I'm from Barcelona - Growing Up Is for Trees (2015)

Ten years have passed since Emanuel Lundgren unexpectedly had four weeks off, and had the idea of forming a really big Swedish band: I’m From Barcelona. The number of members have since then varied between 28 and 16 people, the latter due to the fact that it was the maximum number of beds in a European Nightliner bus. “It all started as a fun project to have on the side, and an opportunity for me to do something where I had less control. If someone had told me then, that the band would still exist ten years later, I’d probably been both surprised, and a little scared”, Emanuel smiles. Luckily, it’s been the quality of the songwriting, rather than the number of band members, that has remained the band’s greatest strength, and has helped the band last this long.

So far, I’m From Barcelona have released three albums, and done numerous extensive tours. Their new single, Violins, is the first release from their forthcoming album, Growing Up Is For Trees. It’s been four years since last album. What took them so long? “I have spent a lot of time learning about vintage synthesizers on German websites”, says Emanuel, who has obviously spent a lot of time writing new songs as well. As is often the case with this band, Violins is a pure, melodic pop song that on closer examination also hides existential thoughts. One of the main inspirations for this one was a book about a person who, at any given time, can only remember the last 15 minutes of his life. “People say that you should live in the moment, but I don’t think this is what they’re referring to”, smiles Emanuel. The material was recorded live, to make sure that everyone felt involved. “After our second album, some members would say “did I appear on this song?” Due to the fact that they only came in to do their individual parts, on a tight schedule, they weren’t given any chance to have a real grasp of the song as a whole. And that was when I decided to record the third album live in the studio, with everyone present. And we have used the same process on the new album”.