5 Studio Staples With Björn Yttling
Photograph: Johan Bergmark
Björn Yttling is a Swedish producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known as one third of indie trio Peter Bjorn and John, the band behind the whistled earworm “Young Folks.” Beyond his own group, he has quietly shaped a generation of leftfield pop, working behind the console and at the piano for artists including Lykke Li, Miike Snow, First Aid Kit, Franz Ferdinand and Primal Scream.
Raised in northern Sweden and now based in Stockholm, Yttling’s path started in jazz: he studied at a leading European conservatory and took weekly lessons with the late Esbjörn Svensson before detouring into guitar bands, touring work and eventually big-ticket production.
In late 2025, Björn shared his latest release, Illegal Hit, a return to the first musical language he chose to study. It’s a live instrumental record that folds noir-like atmospheres, a producer’s obsessive detail and the slightly surreal mysticism of rural Sweden into one frame.
No.1 Yttling Jazz Music Notebook (Moleskine)
On a recent Peter Bjorn and John tour, we played in Cambridge (Boston, MA), and right next to the venue, we found this print-on-demand sort of store. So I made a bunch of personalised Yttling Jazz notebooks for all the members of the band. It’s nice to have them both at home, in the studio, and on stage. Feels a little sacred to keep all the songs and set lists in this black book.
“Feels a little sacred to keep all the songs and set lists in this black book.”
TP7 (Teenage Engineering)
I have recorded thousands of voice memos through the years. First on a Walkman, then a clumsy DAT, and after that on a Minidisc. The last 10–15 years, I’ve recorded on my phone.
But now that I’ve found this device from the legendary Stockholm company Teenage Engineering, I never wanna go back. Quick and easy and fun to use. I feel like I’m the Dale Cooper of songwriting when I pick it up to record ideas.
No. 3 Glasses (Vasuma)
Started with prescription glasses just recently and mainly need them when working on the computer or writing sheet music. Anyway, I got into wearing them, kinda like it, so I use them all the time now. There is a really cool Swedish company called Vasuma in Stockholm’s Old Town that I really like. They make great-looking glasses and sunglasses. I have a bunch of them in the studio and elsewhere.
Piamino (Bröderna Lager)
My favourite piano is called Piamino and was made in Sweden by Bröderna Lager. Way smaller and less loud than a full-size piano. Shorter strings, less bassy and just overall handy (if you can call a piano handy?) I actually have a couple of them now. One at home, one in the studio and one in our little cabin where I work a lot on the Yttling Jazz records.
Acoustic guitar, model 124 (Levin)
This is a guitar that I’ve had since I was 4 years old. I have been playing it for a long time now, and that’s probably why I like it so much. But also, it’s not a loud instrument since it’s smaller than a regular guitar and has nylon strings. It’s from yet another Swedish brand, not sure if it exists anymore, called Levin.
Neil Young once played on this guitar, and he said he liked it, which is huge, of course!
I got quite obsessed with the model 124 because I felt I couldn’t really work without one, so I started hunting them down online. Now I’m getting rid of a few, but at one point I probably had 12-13 of them. Neil Young once played on this guitar, and he said he liked it, which is huge, of course!
Follow Björn on Instagram here.
