Action Biker
After A CDR and a seven-inch single Sarah
Nyberg Pergament aka Action Biker is already one of the most
brilliant indiepop artists in Sweden: her sweet pop sensibility
and smart electronics have conquered our hearts on the very
first listen, and the new single "Sandy Edwards" has been
the icing on the cake: a terribly catchy tune that perfectly
suits this terribly warm summer (here in Italy, at last).
Her beautiful electronic melodies sometimes reminding you
of sweet pop acts like Strawberry Switchblade and Heavenly
are just an example of what the young swedish pop scene has
to offer.
We read in your bio that both your parents were musicians:
in what musical environment did you grow up?
Well, i was rather forced to play both the violin and piano
and i did so for 10 and 7 years.... i didn't like it that
much though and by the age of 14 i quit both but i kind of
regret that now. my parents are classical schooled musicians
and i listened alot to classical opera and jazz. but then
i discovered the beatles....
There seems to be many references to the eighties in your
music, but at that time you were merely a child, so I suppose
you did miss the core of the electropop and C86 scene. So
what are your reference points? Do you actually look behind
to the eighties?
i still remember some of the commercial music from the eightees,
and i love a lot of eightees music but i think i'm more influenced
by older music, like a lot of sixties music and old spaceage
pop to ninetees indiepop.
The name Action Biker comes from a C64 computer game, a
reference that other electronic artist have used in recent
times (little computer people, lektrogirl...): is it because
of the naivetè ot the early eighties' electronic music or
just nostalgia?
well it's neither actually... i like alot of old c64 music
but it was more an idea from my friend anton, that also later
released the sandy edwards 7". he's really into c64 and he
has spread the word alot in indiepop sweden.
What do you do in your everyday life? Do you study/work
or is it playing music enough to earn a living?
i studied french and some philosophy this last spring but
for the autumn i have no idea what to do... it depends if
i've made it to some of the courses i've applied to.
 We
always amaze at the quantity of great pop music coming from
Sweden: there seems to be a neverending scene. Is it so? Making
pop music in Sweden today is like belonging to a huge community
of people exchanging ideas?
yes, it's really like that and i think everyone really inspires
each other. And lately alot of people has realized how easy
it can be to do music and release it as well and there's alot
of new groups and labels coming up all the time so sweden
is really a pleasant country to live in i think! At least
when it comes to popmusic!
How much of this is an undeground scene? What is charts
music in Sweden and what do young people listen to?
well i think mostly people listens to what is played on the
radio, as it is always... right now there's a commercial wave
of eightees retro music, some really bad synth music and rock
groups with leading singers that looks like phony copys of
debbie harry. which is deadly boring. but that's the way it
is.
How does Action Biker records her songs? what instruments/keyboards
do you use? Do you do it all by yourself?
i use a software program on my computer. i use a casio sometimes
but mostly it's all computer made. i used to record my voice
in a studio that belonged to a friend of a friend but i've
bought things of my own now so i can record it all myself
in the future.
 Sandy
Edwards is by far your catchiest song: did you intentionally
want to make a song instantly likeable and catchy? And who
is Sandy Edwards?
yes, i think sandy edwards was a bit of an experiment mostly...
to do something that was catchy, just as you say. and sandy
edwards is a character in an australian tv show called prisoners
in cell block:h, which is about the people in a womens prison.
sandy was a very cool person and my favourite by far!
Would you agree on "electro-pop" as a definition to your
music? Which of the two component is the most important to
you?
yes i guess it's the easiest way of describing my music. but
i think i'm more influeneced by classical popmusic than electro
so i'd had to go for pop.
Is there a label for which you would like to record? Even
if you could travel back in time
i don't know... i just enjoy coming into contact with all
these nice, creative people... but of course, i really like
sarah records, i do.
Do you have any shows planned for the summer? How is playing
live as Action Biker?
i'm going to play on two festivals in sweden during the summer.
well, basicly, live it's only me and a cd-player but sometimes
i use the casio as well.
Finally, your future projects. I heard you were going to
play on a 7" tribute single to "Grease" on Heavenly Pop Hits...
yes, that's true! i'm working on it now, and it's harder than
i ever thought it would be! i'm also going to be in a compiltion
of thee 7", released on swedish promenade recordings. the
theme for all of this three eps will be food! i'm going to
be on the third one along with nixon, dorotea and rocky dennis.
and then there will be a full lenght album probably on little
pad within the year...
Salvatore
Links:
Action Biker: hem.passagen.se/actionbiker/index2.html
Break & Enter: www.breakandenter.tk
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