AMANDA SKÖLD TALKS VITTERTAGEN
"Creating has also saved me in many ways"
Daniel John
'Vittertagen' is a folk accordion waltz dedicated to, and maybe also inspired by one might imagine, your grandfather?
Yes, my grandfather taught me how to play when I was a teenager, and I also received my Avanti accordion from him. Accordion music will always be connected to my grandfather. I have such beautiful memories of how he used to play on late summer evenings by the water back home on the High Coast. He made me fall in love with the accordion as an instrument, at an early age. I’m also inspired by my grandfather’s musical life, he has made music in many different contexts, and that joy and dedication is wonderful.
Besides the accordion, you also play many other instruments. What does your music corner really look like?
In my home studio I also have a piano and a guitar. After the accordion, the piano is closest to my heart, I love sitting and playing around on the keys and traveling away into another world. The guitar was the first instrument I learned, I took guitar lessons at the municipal-music school. Besides the instruments, I also have studio equipment so that I can produce music. All of this in my small one-room apartment! It’s lucky that I have fantastic landlords and neighbors who put up with my plinking and bellowing. Almost all of my instruments and equipment are second hand. As a student, you have to find your own ways of making music, it’s not impossible, especially not today when so much knowledge is so easily accessible.
Is it in folk music we find all your influences?
When my grandfather played by the water he always created a special feeling, the tones traveled across the mirror-still water, you looked out over the bay, and the forest-covered mountain tops, it was melancholic, beautiful, magical and familiar all at once. That is the feeling I want to achieve when I play the accordion. I am also very inspired by Old Norse-mythology, traditions and stories. I can sit and read about spirits, goddesses or fylgjas and get goosebumps and immediately want to play music. Otherwise it’s true that I’m inspired by folk music but also by other types of music, like progressive-metal or classical music. I love listening to skilled musicians regardless of genre and I’m inspired by their techniques.
'Vittertagen' is written, produced, mixed and mastered by you, but you also have another room where you create together with Linnea Stenlund, the indie–folk duo Falka?
When I first moved to Stockholm, I was really eager to play accordion together with other folk musicians. There are Facebook-groups where you can find band members, and I posted an ad. Linnea got in touch and we clicked immediately, in terms of personality, music, and sources of inspiration. At first we started by playing covers but very soon we discovered how fun it was to write music together. Now we’re focusing on original material.
And very soon you’re releasing a single together with her as well?
On April 25, 2025, our first single with Falka will be released! Linnea and I wrote it together and it’s very close to our hearts since it’s our first song. Since we’ve done everything ourselves, production, artwork, music videos and more, it’s been a fun, challenging and educational process. But we like doing everything ourselves, even if it might be a bit reckless sometimes. In the song you’ll hear accordion, piano, violin and vocals. The genre is indie-folk and I’d describe the song as atmospheric and personal.
It’s beautiful to see you carry the gift forward from your grandfather. How does it feel to really get going with all of this and share your own music?
Thank you! It’s a lot of different feelings. First of all, I’m proud. I haven’t studied music since lower secondary school, and that’s something I sometimes feel ashamed of, in musical contexts. But people close to me have helped me see it in a new way, that I should be proud of my abilities since I’m largely self-taught. I barely know any music theory and I don’t really know what I’m doing. I go by feeling and what I think sounds good, sometimes that might be wrong, but so what? I’m also incredibly happy and grateful for the response and encouragement I get from family, friends and others. Along with all the positive feelings, some negative ones come too. I can get scared and feel imposter-syndrome feelings, “Who do I think I am, publishing music?” And you never know how it will be received. But I know many creators feel this way, and I try to focus on what I think, because that’s what matters most. Right now I’m incredibly excited to write and release more music, and also to play live.
With music this alive, you really want to hear it live, what does it look like if one wants to see you on stage this summer?
Linnea and I in Falka will be playing at Kulturnatten on April 26 at Hantverksladan, Riddersvik in Stockholm. At the moment I do not have any more live shows planned than that one but there will definitely be more opportunities coming up. Keep an eye on my social media!
You don’t only make music, with paintings, jewelry and tiny, tiny, baked-goods. What do you think creativity as such means to you?
I’ve always created in different forms since I was little, it gives me meaning in life and makes me feel alive. Sometimes I almost feel “addicted” and have to force myself to slow down and, like, watch a series instead. I’m a passionate person who goes a hundred percent into things that interest me. Creating has also saved me in many ways. I live with chronic pain. And during difficult periods, creating has carried me through.
