Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg first made waves back in 2008 with their cover of the Fleet Foxes “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”, which they recorded in the forest outside of their home in Enskede, Sweden. But as the Söderbergs–better known by their moniker First Aid Kit– were quick to admit, they’d been making music long before that cover. And fortunately for us listeners, they’ve been making music long after that cover as well. Even better, we got a chance to chat with them about the road since then, their new recording work with Jack White and their future plans.

Apes on Tape: You guys certainly started making music and received a lot of attention at a very young age. Looking back, do you think that gave you a big head start? Or was that difficult at times, being so young?

First Aid Kit: It’s been good for us, to get acknowledgment and appreciation at such an early age. It gave us a lot of confidence and courage. The fact that we are, and were, young was never something that held us back. It’s just a fact of life. We did feel, and still do feel sometimes, that some people find it difficult to take us seriously or look down on us because of our age. However, this is a passing problem. We’ve been worried too that people would only like our music because of our young age, that we would be some kind of a youth phenomenon, but that does not seem to be the case.

AOT: It seems nature plays a pretty important role both in your background and in your music. Was Enskede fairly remote and secluded or were you still pretty close to Stockholm and the city environment?

FAK: Enskede is a calm and quiet suburb, very close to the city. Stockholm is very green and there are a lot of small forests where we live. We often used to take walks with our parents when we were kids in these forests. However, we can’t’ say that we’ve lived isolated lives in the woods. We’re definitely city people. The nature elements that constantly show up in our songs are probably a form of escapism. We don’t really know why we write what we write, we just do it. We don’t analyze our lyrics that much, we leave that to the listeners.

AOT: As you get busier and are traveling more often, are you still able to keep that influence of nature and your home in the process of writing new music?

FAK: We don’t consciously try to keep or create any kind of influences on our music. We try to let the music make itself. We guess that whatever happens to us will inspire our music in one way or another. What we’ve been doing the past year, traveling all around the world, meeting people and hearing their stories, is without doubt very inspiring and will have an impact on the next record.

AOT: Rabid Records played a fairly important role for you guys with the Drunken Trees EP. Did you get pretty close to Karin Andersson? Do you still keep in touch with her?

FAK: We got close to her, yes. She helped us out at such an early stage. That she was able to pass some of her experiences and knowledge about the music business on to us at that time was very important. She became our mentor and without her we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. We still keep in touch and see each other once in a while – we are neighbors after all!

AOT: I’ve read that “freak folk” artists were quite influential to you guys. Was Joanna Newsom’s  new “Have One on Me” a big influence? Are you still listening to her, Devendra Banhart, and similar freak folk artists a lot?

FAK: Joanna Newsom’s “Have One on Me” was one of our favorite records from last year, if not our absolute favorite. She is an inspiring songwriter. We’re blown away by the way she can start somewhere and trail off into something completely different and then lead you back to where you started off. She makes it all seem so simple. Regarding Mr. Banhart, we played a show with him in October in Dallas. We’ve always thought his music is brilliant. There’s something very playful and fun in these so-called “freak folk” artists that we like. We like the slightly psychedelic feel.

AOT: Touring wise, are you guys still in school? Or are you now pursuing music full time?

FAK: We both quit school in 2009 and we’ve been working on music full time since then. Going to school while touring didn’t make sense!

AOT: Now that you’ve got quite the following around the world, are you interested in touring internationally more? Or are you content playing in Sweden or closer European shows for now?

FAK: We’ve always wanted to get out and see the world, Europe and beyond. The past year we have been able to do that for the first time, with tours in North America and Australia. Those tours were magical for us. We’d like to continue to tour those places, for sure.

AOT: From originally recording songs yourself in the forest, how wild is it to be recording with Jack White for your new singles? What kind of experience has that been?

FAK: When we started out making music, not in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the fun and excitement we were in for. We made music for ourselves, we did not believe anyone would listen to it. Now we feel extremely privileged to have such amazing fans and being able to work with such talented people. The Jack White experience truly was surreal and interesting.

AOT: For earlier fans, should we expect any distinct changes from what you’ve
done in the past?

FAK: It’s hard to tell in which direction we are heading right now, but we don’t think there will be any drastic changes to how our music is made. The focus is still on our voices and the stories they tell. The arrangements and settings might change a bit but the key aspect, the harmonies, will always remain.

First Aid Kit – Universal Soldier by Cover Me
First Aid Kit – It Hurts Me Too by Cover Me