Where and how did it all start for Tim the Lion Tamer?
I started playing and writing music when I was a kid, but the Tim the Lion Tamer project itself started about three years ago. I had written a few songs and was asked by a friend to perform at Mässingshornet in Kirseberg. So I did that and then it just went on from there.
“When I was in high school, I got an F in music.” – Tim the Lion Tamer
Tell us about your most recent concerts.
I haven’t been performing a lot lately. I think the last gig was like a year ago or something like that. But most of my gigs have been in and around Malmö – Stapelbädden, Mascot, Slottsträdgården, På Besök, Café Montag and so forth.
What’s your dream for the coming year?
I just attended a showing of my dream apartment, a five-room flat right on Fersens väg, so getting that certainly qualifies. Otherwise it would be to finally record that debut EP I’ve been blabbering on about for the last two years. I think I just need to get it out of my system.
How does it feel to get booked by your fans through Emues again?
I’m very satisfied and very humbled for sure. Performing at Kick-Start Babel is sort of like a milestone for me – so many great acts and artists have started out doing just that. I remember contacting Peter Briggs back in 2011 and basically begging for a gig, without any luck, but now I guess I’m ready for Babel. Or maybe Babel is finally ready for me.
Would you like to share some of the songs on the set list?
I usually make up my mind regarding the set list the same day as the actual gig takes place, but I’ll probably do a mixture of covers and self-penned stuff. Whistleblower, Ballad For Caroline, So Many Miles Ago and so on. I’ve been listening a lot to Bruce Springsteen and Simon & Garfunkel lately, so the chance of there being a few of their songs is fairly big.
You’re uploading amazing intro’s and covers to your Soundcloud, tell us more about your process when writing and recording new material.
Well, cheerio to you lad! My creativity behaves like a volcano, sort of; I mope around for weeks and sometimes months without writing a single sentence and then: Boom. Eruption. Lava everywhere.
The best songs are the ones that write themselves. And the less I think about what I’m writing, the more honest and true and poetic the writing becomes. You kinda make sense of it all afterwards. I envy people who are able to just sit down and write a song on a regular Tuesday.
Recording is a completely different thing, however. It is extremely time-consuming and you really have to put in the hours. I try to carve out an hour here and there after work and on weekends and stuff like that, but it’s still a very slow process. I’m very spontaneous when it comes to songwriting – but a bloody perfectionist when it comes to recording.
Where do you go for inspiration?
Hard to say really. I used to find inspiration in everything – I would sit on the bus and tap my fingers against my knees and come up with a melody in my head, but not anymore. It’s still there somewhere though, I just have a harder time channeling it now.
Are you working on any new material?
Right now I’m mostly trying to make sense out of old material actually. But since it’s new for everyone else: Yes, I am.
If you were to get booked together with another band or artist through Emues, with who would it be?
Do you think you can borrow that hologram projector they used at Coachella to revive Tupac Shakur? In that case my answer would be Hologram 2Pac. Otherwise, I would love to perform with my friends in Wittsell 3 and High Coast.
Three fun facts about Tim the Lion Tamer
- When I was in high school, I got an F in music.
- Before I came up with Tim the Lion Tamer, I was going to call my self Tim the Giant. I thought it was going to be ironic and funny but since I’m sort of a big guy, that didn’t play out ironically at all.
- Sometimes I listen to gangsta rap really loud. True story.
One thought on “Spotlight: Tim The Lion Tamer”
Comments are closed.