Originally started back in 2009, Club Platypus is the project of Louise Bodin, and for 2018 they’ve got a whole new era planned. Club Platypus has teamed up with Loud Grrrl Sthlm, an organisation that works to help encourage the creativity of and give opportunities in arts to female, trans and non-binary people, and together they’ve announced two club nights at Scalateatern. The first is in March, with UK psych-pop band Stealing Sheep and Stockholm punks Dog Rally, and we caught up with Bodin for a quick chat about it.
You’ve been running Club Platypus on and off since 2009. Do you think there’s a gap in the Stockholm live music scene that you want to fill?
To be honest, I think there is an even bigger gap in the club/bar club scene, or should I say, Stockholm nightlife scene. We are missing somewhere where you can go out feeling comfortable and enjoy yourself even if you are, say, between 35 – 60. Stockholm’s nightlife feels very ‘age-segregated’, yet apparently it is the city with the highest number of single households in Europe. So, somewhere with a friendly, inclusive atmosphere where you can meet like-minded people if you’re a fan of all sorts of indie pop, or rather, alternative music from pop’s history, from the 70’s to the present day. At the moment there are quite a few genre music clubs, but they all target just one specific group e.g. northern soul, rockabilly, kraut, ska, psychedelic rock, etc. I like all that stuff too and our DJs throw bits of it in the mix, but I’m not that keen to listen to just one type of music when I go out. I also consider the venue very important. It must be a cosy atmospheric place, with reasonable prices for drinks. I am very pleased that we’re able to run the clubs in Scala’s basement venue.
What’s new about the club this time is your collaboration with Loud Grrrl Sthlm. Tell us about that.
I’ve been arranging the previous club nights and gigs basically all by myself, which has been hard work, especially the gigs. I’ve been looking for someone to collaborate with and then I came across Loud Grrrl Sthlm somewhere and got in contact. We share the same ideas. I previously only had female DJs but now there are only women behind the stage, the sound engineer, DJ, promoter, even on the door. And, at least for the first gigs, 50% women on stage.
You’ve said that you want to book bands that “no-one else would bring over”. So what are you looking for in the artists you book? And is the focus mostly on international acts?
Well, I’m incredibly selfish when it comes to the artists. I only book artists I love myself, ha ha. The focus is on an international artist as the headline, but with a Swedish support band. Coming back to your first question, yes, I think there are a lot of artists that very rarely get booked in in Sweden, especially bands from the UK. Usually it is big, well-established artists or very young and up-and-coming, but not so much bands that have been around for a while, say 10 years or so. It seems to be slightly different with other genres, such as Americana bands though. Maybe the simple fact is that not many promoters here are that interested in British pop anymore?
And finally, what should we expect from the two nights at Scalateatern?
A very friendly atmosphere with lots of ladies in the audience and fifty-year-old indie kids chatting away with twenty-year-old pop fans. On March 3, the British electro pop queens Stealing Sheep will be the main act and young Stockholm punk band Dog Rally support. On April 13, Brighton art/glam/indie rockers, David Devant & his Spirit Wife will do their first gig in Sweden with support from the newly-reformed Gothenburg female-fronted indie band William. Everyone will leave the Scalateatern on both of these nights with at least ONE new friend!
