Les Big Byrd for Strange Universe Autumn
- Jade McLeod
- Mar 20
- 5 min read
Les Big Byrd is a Swedish psychedelic rock band formed in Stockholm. With their upcoming show as part of Strange Universe: Autumn Edition, we had the privilege of chatting with member Jockes.
If you are listening to them for the first time, where should you start? “We just released a new single, so that's a good start. If you want to hear what we're doing now, we have a couple of albums, so if you like it, there's a lot to discover. It's more fun to start with the newer stuff and then venture back in the catalogue later.”
The story behind their name, he says, “We've had it for so long now that we can't change it. I think we were actually called Big Bird First, and then we added the Les, because I'm not sure why. It's just Les, French plural, like the big birds. There's no deeper meaning behind it than that. It's just a weird name that we got stuck with.”
Regarding their musical journey and inspirations, he says, “There are a lot of things we all like. We're big music consumers, so we enjoy all kinds of music. It's hard to pin down just one or two influences, but what comes out most in our music is maybe Hawkwind and space rock. Sometimes we have more melody than Hawkwind. We love Spaceman 3 and old blues, especially John Lee Hooker when he plays one chord for the whole song, even if it goes on for 15 minutes. It's kind of monotonous, but we also have melodies.” A mix between Hawkwind, Spaceman 3, and John Lee Hooker. He added, “I like old music because there's a magic to it, since it's not around anymore. It's exotic to me because it's old and gone. It's fun to find a band I like these days. There are great bands around now, but for me, it's more exciting to dig into old music. It's like being an archaeologist, finding the remains or old bones of music. That's exciting to me. Old Music Friday, that's my thing.” It might be time to dig out the throwback playlists!
With such a distinct visual style, we discussed reference points that inspire their look. “We like futurism, especially old futurism, what was considered futuristic in the 70s. I like how people in the 60s, 70s, or 80s imagined the future, what was science fiction back then, not what science fiction is now. I've been to art school, so the visual part is really important to me, and I think it's fun. I'm involved in that aspect, too. I think an artist should be involved in visual decisions because that's how people will see you. So I try to be as involved in that as I can.”
In terms of what Les Big Byrd puts out into the world and the life experiences they draw from, he stated, “I feel like, you know, those birds that kind of collect shiny stuff and put them in their nests. That's kind of what I do all the time. If I see something I like, if it's a piece of art, or a visual, or a record, I kind of collect those things, so it's kind of like a lifelong thing. I do it all the time. I'm always looking for good music, nice pictures, and good movies. Collecting beautiful things keeps me happy when the world is tough. Most of it, if you kind of look up, and look around you, there are a lot of things that are pretty shit right now. So I kind of, you know, you're trying to collect the things that are beautiful and good, and kind of build a little world of those things. Some kind of escapism, I suppose.” I replied, “Would you say that that's sort of what you aim to do with your live shows, is create this safe escape for your listeners?” His response: “That would be a pretentious way of putting it, perhaps, but I can't say I disagree, though. I may not have expressed it like that myself, but in essence, you're kind of right. That's what you kind of want to do. When you're playing a live show, you kind of want to, you want people to forget about all the other shit for however long the gig is.”
On how their songs evolve from studio to stage, he said, “Some of the songs we play live sound quite different from the album because we jam on them, so the song is more like an outline for a jam. Some songs are more structured and sound the same. There are both examples.” Some songs evolve a lot as they are played live. I asked, “How much of that is planned versus adapting on stage?” He said, “We don't plan for that specifically. We plan for improvisation. We map out what's going to happen, but we have cues for when to move to the next part of the song. It's planned improvisation. The structure is the same, but the songs sound a little different every night. That's fun for us, too. It's not every song, every night, but we like to leave room for that to happen.” They let the crowd's energy shape the performance.
For smaller venues like the upcoming show at Double Whammy, he says, “The smaller the place, the better, as long as you can fit the drum kit. It's nice to have the crowd close. I'm not into big productions. As an audience member, I don't want to see huge video screens or elaborate stage props, I want to see people playing. That's what I want to do when I perform. I don't want to put on a show; the show is the music.” It's about the music, not theatrics. He adds, “If you want to dress up or put on makeup, that's fine. But there's a limit when it's all backtracks and video screens. I'm not into that. That's like a Las Vegas show. That's a different thing.”
On experiencing live music as an artist, he said, “My goal is to get lost in it. The better it is, the less I think about it. I want it to feel like a memory lapse, like a blackout. I want the whole gig to feel like that.” On the perfect show, “I want it to feel organic, like it's happening right there in the room. Every night should be unique. I want people to experience something in the room that you can't get from a recording or video. I want everyone to be present, together.”
And for those hearing them for the first time at double whammy he stated “I hope they have a great time. I want the gig to be a trip for everybody. If we come, we want to lose ourselves in the music for a while.”
Comments