Australian rock legend Nick Cave and Swedish punk icon Thåström are getting animated in Before They Were Gods, a TV series which follows the two artists as beer-drinking 14-year-olds.
If this sounds like a fever dream, well, you’re not far off. Before They Were Gods comes from the cracked imagination of Swedish auteur Måns Mårlind (Shelter, Midnight Sun). “This is a dream project that literally came to me in a dream,” Mårlind said in a statement to THR. “While asleep, I watched two of my musical heroes as young teenagers, drinking cheap beer while discussing love and the meaning of life. I woke up writing and have been trying to catch up with them ever since.”
Before They Were Gods is billed as a philosophical discourse between the “harsh existentialist” Thåström and the “struggling Dionysian agnostic” Cave. A third character, Linnea, is loved by both of them. Set in Sweden in 1971, it’s a serialized search for truth, beauty, cheap alcohol, and the meaning of life.
“Since I was never in Sweden in 1971 and haven’t ever met Thåström, I am obviously intrigued to find out what we never did,” Cave said in statement. Added Thåström, “I always wanted to be a cartoon hero.”
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are currently touring across Europe. Tickets are available here or through his official website. This Friday he’ll release the spoken word album Seven Psalms with Warren Ellis.
Last month, his son Jethro Lazenby died at the age of 31. Cave said that condolences from fans have been a “great source of comfort.”
