The Valottes

Swedish-English indie rock act

Tell us a bit about the band? 

The Valottes were formed in 2011. Dennis moved to Sweden from London, met Micke at a party, became good friends, our drummer Konrad joined soon after, and finally we met Eirik (our bass player) at a gig in the small Swedish town of Hässleholm. 

When did things start to kick off?

It all happened quite quickly. Our first big festival was Siestafestivalen in 2013 (which line up included The Hives and Death Cab For Cutie). After the festival we toured the UK for the rest of the summer which led to our debut single Rewind (released late November 2013).

How does the new album differ from your older material? 

The last single Rewind is a little harder, rockier sounding, more up tempo but still melodic. People often say we sound a little Strokes-ish, and we take that as a compliment. We are still experimenting and learning so as we grow, our sound will as well. 

Tell us a bit about the song writing and recording process.

The new single Thank you, goodnight was digitally released on March, 2. Dennis writes most of the songs, however, recently the band have started writing as a group and brainstorming ideas and discussing sounds and themes together. Plus, we’ve recently started working with a new producer Antti Vuorenniemi. It’s been quite an exciting learning process as he's really helped us a lot in the studio, making the songs and album come to life. 

Why did you choose The Valottes as the band’s name? 

To be honest it happened quite organically, sounded good on paper and came up first on Google search.

How do you guys feel about illegal music downloads? Good or bad? 

Obviously musicians and labels are losing money from illegal downloads, but on the flip-side, people are still listening to music and access is always a good thing.

How do you share your music digitally? 

We are on Bandcamp, Spotify, SoundCloud.

So far what has been your favourite live performance?

When we played Siestafestivalen in Hässleholm, Sweden for the first time. We had such an amazing crowd, which always makes it great fun.

What has been the influence on your music or your life for that matter? 

I think we’re all influenced by hard work. Everyone has jobs or is studying, but we make time for our band as music is our passion. As they say "Elvis didn't happen over night".

Where does most of inspiration come from?

People and life.

What are your thoughts on online music sharing? Do you ever give music away for free?

We sometimes give away CDs at shows, and are happy to share our music as long as people appreciate it.

What's the band’s future plans? Any upcoming releases and tours? 

We just released our new single Thank you, goodnight on 2nd of March, 2014, which is available on iTunes, and later in the year we will release the full album. Plus we are doing the festival circuit this year (including a tour of the UK and Germany).

Quick question for Dennis - what was it like for you to move from London to Sweden and how was it forming a band in a new country with a new language?

Dennis: I've been living here for about four and a half years now. It’s different from London, but I’ve managed to learn Swedish (finally) but it took me ages as everyone speaks English. I love the London/Swedish combination of the band it gives it a slightly different sound/edge. Sweden is great, you just have to get used to off licenses shutting at 2pm on a Saturday and paying 7 quid for a pint             

Why leave London to live in Sweden? 

I found a girl and enjoy the super cold weather.

Find out more about The Valottes on their website thevalottes.com