Les Big Byrd

Les Big Byrd is a Swedish group from Stockholm, formed in 2011 and active since then. The band’s core is Joakim Åhlund, with Nino Keller also part of the group, and its sound sits in krautrock, neo-psychedelia and psychedelic rock.

Background

The group emerges from the Swedish indie and underground rock scene. Joakim Åhlund has played in the garage-oriented band the Caesars, in Smile with Bjorn Yttling, and in the electronic project Teddybears. Frans Johansson plays bass and is known from the dark indie rock group Fireside, which was signed for a time to Def American. After both of their earlier bands ended, Åhlund and Johansson begin working together on more experimental rock ideas.

Les Big Byrd also includes keyboardist Martin "Konie" Ehrencrona and drummer Nino Keller, with Keller helping to complete the group’s early line-up.

Early recordings and debut album

The band first records and self-releases the single "Zig-Smile" in 2011. A later encounter in a record store with Anton Newcombe, who is touring with Brian Jonestown Massacre, leads to a discussion about music and an invitation to Newcombe’s Berlin studio. Sessions there provide the material for the debut album They Worshipped Cats, released in 2014 on Newcombe’s A Records label. Around the same period, the band issues the vinyl-only companion release Back to Bagarmossen 10".

Later work

For the next album, the band looks for outside production help and works with Pete Kember, also known as Sonic Boom, in Stockholm. Newcombe also attends the sessions, and the different production approaches create difficulties that leave Åhlund carrying more responsibility than planned. The band eventually stops those sessions and returns to the material later on, taking greater control themselves. The finished album, Iran Iraq Ikea, appears in 2018 on Stockholm label PNKSLM. It is titled after political graffiti seen in Germany and presents a sleeker sound with more synthesizers, at points moving towards stadium-oriented indie rock.

Style

Les Big Byrd begins with an expansive indie rock approach that draws on psychedelic influences, then brings in more synths and krautrock elements on its later material.