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D: Hi and thanks! Well, I knew I wanted to do something different compared
to my previous albums. So I guess that kept me thinking a lot during a 2
years period. But the “hard work” i.e. composing, arranging,
recording and producing took about 7 month (12-14 hours a day). Has
“I A M” met the expectations thus far? By the way, was it just a
break for you or some ideas that you couldn’t fit in a Flower King’s
album? D: Yes I must say that the response so far has been better than I expected! No “I A M” had nothing to do with The Flower Kings. Everything was fresh and newly composed so no leftovers… I
think it is a “difficult” album. I would like to call it a
three-suites-album. How would you describe it to someone?? D: Good question! Well, I would describe it as a very demanding and emotional piece of work. Also I would say that, in the today’s world of progressive music we have 3 major styles. First we have the prog/metal influence with bands like Dream Theater and Pain of Salvation. Then we have the symphonic/prog style. Here we could find bands like Yes, The Flower Kings and The Tangent. Last, we have the pop/prog style and this is represented by bands like Spock’s Beard, Porcupine Tree and Kino. Now “I A M” is in an own lane. I would describe it as a hard rock/prog style. And with hard rock I mean the blues based hard rock you could find during the 70’s. (Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple). Do
you think that the music of “I A M” can be easily digested by any
music fan?? D: Absolutely not! I know for sure that this is a “grower”. You need to give it a chance. The
album gives me the impression that you don’t care about what critics
and generally others might say about your music. It seems that the music
has been composed mainly to satisfy you, express yourself and pay it’s
contribution to the art of music... D: Yes I guess you are quite right. I tried not to do too many compromises. This was an important step for me to take. I felt I had to do this in order to go on with my life. Also, I had the story crystal clear within myself. So I guess I just had to follow the story. Do
you think that this kind of prog music you play can have an impact in
today’s music industry? D: I really can’t say. I hope of course that people will learn to sit back, relaxed and find themselves deep within the music. I think it should be like watching a movie or reading a book. But then again, I know that in the today’s world people are living at a high speed. I guess people have hard times dealing with themselves. That would of course result in an even harder time enjoying music for more than just a background thing. I
wonder, since there are three members of Flower Kings participating in
this recording, why this couldn’t be the new album of the band?? (It
is obviously different than you usual approach, but... why not?) D: I wanted to do this outside The Flower Kings mainly because I want to profile myself as a composer/songwriter. Besides, the story in “I A M” is partly picked from my own life! So I felt this would be better in a solo form. Working
on solo albums is something that will keep you occupied in the
foreseeable future??? D: I hope so. I hope that I can find a living out of this. Still, I have no plan to quit TFK. I believe I could combine both projects! I
can distinguish dozens of influences in your album. Classical music,
fusion, prog rock, art rock… can you name your main inspiration and
influences??? D: Yes that would be Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Jesus Christ Superstar. Are
there any details about the album that you would like to share? Funny
stuff, way of recording it? D: Yes I could tell you about the week we where about to record the lead singer Anders Jansson. I live on the countryside about 50 km north of Stockholm. So, what happened was that Anders came to me on Monday morning. I remember we worked for a couple of hours but then suddenly, there was this huge electricity breakdown! So, after another two hours Anders decided to return home. There wasn’t anything he could do! Now, believe it or not, the same minute Anders stepped on the train back to Stockholm the power came back! This was of course very strange! Anyway nevertheless, we did a new try the day after. Anders came to me in the morning. After a cup of coffee and some talk we decided to start work. This time we could work for 10 minutes. Then there was an even bigger electricity breakdown! So, this became like a sort of routine during that week. I remember we had 7 power breakdowns during that week! I felt I was going crazy! Also, I would like to share some information about the future. “I A M” is the first part in a trilogy. I guess you could say that “I A M” is very much a “take a look at yourself” kind of album. The second album “YOU ARE” will be a closer look at different crazy things we could find in the today’s world. The third album “HE SHE IT” will be a story about love. The schedule is very preliminary but I hope “YOU ARE” will be released in October 2006. The third album “HE SHE IT” should hit the market one year later, autumn 2007. Which
would be the perfect place/conditions to listen to the result of your
latest musical labour??? D: Place yourself in a comfortable chair, perhaps something to drink? Soften the lights and go ahead. As I said, I think you need to give time for a piece of music like “I A M”. If
your music were a painting or a landscape how would it be like? D: Oh that’s a hard question... For me music is so many landscapes or pictures. But I guess I have some sadness overriding it all. I think I’m looking for a peaceful touch when I can reach my inner feelings. What
about Flower Kings? Are working on something new? I think there was no
extensive tour lately, right? Any plans to hit the road? D:
Yes we will start recording a new album in November this year. Probably
we will tour Europe next spring or perhaps later. Also, I can say that I
have decided to go on tour with “I A M”. I have discussed with some
promoters about some gigs. Still there is nothing confirmed but I know
we will do it! And
some weird Questions now!!! Which kind of rock music do you prefer the
most? D: Hmmmm it depends on what kind of mood I’m in. I like Korn. That’s
quite heavyyyy. Also right now I like Muse. I think I’m pretty wide in
my musical taste. Do
you believe that internet has helped the bands to become more popular or
has caused many problems? D: You could say both. We have a faster communication chain today. The fans will be updated much faster. And if you have a well working fan base you could promote your stuff successfully. However, I also think the downloading shit is scary. It might not be a big problem for huge artists. They are making a lot of money anyway. But for the independent companies/artists the downloading could be painful. The third aspect is that, very small bands could spread their music to quite a big crowd. So, for them the downloading is positive. Which
band do you consider that can take a leading part in prog metal music in
the future? D: I would say that if a band start going its own way and work hard to find
a unique sound, then it has a good chance for taking the lead. I think
we have dozens of copycats and a few interesting bands. Which
are the things that piss you off from today’s music industry? D: The non-energy thinking when they are just in it for the money! They act
so blasé and cynical when treating artists like a piece of shit.
“Let’s make a lot of money while we can, throw it away later”! Which
is the most overrated band today? D: I can’t say… Do
you consider yourself a rock star? D: Ha ha ha of course I’m a rockstar! …. (I just missed the Porsche and
the Malibu Beach apartment with the big cocaine party, together with a
dozen of porn actresses!). Imagine
that your girlfriend is selling your whole album-collection just to buy
for herself an expensive ring. How would you react?
J D: Hmmm… I would say to myself that she probably had a very good reason
for doing a thing like this but… hmmm Books
or Movies? D:
Books! I eat them! Coffee
or Tea? D:
Tea in the morning then coffee and a lot! Band
or Side Projects? D:
Good Music. J Day
or Night? D:
Summer mornings around 4 am. Fast
Food or Carrots? D:
Slow onions! J
J That’s
all. Thank you for taking the time to answer to us, but above all thank
you for this astonishing new album of yours! D:
Thank you for a nice interview! by Alex Savatianos |
Hello
Tomas!