For the last two and a half years, Leo Forssell has been in charge of music, booking and promoting at Under Bron. Before that he studied art and interior design. He confesses to being fascinated by the internet and scared of sharks. Plus he’s been DJing for a third of his life. We spoke to the renaissance man about the music scene in Stockholm.
What is your ideal booking?
Hmm, I’m trying not to book DJs and artists who are the “big thing” right now. I want to be able to look back in two years and say to myself, “ah he/she has come a long way now,” not “oh, I can’t believe I booked something that shitty two years ago.” It doesn’t have to be a big name.
One night that stands out in my memory is when we had John Roberts at Under Bron two years ago. That was amazing! I think it’s important to be consistent in the choice of bookings. You don’t want to serve the same food for dinner everyday but you want the customer to know that he or she is going to be served something delicious.
What is your favorite night spot?
Under Bron obviously, then The Office, 2351 and I’m looking forward to visiting the F1-6 parties at Fotografiska.
Where do you like to go out to eat?
I like the small restaurant Sardin. I recently moved to Skanstull from Hornstull and kind of miss having a local place where you almost feel like home. The Chinese place Ho’s in Hornstull is great. I heard they got an award for “Best Chinese Restaurant in Europe”. La Neta and Reggev are my favorite places for lunch.
What’s the most interesting trend in the Stockholm night life scene for the moment?
It feels like promoters are booking bigger names again. There were some years when people were afraid of doing that. Then there is the whole thing with free-bee events on Thursdays. I’m not against them, but I sometimes feel that they’ve formed a new generation of clubbing people who don’t want to pay for anything besides cigarettes and a burger on the way home.
Do you feel like there are any interesting trends going on in Stockholm in general at the moment?
DO IT YOURSELF! And I really like the trend of people doing their own parties in the summer. I like that it’s not about money, no limits and that they put a pressure on the legal clubs. I also like that music doesn’t necessarily have to be in focus. Like my friends who are running the space Revenue. They do exhibitions, experimental music shows and lots more, and they close when other clubs open. Opening own galleries, hosting parties daytime.
People aren’t afraid of leaving the tradition of drinking at home before going to the nightclub at midnight, which I would say is positive. Going out isn’t something that has to be done between 10pm-04am anymore. You can go party and be home at 10pm.
And then there are some fantastic labels. Studio Barnhus stands out the most right now. You never know what to expect from them and they are not afraid of doing stuff in different ways than expected.
Do you feel like you are a part of some kind of movement?
Hmm, I don’t know – sometimes I do and sometimes I just feel like I’m old. I’m kind of picky with what I like. When I think back to when I started DJing ten years ago, I remember that I thought some people didn’t understand. Today, I sometimes feel like the guy who doesn’t understand. But you can’t be in to everything “right” and maybe it’s a good thing not to jump on every new trend?
What are your plans for the future?
I’m thinking of taking up design again. I got a bit sick of it after studying it for five years, but I think I might be ready for it again soon. I don’t know how or in what direction. With friends or maybe a small company, hopefully.
What do you think about the future of Stockholm night life?
Lots of fun stuff will happen this spring and summer. My colleagues and I have big plans. I’m hoping that the trend of going out early keeps growing and makes it possible for more things that don’t revolve around getting drunk and dancing.
Leo’s upcoming highlights at Under Bron
29/12 Leo Forssell & William Hamilton
31/12 Under Bron New Year Party Secret
12/1 Geography Label Night (Adam Lundberg, Oscar Villata, Straneus & Shakarchi).
Here is a snippet of what you can expect at Under Bron:
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/68413852″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
