The condom bass sounds too good

Can a sofa, a pair of slippers, or a condom serve as an musical instrument? They do in Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers, which is available on the DVD Funny Films of the North. The directors explain why.

Music and crime form a synthesis in Swedish-born Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson’s short film Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers, where a band of gangsters with an ear for music break in to apartments and turn the furniture in to musical instruments.

 

The directing duo’s feature film debut, Sound of Noise, premiered in 2010, and the film won the Young Critics Award in Cannes the same year.

 

Sound of Noise is a prequel to the short film Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers that is available on the DVD Funny Films of the North, which Rushprint has produced in cooperation with three other Nordic magazines.

 

RHYTHMS OF THE HOUSEHOLD
– Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson, how did you come up with the idea for the film and what were your intentions with making Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers?

– We started to talk about the idea of making music from ordinary household objects and asked ourselves why experimental music rarely is upbeat and danceable. Also, we wanted to create a film that was equally based on sound and image. To have music and sound pushing the story forward. And we enjoyed the element of crime in a musical context.
 

– Are you inspired by any specific artists or works?

– We have a background in very different fields, and none of us have studied film. Johannes went to art school and graduated as an industrial designer and Ola is a musician and a teacher. We find influence in all kinds of music, film and art, often consumed in a very illogical manner. But we also find inspiration in the world that surround us. Observing humans and their behavior, taking notice of the details of life, listening to small sounds here and there.

 

– In production, we also try to surround ourselves with creative people of different disciplines. Our production designer Cecilia Sterner, for instance, is a full time artist.

 

TEN MINUTES OF ENTERTAINMENT

– What was the greatest challenge about making this film, artistically as well as practically?

– It was a great challenge to make the music visual and understandable and still keep the storytelling light and rhythmical. The music itself was quite difficult to create to our satisfaction. We tried for a long time to find natural pop beats in our homes, but we didn’t get the real break until we added electrical appliances to the orchestra. We ended up recording the music in one of the drummer’s home for one week and then shooting the visuals next week. However, all the household objects we use as instruments in the film are the ones you hear.

 

– What reactions do you wish to provoke in the audience with Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers?

– Ten minutes of entertainment is quite a nice reward for us.

 

– How do you regard the result?

– We’re quite content, although some people have occasionally remarked that the condom bass sounds a little fake. It isn’t. It just sounds too good.

– What has Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers meant for you personally?

– The short film started as a very narrow musical experiment and we had no expectations of it to reach a wide audience. But due to its universal subject, the music, it really connected with people all around the world. It seems to have inspired lots of people to approach music in a new way, not only professional musicians but also those who had never touched an instrument before. That is very inspiring.

 

– What projects are you currently working on?

– We are currently developing several feature projects and working on scripts. We are also developing a live act with the six drummers.
 

By Mads Suldrup and Thomas S. Sejersen / Filmmagasinet Ekko


Les intervjuer med de andre kortfilmskaperne

Legg igjen en kommentar

Dette nettstedet bruker Akismet for å redusere spam. Lær om hvordan dine kommentar-data prosesseres.

The condom bass sounds too good

Can a sofa, a pair of slippers, or a condom serve as an musical instrument? They do in Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers, which is available on the DVD Funny Films of the North. The directors explain why.

Music and crime form a synthesis in Swedish-born Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson’s short film Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers, where a band of gangsters with an ear for music break in to apartments and turn the furniture in to musical instruments.

 

The directing duo’s feature film debut, Sound of Noise, premiered in 2010, and the film won the Young Critics Award in Cannes the same year.

 

Sound of Noise is a prequel to the short film Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers that is available on the DVD Funny Films of the North, which Rushprint has produced in cooperation with three other Nordic magazines.

 

RHYTHMS OF THE HOUSEHOLD
– Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson, how did you come up with the idea for the film and what were your intentions with making Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers?

– We started to talk about the idea of making music from ordinary household objects and asked ourselves why experimental music rarely is upbeat and danceable. Also, we wanted to create a film that was equally based on sound and image. To have music and sound pushing the story forward. And we enjoyed the element of crime in a musical context.
 

– Are you inspired by any specific artists or works?

– We have a background in very different fields, and none of us have studied film. Johannes went to art school and graduated as an industrial designer and Ola is a musician and a teacher. We find influence in all kinds of music, film and art, often consumed in a very illogical manner. But we also find inspiration in the world that surround us. Observing humans and their behavior, taking notice of the details of life, listening to small sounds here and there.

 

– In production, we also try to surround ourselves with creative people of different disciplines. Our production designer Cecilia Sterner, for instance, is a full time artist.

 

TEN MINUTES OF ENTERTAINMENT

– What was the greatest challenge about making this film, artistically as well as practically?

– It was a great challenge to make the music visual and understandable and still keep the storytelling light and rhythmical. The music itself was quite difficult to create to our satisfaction. We tried for a long time to find natural pop beats in our homes, but we didn’t get the real break until we added electrical appliances to the orchestra. We ended up recording the music in one of the drummer’s home for one week and then shooting the visuals next week. However, all the household objects we use as instruments in the film are the ones you hear.

 

– What reactions do you wish to provoke in the audience with Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers?

– Ten minutes of entertainment is quite a nice reward for us.

 

– How do you regard the result?

– We’re quite content, although some people have occasionally remarked that the condom bass sounds a little fake. It isn’t. It just sounds too good.

– What has Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers meant for you personally?

– The short film started as a very narrow musical experiment and we had no expectations of it to reach a wide audience. But due to its universal subject, the music, it really connected with people all around the world. It seems to have inspired lots of people to approach music in a new way, not only professional musicians but also those who had never touched an instrument before. That is very inspiring.

 

– What projects are you currently working on?

– We are currently developing several feature projects and working on scripts. We are also developing a live act with the six drummers.
 

By Mads Suldrup and Thomas S. Sejersen / Filmmagasinet Ekko


Les intervjuer med de andre kortfilmskaperne

Legg igjen en kommentar

Dette nettstedet bruker Akismet for å redusere spam. Lær om hvordan dine kommentar-data prosesseres.

MENY