Today we talk with American-Swedish indie pop duo “I am a Rocketship”. The duo are comprised of singer L E Kippner and guitarist Eric Weissinger. Their music is highly recommended with their much anticipated new album “Lies and Legends” released on 11th November 2021.
So what are your musical backgrounds?
LE: Different from each other! I was never in a traditional rock band; I played the cello and I was a singer for years, but musically my background is, well, more European. No garage bands or Americana!
EW: I’d always played around in music since I was a kid, and started performing with bands when I was in high school. I wish I could say that there was one band all my life, but I just played with whoever needed someone, sometimes guitar, sometimes bass, sometimes singing.
The whole chemistry between you both works so well, had you known each other long before you decided to make music together?
EW: A mutual friend told us about each other’s music, and I think the day we met was at one of my gigs. So it was kind of music from, literally, day one.
I remember when I first heard your music I became an instant fan. I was really impressed that just two people could produce such an eclectic sound. Was working within a small unit something you originally set off to do, or did you plan to have more musicians on board?
EW: Oh, we tried to do a traditional band, but I think we’re not easy to work with. We both have really specific ideas about what we want to do, and unless you’re being well-paid to just read the charts and do what you’re told, it’s no fun being a drummer or bassist with us. But it was scary to go it alone, and realize we had to make every sound.
LE: It gave us a lot of freedom to try new things, and I think we are still discovering what we can do. Our latest album has a song where we had trouble finding the right drum sound, so in the end it was recorded on things Eric found in the kitchen. He tried his way through the pots and spoons until we found the right sound.
I love the name “I am a Rocketship”. It sounds so otherworldly, with a sense of adventure and a child-like wonder. Is there a particular reason why you chose such an intriguing name for your band? What inspired it?
EW: As a matter of fact, a child did name us. We overheard a little girl saying “I am a rocketship!” and it was such a beautiful phrase.
LE: She was dreaming big, like children do before they figure out the difference between fantasy and reality. Why settle for looking at the stars from down here when you can be a rocketship? We try to live up to the name.
You both seem so well accomplished musically and inspired by so many genres of music. Is there a particular genre of music that you gravitate more towards over others, or do you just take a free-flowing approach?
EW: More free-flowing. It’s weird that we are both fans of a few things but otherwise are all over the place. I listen mostly to classical, baroque, romantic era music. And heavier, more spacey stuff.
LE: I tend to listen to music that gives what I need at the time, so it varies a lot. Sometimes I want to be inspired, and sometimes I just need a musical hug, you know? Lately, the two of us have been listening to completely different genres, so our shared playlist is taking some interesting twists and turns.
We recently selected your single, “Fever Dream”, as our “SIngle of the Week” and compared you to bands such as The Ravonettes. Is there a band or artist out there which has influenced or helped shape your sound?
EW: Probably not a single band. It’s funny, a few people told us we sounded like The Kills, and neither of us had heard of them. Which is embarrassing, so we had to listen to them, and now we’re huge fans. We both like melodic stuff and electronic stuff. Maybe Depeche Mode?
Your album “Lies and Legends” is released on 11th November 2021 and has received rave reviews. How would you say this album differs musically from your other albums?
EW: The lyrics are more focused, for one thing. It’s not really a rock opera, but it very much has one theme, and that helped define the music too. It’s more consistently uh… serious, I guess. The other albums kind of played in various styles, but this one is very focused.
LE: Our albums usually don’t use the same musical style all the way through. I think that’s definitely true for this one as well, but this time it is the same story the whole way through.
The Pandemic has impacted upon many musicians on both an emotional and creative level. It’s been a time of reflection which has provided inspiration for new material. Was this the case with yourselves or did you write “Lies and Legends” from a different perspective?
LE: I think that a lot of music created now is a sort of musical time capsule. It’s been a very strange time to live through. We have used music to document things in real time during the pandemic, which we haven’t really done before.
EW: The pandemic I think helped a lot of people prioritize things. It sure did for us. The music itself is about the danger of fanaticism, but the conditions of the last couple years added some urgency and time to write and record.
I believe Eric once opened for The Wedding Present, which must have been exciting! Are there any musicians, artists or producers out there you would love to work with?
EW: Ha, they were super nice. We actually have talked about it, a “If we could have any producer, who would we hire?” For me, it would be either M.I.A. or El-P. They both ignore genres and get straight to the emotional core of a song.
What are your next musical plans? Will you be going on tour, making another new album or are you just planning on having a nice rest?
EW: It’s back to emailing and calling for gigs. It’s funny: when people see us perform live, they’re usually impressed, and I love performing but it’s so much work to book original music. Maybe we need to just do coffee house acoustic covers and then sneak in some of our own music, just to get in front of audiences.
LE: I suggested that we do a whole bossa nova album next, but I haven’t been able to convince him. We’ll see.
Photo by Katja Bjorn