Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.52 06/05)
excerpts from an interview with Tomas Bodin (Keyboards)
I think I worked totally around 6 month - each day around 12-14 hours - with the album. I guess it was this total focus. I'm not that social guy when I get into this mood. The decision to use vocals was taken long ago. I guess it came to my mind when I released "Sonic Boulevard". When I got this contact with both Anders Jansson and Jocke JJ Marsh, I started to form a sound in my head. “How would it be if”…
How difficult was it for you to compose this album, for that you not only had to think about the music, but also had the lyrics and the melody lines in mind?
I composed the music in 3 weeks or something like that. That wasn’t the hardest part. However, I felt it quite difficult to make the story. I remember I almost made a “storyboard”. You see I wanted “I AM” to be like “Jesus Christ Superstar” or “The Wall”. It had to be a story, not just loose ends. Also I have to admit that I was pretty nervous about writing the lyrics. I used to write lyrics when I was younger but during those days, always in Swedish. So writing in English for the first time was really hard. About the story, I picked a lot of material from my own life. It helped me a lot! I realised that old mistakes can be a good creative engine.
The album covers a wide range of styles and atmospheres. How did you manage to keep a constant logical flow of the music, without just connecting parts loosely together?
I guess this is something I have learned more about during the last 10 years. I also had this idea about what I wanted it to sound like. So when the story and the sound are crystal clear in your head, I guess it's easier to put it all together. But of course it always goes down to hard work. I don’t believe so much in “inspiration”. I believe more in hard work. Inspiration will come when you decide to sit down and create music. As a matter of fact, I think can come up with melodies almost every day. It's just a matter of how much time is spent in the studio.
Were there also moments when you thought maybe you wanted too much to do on this albums and things went out of control?
Of course, making an album like this is connected with a lot of agony. You love it and hate it in the same time. Sometimes you feel so strong about the creative process and then another day everything collapse into a smashed self-esteem. But in the same time, challenges like this will develop your personality. I must say that I'm quite pleased with the final result. Of course everything can always be done in another and perhaps better way. But I have to say “progress is good perfectionism is lethal. Loosing control could be quite scary but, it necessarily doesn’t need to be a bad thing. When life says “NO” there can be a big “YES” around the corner.
Can you tell a little bit more about the concept and idea behind “I A M”?
”I A M” is a story about my own life. My life was pretty bad when I was younger. There was a lot of drugs and alcohol. I spent years wasting my life completely! And I did it very well! In the end I had nothing left. One day I decided to change direction. And from that day I have spent a lot of time searching within myself for answers. I have tried to understand myself and my surroundings. And for me “understanding” is when something is “emotional grounded”. Of course people can learn a lot of dry facts but emotional understanding or “EI” is bigger. I guess you could talk about “knowing by heart” which is something people - politicians - should practise more often. “I A M” is also a story about re-incarnation and spirituality. I don’t want to talk about my beliefs. That is something I find as private. But I think, “I A M” is a general concern. I guess everyone will recognize some feelings you’ll find in “I A M”.
Were did you find the singers and can you tell a little bit more about them, their musical background?
Anders Jansson is a long time friend to my wife Pernilla. She introduced him a couple of years ago. When I heard Anders for the first time I felt that it would be great fun to work with him. Anders has been singing in different bands for quite some time now. But this was I new experience for him. I used to work with Helene 10 years ago. She works as a music teacher. She has mostly been singing ballads and “Swedish Visa” (not a credit cardJ). One day I ran into her coincidently. I asked her, if she was interested in singing some parts. I must say that I'm so happy she said yes. No one could have done her part better! Pernilla is not really a singer. She asked me if she could make a try on some parts. I found out that I really liked the touch in her voice. Believe it or not, but this is the first time she does a recording!
Were the musicians involved exactly those you wanted to be involved or was it more a question of availability?
I wanted Jocke JJ Marsh on guitar. I would say this was absolutely necessary. I don’t know any other guitarist that can play so heavy. Jocke is a real rocker. And since I wanted this album to be a mix between prog/symf and rock in a Deep Purple tradition, I guess Jocke was perfect. The bass line was sometimes composed with Jonas Reingold in mind. He's so skilled and highly professional that it's always a pleasure to work with him. He recorded it all in 2 days! Amazing!! Marcus Liliequist was a wild card. Jonas knew him and I put a lot of trust in Jonas’s judgement. It turned out to be so right. Marcus is also very much heavy rock but he also has this extremely skilled playing style.
All your solo albums so far were more or less in the progressive rock vein. Are there also plans or thoughts about doing musically something totally different?
Right now I feel that I have found a style I want to explore a little bit more. I like this mix between hard rock from the 70ies and symphonic rock. I have decided to compose another 2 albums in the “I A M” tradition. ”U R” and “He SHE IT IS” will be the titles. “I A M” is a story about the inner circle or the private sphere. “U R” will be stories about people and behaviours. I will take the role as a viewer and try to write about it as objective as possible. “HE SHE IT IS” will be the story of love, the biggest thing of all! Also if everything goes as planed the trilogy circle will be closed. In the long term I don’t know what will happen. I guess I will continue to write lyrics. It was great fun, difficult but fun.
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2005