Who Are you?
I’m Josefin Öhrn, a London-based Swedish artist/musician and songwriter.
When did you first start playing guitar, what was the inspiration?
I first started when I was about 15. I had melodies and song ideas in my head and wanted a way to channel it. I was inspired by folk and rock and artists that my parents listened to; like Bowie, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Beatles, Fleetwood Mac. Then I discovered Leonard Cohen, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell and that inspired my songwriting.
What were the first instruments and pedals that you owned and where did you get them? Do you still have any of them?
My first instrument was a wooden piano when I was six. I took some lessons after school. But my primary school was also very music- and arts-oriented, and we sang and performed a lot. A few years later my brother started playing guitar and I was singing along and then I bought an acoustic guitar for myself. And after that my ex gave me an electric guitar, a Fender Jazzmaster, that I still play on. My first pedals were a Big Muff Distortion and a Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra.
Did you face any obstacles to your playing and performing?
I think that I sometimes wanted to just focus on playing guitar live or just singing instead of doing both.
What is your favourite song to play currently (yours or someone else’s)?
It’s probably the Swedish song ‘Jag Ger Dig Min Morgon’, by Fred Åkerström, that I liked so much to play and sing that I recorded a cover of. It’s on my new upcoming album.
How did you develop your sound and style of playing, was there a particular artist or recording that inspired you?
I was very inspired by The Velvet Underground and playing a sort of straight on rhythmic guitar. Later I experimented more with slide and ebow and different pedals to create a more atmospheric space-rock sound.
Finally, What’s on your board!?
I love these pedals from Intensive Care Audio, the one called Life Support is an overdrive and boost and has a pretty wide gain range from clean to transparent to borderline vintage fuzz. Hypochondria is a one-off build, the setting I mainly use is tremolo and spring reverb. And the other two are phasers. I love a psychedelic space rock sound.
Intensive Care Audio Life Support
Intensive Care Audio Hypochondria
Intensive Care Audio Recovery Phase
Spaceman Explorer
Next week: Rosa Brook from Pozi