Lead singer Sebastian Murphy opens up about being "middle-aged guys on stage playing hypnotic music" in the desert
Late afternoon, San Francisco. Sebastian Murphy is standing in the toilet of Viagra Boys’ tour bus philosophising about the psychological benefits of songwriting.
“It’s very therapeutic for me,” says the lead singer of Sweden’s iconic punk-rock band. “On the last album, I was getting out of a crippling drug addiction and tried to get my shit together. I was ruining a lot of relationships and turning into someone who wasn’t that fun to be around. It was hard on my psyche digging around with that shit – and now I’m in a very different place.”
Just 48 hours have passed since he stepped off the stage at Coachella: a triumphant show in the Californian desert where the band – surrounded by influencers in crochet tops and fringed suede jackets – brought raw emotion and raging guitars to a world of flower-crown-adorned teens and pop melodies.
Sebastian Murphy. Photo: Courtesy of the Viagra Boys
“It was fun playing for people who have never heard of us,” says 32-year-old Murphy. “They looked at us in shock and in awe. I don’t think they are used to fat, middle-aged guys on stage playing hypnotic music. They are used to young people playing pop and we are the opposite.”
Cultural differences aside, playing to a packed crowd has become the norm for Viagra Boys, who have spent the past month touring the US and headlining at venues everywhere from Boston to Portland. “It’s been amazing, we have sold out every venue and it’s been cool that people know the songs. Coachella is exactly what I expected it to be. Just a crazy amount of people and lots of girls wearing big hats. Lots of skin everywhere, lots of clout chasers. We tried to have a night out, but the VIP area was pretty much 5,000 people standing in line. It was nice just to experience it; we drove around in golf carts and felt like really important people.”
Formed in Stockholm in 2015, Viagra Boys released their debut album Street Worms three years later. Fusing elements of brass, electronics, and introspective lyrics, they were instantly credited for bringing punk rock into the 21st century. NME magazine called them “shit-kicking bad lads in the post-punk world”, Pitchfork labeled them “ludicrously entertaining”, while GQ crowned them saviours of punk. Following the success of their sophomore album Welfare Jazz in 2021, it’s fair to say that the release of their third LP Cave World is anticipated.
Tor Sjödén, André Jofré and Sebastian Murphy. Photo: Courtesy of the Viagra Boys
“The themes are the state of the world today and the absurdity of everything going on around us,” Murphy says of the new tracks. “I sing about conspiracy theories, space travel, time travel, and a lot about evolution. Sound-wise we have taken the best parts of the first and the second album and added some new styles.”
Murphy was born in San Rafael, California – an upper-middle-class town in The Bay Area. The singer grew up with an American father and a Swedish mother. Later, during his turbulent teenage years, Murphy found himself caught in a self-destructive cycle of drugs and partying and moved to Sweden to get his life back on track.
“I had gone down the wrong path in America and I was tired of fighting with my parents, so I left for Sweden to calm down. In the beginning, it was a culture shock, but I slowly became more Swedish as a person and today I feel more Swedish than American,” he says.
Henrik ‘Benke’ Höckert and Sebastian Murphy.
I don’t really know what it’s like to be a single man, but I know that younger men have never needed Viagra as much as they do now
Viagra Boys was founded after Murphy and the band’s bassist Henrik “Benke” Höckert had a night out together. They ended up at a birthday party where Murphy sang a karaoke version of Mariah Carey’s We Belong Together. Today, however, the band’s music is often interpreted as a comment on toxic masculinity – a subject Murphy is ambivalent about.
“I don’t really know what it’s like to be a single man, but I know that younger men have never needed Viagra as much as they do now. It’s probably a lot of pressure on everyone to act a sort of way and be a certain kind of person. I feel bad for them,” he adds.
"There’s a sense of pride in your songs, that you are…" I say before Murphy interjects, “…Embracing being a piece of shit?”
"I was going to say celebrating being a fuck-up."
“It’s about not being so hard on yourself. Everyone is a weirdo and we as a band want people to feel included. Everyone does shit and has periods when they are assholes. The important thing is to learn from it and grow as a person,” he explains.
Oskar Carls.
Last year Viagra Boys guitarist Benjamin Vallé was found dead in Stockholm. “He was a beautiful person and the nicest guy ever," says Murphy of the tragedy that made his life change course. "But he had been unhealthy the past few years, it was horrible. He also had such a distinct sound that no one will ever be able to replace. We miss him very much.”
The sudden loss became the start of Murphy's own journey towards getting clean and living a healthier lifestyle. “It definitely strengthened that argument and made us all more aware of taking care of each other and remembering that life is short. It made the decision to take care of yourself feel more important.”
In 2021, Murphy found love in Swedish artist Moa Romanova and this winter the couple got engaged on stage during a live performance in Stockholm.
“I met the woman of my dreams. She is an artist and has made the artwork for the new album. I wouldn’t have been able to meet someone like her with the life I lived before. She wouldn’t have wanted to be with me, and I wouldn’t have had the capacity to take care of someone else.”
The proposal wasn’t planned: Murphy just suddenly found himself in the right setting. “It was an impulse, for sure. It was at a country festival and, to me, country music is very romantic, so I knew when we got there that this would be the perfect opportunity.”
Lauren Simon and band manager Ella Schäfer.
Murphy lies down in the back of his bunk bed dressed in black jeans and a white tank top. To the 32-year-old frontman fashion is something that should be kept simple and functional.
“If your music speaks for itself you don’t have to dress like a f**king dumbass. We don’t have to dress up like freaks. Personally, I’m influenced by my background in skateboarding and graffiti. I also like aerodynamic sunglasses that throw off the feeling of speed.”
The last couple of years, we've seen him wearing tracksuit bottoms, both on stage and in music videos. He describes it as a heritage from his old lifestyle.
“In my old days, when I did speed, I used to wear tracksuits a lot since I was always moving around doing shit. You need to be comfortable and feel soft for that. But I also love the Western-style – cowboy stuff, nice belts, hats, and beautiful shirts.”
From left to right: Elias Jungqvist, Henrik Palm, Henrik ‘Benke’ Höckert, Oskar Carls and Sebastian Murphy. Photo: Courtesy of Viagra Boys
The sun is setting over the San Francisco Bay and outside the concert venue, the line has started to stretch around the block. For Murphy, it’s still mixed emotions to get on stage. “It used to be horrible. Most of the time I hated it. It feels like a weird thing to do; to sing and dance and stuff. But now when I feel better about myself it has gotten easier. There are times on stage when I notice that I actually enjoy myself; that I have a huge smile on my face.”