{"id":50562,"date":"2015-11-01T14:06:21","date_gmt":"2015-11-01T19:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=50562"},"modified":"2015-11-01T14:09:08","modified_gmt":"2015-11-01T19:09:08","slug":"interview-with-nalle-pahlsson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/interview-with-nalle-pahlsson\/","title":{"rendered":"Nalle Pahlsson"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alhtough his name is recognizable in the Swedish Melodic Rock scene for years, Nalle Pahlsson has released a solo album only recently. A bassist for bands such as Treat, Last Autumn\u2019s Dream, Vindictiv or Therion shows many different dimensions to his artistic persona this time around \u2013 a singer, songwriter, rhythm guitar player, keyboard player and a producer of his first offering Royal Mess. Hardrock Haven caught up with Nalle to find out why did it take him so long to go solo and also, to discuss all the details of his latest release. <\/p>\n

\"\"Hardrock Haven: You\u2019re a seasoned musician, your experience ranging from Treat and Last Autumn\u2019s Dream to Therion. Is your first solo album Royal Mess a reflection of all this experience? Or perhaps, a different journey and a chance to try something completely new?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: It\u2019s actually more a reflection of who I am. I grew up with Rock and Hard Rock music. It all started when I was about 5 or 6 years old with Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. Then there were Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and a bit later on \u2013 KISS, AC\/DC etc., and then Foreigner, Journey and so on\u2026 I love all of these straight forward Rock bands with good songs, riffs and melodies! I have listened and still listen to other sorts of music as well, but this is the foundation of everything I am – from deepest within!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: A really impressive musical resume under your belt \u2013 why did it take you so long to release an album on your own?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: The reason is a mixture of many things. It just seemed like I never had the time, or maybe I didn\u2019t have the self-esteem to do it? Today it\u2019s much easier to record and make an album on your own. If the music business was still the same as it was back in the 80’s and the 90’s I would probably never have been able to do this. The record companies ruled everything and the people who worked there were more concerned about their positions, their salaries and the sales of what they \u201cknew\u201d or thought would sell. I salute today\u2019s music market! We now have a better and bigger artistic freedom.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Is Royal Mess an effect of spontaneous creative process, or is it an idea you had in your mind for years and now made reality?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: Of course I\u2019ve had this in mind many, many times throughout the years. But it wasn\u2019t until the beginning of 2011 that I decided to really get things going. I quit drinking after being a period alcoholic for about two years and a half. I decided to start a new life as 100 per cent sober man and use my time to do something properly and good instead of just wasting my time. When you\u2019re drunk, you get nothing done, and when you\u2019re having a hangover, you definitely don\u2019t get anything done. Today I feel better than ever!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: We\u2019re glad to hear it! Are you satisfied with the album and the feedback you\u2019ve received on it so far?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: Oh yes indeed! I\u2019m so happy reading all of those good reviews. A couple of times they were so good that they almost brought me to tears \u2013 it\u2019s just fantastic! So far I haven\u2019t seen anything bad written about the album. But of course you can\u2019t expect that every journalist will like it. They can write whatever they want, and I guess they do …<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: From our previous e-mail correspondence I guess you read the reviews of your album quite carefully. Is the feedback you receive a kind of future guideline of dos and don\u2019ts? Or perhaps you follow your own vision and not anyone else\u2019s suggestions?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: I guess the good reviews give me a bit more of a push forward in the direction I\u2019m already in. It becomes some kind of boost to just go on and \u201cdo what you do\u201d. Probably I would have done it anyway, but this is some kind of proof that I\u2019m really on the right track!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: For the album, you stepped out as a lead singer, songwriter, rhythm guitar player and keyboard player (and obviously, provide bass parts as well). Was it difficult to cover so many duties?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: No, this is actually the way I\u2019ve always recorded demos ever since the early 1980’s. It\u2019s just that today you use better equipment. Demo recording and \u201creal recording\u201d are actually quite the same nowadays. And the fact is that I\u2019m as much guitar player as bass player. I\u2019ve also been singing lead in some cover bands before and I\u2019ve recorded loads of backing vocals on albums through the years. Also a lot of singing while on tour of course! I\u2019ve always seen myself as \u201chalf bass player \u2013 half singer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: You\u2019ve also produced and arranged the album. However, it\u2019s Chris Laney who mixed it. What kind of influence do you think he exerted over Royal Mess?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: Chris is nine years younger than me and he\u2019s a big fan of a lot of bands from the 80’s that I\u2019ve never heard or even noticed. Maybe this is one of the reasons many people say that Royal Mess sounds very much \u201880\u2019s \u2013 I\u2019m more into the 70\u2019s. But what we have in common are bands such as Def Leppard, KISS and AC\/DC for example. The absolute main thing is, however, that we both have quite the same opinion and attitude to the whole thing when it comes to music. We just do it! It all becomes very easy and simple. There are no rules about \u201cthis or that\u201d in any theoretical way or anything like that. The motto is \u201cif it feels good \u2013 it\u2019s good\u201d. And best of all \u2013 he\u2019s one of my absolutely best friends! He\u2019s the best guy for mixing rock music, and that\u2019s it!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: The guest list on the album is quite impressive \u2013 to say the least! Which of the guest performances are your favorite(s)?<\/p>\n

\"SONYNalle Pahlsson: I love them all! It\u2019s an honor for me to have them with me. All of them are friends and colleagues that I\u2019ve played with or had a relation to through the years. Stefan Bergstr\u00f6m from the band Skintrade for example is amazing. I really love that straightforward raw guitar playing! Kee Marcello is absolutely outstanding when it comes to everything about guitar playing. My old friend Micke Hujanen is a genius when it comes to melodic and Blues playing\u2026 too much and too many to mention! I\u2019m so glad and happy they wanted to contribute to my album!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Did you manage to gather at least some of the guest musicians in the studio, or was it technology that played a big part in passing on the recorded material?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: The drum tracks with Ian Haugland, Jamie Borger, Johan Kullberg and Danne McKentzie were recorded at Polar Studios and XTC-Studios, Stockholm which I participated in \u2013 the whole procedure. The drum track from Nicci Notini-Wallin was recorded by himself in his own studio and he sent me the files. As it often is today, most of the guest performances were recorded at the guests home studios. We just talked on the phone and I gave them some information and directions. The suggestion was at a 99 per cent like \u201cPlay (or sing) like yourself\u201d! (laughs) I think Linn\u00e9a Vikstr\u00f6m (Therion) and Henrik Bergqvist (The Poodles) were the only two that came by to my studio to record their parts.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: What are your favorite songs on Royal Mess and why?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: I think I have to vote for the first song \u201cAces High.\u201d I really love it. It gives me a feeling of that something very positive is in the air. A good vibe! And to me the lyrics of the song says \u201cBelieve in yourself \u2013 You\u2019re an Ace.\u201d I also love \u201cSee You In My Dreams\u201d which is dedicated to my brother Benny who died in 1986. He was my idol and in some ways also \u201ca second Daddy\u201d for me as a kid.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: A bit of an oddity among the songs is a modern slow-ish piece \u201cThe Pieces Of My Heart.\u201d What\u2019s been an inspiration behind this song \u2013 was it any band of the contemporary era?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: When it comes to \u201cThe Pieces Of My Heart\u201d … I really don\u2019t know …. I just write songs from a subject with a title and it \u201cbecomes what it becomes.\u201d I agree the verses are a bit odd or different, but I actually don\u2019t know where I got the inspiration from … I just wrote it.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: What are your personal music influences and do you think they are reflected on the album?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: Influences that you probably can hear on the Royal Mess album are KISS, Def Leppard and AC\/DC … maybe with some AOR fragments here and there. In the reviews, some journalists have mentioned Steve Steven\u2019s Atomic Playboys. To me the whole album is just plain Hard and Melodic Rock. Nothing more, nothing less \u2013 \u201cmeat and potatoes,\u201d or \u201cpower and simplicity\u201d I would say. One thing that is actually \u201cmissing\u201d on this album is in fact my big influences from the 70’s Progressive bands such as Genesis, Yes, U.K., Kansas, Rush etc. But I have future plans for that as well …<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: My impression is that the majority of the songs, if not all, are very personal lyric-wise. \u201cSee You In My Dreams\u201d, for instance, is a song with a certain story behind it. Could you please reveal a bit more about it?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: The song is written to my brother Benny who died in 1986. He committed suicide. Of course something very tragic for my family\u2026 I was dreaming very often about him after he died. I met and talked to him several times in my dreams. I knew he was dead and he told me how he flew up to heaven and how he could see his house and everything from above. I asked him how it was up there, on the other side\u2026? He said that it can\u2019t be explained \u201cYou will see and understand when you get there.\u201d Without Benny I would probably have never had a career as a musician. He was ten years older than me and had all the albums with all the cool bands. He had a guitar that I used very often (I still have it). He started to take me to watch concerts already when I was nine years old, \u2018cause he could notice that I loved rock music. He gave me my first electric guitar and in 1973, when I was ten, I got to watch Led Zeppelin in concert\u2026 wow! I have so much to thank him for\u2026 he would be proud of me today! I guess I have managed his legacy pretty well\u2026 The song was recorded several times by other bands and artists in the 80’s, but for some reason it was never released. I guess the release of the song on my album is what you actually can call \u201cfull circle\u201d \u2013 I\u2019m glad it\u2019s finally released in the right version after almost 30 years!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: What are the stories behind other songs on the album as far as lyrics are concerned?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: A few of them are about my crazy and sick relations I\u2019ve had with girls\/women … I was an idiot spending a lot of money on a girl that only used me. I was blinded by love … well, both deaf and blind! You can read about it in the songs \u201cHell City\u201d and \u201cGold Digger.\u201d I think people like to read about those things, so I will tell the full stories on my blog later on! Maybe the story says more about me than her\u2026? I became the big looser \u2013 that\u2019s how it can be when you think with your heart instead of your brain!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: A tricky question as always in the case of star-studded projects: is there a chance of bringing Royal Mess to the live stage?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: We did a release gig here in Stockholm at the Rock club \u201cPub Anchor\u201d on October the 10th. It was sort of a try-out \u2013 and it worked very well ! The members are me and the guys you can see in the booklet of the album: Stefan Bergstr\u00f6m (Skintrade), Johan Kullberg (Therion), Chris Laney and Pontus Larsson (Vindictiv)\u2026 I\u2019ve also got a request from quite a big festival next year. We\u2019ll see what will happen.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: What are you up to at the moment? Any further plans?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: These last two months I have been overloaded with gigs and recordings and it doesn\u2019t seem to end: new album with Last Autumn\u2019s Dream, touring Canada and the USA with a Swedish singer Martina Edoff, doing gigs in Europe with Therion, recording for Mats Lev\u00e9n, recording for the Italian project by Paolo Vallerga \u201cExperiment NoQ\u201d for a second release. And then, everything around Royal Mess: interviews and lots of things to do for the Japanese release on December the 16th. Right now I\u2019m preparing for a Latin America Tour with Therion in November. December seems cool, but then, the whole of January 2016 we go on a European Tour with Therion\u2026<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Any last words?<\/p>\n

Nalle Pahlsson: This album is a personal victory for me \u2013 it feels really good! Thank you Alexandra!<\/p>\n

Photo credits: Sigrid Ingela Blom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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