Interviewed by Mark Dean (Journalist/Writer/Contributor) Myglobalmind Webzine
Tony”Hi there Mark”
How are you ?
Tony”I am fine, children are just in bed, so its free time at night.”
Your debut album “No Capitulation”came out in 1994, then you were quiet until the release of “Gold from the Future”. What were you doing in those intervening years?
Tony”I have been composing a lot of songs, song lyrics..I finally educated myself and now have a profession in it which I am doing at the moment. I have been having a family, getting married. That has been time consuming so to speak. There was also a brief period with Lionshare, and in 2001 we released the “Entrance”album. There was then nothing musically after that. Roger Ljungren then called me, in summer 2011. He wanted me to sing on a demo for the Euro vision Song contest here in Sweden. I accepted that but really wasn’t planning to do anything in the music business. I liked the song, and the rest of the songs also.We made a demo with four songs, and delivered them to Japan. The wheel was rolling again so to speak. The Japanese liked the four songs and we recorded them for a future album “Gold from the Future”in Japan. Basically that wasn’t enough for me, I wanted to have it released here for friends, fans and family. We had a connection made with Escape Music, and released “Gold from the Future”with them. Though the release was under a different moniker-“Oxygen” and that was in 2012. We did therefore manage to release it in Europe which was the goal.”
That brings up to your latest release”Magnitude”. When was it recorded, and what prompted the reunion with both Roger and also Marcus.?
Tony”We started writing songs nearly immediately after the release of “Oxygen”Final Warning here in 2012. We sent four demos to Escape Music, and also to this German label Aor Heaven. That label came to an agreement with us and we signed a contract with them. Then we started to record the album. We had all these songs that we had never released back in the eighties. Between Rodger, Marcus and I we thought of using the lyrics that we had , but they are all basically new songs from 2012.”
You indicated earlier that you have an It job and also a family, how does that fit in with touring plans. Surely musicians strive to create music and then perform it for an audience?
Tony(sighs)”Yes that will prove difficult, but it is also a goal for me. There are several joyful tunes on this album, which I would love to perform in front of a live audience.”
Do you have any dates arranged or is that something that you are still considering?
Tony”We haven’t arranged anything yet, but you never know. I suppose we need a headliner support, somewhere in the Aor genre-melodic rock. That would be a nice thing to be able to do. It all depends on people and how well the album is received.”
I would just like you to now pick out just a couple of tunes on the new album which have a particular personal resonance for you?
Tony”The first demo song that we recorded was “Never Too Late” the first track on the album. It was written as if we were rock and roll stars on the stage. The third track”My First and Only One”It is about your first love, so everybody can relate to it. The first love is a very special thing, and is probably never forgotten. We also recorded that song quite early I think it was the second or third demo song. Another song would be”In A Misty Light”, I wrote that song when my neighbor passed away. I wrote that song when I was trying to process everything that was happening in my own way.”
There are a range of emotions conveyed on the album, from the positivity of a first love to the negativity and dark side of death of a close friend.”
Tony”Death can also be looked at in a positive way”In a Misty Light”states that she will meet him again. It can be viewed in different ways.”
Just moving on now to a couple of general questions now. Looking back on your life, what are you most proud of musically?
Tony”Ahhh, musically its difficult to say. I have had a lot of fun doing these albums, but I was particularly proud doing”Gold for the future”album. I like those songs very much, and now I have magnified that with “Magnitude! I’m still very proud of that album. It’s a different time period from the first album which came out in 1994. I now find it hard to relate to that album at this moment.”
Do you still have unfulfilled musical ambitions. You indicated that you would like to go out and play the new songs live?
Tony”The first step is that I would like to do some kind of video. We have never done any videos. Financially it is difficult, since we have already released the album. Then afterwards it is going out in front of a live audience.”
Any particular album track that you think would make a good choice for a video?
Tony”Yes I think that there are several that I would like to do. If I had to choose one I would probably do the first track.”Never Too Late”First track on the album and as I said earlier the first demo that we did for this album. It sets the rock and roll level on the album, and its a nice song. So “Never Too Late”that’s my answer.
What then would you say was the lowest point of your musical career?
Tony”Wow, good question, I don’t know really. I haven’t been in that many bands. They have been basically my own projects”
Maybe at the point where you decided to turn your back on music as a career and you trained as an It professional?
Tony”No, that is not a low point really. My life is different, I have a wife, three kids and a profession in the It sector. I love my job, I do music for fun. It is a hobby to me. Of course it is a positive development if there is going to be a video, and live gigs and all of that on international stages. It would be really fun but its not really that important anymore as it was back in the eighties and nineties. When I was twenty years old it was then the main goal for me, but not any longer. There are a lot of things that are important in life, and music is just one of those ingredients for me. I can go for a long distance run in the words and have song lyrics, ideas and melodies in my head. I go home to save it and write it down, and record some kind of track. It is an important part, but just not the only part of my life. I also have a lot of ambitions and goals in my job and my profession in the It sector.”
Final question Tony if you could pick somebody for you to interview, who would it be?
Tony”That would be one of my role models from the sixties or seventies. Probably a solo vocalist like Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard or Tom Jones. My father played a lot of Tom Jones on vinyl discs. He made a great impression on me.”
Is there anybody currently that excites you musically with what they are doing?
Tony”You know, I mostly listen to my own music that I have written. Luciano Pavorotti,on the operatic side, then maybe Acdc or whatever. I like the first records that Acdc made,”If you want blood”and things like that”They are legendary.”
Tony thanks for chatting to me this evening. Good luck with the album, and hopefully we will get the chance to see you play some European live dates. Maybe at something like Firefest festival in England?
Tony”Yes I have heard of that, but have never been to it. I hear it is a great festival, it is too late to play this year. Maybe next year if there is the demand for us to play. Thanks for chatting to me this evening. Bye”
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