Words by by Nicholas Fox Ricciardi
Photo by Abbey Braden

José González threatens to disrupt our preconceptions of Swedish exports. He is not blonde. He is not singing glossy pop songs. He is not even waiting at the end of an inconveniencing bus ride to Elizabeth, New Jersey ready to supply you with cheap home furnishings and inscrutable assembly instructions. Rather, he is a classically trained guitar player of Argentine descent putting out simple, smart folk songs that are catchy enough to make the OC soundtrack. Zach Braff is probably off crying somewhere listening to Mr. González’s version of the Knife’s “Heartbeats” (or trying to cry?). Say goodbye to Sweden as you’ve come to know it and say hello to José González.

Did you grow up speaking Spanish as well as Swedish?
I grew up in Sweden, but yeah, at home it was always Spanish.

Were you mostly exposed to Spanish music growing up?
Well, when I was really little, like before schooling.

Do you ever find yourself writing lyrics in Spanish or Swedish and translating them to English?
I will sometimes think in Swedish, and I am trying to be aware of that when I’m writing.

And your accent is almost untraceable…
There are so many Swedish bands that it can be really obvious and I try to avoid that.

I think your English annunciation is pretty original as well. In “Lovestain,” when you sing “easily” your emphasis kind of reminds me of a Spanish cadence.
When I recorded that song, the only English I had was from reading. So, I actually haven’t spoken that much English.

Why did you choose to write in English as opposed to Spanish or even Swedish?
It’s really common [for Swedish bands to write in English]. The first time I wrote lyrics was for my hardcore band. I thought about Spanish a couple times.

Have you written anything in Spanish?
No, but I’ve thought about it many times. English has always been my third language.

English isn’t all that pretty of a language.
Eh… no, but it’s a lot nicer than Swedish. Spanish is very nice. I feel that I don’t find the words in Spanish that easily. I can speak day-to-day Spanish, but I don’t have the vocabulary.

How long have you been writing/arranging for just voice and guitar? I know you were in a couple bands before you started working solo.
I mean, when I started music, I did it at the same time I was doing hardcore bands. But eventually I started studying and didn’t have time to stay with the other band. I ended up just playing the guitar by myself at home.

Do you miss playing with a band?
I like playing with a band. Especially just hanging with people. Playing live is really comfortable to just bring my guitar and a couple microphones and it’s really easy.

In working alone, do you feel it is harder sometimes, because you might feel pressured to fill up the energy of other instruments or of the other musicians playing live?
Actually, now I feel the other way around. I understand what you mean. At the beginning, I was really aware of making everything intentional in a way, so that all the guitar stuff would be elaborate or sound loud even if it’s just one guitar and vocals. But now I try to be much simpler, and don’t really feel that need that I used to.

Are you playing with anyone else right now?
I am playing with a band where I’m playing an acoustic guitar and singing.

Cool, what’s the band?
It’s called Junip.

Are you going to be putting anything out with them?
It’s gonna take a lot of time. Maybe a year or more.

Are you playing in a similar style to your solo work, or is it different?
It’s organ and drums except for guitar. It’s not that much picking, it’s more strumming.

You have put out a number of covers and your choices in songs have been interesting. What attracted you first to covering a song like the Knife’s “Heartbeats”?
I really liked that song. I was choosing another cover for shows, and it was one of my favorite songs at the time.

But did you hear something at first that you thought you could work with or did you just determine to do it?
I really liked it and was determined to do it. The first time I did it, it didn’t work that well. It took a long time to get a guitar part that would work.

How about Kylie Minogue’s “Hand on My Heart”?
I was watching the video one time, and I already knew the song from years before. The rhythm and the production are really upbeat, but the lyrics are really not and I thought it would be interesting to bring that part out.

What it is you bring out in your songs seems to be a bit elusive. I think people seem to have a hard time describing your sound. Someone wrote that it sounds like you’re playing for a suicidal flamenco dancer.
(Laughs) I wouldn’t say flamenco, except for one song, I don’t think there is that much flamenco in it.

How would you describe your music?
I would say darker, more repetitive, simpler.

Is that something you are working on, to make your songs simpler?
Yes, the things I’m working on now are sometimes even more sparse.

It is also interesting that your covers are for the most part dance songs. Is there something rhythmically in a dance song that lends itself to your style?
Yes, I always try to find the rhythm; I’m attracted more to rhythmic things and try to avoid something too down tempo or writing anything about love.

No love? But in a song like “Crosses” I feel like it comes across as a love relationship.
Um, no (laughs).

No?
But love is in “Broken Arrow” and “Stay in the Shade” is, in a way, also. I don’t really like to talk about the meaning of my lyrics too much.

Sure, no problem. So how about The OC?
I haven’t watched it myself, but it’s a good way of promoting music. If you compare the series with the advertisements? It’s a better way of getting the music out there.

Did you have a problem deciding whether to allow “Heartbeats” to be used in the Sony Bravia TV commercial?
Yes, definitely, especially before I got to see the footage, and, well, less, but to some extent still after I saw the footage. But less so (laughs).

With the songs you’re working on now, are you going to bring in more instrumentation or are you going to stick with just voice and guitar?
Right after I recorded the album, I started testing different stuff. I realized it works better to keep it simple. There will be some harmonies, some percussion-rhythmically very much similar.

Is the style you’ve been writing in something that has developed recently, like in the past couple years?
No, I think I started almost straight away when I started playing the guitar. I was copying Silvio Rodriguez.

Where is he from?
He’s Cuban. He was doing protest music, love songs when I was seventeen. But the songs that I am proud of today aren’t older than five years.

You said you picked up your English mostly from reading. What kind of reading could have inspired your lyrics?
Mostly in film, but I haven’t read that many books in English. [I read English books] mostly in school, which were about chemistry.

What films then?
I really like Jim Jarmusch and Wes Anderson movies, and almost any movie that Bill Murray is in.

Where are you at in terms of the next album?
Just writing. Just working with a microphone.

When and where are you planning on beginning the actual recording?
I’ll probably record at home like last time. I’m guessing the summer.

What kind of equipment are you working with? What were you working with on Veneer?
I recorded Veneer on a PC with two microphones, but now I’ve bought expensive microphones and a better computer.

Are you enjoying the writing and recording process or would you rather be playing live?
I enjoy playing live and it seems to be working well. I don’t put on a show, I just play the songs and that seems to work fine. I like when I start writing and it’s working, but most of the time I feel I almost constantly have writer’s block, but when it’s working it’s really fun.