Råttanson: DIY Garage Rock

If you’ve been reading Garagerocktopia at all, you know we like to feature musical styles that, while related, are different. By now, you know those would be garage rock, power pop and other closely related subgenres. If those don’t make sense to you or go over your head, by all means scope out the blog.

If maybe you’d like a shortcut, you could always check out the music of Råttanson, who  is a like one-stop shopping destination for a lot of what we like to listen to around here.

The Swedish singer-songwriter is pretty clear about his attraction to garage rock and power pop, and he’s not exactly coy about appreciating a wider spectrum of music. That wide-ranging fondness has managed to carry over into his music, which displays a fluency not just in garage rock and power pop, but also blues, surf and country music.

“I have long had a passion for music,’ said Råttanson, talking to Garagerocktopia via e-mail. “I have long been digging rock 'n' roll, punk, country, pub rock, garage rock, surf and blues, all of this since since I was ten years old. Somehow all these influences get filtered through my pores, and out comes a bunch of Råttanson tunes.”

Råttanson has recently released his debut album, “ ”Full-Scale Shakeability," on the Swedish label Open Mind. For stripped-down garage rock, you couldn’t ask for a better debut.

Much of the album is straightforward guitar-driven garage-rock, very much in a Yardbird-sy kind of way. Songs like “Riot of Gray,” “Bombs Carpet of Love,” “Wandering Black Hole” and “Going Uptown,” with good hooks and fine energy, could fit snugly into any garage-rock playlist, be it focused on ‘60s bands or stuff more current.

But “Full-Scale Shakeability” also brings the power pop in a big way. “Light Summer Nights” and “Pokerface Heart” will scratch any power pop itch, while “Blue Ticket” even nudges a bit towards bubblegum. Regardless of which musical hat he’s trying to wear, he feels he’s come up with some pretty good songs.

“Currently, I think I'm mostly pleased with "Wandering Black Hole", "Riot of Gray", "Going Uptown", and "Light Summer Nights", said Råttanson. “The three first ones are garage rock style, while the last one is a typical power pop song. “

There are other touches that work well on the album, too. “Poor Beast, Marginal Man” proves once again that the spirit of Bo Diddley is still very much a part of rock and roll. And one of our favorites here is “Don’t You Mess With Me,” in which the Rattanson channeled one set of immortals -- but seemed even more to draw the sound of another.

“When I recorded "Don't Mess With Me," I had early Stones in mind,” Råttanson confesses. “Then I added kind of a Link Wray-guitar,” but when I think of it, there is some resemblance to Everly Brothers tunes like "The Price of Love" and "Gone, Gone, Gone."

We’ve often talked about the ever-presence of the blues in garage rock. But there is, often, a country music element as well. While Råttanson says he wasn’t specifically trying to bring that element in, some of the groups he enjoys listening to had no problem mixing a little Nashville into their music.

“I'm also a big fan of the Long Ryders,” revealed Råttanson, “who were both garage rock and country. You can here some Long Ryders influences on my music, for instance ‘Going Uptown’. “

It’s common practice for artists to go genre-jumping, especially early in their careers, to show their versatility. But Råttanson says, in the truest artistic way, he only was playing what moved him.

“It's not like a plan, but I don't want to get completely stuck in a particular genre,” he said. “Although the focus is on garage rock/power pop, I like to blend in some other influences. I like and listen to bands and artists associated with americana/alternative country/cowpunk and also jangle pop a la Byrds.”

For those of us in the English-speaking world, the pronunciation of Råttanson might be a tad tricky. Fortunately, the singer/songwriter didn’t just give a helpful hint on how to say it, but even shared his name’s backstory.

”You should pronounce it rotten son, but a direct translation would be Ratson. The idea with this one-man band from the beginning was to play songs with Swedish lyrics, and therefore the name Råttanson was chosen.”

“Råttanson was, actually, my imaginary friend once upon a time. I had this old tune "Teenage Barbarian" which I wrote as a teenager. Some of my former bands used to play it live, but it was never recorded. I have always liked the tune so I decided to give it a try when my son became a teenager.”

The song, one of the album’s best, ended up drawing a lot of attention.

“The song was played on Goldie's Garage (Genya Ravan’s show on satellite radio) and the Big Enchilada  (podcast) and now I'm stuck with the name Råttanson. Haha! Probably not the best name if you want to reach an audience outside Sweden, but then again maybe it sounds a bit exotic.”

Rattanson plies his trade in Stockholm, a city with utterly no shortage of great bands, many of whom have garnered international acclaim. As a guy breaking out with is first album, this can be a tough situation.

“Yeah, it's not that easy (to get noticed),” said Rattanson, but I just want to write and record some good music. Hopefully, there are some other people that like what you do. The great thing with internet is that you can find those people in distant corners of the world.”

“It is mostly internet radio stations and podcasts that play the album. I think it is pretty cool that Råttanson can reach listeners in different countries such as the States, UK, Spain and Austria.  For now, the LP only has distribution in Scandinavia, but you can listen to "Full-scale Shakeability" through streaming services worldwide.

“Råttanson has so far mostly been a DIY studio-project, and the few times I have played live have been in the Stockholm area as a one-man band. It would be great to put together a band and get on tour. I should really try to make it happen.”