Stateless - Interview

Ubiquity: Stateless and Swell Session are your most prominent monikers, what makes them different from each other?

Andreas Saag: I guess they're getting less and less different, but mainly I feel Swell session is about recycling interesting sounds from the past while Stateless is about finding sounds for the future.

Ubiquity: Your music nicely balances being warm and musical with being DJ friendly, what's your secret?

Andreas Saag: There's no secret man... I try to keep a musical angle and make songs instead of tracks. Not trying to stick to any particular concept but relying on that the fact that you make the music will be enough to create a special sound.

Ubiquity: You're a very busy man, what do you do when you're not making music?

Andreas Saag: Sometimes I go DJ:ing in Gothenburg or abroad... but other than that I guess I just relax with my friends (who happen to be mostly the people I do musicwith). Sometimes we play disc golf or video games but we also do a lot of meaningless but fun and creative stuff like fake web sites or radio shows, home made ninja movies and a lot of very suspicious music like freestyle hip hop battles (none of us are rappers).

Ubiquity: With so much good music coming out of Scandinavia, do you suspect there's something in the water?

Andreas Saag: I've seen some good fish like cod and herring in the sea... Apart from this I think the thing with Scandinavia is just a matter of being in an environment where you're not so caught up in the business (like usually in the big music cities), but that there is also a well educated scene enough
for the producers to know what they're doing and what they like - and why.

Ubiquity: Name your top 5 current Scandinavian favorite tunes or producers

Andreas Saag:
My five current scandinavian favourites right now:
1. Ernesto's - Simon says - Hollow/DNM
2. Forss - Journeyman - Sonar Kollektiv
3. Quant - Miracle man - Ecco Chamber
4. Red Astaire - Follow me - Gamm
5. Eerik - People of this club - unreleased

Ubiquity: Describe your DJ style . . .

Andreas Saag: I'll play anything from broken beat like Seiji via old bossa like Elis Regina and house from Naked music to techno from F-com or Samuel L Session. I like to play in a club where I can play all of this on the same night, though it's rarely so. I try to sense what's apropiate for the current moment and perhaps do some mind bending by throwing in some surprises. If you've heard all my different guises (Swell session, Stateless, Andreas Saag) I think you'll know that I make a lot of diffrent styles of music. This is also reflected in my DJ:ing.

Ubiquity: Descsribe your hairstyle . . .

Andreas Saag:
Hehe. It's red and curly. You have to experience it in real life

Ubiquity: If I wasn't producer I would be a . . .

Andreas Saag:
Keyboardist. Or a film maker. Or a graphic designer. Or a radio show host. Or a writer. There is a lot of intresting things to try out there...

Ubiquity: You'll be DJing in the USA this June, anything you're looking forward to doing or seeing while you are here?

Andreas Saag: It's the US of A, I'm sure I'll have a blast! I try not to make up too big plans when I go somewhere, any big picture of how it's going to be. It's always more fun to be surprised. However I do expect to meet some nice people and visit some funky clubs. I look forward to it!

STATELESS

Following his two highly acclaimed EPs for the English label Freerange comes the debut long player from Andreas Saag, musician/producer and all-round wunderkind. It's so good we had to license it for a domestic USA release.

Saag's productions always hit the spot, whether it be his Stateless productions for Freerange, his Swell Session stuff for Hollow or his jazzy edged techno for Samuel L. Sessions SLS label. His releases are bringing a new depth and quality to the nu jazz, house and electronica scenes.

'Art Of No State' is a deep and soulful album that features the likes of fellow Gothenburg residents Yukimi Nagano (Koop), Elsa Hedberg and Jonatan Backelie. This predominantly song-based album oozes with good vibes and a depth that belies his age. Tracks such as 'All Of A Sudden' and 'Too Late' draw on the traditions of Scandinavian jazz music whilst pulling them kicking and screaming into the 21st century by fusing sublime songwriting and vocals with fat breaks and bass lines that move you. 'Bringin' Me down' and a track this is a perfect blend of latin, jazz, funk, soul and broken beat 'Falling Into' (now established as a classic at the UK "Co-op" club) show far more of a soulful side to Saag productions. He can be minimal and funky enough to move the dancefloor but keeps enough melody and harmony to entice even the most jaded of music lovers out there.

Saag was influenced by his father's love of electronic music. Artists such as Brian Eno and 60's soundtrack experimentalist David Axelrod were inspiration to create progressive and original tracks. Another major influence is jazz legend Herbie Hancock, who was the motivation to master improvisation skills on his first instrument, the keyboard. Saag started playing the piano at the age of six and discovered techno and other experimental music when he was 14. Today Saag is involved in several projects and never one to be confined to a particular style, he records techno for Samuel L. Sessions' SLS label as Fleebite as well as experimental pop with his vocal partner Jonatan Backelie. On top of all this, Andreas Saag also manages to find the time for some globe trotting DJ antics with recent gigs taking him all around Europe as well as a tour of Japan and a US tour scheduled this year. He's also been asked to prepare a mix CD for Gilles Peterson's worldwide show on Radio 1 and syndicated out across the world.

Stateless Biography

Stateless is the new project from Gothenburg's Andreas Saag, with invited guest vocalists and musicians. Andreas is perhaps better known for his highly rated releases as Swell Session which were lauded by Gilles Peterson on his Radio One Wordwide show.

The first single from Stateless was the highly acclaimed "Falling Into" which featured Andreas's own Swell Session remix. A perfect blend of latin, jazz, funk, soul and broken beat and now considered a classic 'Co-op' tune.

Andreas is the mastermind behind the music and has been making music since early childhood. He was influenced by his father's love of electronic music. Artists such as Brian Eno and 60's soundtrack experimentalist David Axelrod inspired Andreas to create progressive and original tracks. Another major influence is jazz legend Herbie Hancock, who motivated Andreas to master improvisation skills on his first instrument, the keyboard.

Andreas started playing the piano at the tender age of six and discovered techno and other experimental music when he was 14. Today Andreas is involved in several projects and never one to be confined to a particular style, he records techno for Samuel L. Sessions' SLS label as Fleebite as well as experimental pop with his vocal partner Jonatan Backelie.

On top of all this, Andreas also manages to find the time for some globe-trotting DJ antics with recent gigs taking him all around Europe as well as a tour of Japan and a US tour scheduled this year. He's also been asked to prepare a mix CD for Gilles Peterson's worldwide show on Radio 1 and syndicated out across the world.