch Nails' "Halo" system, each of jj's major releases thusfar have been labeled, "jj n° 1-3." My personal favourite jj project, "kills" was quietly liberated over Christmas Break 2010-11; Elin & Joakim's interpretation of "the mixtape" was pretty similar to the American ideal... and featured 10 well-done, lush flips of a handful of 2010's most Popular hits: Dr. Dre, Taio Cruz, M.I.A. Jay-Z, T-Pain, Diddy-Dirty Money, and Kanye.
jj essentially released an album's-worth of complementary material online over the course of 2011, some of which may [or may not] eventually end up re-appearing on "jj n° 4" (IN ETERNITY). A few weeks ago, I emailed a batch of 10 questions over to jj and just the other day, Elin emailed back the companion answers! Said interview and a selection of music videos are featured below... I must say, it was a true pleasure working with jj - Thank you kindly, Elin & Joakim! Can't wait to hear what's next!
"WAZZZZZUP BABY!
HERE'S OUR ANSWERS!
THANK YOU FOR HAVNG US!!!
WE SO DELIGHTED!
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
KEEEEP IT RILLL!"
1. I know it was already released a year or 2 ago... But what's the basic ideology [concept] behind "kills?" Now, that is one of my all time favorite mixtapes, my friends!
e - Oh, Thank you Matt!
We wanted to do what we do on beats that we wanted to kill! Smoke ganja in the studio, have fun! The beats was already there! Of course not always fun. With laughter comes tears. There is so many inspiring humans out there! doing things we admire and care about! and today the technology gives us the opportunity to go deeper into realities people never been, and as quick as a snap! the singularity is approaching, tihi! baby!
2. Who were a few of your favorite rappers to emerge in 2011?
e - ASAP! YMCMB!, TOP DAWG ENT!, they are bringing so much love into this world!
3. What Hip-Hop artists were really big in Sweden when you guys were growing up?
e - I really don't know. I listned to what my parents listend to..often preatty sad,
by that I mean that it was music that didn't inspire me.
But in our car we often listned to songs from the 60's on the radio, I really liked that.
But the bands that really changed my life was Hanson, Nirvana, Hole, Oasis.
Hip Hop just hopped into my life, can't remember how or when.
4. How did you 2 meet and decide to form a band? And what does jj mean?
jj means jag & joakim. jag = me in english. In school, joakim saved me from the dark side.
5. Please name a few of your dream collaborators.
THE Dream & Pete Doherty
6. What's next for jj - New album, remixes, tour?
WE ARE GOING TO OUR FIRST AWARDSHOW EVER AND A BIG PARTY IN GOTHENBURG WITH OUR FRIENDS, TOMOROW! PAOW!
7. Where will recently-released tracks like "eve of destruction," "vi," and that embassy cover eventually end up?
IN ETERNITY.
8. What other musical genres were big in Sweden growing up? Would you consider Hip-Hop a "BIG" childhood inspiration?
HMMMMMM, NO IDEA. A WHOLE LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS, WE DON'T CARE ABOUT GENRES, IT IS TOOO BORING, SORRY.
9. 2pac or Biggie? Black Flag or Descendents?
CHANGE THE OR TO A &, KAY?
KAY.
10. Which movies did jj enjoy and/or draw inspiration from in 2011?
The Color of Pomegranates
BARAKA
DOLPHINBOY
ABOUT A SON
OUR DAY WILL COME
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
NAUSICAA
HOWLS MOVING CASTLE
THE SKY'S CASTLE LAPUTA