Peter Bjorn and John scored an unlikely summer hit last year with “Young Folks.” For a follow-up, the Swedish group’s singer and guitar player Peter Morén is striking out with a wistful solo album, The Last Tycoon. Recorded at home and taking its name from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final unfinished novel, the disc features guest spots by The Concretes’ Daniel Varjo, singer-songwriter Tobias Froberg, and The Tiny string arranger Leo Svensson. Morén told us how it all came together.
Fuzz: How much of a backlash did you see with “Young Folks”?
Peter Morén: It pays my rent, so for me it’s no negative backlash. That’s up to other people to decide. But I don’t think it is very representative of me or even the band as a whole.
Did you deliberately engineer something lo-fi to get away from it?
Yes and no. We always try to do something different from the album before, and it would be stupid to make a solo record that is in the same mood and sounds like the band. The thing is that I started to record this album way before “Young Folks” became a hit. And I actually don’t think it is especially lo-fi. Since recording equipment has evolved so much you actually use the same stuff at home as in a proper studio.
Then what makes it more than a demo?
The amount of work I put into it. And that I brought in a lot of extra people, like strings and drums and vibraphone–stuff I can’t play myself. I do make demos and they are either just voice or guitar, but much more lo-fi recorded than this album. For Peter Bjorn and John we never make demos. The record is the demo.
How did you decide when to bring in other people?
I tried to do as much as possible myself, but I knew I wanted instruments on it I just can’t play, so I had to bring in people. But I did instruct them carefully.
What was your total budget?
I don’t know exactly, but it became more expensive than I thought. There are always a lot of costs you don’t count on.
What’s the connection with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s unfinished final novel The Love of the Last Tycoon?
It’s definitely not a concept album as some people think. I just liked the name at first. It suits this very low-key album to have a grandiose pretentious title; make it kind of self-ironic and funny. I saw the movie a couple of years back. But there are some themes there I connect with, the end of an era, the hard struggle in combining love and relationships with ambition and career. Basically failure. Pretty eternal, elemental stuff, really. I write about it, but would write about it anyway, without that title.
What are Bjorn and John doing while you’re on tour–are they safely off the streets?
I think so. John is taking it easy and Bjorn is producing, as he always does.
Peter Moren - 2008 Tour Dates
04/21 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
04/22 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Upstairs
04/23 - Montreal, QC - Cabaret Musee Juste Pour Rire
04/24 - Toronto, ON - The Mod Club
04/25 - Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
04/26 - Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern
04/28 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
04/29 - Seattle, WA - The Triple Door
04/30 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
05/01 - San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall
05/02 - Los Angeles, CA - The Hotel Café
05/03 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour