We at MinorProgression make very frequent trips back to Air France‘s album No Way Down. It’s the kind of record that somehow gets better with each listen; it’s good for a cry, allows you to dance, perfect for the bedroom, whimsical, magical and has pretty much become our favorite album off the Sincerely Yours label. I kind of had a weird “Oh No” moment last Spring when I realized (though admitting it is hard) that Air France moved above The Tough Alliance in my last.fm account.  Anyway, I shot Air France an email to see what they’ve been up to and was happily blessed with an interview. So check it out!   If you don’t already have any Air France tracks at your fingertips, look at the bottom of the page for a few downloads and I suggest you immediately dash off to buy the full album if our recommendations here at minorprogression ever get you going. Of course you don’t have to take my word for it, I’ll let the music ( and the band) speak for itself…

Sincerly Yours is one of my favorite labels in the world. Do you have any new bands leaking that I should check out? Are there any other labels in Sweden or Europe that are doing amazing things?

Thank you Stephen! We’re glad you like what we are doing. There’s this cool band called Museum of Bellas Artes that has a song called “Who do you love”. I think it’s the only one they’ve released. It’s not a new song or anything, but it pops to mind. Anyway, they’re on a label called Force Majeure.

I haven’t been to Sweden in quite a few years, but I know it’s an amazing country to be from. Are you currently there? Is that where you still call home?

Yeah Sweden will always be home for us I think. It’s a great place to grow up, even though it feels far too small in some ways. But, I think that’s the way it is in Europe. All the countries are small, but on the other hand, you’re always just a stone’s throw away from other, completely different places. You are never too far away from something you haven’t seen before.

How is the economy affecting the lifestyle out there? I keep hearing everything is getting even more expensive than it already was.

Well, Gothenburg suffered a lot from the crisis, but being a working man’s town, it has always had it’s fair share of unemployment. And prices have gone up, but not on everything. Mainly, it’s energy and some staple foods that are getting more expensive. It doesn’t matter though. Not for us. Henrik went missing for quite some time this summer, and when he came back he had a whole new outlook on life. He said that we’re not going to eat anything with a soul. If it lives and grows above ground, it has a soul, so we are just going to eat root crops, which is still quite cheap.

What effects does that have on you and other bands from where you are from?

Wages hasn’t gone up, so it basically means less money in the wallet. But you know, we have been fortunate enough to get an advance from our publishers, XL, so we’ve been able to live off that most part of this year. It’s getting kind of thin now though, so we’re going to have to get back to our day jobs, which will slow the work process down quite a bit. Don’t say anything to XL, but it will be a miracle if this record ever gets finished.

It’s been a little while since your last ep came out, what have you guys been up too?

There was one period when we did a lot of traveling, flying from one place to another to play records. It was a great experience, and we met a lot of wonderful people from all over. And we have been working. And taking vacations. We’ve been writing constantly though, and now it’s time to take all these ideas and make sense of them.

Do you prefer recording and working on new material or playing music live? Have you been touring in Sweden or elsewhere? Any shows to look forward to in the future? Trips to the states…? (Nudge Nudge)

Well, we have played live just once. It was not a hit. We’ve been meaning to put a real act together ever since but there’s always other things that get in the way. Jobs, family, cats. We’ve always thought of traveling and playing as a bonus, something we might indulge in when there’s time, but since we’re such slow workers there never seem to be enough time to put a band together. We have people from the US and Mexico and all these places asking us if we’ll come play, and it’s a real shame that we just can’t. If we are ever going to get to see all these places, we’ll have to get our act together. And we will.

What was it like growing up in Sweden? I’ve been to Jonkoping, Malmo and Stockholm and truly loved each of them. Each is so unique and charming. Do you feel that those cities paint a strong portrait of your country? Where did you grow up? What are your favorite aspects of Sweden?

We grew up in two small towns outside of Stockholm, by a big lake called Mälaren. The surroundings are quite idyllic, with lots of forests and pastures. I think it’s the nature that sets the scene when it comes to Sweden. As a people, we are very proud of our nature, and to have a small cottage where you can spend the summer is the definition of heaven for a lot of Swedes. A lot of people have a very romantic and idyllic look on Swedish summer. But then of course, as soon as the cold comes, people fly off to spend Christmas in Thailand. But I think, for us too, nature is a really important aspect. There’s really no big cities in Sweden, with not really much to do, but the nature is grand.

A couple downloads:

Air France – Collapsing at Your Doorstep

Air France – Beach Party

Air France – Never Content