Imprints brings you regular profiles of the most exciting record labels the world over, with input from movers and shakers who contribute to their local electronic communities.Name: Studio Barnhus
Vibe: The crew's music would be the perfect soundtrack to an outdoor, summertime day rave populated entirely by Muppet Babies.
Founded: The label released its first record in 2010
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Claim to fame: Axel Boman is the most well-known of the three founders, and his renown has rubbed off on the label. His breakout moment occurred in 2010, when DJ Koze's Pampa Records released his woozy club hit "Purple Drank." Studio Barnhus's most successful releases so far were probably Boman's 2013 Family Vacation LP and the most recent offering, an EP from co-founder Kornél Kovács titled Szikra.
Upcoming releases:
By the numbers: Studio Barnhus has put out 25 records to date.
Artists to watch: Fellow Stockholm resident Abdulla Rashim has been involved with the label since the release of Radioactive Orchestra Remixed in 2012, and he contributed his own version of Kovác's "Szikra," but he hasn't done a proper solo record for Studio Barnhus. We've got our fingers crossed that something's in the works.What's the deal?
Axel Boman and Kornél Kovács launched Studio Barnhus with Petter Nordkvist (who seems to be the quietest dude in the bunch) when the trio teamed up to find a space where they could work on music in 2009. Together, they set up shop in the basement of an old stone building near the central station in Stockholm, which they dubbed Studio Barnhus. As the trio started to work in close proximity, their label started to take shape, and it only made sense to name it after its home base and fertile creative womb. Nowadays, the underground silo is the label's headquarters and home base, where the founders work five days a week and occasionally host after parties or birthday bashes. The spot has two rooms: one's a work station full of synthesizers and other music-making gear, while the other is a hang-out area with a small kitchen and some couches. It's proved to be quite a productive environment for the Studio Barnhus crew, as they've already churned out a handful of records in the first few months of 2014. The slightly weirdy-beardy microhouse-oriented sound of the label reflects the personalities behind it: goofy, happy-go-lucky, and friendly. We Skyped with the boys from the heart of their digs to get the scoop on nightlife in Stockholm and why they wanted an external studio when they could make one in their homes. Petter was there, he just let the other guys do the talking.THUMP: Is the studio close to a lot of nightclubs in Stockholm?
Axel Boman: Some places are quite close, it's kind of nice. Tonight, I'm playing at this bar, and it's walking distance, so I can just collect my records and go there 10 minutes before I have to be there.
Kornél Kovács: There are two main areas for nightlife in Stockholm. One is on the South Side, which pretty much where we live, and one is the downtown, which is more commercial clubs, but also some really nice places. That's super close to here, that's like five minutes away.Where does Under Bron fall in that spectrum?
KK: That's on the South Side, and it's one of the best more underground-oriented clubs. There's like, three, maybe four of those at Stockholm at any given time in the last few years.
AB: Under Bron is kind of indie and young. They serve beer in plastic glasses, and it's not really a bottle service place.
KK: Then we have Bearns, which has really good bookings—that's where Axel is a resident. That's more of a fancy place—it's downtown, and there's this huge building which has a hotel and a fancy restaurant, and they do more commercial programming. They have good concerts and everything. It's pretty much the same people that go to all these clubs, I say.So those are two of your favorite clubs in Stockholm?
AB: Yeah, for sure. I also have to mention Marie Laveau, which is a trashy, gritty basement, also with really young crowds. It's more of a punk place that has some really good dance programming. There's also a variety of semi-legal clubs, maybe four or five different ones, that kind of compete for attention.Right now, it's almost rare to think of people using external studios, because the current electronic music world is defined in large part by the revolution of digital technology, which democratized the ability to produce music within your own home. In light of that, why did you want a space outside of your houses?
AB: The amount of self-hate that is involved in eating cheese doodles in your underwear all day long, not showering, making music in your bedroom, and then looking down at your aging, disgusting body, and thinking "What the fuck am I doing? Why am I doing this? This is horrible." It's good to have some place that can be a regular job, like a place to go, so you get up, have breakfast, and go somewhere.
KK: Also just the fact that it can get super lonely doing these kind of jobs—producing music on your own, DJing on your own. In a way, it's super social, because you're involved in nightlife and you meet a lot of people, but to be honest, those are really superficial connections. We were all at our own secluded studios before we found this place, and for me, it was a good change and positive thing to have a shared space that can't be my bedroom.Does the studio represent or reflect the identity of the label in any way?
KK: That's hard to answer. The boring answer is, yeah, of course.
AB: Does the label feel a little bit claustrophobic? Do you think that the label has no notion of day or night, because we have no windows here? Maybe it's like a hobbit hole in a way. It's pretty cluttered here, we have lots of decorations. If you smoke a lot, if you have a big after party here, it's gonna smell for a couple of days. Could that be something that reflects on the label?Connect with Studio Barnhus on Soundcloud
Connect with Studio Barnhus on Facebook
Connect with Axel Boman on Soundcloud
Connect with Kornél Kovács on Soundcloud
Connect with Petter Nordkvist on his website
Vibe: The crew's music would be the perfect soundtrack to an outdoor, summertime day rave populated entirely by Muppet Babies.
Founded: The label released its first record in 2010
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Claim to fame: Axel Boman is the most well-known of the three founders, and his renown has rubbed off on the label. His breakout moment occurred in 2010, when DJ Koze's Pampa Records released his woozy club hit "Purple Drank." Studio Barnhus's most successful releases so far were probably Boman's 2013 Family Vacation LP and the most recent offering, an EP from co-founder Kornél Kovács titled Szikra.
Upcoming releases:
By the numbers: Studio Barnhus has put out 25 records to date.
Artists to watch: Fellow Stockholm resident Abdulla Rashim has been involved with the label since the release of Radioactive Orchestra Remixed in 2012, and he contributed his own version of Kovác's "Szikra," but he hasn't done a proper solo record for Studio Barnhus. We've got our fingers crossed that something's in the works.
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Axel Boman and Kornél Kovács launched Studio Barnhus with Petter Nordkvist (who seems to be the quietest dude in the bunch) when the trio teamed up to find a space where they could work on music in 2009. Together, they set up shop in the basement of an old stone building near the central station in Stockholm, which they dubbed Studio Barnhus. As the trio started to work in close proximity, their label started to take shape, and it only made sense to name it after its home base and fertile creative womb. Nowadays, the underground silo is the label's headquarters and home base, where the founders work five days a week and occasionally host after parties or birthday bashes. The spot has two rooms: one's a work station full of synthesizers and other music-making gear, while the other is a hang-out area with a small kitchen and some couches. It's proved to be quite a productive environment for the Studio Barnhus crew, as they've already churned out a handful of records in the first few months of 2014. The slightly weirdy-beardy microhouse-oriented sound of the label reflects the personalities behind it: goofy, happy-go-lucky, and friendly. We Skyped with the boys from the heart of their digs to get the scoop on nightlife in Stockholm and why they wanted an external studio when they could make one in their homes. Petter was there, he just let the other guys do the talking.
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Axel Boman: Some places are quite close, it's kind of nice. Tonight, I'm playing at this bar, and it's walking distance, so I can just collect my records and go there 10 minutes before I have to be there.
Kornél Kovács: There are two main areas for nightlife in Stockholm. One is on the South Side, which pretty much where we live, and one is the downtown, which is more commercial clubs, but also some really nice places. That's super close to here, that's like five minutes away.Where does Under Bron fall in that spectrum?
KK: That's on the South Side, and it's one of the best more underground-oriented clubs. There's like, three, maybe four of those at Stockholm at any given time in the last few years.
AB: Under Bron is kind of indie and young. They serve beer in plastic glasses, and it's not really a bottle service place.
KK: Then we have Bearns, which has really good bookings—that's where Axel is a resident. That's more of a fancy place—it's downtown, and there's this huge building which has a hotel and a fancy restaurant, and they do more commercial programming. They have good concerts and everything. It's pretty much the same people that go to all these clubs, I say.So those are two of your favorite clubs in Stockholm?
AB: Yeah, for sure. I also have to mention Marie Laveau, which is a trashy, gritty basement, also with really young crowds. It's more of a punk place that has some really good dance programming. There's also a variety of semi-legal clubs, maybe four or five different ones, that kind of compete for attention.Right now, it's almost rare to think of people using external studios, because the current electronic music world is defined in large part by the revolution of digital technology, which democratized the ability to produce music within your own home. In light of that, why did you want a space outside of your houses?
AB: The amount of self-hate that is involved in eating cheese doodles in your underwear all day long, not showering, making music in your bedroom, and then looking down at your aging, disgusting body, and thinking "What the fuck am I doing? Why am I doing this? This is horrible." It's good to have some place that can be a regular job, like a place to go, so you get up, have breakfast, and go somewhere.
KK: Also just the fact that it can get super lonely doing these kind of jobs—producing music on your own, DJing on your own. In a way, it's super social, because you're involved in nightlife and you meet a lot of people, but to be honest, those are really superficial connections. We were all at our own secluded studios before we found this place, and for me, it was a good change and positive thing to have a shared space that can't be my bedroom.Does the studio represent or reflect the identity of the label in any way?
KK: That's hard to answer. The boring answer is, yeah, of course.
AB: Does the label feel a little bit claustrophobic? Do you think that the label has no notion of day or night, because we have no windows here? Maybe it's like a hobbit hole in a way. It's pretty cluttered here, we have lots of decorations. If you smoke a lot, if you have a big after party here, it's gonna smell for a couple of days. Could that be something that reflects on the label?Connect with Studio Barnhus on Soundcloud
Connect with Studio Barnhus on Facebook
Connect with Axel Boman on Soundcloud
Connect with Kornél Kovács on Soundcloud
Connect with Petter Nordkvist on his website