First Aid Kit are young swedish sisters, Johanna and Klara Soderberg. They came to the attention of the public following a very innocent tribute to Fleet Foxes. After seeing Fleet Foxes perform in Sweden that weekend they felt inspired and went into the forest to record a cover of “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”. After placing the video they managed to clock over 1 million views and outstanding five star ratings.
This was the video:
After hearing about them we sat down to listen to “The Big Black and The Blue”, their debut album. The album is in the exceptional category of music that we have introduced into the Folk Radio UK playlist. The voices of these two young sisters is not what I expected on a debut album for their age. They have an incredible maturity and charm. I would place them somewhere between Alela Diane and Fleet Foxes, if I was asked to, but it’s only fair to say that they have a unique sound and with a motto of “we aim for the hearts not the charts” displayed on Myspace, I can see them hitting the hearts of many listeners that hear them for the first time. They have an underlying gutsy sound that swings them away from the delicate folk side to a more raw rootsy feel.
Josefin is a hair lifter, which along with other great tracks such as Heavy Storm and the upbeat Sailor Song make this album something very special. We give it ten out ten without hesitation!
The girls will be taking their lush harmonies on tour around the UK in February/March, playing London’s Union Chapel on 4 March. If their special invite only show in December 2009 was anything to go by, these dates will be beautiful and all consuming. (see dates below)
Video – Hard Believer
Biography
The Swedish duo First Aid Kit comprises sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg (born 1990 and 1993, respectively), hailing from Enskede, a suburb south of Stockholm. Yes, they are very young, but the pure music they create speaks of bygone times and old souls. The emphasis is on narrative lyrics accompanying playful melodies with intense, dense harmonies.
The musical journey of Klara and Johanna began with singing along to the pop songs that leaked into their childhood home, radio hits by Britney, Christina and so on. However, it was not until happening upon the music of such venerable artists as Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, that the sisters discovered how music that could touch them in a way that those radio songs could not.
Klara describes her first encounter with the song ‘First Day of My Life’ by Bright Eyes as a revelation. With authenticity and honesty having struck a deep chord within, this is what came to characterize the music of First Aid Kit. It has the feel of forest folk songs, full of enchanting storytelling, and as on EP highlight ‘Jagadamba, You Might’ a sense of compelling, ancient mystery. Their music has much in common with artists like Vashti Bunyan, Devendra Banhart, Bright Eyes, Joanna Newsom, Karen Dalton or The Carter Family.
At 13, Klara was given her first guitar, and the sisters started playing music and composing songs together in the spring of 2007. The first lyrics, melodies and harmonies came quite quickly. Then came another song. And another. And another.
UK Dates
Fri 19 Feb Edinburgh Sneaky Pete’s £8 www.gigsinscotland.com 08444 999 990
Sat 20 Feb Glasgow King Tuts £8 www.gigsinscotland.com 08444 999 990
Mon 22 Feb Birmingham Rainbow £8 www.seetickets.com 0870 2643333
Tue 23 Feb Manchester Deaf Institute £8 www.seetickets.com 0870 2643333
Wed 24 Feb Leeds Brudenell Social Club £8 www.lunatickets.co.uk 0113 2454650
Thu 25 Feb Stockton The Georgian Theatre £8 www.teesmusicalliance.org.uk
Fri 26 Feb Hull Adelphi £6 www.seetickets.com 0870 2643333
Sat 27 Feb Nottingham Bodega £8 www.alt-tickets.co.uk 08713 100 000
Mon 1 Mar Sheffield Bungalows and Bears FREE
Tue 2 Mar Norwich Arts Centre £8 / £9 www.norwichartscentre.co.uk 01603 660352
Wed 3 Mar Oxford The Jericho Tavern £8 www.wegottickets.com/event/64487
Thu 4 Mar London Union Chapel £10 www.livenation.co.uk 0844 5765483
Sat 6 Mar Bristol Louisiana £8 www.alt-tickets.co.uk 08713 100 000
Sun 7 Mar Southampton Hamptons FREE
Mon 8 Mar Brighton Hope £8 www.ticketweb.co.uk 0844 4771000