Digital Habitat:
Sweden Unlimited
Words: Sue Apfelbaum
Photo: Jan Hilmer
Sweden also spends plenty of time on personal projects, such as the musical spin-off Mini Sweden, in which they mini keyboards and mini drum machines, and they plan to release their music on mini CDs, build a mini Web site and make mini music videos, too.
Alex describes, "Swedenmusicmachine.com is one of our favorite undertakings. We invented a virtual electronic instrument called the 'CD-8T12' that basically plays sounds from each instrument we use. It's interactive -- you can play it on the Web site and there are keyboard settings, drum settings and guitar settings, so anyone can play a Sweden song."
Simplicity with functionality. Retro with futurism. Sincerity with boldness. This is how the three define their aesthetic and the notions that fuel their music. "We're into 1970s/1980s modernism and Utopian ideals of the future. Even if they are outdated." They demur, "We still like the technology behind the cassette tape."
Sweden's Digital Habitat (in their own words): As we try to keep the visual and audio sides of "Sweden" integral and related, so is our living and workspace--it was important that they not be separated and that is why we chose one big open space to live and work in. We don't like the feeling of "going to work," which you get when you ride on the subway and go to an office, or even when you close yourself in a little room and are just confronted with your "job." We like it all connected with work being part of our lifestyle.view the studio »
