Last Friday, Swedish-born, London-based three-piece Junodef took over our Instagram during the Berlin Music Video Awards 2023. During their stay in Berlin, they celebrated the release of their new EP ‘Catastrophical’, out on Physical Education Recordings.
With their distinctive sound, Junodef has transcended genres and gained recognition from the likes of ENFNTS TERRIBLES, KALTBLUT, Tonspion, and many more for their debut single from the EP, ‘Anemone’. The track explores sapphic desire and obsessive longing, enveloped in dark dreamscapes with mesmerizing harmonies that perfectly blend electronic and organic elements. It’s both vulnerable and edgy, a blend of shoegaze, art rock and new wave that captivates with its melancholic beauty.
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Photos by www.instagram.com/aneta.pr
The band comprises of Karin Grönkvist on guitar and vocals, Norea Persson on drums and electronics, and Tyra Örnberg on bass and vocals. The EP was recorded in a remote studio in the Welsh countryside with Arcade Fire and The Smile producer, Joy Stacey, and mixed by legendary metal producer Russ Russell known for his work with Napalm Death and At The Gates.
If you want to immerse yourself in the unique and haunting sounds of Junodef, ‘Catastrophical’ is worth checking out.
“I often follow this process when writing lyrics, where I take a book that I like, open it on a random page, and go to a row determined by a number I have chosen ahead (usually seven), and from that row, I pick one word and write it down on a piece of paper. I continue this process until I have a full page full of random words, and then I start picking words from this page and adding some new ones until I have something that makes sense. It usually doesn’t take long before this starts to organically grow, and become words that I can attribute meaning to.
These particular lyrics (unsurprisingly) grew into a song about sapphic desire and obsessive longing, accompanied by the overwhelming fear and anxiety born out of the good ol’ internalised homophobia. You could say it’s a song about lesbian nuns, but I also think it can be applied to a lot more, and be relatable for quite a few people. It’s a pretty universal subject after all.
Musically the song grew out of improvisation in the sound of heavily distorted double bass, which later became the main guitar riff. The gloomy church organ followed after, as a natural connection to the renaissance-themed lyrics. And with the epic drum, distorted guitar and church organ heavy choruses, contrasting the more vulnerable verses rooted in a looming synth bass and dreamy guitars, bass and piano, I wanted the music to reflect the duality of emotions explored in the lyrics.”
