“It’s nice to have this other band apart from my solo stuff.”
I daresay you might be familiar with the work of José González. The soft singing Swede rose to prominence in 2005 on the back of his particular brand of sweet acoustic folk, his stunning rendition of compatriot act The Knife’s track Heartbeats and, later, the seminal trip-hop classic Teardrop by Massive Attack. What you might not know is that prior to achieving this solo success, González and two friends – Tobias Winterkorn (keys) and Elias Araya (drums) – played together in a band called JUNIP. The band’s formation dates back to the late ‘90s, yet it is only now, over a decade later, that the group have finally released their debut LP Fields and are set to tour the upcoming summer festival circuit. I was lucky enough to get a chance to quiz both González and Winterkorn about what took them so long to get organised.
“In 2000 we released one 7” and we recorded a full length that we sent out to some labels [but] didn’t get that much attention,” González explains. “Then I started my solo stuff in 2003.” Between González’s solo commitments, the trio tried on several occasions to devote more attention to Junip, with varying degrees of success. An EP titled Black Refuge was released in 2005 but the band’s momentum was again stalled by competing priorities. “Elias went to study art in Finland and Norway and you, Tobias, you were...” González says, trailing off, waiting for his partner to chip in. “I was studying and working as a teacher and raising a family,” Winterkorn concludes.
Sensing that his bandmates may have felt left behind in the wake of González’s burgeoning solo career, I probe Winterkorn about any bitterness or resentment he may have experienced while biding his time on the sideline. “I was really proud of his success and I don’t feel anger or nothing like that,” Winterkorn says, dismissing any hint of negativity. “Sometimes I almost felt like a little jealous because I also wanted [success], but then I could be jealous of every artist who’s made it in the world.”
Given González’s successful solo career – which has seen him contribute guest vocals alongside our own Sia Furler on UK downtempo act Zero 7’s 2006 LP The Garden and on a cover of Nick Drake’s Cello Song with The Books on last year’s amazing Dark Was The Night compilation – why dust off Junip? And what differentiates the songs on Fields from those on his solo records? “I always felt like it’s nice to have this other band apart from my solo stuff because I get to do different music,” González says. “The main difference is the music, because the vocals are the same. It’s more fleshed out and the guitar is just a tiny part of the whole sound. There’s more variation with Junip compared to my own songs, a lot more things happening.”
Junip are visiting Australia for the upcoming summer festival circuit, including appearances at the Falls, Southbound and Sunset Sounds festivals.
Have a listen to Junip's awesome track Always below.
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