All Interviews
Tomas Bodin
Tomas Bodin
Posted on Aug 27, 2005
by Anders
Tomas Bodin is best known as the keyboard player in the Swedish progressive rock band The Flower Kings. Though he has also marked himself with a bunch of solo albums, where the latest, the amazing prog-rock opera "I A M", is a grande and very ambitious album. The song writing and the efforts from the musicians and singers involved on the album are beyond amazing, the album has to be heard! In connection with the release of the album, I had a great chat with Tomas, where he revealed all there is to be known about himself and the new album.
Hi there, how are things in Sweden this nice summer?
Hi, things are good but we have bad weather. Where is the Sun? Still, I shouldn't complain
Will you start off by telling a bit about yourself and why you use a lot of your time on the music you are involved in?
I guess I'm best known through my role as a composer and keyboard player with The Flower Kings. As well as this, I have also worked within film and theatre as a composer, conductor, scriptwriter and actor both in Sweden and abroad. I have released 4 previous solo albums.
"An ordinary Night In My Ordinary Life" (1996) (InsideOut Music)
"Pinup Guru" (2002) (InsideOut Music)
"Sonic Boulevard" (2003) (InsideOut Music)
"Swedish Family-Vintage Prog" (2004)(Helikon House Music)
The reason for working with this kind of music is simple, I just love it! I have a lot of influences from both rock and classical music. So I guess the symphonic/progressive rock suits me just perfect!
What does it give to you, to be able to play and make music?
That's my life and passion. I really can't do anything else. I seriously think I should fade away and get "not dry but drained" if I had to stop playing music!
You are best known for your engagement in The Flower Kings, but created your own musical outlet some years ago. How long have you had the idea to make your own band and why do you have a need for it?
Well, playing in The Flower Kings is of course very stimulating. Still I have to face the facts, The Flower Kings in mainly our bandleader's baby! Besides, my own ideals when it comes to rock/progressive rock are slightly different from what we're doing in The Flower Kings. So I guess I need this forum. But I have no plan for quitting The Flower Kings.
Have the first 4 of your albums been satisfying to make and are you still satisfied with the end result when you listen to them today?
At the time making the instrumental albums it felt great. They where all "children of their time" However, I feel now, making "I A M", that I have found my musical home. This is what I want to do!
You are now ready with your new album "I A M", how has it so far been received, both by your fans and by the press?
The feedback has been very good. Honestly, I didn't expect this response. Of course every musician releasing albums are always hoping for the best. Still... Another great thing is that I now have got a lot of new contacts in totally new countries. Great fun!!!!
How do you look upon the album, are you satisfied with it?
I guess I'll never be totally satisfied with my own music. I know that I'm suffering from perfectionism. I have to tell myself every day that "perfectionism is lethal, progress is good". So yes, from a bird eye view
I'm satisfied but there are of course small details.... But what I like with the album is that it became very emotional. From that point of view I achieved a goal. I always try to make music form my heart more than my mind!
What do you expect from the album?
I would like to find new ears and of course keep the old ones! Also I would like to profile myself not only as the "Flower Kings keyboardist" but as a fresh songwriter in the progressive community. I have also found a new form of expression that satisfies me a lot!
When you first started out to write the music for the album, what did you then want to accomplish?
I wanted to make something different compared with what I had done before. I wanted to create one long song that could take the listener thru a lot of different sonic landscapes and still keep the music in one specific style. I had a couple of themes I wanted to stay within the composition. I guess I'm pretty weak for an "idefix" type of approach. The red tread is a good thing in the epic songs.
Do you feel you have accomplished that with the final album?
More or less yes!
Compared to your first 3 albums, which are instrumental, the new one features vocals, why did you choose that?
Well I had this story to be told. Besides I have had this idea of making music for vocals within myself for a couple of years now. It felt like a natural step to take.
The album is being promoted as a "prog rock opera", will you guide us through the history behind the story being told on the album?
The story is partly picked from my own life. I was using a lot of drugs and alcohol when I was younger. I started at the age of 13 and kept on going for 15 years. So this is roughly the story in "I A M". But it is also a spiritual statement. I'm coming from an extremely atheistic tradition. Still I have felt there was something within myself that belonged to some sort of belief. I have cleared those things out for myself during the work with "I A M". I need to say that this is not any spiritual crusade!
How and when did you get the idea to make a prog rock opera?
I have used references like "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "The Wall" when making "I A M". I used to listen a lot to both albums during my younger days. I guess I always have had this wish for creating something in a similar style. Also I know that the progressive rock fans like long songs.
Was it a tough job to get the music and story to work together?
Yes I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make the story both artistic, philosophical/religious and logical right. First I made a sort of storyboard. I felt I needed this bird eye view. The details had to come later. This work took almost a year. I did a lot of research not only in books about philosophy and religion; I also read a lot of scientific books. Einstein once said, "...the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one."
So what I did was to connect this thought with a reincarnation touch. I have tried to describe this blend in the last sentence.
"Looking at the seeds of love the wheels of life
are spinning wide The past is now and now will be
the time ahead now I can see the light"
How did you work with pairing it all together, arranging it, deciding who should do which vocal part and so on?
After the storyboard was made I composed the music. This was not done in a chronological order. I started to compose the "main songs", i.e. 'Day By Day', 'Take Me Home' and 'Why'. At this time I had just a small idea about the lyrical content. I also composed a couple of main themes. (There are some themes coming over and over again but as variations. The theme 'The Path Of Light I' in the last part is heard on several other places i.e. 'The Beginning', 'They'll Fight For Me'....) Bit by bit it all became a more and more complete picture of what was described in the storyboard. To compose the music according to the story board was an easy part.
The tricky part began when I started to write the lyrics. Of course I had to accept that I didn't have the same experiences, writing lyrics compared to composing music. But I also realised that words are so instantly logic. I guess there's a need to balance the words between the stiff logic and the blooming art! (That's why I like some The Beatles lyrics so much, "Sitting on a corn flake...")
The next phase, the production, is almost like dressing a Christmas tree. If the fundament is good then the rest will be pure joy. But there is no chance on earth that you could hide a bad looking tree with some glitter. Also, today when most of the music is made in a desktop environment, it's easy to get lost in the jungle of possibilities. To avoid that I had decided, at an early stage, how I wanted the sound to be. Here my references where very much the hard rock from the 70ties. I could mention bands like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. By the way, I have realised that we have 3 major directions in the progressive style of today.
1.Metal/Progressive with bands like Dream Theater and Pain of Salvation.
2.Symphonic/Progressive with bands like Yes and The Flower Kings
3.Pop/Progressive with bands like Porcupine Tree and Spocks Beard
As I said my roots have always been around the blues based hard rock. So that came to be the guideline sound wise!
How much time have you used on the project, since you started to work on it until it was recorded and mixed?
I have had this project on my mind for 2 years but the last 7-8 months where more intensive with 12 to 14 hours work each day.
Where do you find inspiration for your music?
Fear and happiness! But basically music is very much a hard work. Of course you can have more or less inspired days but the big result comes from hard work.
Are your sources of inspiration the same today, as they were when you started to play and write music?
I guess the sources have been more specified as I get to know myself better. Anyway, I believe I got the very same creative engine within myself now as before.
Do you have to be in a certain mood or anything else to write music?
As I said composition is very much hard work but I know that, if I'm too tired I really don't function at all. That's why I prefer to work in early mornings. It wasn't un-usual that I went up 3-4 am to work with "I A M". Crazy!!
Can you explain a typical moment for us, from when and where you get an idea, to you have turned it into music?
I think an idea starts when I get an emotional understanding. It's like getting inside of something. Then I can turn that emotion into music. So my musical development as a composer is intimate attached to my personal progress.
The band you have accompanying you on "I A M" is pretty competent, you have Jonas Reingold, JJ Marsh, Marcus Liliequist and the singers Pernille Bodin, Helene Schönning and Anders Jansson. How did you end up with them and what do you like about each of them?'
Jonas Reingold plays normally in The Flower Kings. It's hard to find a better bass player here around. He's so professional and I guess that's the reason why has so much to do. Jonas introduced me to...
Marcus Liliequist. I was looking for a drummer with a good rock attitude. Marcus was a wild card but I instantly realised that this was my man! After the recording of "I A M" I suggested Marcus as the new drummer in The Flower Kings. He's now a permanent member. We have also become close friends!
Anders Jansson was singing on my album "Sonic Boulevard". I felt that Anders had so much positive energy and also he was a new and fresh face in the prog community. Anders biggest advantage is that he is totally free from stupid prestige. I believe it's important for singer to sing thru open doors. Besides his register is huge!
Helene Schönning is an old time friend. She has a deep soulful voice that goes straight into your heart. This time I wanted her to sing in a higher pitch. The result was a Kate Bush kind of sound.
Pernilla Bodin is my wife and the funny thing is that she has no musical background whatsoever. The story behind this was that I had tried 3 different singers for the "mother" part. I wasn't quite satisfied and was worried about how to solve this. One day Pernilla suggested that she could try to sing! I said "What.."??? (I had never heard her sing before.) Anyway after some discussions, I rigged the studio and we did a try. I felt in the end that her voice was totally perfect for that part! I think this is a funny story!
Jocke JJ Marsh is a great rocker and an extremely talent guitarist. I think we both got the same influences i.e. Deep Purple, Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Normally, Jocke plays a lot with Glenn Hughes so I'm so happy we managed to squeeze in a couple of recording days. Since I wanted this album to sound like the bands I mention Jocke was the first call!
Could you have found a better line-up for "I A M"?
No I'm very pleased with the line up.
Will you explain the idea behind the cover artwork on "I A M"?
First of all I would like to give credits to Thomas Ewerhard at http://www.ewerhard.de/ He made the cover art it after an idea I had. I think he did an outstanding job!
"I A M" or "I AM" is not only refereeing to "My Story" but it's also a symbol for God. If you translate "I am" to Greek, you will get "Ego Eimi". When the Jews translated the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek (year 200 BC) they used "Ego Eimi" for the word IHWH (Yahweh) which is the same as God. So the cover art shows one God "beaming" all the symbols. That means there is one God behind everything. The symbols are: The 5 big religions. Hindu, Buddhism. Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The 4 elements as a symbol for science. I believe there is a connection between religion and science. We have 3 gender symbols. There are 2 reincarnation symbols. Miscellaneous symbols like "Aries" (my sign) and the Pentagram. The Pentagram is not just a symbol for "evil".
(By the way I don't believe in evil. I believe in what Einstein said) "Evil does not exist, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love, that exists just as light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light"
There is used a nice, rather disturbing vocal effect on the chapter 'Voice Macabre', I reckon, how did you come up with the idea to that sound and how was the vocal processed to sound like that?
Yes I like that one too. I felt the raw touch in the lyrics needed an aggressive sound. I experimented a lot with Anders' voice and found out that a ring modulator was best suited for the job. The voice gets distorted in a strange fluttering way! So folks, get a ring modulator!!!
Where will you take the band and us next time, do you have any new ideas ready for the next Tomas Bodin album?
"I A M" is the first CD in a trilogy. The second album will be YOU ARE which will be a closer look at certain behaviours among people of today. "I A M" is a "take a look at yourself" kind of album. "YOU ARE" will be more like an extrovert experience! The third album in the trilogy will be HE SHE IT. This album will deal with different aspects of love. (I hope that love will override the madness in the today's world)
How do you look upon the future in Tomas Bodin regi?
Making my own music, I know that it's a privilege! There is so much to do and there is so little time. I want to see how far I can take myself in my solo project. But of course music is only music. There is a world outside that is about to go crazy! So we can only hope for the best.
Will you share your 3 all time favourite albums with the readers?
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper
Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
I have decided to form my own band to play my music. The band is named "THE I.A.M" We have already got an interest from several promoters both in USA and Europe. I can't say when we will play yet. But probably the great premiere will be next year! Keep your wide eyes open. Also you can find all info at my website. There you'll also find a fanclub. Enjoy!
Hi, things are good but we have bad weather. Where is the Sun? Still, I shouldn't complain
Will you start off by telling a bit about yourself and why you use a lot of your time on the music you are involved in?
I guess I'm best known through my role as a composer and keyboard player with The Flower Kings. As well as this, I have also worked within film and theatre as a composer, conductor, scriptwriter and actor both in Sweden and abroad. I have released 4 previous solo albums.
"An ordinary Night In My Ordinary Life" (1996) (InsideOut Music)
"Pinup Guru" (2002) (InsideOut Music)
"Sonic Boulevard" (2003) (InsideOut Music)
"Swedish Family-Vintage Prog" (2004)(Helikon House Music)
The reason for working with this kind of music is simple, I just love it! I have a lot of influences from both rock and classical music. So I guess the symphonic/progressive rock suits me just perfect!
What does it give to you, to be able to play and make music?
That's my life and passion. I really can't do anything else. I seriously think I should fade away and get "not dry but drained" if I had to stop playing music!
You are best known for your engagement in The Flower Kings, but created your own musical outlet some years ago. How long have you had the idea to make your own band and why do you have a need for it?
Well, playing in The Flower Kings is of course very stimulating. Still I have to face the facts, The Flower Kings in mainly our bandleader's baby! Besides, my own ideals when it comes to rock/progressive rock are slightly different from what we're doing in The Flower Kings. So I guess I need this forum. But I have no plan for quitting The Flower Kings.
Have the first 4 of your albums been satisfying to make and are you still satisfied with the end result when you listen to them today?
At the time making the instrumental albums it felt great. They where all "children of their time" However, I feel now, making "I A M", that I have found my musical home. This is what I want to do!
You are now ready with your new album "I A M", how has it so far been received, both by your fans and by the press?
The feedback has been very good. Honestly, I didn't expect this response. Of course every musician releasing albums are always hoping for the best. Still... Another great thing is that I now have got a lot of new contacts in totally new countries. Great fun!!!!
How do you look upon the album, are you satisfied with it?
I guess I'll never be totally satisfied with my own music. I know that I'm suffering from perfectionism. I have to tell myself every day that "perfectionism is lethal, progress is good". So yes, from a bird eye view
I'm satisfied but there are of course small details.... But what I like with the album is that it became very emotional. From that point of view I achieved a goal. I always try to make music form my heart more than my mind!
What do you expect from the album?
I would like to find new ears and of course keep the old ones! Also I would like to profile myself not only as the "Flower Kings keyboardist" but as a fresh songwriter in the progressive community. I have also found a new form of expression that satisfies me a lot!
When you first started out to write the music for the album, what did you then want to accomplish?
I wanted to make something different compared with what I had done before. I wanted to create one long song that could take the listener thru a lot of different sonic landscapes and still keep the music in one specific style. I had a couple of themes I wanted to stay within the composition. I guess I'm pretty weak for an "idefix" type of approach. The red tread is a good thing in the epic songs.
Do you feel you have accomplished that with the final album?
More or less yes!
Compared to your first 3 albums, which are instrumental, the new one features vocals, why did you choose that?
Well I had this story to be told. Besides I have had this idea of making music for vocals within myself for a couple of years now. It felt like a natural step to take.
The album is being promoted as a "prog rock opera", will you guide us through the history behind the story being told on the album?
The story is partly picked from my own life. I was using a lot of drugs and alcohol when I was younger. I started at the age of 13 and kept on going for 15 years. So this is roughly the story in "I A M". But it is also a spiritual statement. I'm coming from an extremely atheistic tradition. Still I have felt there was something within myself that belonged to some sort of belief. I have cleared those things out for myself during the work with "I A M". I need to say that this is not any spiritual crusade!
How and when did you get the idea to make a prog rock opera?
I have used references like "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "The Wall" when making "I A M". I used to listen a lot to both albums during my younger days. I guess I always have had this wish for creating something in a similar style. Also I know that the progressive rock fans like long songs.
Was it a tough job to get the music and story to work together?
Yes I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make the story both artistic, philosophical/religious and logical right. First I made a sort of storyboard. I felt I needed this bird eye view. The details had to come later. This work took almost a year. I did a lot of research not only in books about philosophy and religion; I also read a lot of scientific books. Einstein once said, "...the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one."
So what I did was to connect this thought with a reincarnation touch. I have tried to describe this blend in the last sentence.
"Looking at the seeds of love the wheels of life
are spinning wide The past is now and now will be
the time ahead now I can see the light"
How did you work with pairing it all together, arranging it, deciding who should do which vocal part and so on?
After the storyboard was made I composed the music. This was not done in a chronological order. I started to compose the "main songs", i.e. 'Day By Day', 'Take Me Home' and 'Why'. At this time I had just a small idea about the lyrical content. I also composed a couple of main themes. (There are some themes coming over and over again but as variations. The theme 'The Path Of Light I' in the last part is heard on several other places i.e. 'The Beginning', 'They'll Fight For Me'....) Bit by bit it all became a more and more complete picture of what was described in the storyboard. To compose the music according to the story board was an easy part.
The tricky part began when I started to write the lyrics. Of course I had to accept that I didn't have the same experiences, writing lyrics compared to composing music. But I also realised that words are so instantly logic. I guess there's a need to balance the words between the stiff logic and the blooming art! (That's why I like some The Beatles lyrics so much, "Sitting on a corn flake...")
The next phase, the production, is almost like dressing a Christmas tree. If the fundament is good then the rest will be pure joy. But there is no chance on earth that you could hide a bad looking tree with some glitter. Also, today when most of the music is made in a desktop environment, it's easy to get lost in the jungle of possibilities. To avoid that I had decided, at an early stage, how I wanted the sound to be. Here my references where very much the hard rock from the 70ties. I could mention bands like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. By the way, I have realised that we have 3 major directions in the progressive style of today.
1.Metal/Progressive with bands like Dream Theater and Pain of Salvation.
2.Symphonic/Progressive with bands like Yes and The Flower Kings
3.Pop/Progressive with bands like Porcupine Tree and Spocks Beard
As I said my roots have always been around the blues based hard rock. So that came to be the guideline sound wise!
How much time have you used on the project, since you started to work on it until it was recorded and mixed?
I have had this project on my mind for 2 years but the last 7-8 months where more intensive with 12 to 14 hours work each day.
Where do you find inspiration for your music?
Fear and happiness! But basically music is very much a hard work. Of course you can have more or less inspired days but the big result comes from hard work.
Are your sources of inspiration the same today, as they were when you started to play and write music?
I guess the sources have been more specified as I get to know myself better. Anyway, I believe I got the very same creative engine within myself now as before.
Do you have to be in a certain mood or anything else to write music?
As I said composition is very much hard work but I know that, if I'm too tired I really don't function at all. That's why I prefer to work in early mornings. It wasn't un-usual that I went up 3-4 am to work with "I A M". Crazy!!
Can you explain a typical moment for us, from when and where you get an idea, to you have turned it into music?
I think an idea starts when I get an emotional understanding. It's like getting inside of something. Then I can turn that emotion into music. So my musical development as a composer is intimate attached to my personal progress.
The band you have accompanying you on "I A M" is pretty competent, you have Jonas Reingold, JJ Marsh, Marcus Liliequist and the singers Pernille Bodin, Helene Schönning and Anders Jansson. How did you end up with them and what do you like about each of them?'
Jonas Reingold plays normally in The Flower Kings. It's hard to find a better bass player here around. He's so professional and I guess that's the reason why has so much to do. Jonas introduced me to...
Marcus Liliequist. I was looking for a drummer with a good rock attitude. Marcus was a wild card but I instantly realised that this was my man! After the recording of "I A M" I suggested Marcus as the new drummer in The Flower Kings. He's now a permanent member. We have also become close friends!
Anders Jansson was singing on my album "Sonic Boulevard". I felt that Anders had so much positive energy and also he was a new and fresh face in the prog community. Anders biggest advantage is that he is totally free from stupid prestige. I believe it's important for singer to sing thru open doors. Besides his register is huge!
Helene Schönning is an old time friend. She has a deep soulful voice that goes straight into your heart. This time I wanted her to sing in a higher pitch. The result was a Kate Bush kind of sound.
Pernilla Bodin is my wife and the funny thing is that she has no musical background whatsoever. The story behind this was that I had tried 3 different singers for the "mother" part. I wasn't quite satisfied and was worried about how to solve this. One day Pernilla suggested that she could try to sing! I said "What.."??? (I had never heard her sing before.) Anyway after some discussions, I rigged the studio and we did a try. I felt in the end that her voice was totally perfect for that part! I think this is a funny story!
Jocke JJ Marsh is a great rocker and an extremely talent guitarist. I think we both got the same influences i.e. Deep Purple, Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Normally, Jocke plays a lot with Glenn Hughes so I'm so happy we managed to squeeze in a couple of recording days. Since I wanted this album to sound like the bands I mention Jocke was the first call!
Could you have found a better line-up for "I A M"?
No I'm very pleased with the line up.
Will you explain the idea behind the cover artwork on "I A M"?
First of all I would like to give credits to Thomas Ewerhard at http://www.ewerhard.de/ He made the cover art it after an idea I had. I think he did an outstanding job!
"I A M" or "I AM" is not only refereeing to "My Story" but it's also a symbol for God. If you translate "I am" to Greek, you will get "Ego Eimi". When the Jews translated the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek (year 200 BC) they used "Ego Eimi" for the word IHWH (Yahweh) which is the same as God. So the cover art shows one God "beaming" all the symbols. That means there is one God behind everything. The symbols are: The 5 big religions. Hindu, Buddhism. Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The 4 elements as a symbol for science. I believe there is a connection between religion and science. We have 3 gender symbols. There are 2 reincarnation symbols. Miscellaneous symbols like "Aries" (my sign) and the Pentagram. The Pentagram is not just a symbol for "evil".
(By the way I don't believe in evil. I believe in what Einstein said) "Evil does not exist, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love, that exists just as light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light"
There is used a nice, rather disturbing vocal effect on the chapter 'Voice Macabre', I reckon, how did you come up with the idea to that sound and how was the vocal processed to sound like that?
Yes I like that one too. I felt the raw touch in the lyrics needed an aggressive sound. I experimented a lot with Anders' voice and found out that a ring modulator was best suited for the job. The voice gets distorted in a strange fluttering way! So folks, get a ring modulator!!!
Where will you take the band and us next time, do you have any new ideas ready for the next Tomas Bodin album?
"I A M" is the first CD in a trilogy. The second album will be YOU ARE which will be a closer look at certain behaviours among people of today. "I A M" is a "take a look at yourself" kind of album. "YOU ARE" will be more like an extrovert experience! The third album in the trilogy will be HE SHE IT. This album will deal with different aspects of love. (I hope that love will override the madness in the today's world)
How do you look upon the future in Tomas Bodin regi?
Making my own music, I know that it's a privilege! There is so much to do and there is so little time. I want to see how far I can take myself in my solo project. But of course music is only music. There is a world outside that is about to go crazy! So we can only hope for the best.
Will you share your 3 all time favourite albums with the readers?
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper
Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
I have decided to form my own band to play my music. The band is named "THE I.A.M" We have already got an interest from several promoters both in USA and Europe. I can't say when we will play yet. But probably the great premiere will be next year! Keep your wide eyes open. Also you can find all info at my website. There you'll also find a fanclub. Enjoy!
Tomas Bodin website
Back
All content Copyright 1999-2006 Nocturnalhorde.com. Powered By...
