My buddy Fredrik gave me virtual holler from Sweden and turned me on to the latest incarnation of the almighty Baba Vanga. My first thoughts while listening to the tune(s)...
A massively essential tune, as if reaching out of the stratosphere, into a cosmic place
It's so fluid...like the blood beating through a tranquil heart
Looking into the past, of a future experience
the warm embrace of a familiar place surrounded by a slightly damp fog, the kind that leaves dew on the leaves of surreal plants in an otherworldly jungle
Baba Vanga Jimmy Bäckman, Bas, Fredrik Jensen, lead guitar
and lead vox, Martin Ljungsten, moogs, David Wirzén, drums, Lars Malmsten,
keyboard. All Photos by Meng Johnson.
Howdy Fredrik! Can you give me a history of the band, the who, what, why, where, when, how and so on?
Since the start of BabaV around 2016, there have been different constellations, me
and Jimmy are the only original members. The name was dropped by our former
drummer Kris Örnerfeldt and kind of fitted the representation of the journey down the
rabbit hole, since Baba Vanga maybe had magical powers and could see into the
future. BabaV has always been into surrealism and explorations. As a result, BabaV
has explored different kind of genres and still exploring for BabaV new genres and
new grounds.
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Shit Fredrik, we've been virtual pals for quite some time now going back a little
ways on the old Mustard Relics Blog, but I've been a very real fan of Baba Van for
that same amount of time. During that time the band has evolved in a very fluid sense
to me, so, please tell me about this evolution and where it has taken the band to
today?
As a music constructor I always like to learn new stuff, and ever since I was a young
boy I listened to a lot of different genres, death-metal, punk, jazz, classical, reggae
and of course grunge. From Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Curtis Mayfield to Wu-Tang
Clan side to side with flamenco music and G.Mahler and so on. The latest music of
BabaV is influenced by soul,rap,jazz, beats, psychedelic, surf and the outer space.
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Where was the show that you sent pictures of and how did it go? Well received?
Do you have a flyer from that show?
The show was in a really cool building that used to be a church, it´s called “Skeppet”,
which means the ship. Located in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was a blast, good sound,
great vibes and a nice audience. And it was the premiere for our new constellation to
play live.
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Most people don't know anything about who the band is named after, admittedly I
did not. Wikipedia's "Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova (3 October 1911 –
11 August 1996), commonly known as Baba Vanga (Grandmother) was a
Bulgarian mystic, clairvoyant and seer. Blind since her early childhood, she spent
most of her life in the Rupite area of the Kozhuh mountains in Bulgaria." Tell me
about your take on this very interesting woman and if there is a connection to what
the band is about?
Who isn’t in to magic? The connection is the search and the willingness to be
committed. And experience things from different sides. The truth is out there…
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Tell me about this newest incarnation of BV, this new release and the future of the band.
We are now five persons plus 1, that occasionally contributes with percussion and
backing vox, our former drummer August Erixon. Analog synthesizers, keyboards
and tape echo effects have been added to the soundscape. Our recent single “Can
you get it back+SMOOTH” was released earlier this autumn and more is to come in a
near future. Our next release will be the song ”Red Jazz Eyes”, and after that the
tune “Take me to the lake”. Hopefully we can record an LP soon with a bit of luck. We
are currently looking for business partners to work with and book new shows.
I ask everybody this one...what's spinning on your turntable (real or virtual) these
days?
April+VISTA, Wu-Tang Clan, Uran GBG.
