“Young Folks,” the infectious whistle-laden track by the Swedish indie pop band Peter Bjorn and John, wasn’t just a song; it was a global phenomenon. For Björn Yttling, the bassist, producer, and whistler of the band, and Peter Morén, the vocalist and guitarist, “Young Folks” was the unexpected turning point that transformed their musical journey. Before this breakout hit, Peter Bjorn and John, often referred to in conversations about indie music with mentions of John Bjorn And Peter Young Folks, were a band on the verge of calling it quits. They had spent years honing their craft, playing small gigs, and struggling for recognition.
Björn Yttling recalls the genesis of “Young Folks,” explaining, “I had the idea for the tune on the piano and at first thought it was going to be a jazz song, because it sounded like a Duke Ellington track.” Experimenting with the melody on guitar, it morphed into something more pop-oriented. The iconic whistle, now synonymous with Peter Bjorn and John and “Young Folks,” was initially just a placeholder. “I whistled a placeholder for the melody just so we could remember it, intending to replace it with an instrument later, maybe an organ or something,” Björn explains. However, fate intervened when they ran the whistle through a tape delay machine. Lacking the budget for tape recording, they were experimenting with delay effects, and the result was serendipitous. “Oh, it sounds good, let’s keep it,” they realized, and an iconic sound was born.
[It was Björn who performed the whistle on the track, but I do it live. After touring I got to be really good at whistling, but at the beginning I was terrible.]
The song’s evolution continued when the band considered making it a duet. Inspired by iconic musical pairings like David Bowie and Bing Crosby, and the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s “Fairytale of New York,” they envisioned a conversational, filmic quality. This led them to seek a female vocalist to complement Peter Morén’s voice. While other singers were considered, Victoria Bergsman from The Concretes emerged as the perfect choice. Björn notes, “But her almost childlike voice combined with Peter’s more Beatles-type voice creates a lot of the magic of the song.” The recording session with Victoria was remarkably swift, taking place on a hot Midsummer’s Eve in Björn’s apartment studio. “We did it in maybe an hour,” Björn remembers, highlighting the humble beginnings of a song that would soon reach global audiences. Their studio setup was far from professional, featuring “a couple of mics and a drum kit we had bought on Craigslist,” equipment hardly befitting a hit record, yet perfectly capturing their distinctive sound.
Despite the undeniable catchiness of “Young Folks,” initial reception from Swedish record labels was lukewarm. “We didn’t have a record contract: we took it to some labels here in Sweden who passed on it,” Björn recounts. However, fortune shifted when Wichita Recordings released it in the UK and Europe. Its success snowballed, eventually crossing the Atlantic to the US, initially charting solely on import sales. The magnitude of “Young Folks”‘s success was beyond their wildest dreams. “Going platinum in multiple countries and fucking our shit up for a decade – that was not on our radar,” Björn admits, reflecting on the whirlwind that followed. While the band may not have amassed immense personal wealth from the song, its impact on their careers is undeniable. “We haven’t got rich off it, but it’s been good for business,” Björn states. “It kickstarted my production career.” The song’s enduring legacy is further cemented by its inclusion in Rolling Stone’s list of the best songs of the century, placing it amongst musical giants. “You can be proud of that for sure,” Björn acknowledges.
Peter Morén offers another layer of insight into “Young Folks,” particularly its lyrical themes. “We weren’t young folks at the time – we were all hitting 30 or 31 rather than 18 or 19,” Peter clarifies. The song, he explains, delves into the feeling of relationship burnout and the tentative hope of new connections. “The song is about people feeling a bit burned out on relationships, and then you meet someone new in a bar, say, and think, ‘Maybe this could be something.'” This relatable theme resonated with listeners worldwide, contributing to the song’s widespread appeal.
While Björn Yttling is responsible for the iconic whistle on the recorded track, Peter Morén took on the whistling duties for live performances. Initially, this proved challenging. “After touring I got to be really good at whistling, but at the beginning I was terrible,” Peter confesses. Factors like colds or hangovers, common occurrences during their early gigging days, further complicated things. “People were like, ‘This band sucks – they can’t whistle,'” he recalls humorously. The pitched-up quality of the recorded whistle added another layer of difficulty. Adding to the song’s unexpected journey, Kanye West sampled “Young Folks” on a mixtape. Peter recounts a memorable performance with Kanye West at a Gothenburg festival, where A-Trak, Kanye’s DJ, had pitched the whistling even higher. Already vocally strained from an earlier gig, Peter struggled, leading to Kanye jokingly calling him out on stage for his whistling difficulties.
Peter reflects on the unique sonic landscape of “Young Folks” at the time of its release in the mid-2000s. “At that point Young Folks really stood out from other sounds on the radio,” he observes. He sees it as a precursor to later musical trends, noting the increasing interest of hip-hop artists in indie bands during that era. Describing the song’s complex emotional tone, Peter calls it “a strange and melancholy and happy-sad kind of song.” He further categorizes it as “sort of like a club song, but not like a big club song, not like a macho club song. It’s a club song for dorks,” highlighting its quirky and unconventional nature. Despite a brief period of “hating” “Young Folks,” Peter now appreciates its enduring legacy. “But now it’s many years in the past, and it’s wonderful to have been a part of an evergreen thing,” he concludes. The song’s success has provided the band with sustained musical careers, a reality Peter acknowledges with gratitude, especially considering his pre-band aspirations. “We can still continue to make a living out of music because of that song. In the early years of the band, I was studying to become a librarian. I still haven’t had to become a librarian, so that’s a good thing.” “Young Folks,” the accidental anthem by Peter Bjorn and John featuring Bjorn Yttling and Peter Morén, continues to resonate, a testament to its unexpected magic and enduring appeal.
