Interview by Woody
Hi Andree, You are a new name to the world of melodic rock can you tell us a bit about yourself and what we can expect from your album ‘Strange Nostalgia’?
I’m a 27 year old Swede that likes to play the guitar. I’ve had this album in my head for so many years and it feels extremely good to finally have it recorded and released! I’m thrilled! You can expect high quality melodic rock music with some small touches of pop, jazz and blues as well.
Why did you call the band the Theander Expression?
Because my music is an expression… maybe… haha, well we needed a name.
Your lead vocalist is popular Swedish vocalist Goran Edman, how did you hook up and what was your experience like working with him?
Göran is actually one of my favourite singers of all time and it was a dream that I had to hear him sing my songs. Of course I have other favourites out there, like in the US, but I didn’t want to spread this band all over the world. Therefore it was an easy decision to look up Göran and ask him. He listened to my demos and he liked the songs and he took them to a whole new level with his outstanding voice. From the beginning I wanted him as a guest on two of the songs, but I let him do two more because I liked what I heard so much! He makes a lot of harmonies on some of the songs he doesn’t lead on too.
The album has a strong traditional melodic rock sound but does have some unique elements. Most noticeably in the lyrics which are far from the standard melodic rock lyrics. Is this how you write naturally or were you conscious to have a unique sound?
I’m very happy to hear that, regardless of whether that means that you like it or not! I don’t want to copy anyone else, at least not too much. In that case there would be no meaning for me to write music. It’s the creative side of me that needs to be fed, you know. So yes, I would say this is how I write naturally. What you hear on this album is how it sounds when you let me loose to do exactly what I want and it’s very much “me”. The lyrics are basically about life experiences because I always try to avoid lyrics about love or whatever that don’t mean a shit.
Can you talk us through a few of the songs on the album, how they were written and any meanings or stories behind the song?
I usually gather “musical” song ideas, which could be a riff or a melody. I also gather lyric lines and topics that I would like to write about. After that I usually put them together, if you know what I mean. Like “these lyrics fits to this kind of song”… And so is the case of the entire album. Ideas I’ve had in my head and fingers for years have finally been put together to real songs! It’s hard to explain exactly how it works. I used to sit and jam with my guitar and sometimes some cool new ideas starts to pop up. And I like to mix nice melodies with cool riffs and solos. That’s who I am.
When it comes to meanings in lyrics I can give you a few explanations: The title track ‘Strange Nostalgia’ is about a funny phenomena that I’ve experienced through the years. When I look back at things in life I very often wish that that time was now in some strange kind of way. It almost doesn’t matter how hard times or how bad the experiences it is that I’m looking back into; I always get a cosy, nostalgic feeling inside of me. But I also think that nostalgia is an interesting phenomenon in itself. I can actually watch old movies with old casinos and stuff from a time long before I was even born and get that feeling, ‘I wish that I was there’. Strange nostalgia.
I guess ‘Mr. Know-It-All’ is pretty obvious, it’s about a perfect wise ass who always knows best, always tell you what to do and how to behave, they have never committed a mistake in their whole lives and they are always right, even when they are perfectly wrong! That pisses me off!
But there are some softer love stories as well, like ‘Feelings of Luxury’ and ‘Meet Me There Tonight’. But they are based on real life experiences and I’ve tried to write them with a little twist or in a way that has not been written one million times before.
The album ‘Strange Nostalgia’ will be released through the Avenue Of Allies label how did you get the deal and have they been supportive, especially given you’re a new name to the genre?
I basically just e-mailed a bunch of labels, presented my material to them to see what they thought of it and what they had to offer. The preview I posted to YouTube was made as a presentation to the labels. I got a few interesting offers but Avenue Of Allies won the battle. To be honest I wasn’t so sure they would think that my music would fit their label because I find it hard to know exactly what genre The Theander Expression really is. But if enough people call it ‘AOR’ I guess that is what it is.
And yeah, they have been great so far! But we have just started working!
Do you plan do any live shows, especially here in the UK?
We have been talking about that in the band and I know for sure that the most of us would love to do that!
Who would you love to tour with given the opportunity?
Mr. Big! Or Toto… maybe some Swedish band… I think Europe or H.E.A.T would be awesome! And why not Work of Art!
Is there anything else you would like to add or say to our readers?
See you on tour in the UK!
