Edvin Diskin Wetter & Lena Nowak photographed by Grzegorz Domański
After a decade-long hiatus following the unexpected success of his minimalist iPhone recordings, Edvin Diskin Wetter has made a resolute return to reclaim his bohemian roots.
It has been exactly a decade since Edvin Diskin Wetter released Voice Memos #1, a stark, minimalist concept album recorded entirely on a smartphone that eventually achieved the kind of mythic “cult classic” status usually reserved for long-lost folk tapes. After disappearing into a self-imposed ten-year hiatus to pursue a “backup plan” and a life far removed from the spotlight, the Swedish singer-songwriter has finally re-emerged with Moonrocks No. 1 – If Your Spirit Was a Thistle. This time, the lo-fi intimacy of his past has evolved into a lush, full-band collaboration with clarinetist Lena Nowak, known for her work with the Warszawska Orkiestra Sentymentalna. Together, they have launched the first installment of a planned four-part “Moonrocks” quadrilogy—a project that explores the resilience of the organic world as it struggles to survive in an increasingly digitized society.
The new EP marks a significant shift, trading the iPhone single-takes for an “organic-synthetic” collision of acoustic warmth and glitchy digital textures. Tracks like “Flora & Fauna” introduce innovative hybrid instruments like the “flute organ,” while the haunting “Lonely Baka” offers a harrowing reflection on the 2025 Örebro school massacre and the psychological toll of internet-fueled radicalization. Despite the higher production value, Wetter insists the “soul” of the project remains unchanged, rooted in the same “bohemian” spirit that defined his debut. As he navigates the tension between artistic vision and the grinding reality of modern poverty, Wetter’s return feels like a defiant spark—a reminder that the human spirit is a thistle that refuses to be cut down.
When did you first become interested in composing music, and at what point did you realize you wanted to pursue it as a career?
One of my earliest memories is of my mother complimenting me on a one sentence long song I made up, while playing in the garden. She said I could be a song writer one day, and I think that really stuck with me, the belief. From there on I never stopped writing songs, but the career part is new to me. 🙂
Which artists serve as your biggest influences?
Nick Drake, Lil B (the basedgod), Led Zepelin and In Flames I think.
Which non-musical influences, such as literature or visual art, have had the biggest impact on your songwriting?
I think reading like English literature has influenced my lyrics a lot. It might sound a bit cringe but I love the kind of language used in fantasy novels like LOTR, and I think in some songs you can hear it a bit.
Ten years is a significant hiatus; what was the specific catalyst that made you feel now was the right time to return to the public eye?
Well… Ten years ago I´d just finished a year of music studies, and I was enjoying bohemian life, being poor, having very little gigs, and I was struck by the realization that, if something unforseen were to happen in my life I really didn´t have anything to fall back on. I switched to a backup plan which basically took ten years to complete. And now I´m here, back at square one living a bohemian life again.
Transitioning from the ultra-minimalist iPhone 3 recordings of Voice Memos #1 to a full-band studio production is a massive shift—how did you ensure the “soul” of your music didn’t get lost in the higher production value?
It was an Iphone 4 actually! It is an interesting question though. Moonrocks is very different from my other stuff, and some people might say it doesnt have the same soul as Voice Memos, and I cannot disagree, even though I know I did put my heart and soul in it! Because in the end I think the soul of the music is felt through the soul of the listener, which I have no power over.
Lena, your background involves traditional and folk-leaning ensembles; how did that influence the way you approached the “organic” side of this project compared to Edvin’s lo-fi roots?
Well its all music in the end. I suppose I could say that we have tried not to analyse what we´re doing to much, and aimed more for a feeling. One cool thing that came out of this project is an instrument we´ve dubbed “the flute organ” which is a synth made with bass clarinet, clarinet and low whistles samples, figuring a lot on track number 2 (flora & fauna). More of that to come!
The “Moonrocks” quadrilogy focuses on the organic fighting to stay alive; do you personally feel that acoustic instruments are actually under threat in the current musical landscape, or is this a metaphorical struggle?
Well, the internet is flooded with more and more ai-generated content, and a lot of people seem to really like it! I think what is really under threat is our ability to write, our ability to think, because just like any ability, we must use it or lose it, and a lot of people are relying very heavily on Ai-entities working for them. The struggle/shift I am trying to portray is more a mental one, like half online, half irl, and musically half acoustic, half digital. Its hard to put into words but there is something there.
Lonely Baka touches on radicalization via “faceless internet users”—what drew you to explore such a heavy, modern-day psychological phenomenon in your songwriting?
Well, most of the time I dont know what my songs are about until I´m done writing them, but with this one I was writing the second verse around the time of the 2025 Örebro school massacre, and I think that kind of directed the writing a lot.
Why was the thistle chosen as the primary metaphor for the spirit in the EP’s subtitle, If Your Spirit Was a Thistle?
I would rather not say.
Since this is the first of four installments, does Moonrocks No. 1 represent the “spring” or “birth” phase of a larger cycle, and will the sound evolve chronologically across the next three EPs?
I think its all autumn and winter from here actually…
With additional contributors like Oliver Carlehed and Simon Ström involved, how did you manage the creative direction to keep the project feeling like a focused duo rather than a sprawling ensemble?
Well I was very lucky with them, as per usual. They just seem to do it perfectly the first time.
Working with Anders Rane at Vintage Loft Studios suggests a specific interest in analog warmth; how important was the mastering process in achieving that “refusing to be extinguished” sound you described?
Anders Rane is a legend. He knows whats good and thats why I work with him. Dont know what more to say 🙂 Im not a big gear head bu
How do you navigate the tension between staying true to your artistic vision and making music that is accessible to an audience?
Poverty.
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