Johan Wohlert of Mew Sheds Light on the Woes of Aspiring Modern Indie Artists

Brendan Reynolds

Despite finding musical success fairly early on in his career with the popular Danish indie rock band Mew, Johan Wohlert, one of the group’s original members and bassist, has faced his share of life changing events in the past decade, not least of which being the tough decision to leave his band at the apex of their success, to be present for the birth and formative early weeks of his son. Johan recently exchanged a nice chat with Entertainment Voice about the adventure of starting up a band with your musically green childhood chums, the delicate task of balancing home life and professional collaborations with the same person, and the severe shifts that have occurred in the music industry landscape for up-and-coming artists in the past 20 years.  Look for Johan and Mew at several SoCal venues later this month, including The North Park Theatre in San Diego September 17, The Observatory in Santa Ana September 18, and the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood September 25.

Mew was formed in 1995 in Hellerup Copenhagen.  Can you talk a bit about your musical background and how you and your fellow bandmates put the group together?

We were all in the same primary school so we’ve known each for somewhere around 30 years now.  So when we reached ninth grade we found out that it would be fun to try and play music together.  None of us had any formal musical education or anything like that, so it was a typical punk type arrangement.  You just pick up a bass or a guitar or some drums and just hit it.  But we were so bad at playing that we couldn’t really do cover versions of anyone else’s songs, so we just started playing our own songs straight away, I guess because that was easier.

So you guys just started writing original music right away?

Yeah, I’m not even kidding, it was because we didn’t even know how to make out what other people we’re doing in their songs, so we had to start doing our own stuff.

Were there any major musicians or bands that influenced your songwriting and Mew’s general musical style?

We’re talking you know the mid 90s, so we had discovered some of the cool bands of the time.  You know the Pixies were a big influence; The Afghan Whigs, Dinosaur Jr., and My Bloody Valentine, there were some other bands in there as well.  But just all that new exciting music that was coming out at that time was sort of like an eye opener to us.  We grew up on 80’s pop and this was kind of a new thing.  You know when Nirvana broke it was sort of like our Sex Pistols or whatever you want to call it, like wow, can you do this, you can make this kind of noise?  It was like you don’t even need to play that great, but if you got something to say, you can really make a record.  So they were a huge inspiration as well.

So guys broke out right around when “In Utero” came out, I think.

Yeah, you know, like everybody else, we got a big kick in the ass when “Nevermind” came out, and that became the mainstream and sort of took over from pop.  That was what everybody started listening to, us included.

So you guys were definitely into American music. Were there any European groups or even local national groups that you guys followed as well?

Not so much national, Denmark is a tiny country musically speaking, but there were a lot of great Swedish bands, but I kind of discovered those later on, like the Abba and The Cardigans.  So it was that MTV “Alternative Nation” kind of vibe that got our attention.

You left Mew in 2006 before the birth of your first child, you then returned to the group in 2013.  Can you share a bit about why you decided to leave the group at that time, and what kind of professional projects you worked on before rejoining Mew in 2013?

I was becoming a father, I had been in Mew for 10-12 years, and I had become a bit tired of the touring.  And on a professional level, I needed a new challenge and needed to become my own man on a creative level, and sort of prove to myself that I could go it alone or at least without the other guys in the band.  I wanted to become a songwriter in my own right.  So I formed a band called The Storm, with my then girlfriend and mother of my child Pernille Rosendahl, and we did three records together and learned a shit-load in that time, pardon my French.  I really learned a lot and grew a lot as a musician and songwriter, so I think it was just kind of a creative necessity for me to challenge myself and do something that I didn’t really know if I could do or not.  So that was a great achievement for me personally.

So your former girlfriend Pernille Rosendahl is also a musician with whom you have collaborated in the past.  Can you talk a bit about what it is like to be in a relationship with a fellow musician, and how you balance home life with your professional collaborations?

Yeah, it’s a good question, because it’s a theme for a lot of people, that you need to balance your work relationship with your personal relationship, and I can say that I didn’t manage to in the end, because it just sort of became a blur, and both sides just stared influencing each other.  But when it’s great, it’s fantastic because you get to share the two things you love the most with a person that you love.  So I wouldn’t change it if I could, I just think that in hindsight, you have to be really aware that, you know, now we don’t talk shop, now it’s just you and me and our child.  So I’m just reading that book about Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth (“Girl in a Band: A Memoir”), and that whole breakup between her and Thurston Moore, and there was a lot in that I could recognize.  It was like been there, done that.  And so it’s tricky, but what can you do.  I don’t think that just because it’s not a wise think to do, you don’t try something like that.  I don’t live my life that way, so if somebody would have given me advice against it, I would have said I don’t care, I’ll take my chances.  But you learn something from it.  It’s the kind of thing that is super difficult, but also incredibly rewarding when it works.  

Can you share a bit about the events leading up to, and reasons for rejoining Mew in 2013?

I got a phone call from the guys saying we’re making a new record and we’re working with Michael Beinhorn again, who produced our album “And the Glass Handed Kites,” and they just basically said he and we would really like you to rejoin.  And I just said, sure I’m totally up for that.  I had a great talk with Michael about it, and he had a great vision for the kind of record he wanted us to make and what kind of impact he thought I would be able to contribute.  And quite frankly, he was pretty right on the money.  I gave the band a certain amount of energy back, and confidence, and so for everybody it was a nice creative thing.

It’s always fun to get the band back together.  I’m sure you were a big part of what was missing there for a while being an original member.

I think Michael felt that in the one record they did without me, that there was just something missing in terms of band vibe and band feeling.  It was a great record they made without me I have to say, but it’s different and it’s not as, I don’t know, it wasn’t as “rocking” I guess. And so he felt that it just lacked the energy and the urgency they we had before.

Mew left major record label Sony in 2013.  Can you discuss some of the pros and cons of releasing your music independently?

It’s not so much about the cons of being on an indie record label; it’s just that the whole nature of the business has changed.   You know, now we’re footing the bill ourselves.  Whereas back when we were with Sony they were giving us a lot of tour support, which is a big reason for where we are now.  I mean we had to have some sort of talent as well, but without being able to just go out on the road with financial backing, which is not something you see many labels doing these days, that makes it super difficult.  I mean, I can’t even imagine starting out as a new band these days, I don’t even know how you do it, in terms of touring and getting the money together to go out on an American tour like the one we are doing, which is very costly.  So that’s maybe the downside that no one is helping us out financially the way they did back in our early years.  But on the upside, in terms of musical style, we were never really a major label act.   We have more of a kinship with the acts we are sharing a label with now.  And that’s kind of cool to feel like you belong where they really love the music that you do.  We’re with a label now called Play It Again Sam (PIAS Recordings), and they have a great roster, and it feels pretty meaningful to be surrounded with people of a similar musical background.  You know if I say the Pixies, they all light up.  So that makes it easier and kind of levels the playing field a bit.

So would you say that you guys benefited from coming up in the early 90s compared to indie rock bands now?  Do they have a more difficult time breaking out in the modern era?

I think we got the last of the golden days of the record industry if you will.  We were still allowed to develop and grow.  We were given the opportunity to make three records with Sony and we could have made more if we were faster workers.  But they kept us on and allowed us to grow and mature as a band, and that’s what it was generally like when you got signed by a major label.  Nowadays it’s sort of make or break because the money is so tight and the attention span of the audience and public is so short, that you kind of have to hit the ground running today.  You can’t make a record anymore that’s a great experiment but the public doesn’t get it for five years that just doesn’t work these days.  We were lucky to work with great artists like Michael Beinhorn and Rich Costey, and that’s something you can’t do without the financial backing.

Mew released an iOS app with a feature allowing fans to preview your new music?  What was the motivation behind, and process involved with putting together the app?

Honestly that happened a bit prior to my rejoining.  But in general, it’s the nature of the business that you try and reach people in new and different ways, because you have to.  There’s a certain creative challenge in making music appealing and accessible to a modern audience.  And there’s a lot of trial and error to what works these days, so you sort of have to shoot at everything that moves.

Mew is about to embark on a pretty big world tour.  Can you share a bit about that, as well your thoughts and feelings on touring in general?

I absolutely love it.  I enjoy it more at the tender age of 39 than I did at 22.  For me know it’s like a cultural experience when I go to a foreign country, because I go out and eat all the weird and wonderful food, and I just make sure to make the most of it.  Whereas back in the day I didn’t really care too much about that stuff, I just wanted to be a rock star.  But I’m too smart for that now.  I sometimes think of it like I’m on vacation, I just get to play awesome rock music at night.  Rejoining Mew kind of feels like a second shot to go out and travel the world and I plan to make the most of it.  I’ve never done the whole cross-country thing we’re doing in American next month, so I’m really excited to just sit in the front seat of the bus and stare out the window and take it all in.

Mew is set to rock the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood Sept. 25.