Between Interval – fresh water on a hot summer day

• Is life an inspiration to make music or is music inspiration to live?
  >I guess it can be both ways around. Life is definitely an inspiration to make music, but at hard times music can also be a comfort, help and inspiration to live.<
• What would you do if there wouldn’t be music, starting with tomorrow?
  >I would invent it!<
• …and what if you had to produce in a different music genre? What would that be?
  >I have already tried out a handful of genres; ambient/space music, electronica, house, techno, trance, drum’n'bass… Maybe it’d be fun to try making something non-electronic for once. The problem is that I can’t play any instrument well. It would be interesting though, to sample myself while trying to play some acoustic instruments, then cut and edit everything to make something experimental – and hopefully well-sounding – out of it.<
• The beauty of silence or the chaos of noises?
  >I’d go for the beauty of silence, but I guess there has to be some balance to it. Too much silence and you’ll eventually need some noise, to appreciate the silence even more.<
• What’s your favourite album ever?
  >Can I pick just one? That’s nearly impossible. Pink Floyd’s The Wall is an all time classic though. Brilliant album. That one is closely followed by Yello – Pocket Universe, an insanely well produced album.<
• …and your favourite album cover?
  >At the moment, probably the cover for Beyond the Portal by Craig Padilla, Skip Murphy and Zero Ohms. It captures the essence of ambient space music.< (click on image for a larger version)

• Is there some music you like – but ashamed to admit it?
  >Actually not that I can think of. Music is nothing to be ashamed about.<
• If you could be a rock star, who would you be?
  >Hmm, I hardly ever listen to rock music, so that’s a tough one… maybe one of the Pink Floyd guys, back in the 70′s?<
• Do you have a role model?
  >I haven’t really thought about it, but someone I really look up to is Jean Michel Jarre. Past 60 years old and he still seems so passionate about his music. I admire that a lot.<
• Who would you like to meet the most?
  >David Lynch. I’d love to collaborate with him, making the soundtrack for his visuals. On the other hand, I could never replace his fantastic composer Angelo Badalamenti.<
• What are your favourite movies?
  >Oh there are so many. Not surprisingly I’m a big fan of David Lynch, for example his movies Inland Empire, Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway. Those movies really draw me in, into a dream world where the setting and atmosphere is just as important as the storyline, if not even more so. I also enjoy sci-fi a lot, but that’s really a genre that lacks good movies. 2001 A Space Odyssey, Steven Soderbergh’s version of Solaris, and Sunshine are some of my favourite sci-fi movies. I’m also a fan of the two Ghost in the Shell anime films, directed by Mamoru Oshii.<
• If you had to direct your own movie, how would it look like?
  >It would probably be similar to my music. Dark, atmospheric and hopefully thought-provoking. Either a psychological thriller, or some kind of science fiction. Maybe a combination of the both.<
• What’s your favourite food?
  >As a kid I was quite picky with food. Luckily I grew out of that. Now I have lots of favourite food. The healthy choice would be sushi, the unhealthy choice would be something deep fried.<
• Is there a band/music genre you can’t stand listening to?
  >I don’t like to badmouth other artists or genres. However anything labeled “rock ballad” is probably not my cup of tea.<
• What’s your (original) profession?
  >I’m a web developer during the days and a musician/producer in the evenings. It’s the web developing that’s paying my rent though. Making a decent living composing the kind of music I do is very very hard… although not impossible! Luckily, I enjoy the web related work a lot. I do both web design and programming – I need a bit of both I guess. Mixing the logic thinking of programming with the creative freedom of design. It’s a good combination.<
• What’s your next plan musicwise?
  >Actually I have a hard time making any plans at all. Most of my music projects were created spontaneously. The best example of that is my album Secret Observatory from 2005 – that one was composed and finalized in just a couple of weeks, and it’s still one of the works that I’m most proud of.<
• Which language would you like to speak most and why?
  >That would probably be Japanese. I already have some basic knowledge, and many of my favourite music composers are Japanese.<
• How would you describe yourself in 5 words?
  >I probably think too much.<
• What are your vices?
  >Actually, I can’t think of any. I don’t smoke and I don’t drink too much. I don’t eat too much chocolate, nor am I collecting unneccessary things at an unhealthy level.<
• What is the most unusual comment anyone has ever made about you?
  >”It feels like your music is hugging me” – very sweet comment <
• The best moment in your life?
  >Right now.<
• What does beauty mean to you?
  >It’s much needed and can be found just about everywhere.<
• What would you do today if the world would end tomorrow?
  >Get together with my family and the people I love, then probably just take a deep breath, sit back and enjoy the show.<
• Which places you love the most?
  >Cosy, quiet and obscure places. I like small lakes in the middle of the forest. Preferrably in the sunset.<
• Who’s your favourite superhero and why?
  >Sonic the Hedgehog. Does he count? Because he sets the animals free, at least in the 8-bit and 16-bit versions of the video games – I haven’t really stayed updated since then.<
• What’s your favourite flavour?
  >Nothing beats the flavour of cold fresh water on a hot summer day, when you’re really thirsty.<
• Three things you could never get rid of?
  >I try not to be too attached to things. But I’d probably say some of the most vital parts of my studio. Computer + keyboard + speakers.<
• Your three favourite websites?
  >Facebook.com to keep in touch with friends, Sydsvenskan.se to read the news (in Swedish), Theawesomer.com to feed the geeky side of me.<
• What’s your favourite picture about yourself? (click on image for a larger version)

• What’s your most favourite picture you made? (click on image for a larger version)

Behind ‘Between Interval’ is Stefan Strand (known as Stefan Jönsson until late 2008), Swedish musician and composer. Stefan has been composing electronic music since late 1996. Starting out highly inspired by club music genres such as house, techno and trance, Stefan found his way to ambient music a few years later much thanks to artists like Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Pink Floyd, Aphex Twin and japanese soundtrack composer Kenji Kawai.

‘Between Interval’ is a project dedicated to ambient music. For more info about Stefan’s other music, please visit stefanstrand.se, where you’ll also find a longer biography. Besides that you can check out his discography and other project on Discogs, you can listen to his tracks on last.fm and besides that you can keep yourself updated with his MySpace page.