Lars Eric Mattsson has been one of the most
prolific and busiest artists over the last 5 years or so. His
career runs over 15 years and outside of his musical projects also head
one of Europe's most respected indepedent record label in Lion Music.
2005 has seen Lars release two great albums, first was the progressive
rock opera 'Mattsson - War' and his latest all instrumental album
'Earthbound' released under his own name. We caught up with Lars
to discuss these releases, his approach to recording and how Lion Music
is facing upto the threat of illegal downloads and plans for 2006.
Lars,
many thanks for partaking in this interview. You have just released
your first all instrumental solo album in 14 years in Earthbound. How
come its’ taken so long to do another instrumental release?
Thanks for
giving me this opportunity! In 1991 when I had released “Electric
Voodoo” I really felt like I had said all I had to say within
instrumental neoclassical metal. Of course that’s very long ago now but
I guess I have always been something of a songwriter with something that
I have wanted to say and it has been very enjoyable for me to work with
great singers. Also I wasn’t really sure what direction an instrumental
album would take me musically as I didn’t want to make a neoclassical
shred album that sounds just like any other in that genre. But then
suddenly one day I found the inspiration and I knew I would have to grab
the opportunity immediately.
How long
did the album take from start to finish?
I
think it took me 3 months from when I decided to start writing until
the album was mixed and ready. For me this is quite fast as I
usually get hung up on some small shitty details that no one else
will notice anyway.
Are these all new
musical ideas or where any compositions from the archives?
Everything
is new, when I am in a good mood for composing the music just seems to
come from nowhere.
What do you aim to get across from purely
instrumental music such as Earthbound?
I think
most of all I did this for myself. I don’t expect an album like this to
change the world… but if I can move someone with my music that is of
course fantastic.
The album has a great earthy quality
to it. It many ways I see it as a cousin to the Mattsson ‘War’ epic
released earlier this year as to
my ears there is a slight similarity, not so much in the musical
orchestration, more as in the production (bottom end), this is just one
aspect that makes it easily identifiable as yours. What were you going
for sonically?
Thanks! I
seem to have developed my own sound both in terms of composing and
recording over the years and I am still trying to learn something new
every day. Lately I have been trying to use as little effects as
possible when mixing. I am also trying my best to record everything very
clear so that every note or hit can be identified. I am also going for a
heavy rhythm guitar sound and instead of using a 7 string I simply use
an old 6 string Valley Arts guitar tuned down 6 steps.
You
incorporated a nice blend of ethnic instruments into the mix, I love
your use of the electric sitar, is this instrument a strong source of
inspiration for you?
Yes, the
electric sitar is a great source of inspiration for me. It’s a bit
difficult to play, the pitch is far from perfect and there is very
little sustain but it’s got a sound that I really do love. This is the
original 1967 Coral Electric Sitar.
Eddie Sledgehammer plays drums on the album;
did you present him with rough guides as to what you wanted?
Yes, or
actually I usually have a quite advanced way of creating “maps” of the
various parts.
Do you have any favourite performances
on the album, if so why?
It’s quite
hard for me to pick any favourites, the first song I composed for the
album is also the first song on the album “From the Skies” which I think
is one of the best songs in terms of composing, I like the groove of
“Earthbound” and “Closed Eyes” while “Time Capsule” and “Delhi” might be
the two most interesting songs overall. “Time Capsule” is very dynamic
and I tried to incorporate some new ideas that I haven’t used before.
“Delhi” is in 5/4. It’s always great fun to work with odd rhythms, it
makes you feel like you are swimming in the middle of an ocean, anything
can happen…
If
we can cover the concept album War, that album has a lot of depth, a lot
of content and a lot of moods, I think it did an excellent job of
painting its story through music, many have called it your magnum opus.
What led to the creation of the album and was it something you felt you
needed to get out?
Yes, I
really felt that I had to get this out. It’s quite funny because I more
or less woke up one day and knew I had to do this! After this the music
just seemed to come flowing out of me but I can’t deny that it took a
very long time to get some of the stuff recorded and arranged the right
way. There are some very complex rhythms on this album, especially on
the songs “Smoke and Mirrors” and the “War Suite Concerto”.
'War’ features a lot of talented guests e.g.
Vitalij Kuprij, Mark Boals etc. Did you write specific songs with these
guests in mind?
No not
really, I knew I wanted to work with these guys but I didn’t decide who
would do what until the backing tracks were all recorded. I just tried
to combine each song with it’s ultimate singer…
What was the hardest
aspect of making that album?
The
recording of the backing tracks were more difficult than what would be
the considered “normal” for an album but it was also quite difficult to
come up with the lyrics and then I spent a very long time on the “War
Suite Concerto” which was recorded as 8 different pieces and then merged
together.
The world situation
(politically speaking) has not improved much since the album was
released, does this surprise you and can we expect a follow up further
down the road?
I don’t
know but yes this is possible, even though I also have some ideas that
might take me in a very different direction the next time.
You are about to
begin work on a new ‘Book Of Reflections’ album, do you know the
personnel of this sequel yet?
All I can
say is that Anand (Mahangoe - a fine Netherlands based guitarist - Ed)
will be playing guitar on three songs as his parts were already
recorded. Except from this everything is uncertain at this moment.
However I think the album will be really cool.
You are often
photographed with a Fender Stratocaster. Is this your favoured electric
instrument as the heavy tones you get in places on War and Earthbound
are not ones you would immediately associate with the Stratocaster.
The Strat
seems to have become the “love of my life”, I used a Valley Arts Custom
pro for years and at one time I even had a 29 fret Washburn but there is
something abut the Strat that I just can’t live without. I got tired of
the Floyd Rose whammy bar and even though the Valley Arts guitars are
very nice instruments there is something about the sound of a Fender
Stratocaster that just seem to be divine for me. However I have been
using a detuned Valley Arts with humbuckers for some of the rhythm
guitars on my last albums. And – my main Strat does have stacked Hot
Rails humbuckers in the two outer positions.
What do you use for
your guitar amplification and how do you prefer to record your guitar?
I have
tried everything from POD’s, Marshalls and I am still looking for the
ultimate way. I do have a few different amps and I do use the POD XT
quite a lot.
Being
the owner of Lion Music your roster has grown considerably over the last
couple of years. I hope this indicates a healthy music scene in terms
of musicianship. What are the biggest challenges that you feel that an
independent music industry has to cope with now and what can fans of
proper music do to safeguard their future as it where?
The main
problem is that the market is a bit too small, not enough people are
buying these kinds of albums – the result of this will in the long run
mean that fewer albums will be released. The only way to do this is to
work all the time, expect very little money and do it for the love of
the music. There are many big problems with the music business of today,
it’s very hard to get support from the magazines and as there are record
stores closing down all the time the only way to find music is from on
line stores. Since many record stores are closing this gives problems
for the distributors which is bad news for the labels… There seem to be
far too many artists and releases put out compared to the purchasing
power of the buyers. A lot of people download the music for free from
the internet. If the artists don’t get enough support from the buyers
they wont be able to put out more records and we will risk ending up in
a situation where most cd’s put out will be compilation albums and
re-releases. I think the biggest challenge of Lion Music in 2006 will be
to find new ways to both promote and sell the music. Some of the old
ways of doing things are not really making enough sense to hang on to
and it’s now time to find new way of spreading the word.
Lion Music has extended its roots into a few
genres the last year or so, Melodic Rock with House Of Shakira and
Airless, Hard Rock with Baltimoore, Modern Hard Pop Rock with Dogpound,
classic rock with Iain Ashley Hersey etc, along with the more
progressive artists the label is associated with. Do the bands on the
label have to excite you first and foremost?
Yes, I
think what I am trying to do is to find the ultimate combination of
quality artists that could attract music lovers of relatively similar
musical genres without become too narrow. Personally I can’t stand to
listen to just one kind of music all the time and I expect other people
to album be like that. However I only work with artists that I find
interesting and that seem to be good people to work with. I don’t like
to work with “difficult people” no matter how good they might be.
However I can’t deny that a few mistakes might have been done, there are
a few artists that don’t seem to work on our label, while I am certain
that for another album they might have done very well.
What has the label
got lined up for 2006?
There are
a few DVDs planned for 2006 and there will be new albums released by:
Winterlong, Marcel Coenen, Waterclime, Mind's Eye, Tears Of Anger,
Hubi Meisel, Section A, Satyrian, Zeelion, House Of Shakira, From
Behind, Coste Apetrea, Marcel Coenen (DVD), John Macaluso's Union Radio,
Sphere Of Souls, Daniel Palmqwist, VII Gates, Book Of Reflections, Sun
Caged, Simone Fiorletta and Hauteville amongst others.
Any parting messages for the readers of
Virtuosity One?
I would
like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to discuss my music and
label. It has been very pleasant!
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