Interview

Interview with Mikael Bolyos: “Working with Marie is a blessing”

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Marie Fredriksson’s album “Nu!” is out since Wednesday. Reason enough to ask her husband, Mikael Bolyos, who wrote most of the songs, to ask some questions about the process of recording and some well-known names who came with “Nu!”.  Thankfully he made a slot in his tight agenda to answer our questions. We appreciate that!

Mikael, we saw that you collaborated with 4 other songwriters. How did you choose them? Did they offer their texts or did you kind of order them? We remember Ulf Schagerström, who wrote Mot ökända hav and Aldrig som främlingar. How come you worked with him and the others and how was working with them?

Mikael Bolyos: I quite recently started to express myself in lyrics. It’s not that easy for me, so it takes mostly a while to finish a song. I always liked the simplicity and poetry in Kenneth’s lyrics, so when I had the song ”Bara 3 ord”, I just gave him a call and asked if he was interested in helping me out. Luckily he wasSkavlan. He is such a talent!!! Johan Kinde was the singer in a band I used to play keyboards in (Lustans Lakejer). We always got along wery well so it was easy asking him for a text. To me ”Stjärna som brinner” is one of the best texts on the album. Uno and I met during the Roxette concert in Göteborg 2011, and we talked about doing something together and Ulf has, as you know, been working with Marie since day 1. He contributed on several songs that we recorded, but only 3 of them are on the album.

Good choices. The lyrics on “Nu!” are really impressive. And how and why did you decide to produce the album with Christoffer Lundquist and how can we imagine the producing process? Have you been to Skåne or did he come to Stockholm?

Mikael: As you know, Christoffer has during the years made an exceptional good job in recording Marie with Roxette. They are such a great team in the studio, speaking the same language (Skånska). Although Marie is such a great singer, I wanted to improve the vocal part from what we’ve done before. Chris became more & more involved in the process so we decided to produce the album together recording in AGM in Skåne and Atlantis in Stockholm. We are both (Marie and me) so happy working with Chris.

When I first asked you for the interview you wrote that you are satisfied yourself with the album. Now that it’s released, what are you most satisfied with? Which song is your favourite song and why? And which is Marie’s?

Mikael: I must say that I’m very satisfied with how the leadvocal turned out. Thanx to Chris! Favourite song ? Hmm … maybe ”Kom vila hos mig”. I think I managed to say something with the lyrics and I like the beat. Marie says her favourite song is ”Vad vore jag utan dig”.

To get more insight (since we are very curious, of course). When Marie writes a song, does she do it on her own and presents it to you when it’s done or are you evolving it together? Speaking of Sista sommarens vals! How did you develop this song?

Mikael: Marie writes on her own and presents it to me when it’s more or less finished. We made a demo on the song and then we re-recorded it in AGM with Chris.

How did you choose treview_DIhe first single, “Kom vila hos mig”?

Mikael: Marie wanted an uptempo song and “Kom vila hos mig”  felt like an excellent choice.

From the lyrics and looking at you 2 we know how you feel towards each other, but how would you describe working together with Marie?

Mikael: Working with Marie is a blessing. She is so patient and a great source of inspiration.  She is amazing in her concentration and has extraterrestrial singing skills.

Do you have demos to all songs? Are you considering to release them all?

Mikael: Mostly, we record a serious demo that we can develop into the final version.  Like put real bass & drums into it instead of programmed. We never thought of releasing the demos.

Are there demos with your voice to the songs you wrote for “Nu!?

Mikael: Yes! Some of the songs are with my vocals on it. I can assure you that those demos won’t be released as long as I’m alive.

Three words you think describe the album the best?

Mikael: Life is good!

After I read most of the reviews of the album in the internet I really didn’t know what to think of the Swedish music journalists. Some wrote it’s one of the best albums ever, some wrote it’s weak and nothing special and most important: all of them picked different weak or strong songs which shows that it’s really only a thing of taste and nothing else. Do you care about those reviews? Do you read them at all or is indeed the most important thing that the artist is satisfied with his work?

Mikael: Yes, I admit that the reviews have been different from each other, but no one has been really nasty so far. Still it’s interesting, as you say, that they pick different songs as their favorites. To your questions I answer Yes, Yes, Yes! I read them, I care about them and after all what matters the most is to be satisfied yourself. (Another review on the left)

Final question. Is there any question you want to be asked about the album that we didn’t ask? Feel free to ask and answer yourself. Maybe we missed the most important aspect!

Mikael: Hmm. I really don’t know what that could be. Maybe that the first two songs we recorded were already mixed in Jan 2010. We thought the album would be released in 2010/2011, but as you know something else came between.

Marie interviewed on P4 Premiär

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Swedish Radio programme P4 Premiär interviewed Marie during the presentation of her single in Stockholm last Tuesday.

Here is a transcript of the interview. We tried our best (Jud with a little help from Patrícia), just drop us a line if you would write things differently.

P4: How would you describe the artist Marie Fredriksson in year 2013?
Marie: Yeah… relatively fun artist. I have been working on this album for a loooong time…

P4: For how long?
M: well.. about 6 years. But I’ve been busy with Roxette for more than 2 years. I am so happy that the album is finally ready and with the single “Kom vila hos mig”, written by my husband.

P4: It’s a very nice song, but also a bit sad or a bit melancolic. Can you tell us what is it about for those who haven’t heard it yet?
M: What one feels inside.

P4: What is it about for you?
M: For me it’s about strength. It has given me a lot of strenght. When you think what I have gone through, I am very very happy about this song, it means a lot to me.

P4: After all you’ve gone through and now that you are healthy again, do you think it’s shocking to talk about cancer?
M: Yes, very much. It’s sad to talk about it again and again. I am now fine and healthy again for a looong time so let’s talk about other stuff.

P4: But what came out of this? what has changed?
M: Mainly, I got a stronger voice. I had a great voice before, but now it’s heavier. I am happy about that.

P4: Why do you think your voice changed?
M: Well, I don’t know. Probably age and of course what I’ve gone through. But why talk about that, it’s so long ago. I feel very well now.

P4: I gotta say that you are shining. One reads that people who have gone through such hard times are stronger. Do you think people realise what life is about after such experiences?
M: Yes, I think so.

P4: And your album is called “Nu!”. Are you good at living the present?
M: Oh yes, I am damn good at that haha! I love to live in the present, it feels very strong to live the present, it feels very powerful, it’s the best there is.

P4: Do you remember when you started back in the 80ies, how was Marie back then?
M: The first song that was  a success was “Ännu doftar kärlek”. I wrote it together with Lasse Lindbom. We were so lucky and we had so much fun. It was great to get that much success with the song.

P4: Was it your dream since you were a kid to sing on stage, become a singer?
M: Yes! I used to wake up the whole family in the morning singing kind of arias, aaaahhh aaaaaah. I woke up all my family with that, everybody was like “cmon, shut up now”. But I went on, singing a bit lower. I was crazy to sing.

P4: And when did you find out that you had such a strong voice?
M: I guess when I sang at choirs and with my sibilings. I used to sing so strong. We were 5 of us, my brother was the oldest and then 4 girls. But too bad one of my sisters died in a car accident, I was 4 years old, that was horrible. But one doesn’t really realise when one is so small.

P4: So now that you will release a new album and you will go on tour next year, how does it feel, how do you plan it?
M: Yes! it will be sooo much fun! I really look forward to it and to start rehearsing.

P4: You have never been a primadonna and there was never a huge circus around you, you are very down to earth…is that right?
M: Ah.. I don’t know, it’s just the way I am. I can’t be any other way. Of course, we were very big when we did all those world tours with Roxette and we got the 4 number 1 in the USA, it was great.

P4: You’ve been famous since the 80ies with “Ännu doftar kärlek”. Was it hard when you were sick? People wanting to know how you feel, etc?
M: No… , well, of course it was hard, but now I am fine, so I am very thankful for every day. I see life in a totally new way nowadays.

P4: And how is it going with painting?
M: Oh! I haven’t had much time lately! I love it, I already did 3 exhibitions, but I like to do different things. I have to be creative with music, art…

P4: What do you do when you are not creative? Is there anything you do that is not creative?
M: Well.. I write texts sometimes, always did so. But I have to have something to do. Even though I also think it’s important to take it easy, maybe look at birds outside or something, do something outside the house, but it has to be warm, not too cold, haha!

P4: If you had to choose the absolute Marie Fredriksson song of all timesy, which one would it be?
M: Sparvöga, it means so much for me. Lasse and I wrote a lot of songs together, but this one I wrote myself. I got this offer to write this song for this TV series called “Sparvöga”, it was inspiring. And I got a lot of self-confidence because it was a success. And then comes “Tro”.

P4: What is your driving force?
M: My family, they mean everything to me. Without them I probably wouldn’t sit here today.

 

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Sven Lindström: “I thought the Roxette story deserved to be told”

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I met Sven Lindström, the author of “Att vara Per Gessle” and the new book “Roxette – Den osannolika resan tur och retur” in Stockholm just right before the release party of the book. Sven told me about himself and especially about the making off the book. Enjoy the interview!  

JSven_L_Roxette_DORTOR_coverudith: To start with, could you tell us about you, how you started to write about music and what you’ve done so far?
Sven: I started as music journalist in Malmö for Sydsvenska Dagbladet, which is the biggest morning paper in the area. I became a music journalist back in 1983 and one of the first guys I interviewed was actually Per Gessle. We connected; I thought he was a fun guy. It was when Gyllene Tider were having a break due to military service and he was about to release his first solo album and he was starting a new chapter in his career.

Some years later I quit writing about music, I got fed up with doing nothing but reviewing concerts or albums, I wanted to keep this more as a hobby, so I went into advertising. I’ve been working as a copywriter since the end of the 80’s.

Some years later, Per called me up and wanted me to make an interview with Marie and him to be used as a press release for the Joyride album, so I met them in Per’s apartment in Halmstad in December 1990 and wrote the piece which was then given a magazine look where we tried to emulate the feeling of Rolling Stone interview.

And since then I’ve been working doing a lot of press releases, biographies, CD booklets, tour programs for Roxette and GT. So basically I am a music writer that tried to quit but didn’t really manage to. And I’ve published three books so far.

J: One of them is another Rox-related book, “Att vara Per Gessle”. How did that happen?
S: The idea came up at the after-show party at the last concert of the Room Service tour in Göteborg, it was Per who suggested that at 5:30 in the morning when most people had gone to sleep and the others who were still around were not terribly sober. He said, “You know, one day somebody will write about the Roxette story, why don’t you do it?”

I heard myself say “Yes, of course,” I didn’t realize what I had just said yes to, haha! So afterwards we decided to make a biography on his career and life, we wanted to do it very candid open and very interview based. But it took forever to do it because I worked with other stuff as well, so it was released in 2007 in the end.

J: And what can you tell about the third book “Han sitter där nere mellan Clapton och Hendrix – Jan Olofssons galna tripp genom pophistorien”?
S: It’s about a photographer from Malmö, Jan Olofsson. It’s a very funny story, a bit like Forrest Gump in the pop world of the 60’s. He met The Beatles in Hamburg in 1960, when he was just 16 and The Beatles had just arrived from Liverpool. And then he went to London and stayed there, working as a manager, photographer, record label boss, producer, club owner etc. Whenever something amazing happened, he happened to be there. It would make a great movie.

J: You are also the voice behind Nordic Rox. When did you join this radio program?
S: Nordic Rox started in 2006. There were quite a lot of people involved, like Pelle Almqvist of The Hives, Per and the ABBA expert Carl Johan Palm. I am not sure what happened before I joined, but around the time when “Att vara Per Gessle” came out at the end of December 2007, Per asked me if I was interested in taking over as the show’s host together with him, but that he would be more of the flagship of the show, and I would do the work, haha! So that’s how it started for me.

J: But you don’t travel to the US every time for the show, or?svens
S: No, I do it from Malmö. My kids have found me in the closet sometimes because it’s good acoustics there, so when you hear the “Hello, you are listening to Nordic Rox – good looking music” you now know where it was recorded, haha! I still do it from home, recording voice breaks with the regular Mac stuff like GarageBand and doing playlists of songs in iTunes. Then I send it to the Sirius XM headquarters in New York where they produce it into a proper show. I still haven’t really understood that it’s aired in USA, it’s amazing. A friend of mine who was once somewhere in California, was at a hotel with a few business people and he heard the program on the radio and called me “I am sitting here at a restaurant and they are playing something called Nordic Rox, is that you??” haha! So you see, it’s a small world.

J: But it’s great that you are able to spread Nordic music in the states, what is your favourite Nordic band right now?
S: The Asteroids Galaxy Tour from Denmark, I listen to them a lot lately. But there is a lot of good music coming from the Nordic countries, so I think Nordic Rox is a good call.

J: You explained how “Att vara Per Gessle” happened, but how did you get the idea to write this book about Roxette?
S: The original idea was to make something out of the tour, but that idea changed in-between. I realized that the only book that had been written purely about Roxette came out in 1992, I think. So much has happened since then, everything that happened before the 2011 tour, and then how it progressed into 2012, I thought this had to be recorded and told. Of course, fans know about this and are totally involved, but the majority of people didn’t know the whole story. Some knew parts of it of course, but they didn’t really know the details of the struggle that went on, so I thought the story deserved to be told.

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Marie Fredriksson about upcoming solo album: “You can expect a typical Marie Fredriksson style”

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There have been some rumours going on about a new Marie solo album the past months and specially since the recording of “Tack för musiken” last week. I had the chance to ask Marie a couple questions about the album and other topics:

RXB: First of all, how was your summer? You did some appearances like with GT at Ullevi or at Madeleine’s wedding or now the recording of “Tack för musiken”…
Marie Fredriksson: My summer was relaxing and sunny. And GT was a great evening! Sweden and GT at its best. Madeleine asked and it was lovely to play at her wedding. I think “Tack för musiken” is a great TV show and Niklas is a great host and a good ol’ friend of mine. I was very surprised and happy to see all of you in the front rows!

RXB: There have been rumours for a long time about a solo album, what can you tell us about it?
Marie: You can expect a typical Marie Fredriksson style. The album is in Swedish.

RXB: When did you start working on it and with whom did you record the album?
Marie: I started a long time ago but a world tour came in-between. The album is produced by Micke [Bolyos] and Christoffer Lundquist. We had Mr. Pelle Alsing on drums on a couple of tracks. Jens Jansson and Christer Jansson played drums too. Then Christoffer Lundquist played bass and guitar, so did Staffan Astner and Jokke Pettersson. Ola Gustavsson [who was at “Tack för musiken” as well] played guitar and pedal string. Micke played keyboards and did some programming together with Christoffer.

RXB: and who wrote the songs?
Marie: I wrote one song, Per [Gessle] wrote one song too and the rest are written by Micke, mostly together with different lyricists.

RXB: There were also rumours about a solo tour… so we are wondering if and when?
Marie: Definitely not during 2013. Maybe 2014, but nothing is decided yet, so I cannot tell you more at this stage. But I love to tour, it’s the best I know!

RXB: What are you doing nowadays when you are not busy with music?
Marie: I am painting, relaxing and having fun. I love to be close to my family.

We are very much looking forward to the album (and tour)!!

Interview with Micke N-S – ”I decided to play the drums after meeting Pelle Alsing”

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Mikael Nogueira Svensson is the most well-known member of the crew among fans. Many people know him as Micke N-S, the guy behind the iPhone, taking the panorama pics we can see on Roxette Official and on Gyllene Tider’s Facebook site. We know his face and sometimes fans are chatting with him at the venues, but still, we don’t know too much about Micke, just that he is doing a fantastic job as backline technician.

He took his time between Gyllene Tider’s Örnsköldsvik show and 2nd Halmstad gig and was happy to share some more information about himself & his work and told us some interesting and funny stories, too.

 

 

PP: – On a Swedish drum workshop website I read this: ”Workshop leader is Mikael Nogueira Svensson, one of the most experienced and hired drum technicians in Sweden.” When did you start your work as a drum / guitar technician? What came first: drums or guitars?

MNS: – I started around 1997 with some local acts in the middle of Sweden, Dalarna. First it was only drums. The guitar bit of it came in the picture in around 2002, when I ran a rental company in Stockholm and had to go on tour with a band and also help the guitar player. And basically, it’s more common in Sweden that the techs help the guitar player more than the drummer.

PP: – Do you like working with drums or guitars more? Or does it depend on the person whom you are working with?

MNS: – It’s totally up to the artist I work for, so it doesn’t matter at all if it’s drums or guitars. But I toured with Prince between Roxette tour legs, which was more of a challenge, because then I did keyboards and piano for him.

PP: – Even keyboards and piano. Great! By the way, have you ever been studying music? Or you just learned to play the instruments by yourself?

MNS: – I’ve been studying at Stockholm Conservatory of Music for 3 years. But the fun part of it is that I decided to play the drums when I was a child, after meeting Pelle Alsing backstage in Gävle on the Joyride tour. And now I work for them.

PP: – Really? That sounds cool! What was Pelle’s reaction, when you told him you decided to play the drums because of him?

MNS: – Can’t remember. Nothing special I guess.

PP: – Oj, Pelle… Any other instruments you play besides the drums and guitar?

MNS: – I can only play the drums, can’t play the guitar. I only know a few chords. But I guess I can set up a guitar better than most of the guitar players out there…

PP: – You’re kidding! I thought it’s evident that you can play the guitar. Hats off then! Besides Roxette and Per Gessle you worked together with many other artists on tour (e.g. Peter Jöback, Carola) or played the drums for (e.g. Rod Stewart and the producer of U2). Who is the one whom you enjoyed to work together with the most?

MNS: – First, I didn’t play the drums for Peter or Carola. I was a tech for them. I played the bass on a singback performance with Peter Jöback once at the Swedish football gala. I kind of like to work with artists who are very aware of everything. It’s a give and take. I like to make it nice for them and they appreciate it. If it’s an artist who doesn’t care about anything, I don’t like it. You get no positive feedback then.

05_Micke_N-SPP: – You are now on tour with Gyllene Tider. How different is it to work with them vs. Roxette?

MNS: – There’s no difference, except that I sleep at home from Sunday till Tuesday. We are the same crew and everything is the same.

PP: -Who is the easiest to work with in GT?

MNS: – I would say it’s equal. Everyone demands a certain kind of professionalism and everyone is just as kind as the other. But I’ve known Micke Syd for the longest time, so he is kind of the same ”father” figure for me as Pelle Alsing.

PP: – You are taking care of Per Gessle’s guitars, Micke Syd’s drums and also Anders Herrlin’s bass guitars, as well as many other things before, during and after the GT concerts. Which is the toughest part of your job now and what do you like the most?

MNS: – I wouldn’t say that I take care of many other things than Per, Micke and Anders. Actually, I only take care of them (their gear). And if you think that something is not connected to them, it is. No one would think about it, but it’s kind of boring to change strings every day.

02_Micke_N-SPP: – Every day??? That must be boring indeed. When do you have to be at the venue on a concert day? What’s the daily routine? What are the first tasks and what is the last thing you do after a gig ends?

MNS: – I’m the last to arrive, at around 11 am. The stage is built the day before by the second unit crew. The riggers and light crew set up everything from 8 am on a concert day. Then I start building the drums, which takes about 1 hour including tuning, head change and miking the drums. After that I set up Per’s VOX rig and Fender amps of Anders. Then it’s lunch. After lunch I set up my tech world [see photo] and connect everything to the sound desk. Around 2 pm we do line check with the crew. Then we remove all the things in front of our risers, so Linnea and her band can set up.

 

 

03_Micke_N-S

PP: – You do soundchecks in the early afternoon with or without the band, but you are also checking the sounds before the concert starts. Were there any difficulties during this tour that you had to solve very quickly before a concert started to make everything work in the end? Or all is going smoothly during these soundchecks?

MNS: – There was no problem so far. Knock on wood.

PP: – I remember there was a moment in Karlstad, when Per looked at you and showed he has problems with his guitar. They were just coming back to the stage for the 2nd extra with Sommartider. You had to come up the stage and change the guitar settings from silent mode to normal, while Per was playing the guitar. It was hilarious. Are you and Micke Syd teasing him a lot with this since then? (At least in Örebro I saw you and Micke Syd were teasing him and showing the guitar was then set to normal mode.)

MNS: – Hahaha! Shit happens to everyone. And actually Syd is not talking about the guitar, he is just teasing me, because Per makes fun of me holding the guitars for so long. He’s fooling me and decides to wipe his face once again and have another drink. So I have to stand there and look like a fool. Sometimes I walk back before he can take the new guitar.

PP: – Now that’s too funny. Anyway, which is your personal favourite among Per’s actual guitars – Cherry Gibson, Blonde Gibson, Black Gibson or the Black Acoustic – and why?

MNS: – I like the Black Gibson, because it’s the easiest to work with. But I bought the Blonde for Per during the Roxette tour and that one has grown in my mind and feelings. (Also in Per’s, I guess, since it’s used for more songs now.)

04_Micke_N-SPP: – Between the support act, Linnea Henriksson and the GT gig we see you on stage with a red plec saying ”Tänk att få sätta på” (part of the lyrics of Flickorna på TV2). Lookin’ good. Is it your personal plec? Is it an own design?

MNS: – It’s my personal tuning pick. It’s one gauge thicker than what Per plays with. It’s more comfortable and more accurate to tune with. I have had own tuning picks since Roxette started the tour. Purple ones.

PP: – We know that for the Roxette tour you had many ideas regarding plecs and Pelle’s drumkit with the star was absolutely your idea. How much have you been involved in designing this year’s plec collection and drumkit?

MNS: – I have designed all of them. Per gave me a few lines he wanted to see on them and I did the rest. The drumkit setup is designed by me. The front head design is Gyllene Tider’s official tour shield, not my design, but I made a few changes to it. It’s 3D, if you look closely at it. Peter, who printed and helped out with the Roxette drumkit, also did the graphic work and printing for this and the Leif on the small kickdrum.

PP: – Talking about ideas, we could see one of your greatest in the Roxette live concert film, namely the small cam on Per’s guitar. Awesome camera angle. Can we expect anything like this in the coming GT live film?

MNS: – No, but I pitched the idea for the show designer to add the GoPro wide angle cameras in the production inside the drumkit. But that is shown every night, so it’s nothing new.

PP: – Back to your past. Have you ever played in any band? Are there any plans that you want to leave backstage and come into the spotlight one day or it’s not your cup of tea at all?

MNS: – I was playing in a band during my years at the Conservatory of Music. We did a reunion in 2009 and played for 2 weeks in St. Anton ski resort. But there are no other plans and it’s nothing I want to do.

PP: – Do you already know what’s next, whose backline are you going to be after the tour ends? Or do you take a good rest and have some free weeks?

MNS: – I do all the pre-work for the Swedish / Norwegian talk show, Skavlan at our national TV station (SVT). I take care of the acts playing there when it comes to all backline work and logistics. It can be any artist: Foo Fighters, Take That, Alicia Keys or a local act. Funny thing is that Sinéad O’Connor asked me if I could get her a guitar for her performance. The only one who I knew he had a guitar Sinéad wanted was Per. So I called him and borrowed his guitar for that show. He told me to say hello to her, since earlier they met in another TV show (where she ripped a photo of the Pope).

You can watch Sinéad O’Connor’s performance in Skavlan show here. She was playing Per’s Gibson Les Paul Jr. /PP/

PP: – One last question came into my mind when I looked at your cover picture on Facebook – Bruce Springsteen throwing the guitar to his technician. Cool one! Who is the artist you would love to work with if you had one wish and why?

MNS: – Foo Fighters, because it’s good music and they are nice guys.

PP: – Fingers crossed for you to work with Foo Fighters then. Thank you for your time and for the fun stories. See you on a next Gessle-related tour!

MNS: – Thank you for coming to the shows. We are nothing without you. And who knows. There might be something in the future, or not…

 

Pics with PP watermark are © Patrícia Peres, pic w/o PP is © Mikael Nogueira Svensson