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Following the demise of Beardfish, mainman Rikard Sjöblom resurrected his previous band Gungfly in 2017 with their third album On Her Journey Spherical The Solar. Prog spoke to him on the time to get the lowdown…
In July 2016, the information broke that Swedish prog maestros Beardfish had been splitting up after 15 years and eight albums. Now, Beardfish’s former frontman re-emerges with Rikard Sjöblom’s Gungfly. The Gungfly idea has assumed many guises through the years – its present kind is a six-piece keyboard-heavy prog band, nevertheless it’s often appeared as an influence trio and was first conceived in 2007 as an outlet for Sjöblom’s musical concepts that didn’t essentially fall underneath the prog umbrella.
“In the event you evaluate Beardfish and Gungfly again within the day when each bands existed on the similar time, I normally left stuff that wasn’t actually within the prog rock model for Gungfly after which in fact typically a prog track or two would slip by means of the radar,” says Sjöblom. “I’d document one thing and also you’d see the Beardfish members going, ‘Oh wait, what was that? We should always have had that track!’ However now the entire prog-related materials goes to Gungfly. Gungfly is altering.”
Gungfly’s marvellous, cosmos-spanning new album, On Her Journey To The Sun, comprises songs supposed for Beardfish earlier than the band’s break up, in addition to music conceived for Sjöblom’s solo profession. “As an example, the opening observe Of The Orb, that was meant to go on my final album, The Unbendable Sleep,” he says. “However then Robert [Hansen] and Magnus [Östgren] of Beardfish heard it and so they had been like, ‘Oh, we’ll take that one!’ So I misplaced that one to Beardfish however then I bought it again. And there’s this track referred to as Polymixia, it’s an instrumental that was meant for Beardfish. We rehearsed it however by no means recorded it.”
Beardfish’s creativity was rooted within the mindset of the storage band, the place the members would get collectively and develop materials by jamming. It was the problem of sustaining that working methodology within the face of adjusting life circumstances that contributed to the group’s demise. Gungfly marks a departure from that grease, oil and sweat faculty of music-making.
“That is an album I’ve been doing by myself,” says Sjöblom, who performs a lot of the devices on the document himself. The six-piece line-up – Sjöblom, Petter and Rasmus Diamant on drums and bass respectively, keys gamers Sverker Magnuson and Martin Borgh, and ex-Beardfish guitarist David Zackrisson – is the onstage model of Gungfly.
“The band goes to be recording stuff collectively sooner or later,” says Sjöblom, “however on the album, I feel we solely play two or three songs with all of the members on them. That’s mainly the stay band.”
Even the stay model of the band has had completely different manifestations. For some reveals, it’s been a stripped-down energy trio. “That was really out of comfort,” says Sjöblom. “Principally Petter, Rasmus and myself have been taking part in a complete lot of trio stuff collectively by means of the years. After I was invited to do Progtoberfest in Chicago, it was a case of, ‘Let’s make this handy – we’ll simply fly over the three of us and we’ll play stuff from everywhere.’ A lot of the stuff was from the older Gungfly albums however we additionally did a few songs from the brand new album. It’s at all times enjoyable to combine it up slightly bit. That’s why it’s referred to as Rikard Sjöblom’s Gungfly nowadays as an alternative of simply Gungfly, as a result of I is perhaps mixing it up and doing completely different setups with the band.”
Whereas it is perhaps Sjöblom’s identify on the marquee, he’s eager to level out that the brand new moniker doesn’t imply he’s grow to be a prog diva. “It’s not an enormous ego journey,” he says. “Gungfly isn’t the best-known band within the universe however I nonetheless wish to proceed utilizing that identify. I’ve launched albums as Rikard Sjöblom in addition to Gungfly; these two issues have at all times been kind of the identical anyway so why not convey them collectively?”
Likewise, being able to change the roster to suit the event creates new potentialities for arranging the fabric. “For a trio setting, you mainly get to play a entire lot extra,” explains Sjöblom, “as a result of there are numerous devices on the recordings however in a stay setting there’s a completely different power and a distinct vibe.
“I at all times loved that myself, seeing a few of my favorite bands like Frank Zappa or King Crimson. I feel the one band that was actually tremendous constant was Gentle Giant as a result of they had been all on the stage each time, however taking King Crimson as an illustration, typically there have been simply three individuals on stage doing the identical songs however completely different variations of them. I actually like that.”
One main change in Sjöblom’s life over the previous few years has been turning into a guardian and making an attempt to steadiness his music profession with his household.
“Being on the highway, doing music on the whole, it fucks up all of the routines,” he says. “You by no means actually know, oh, I’m going to be working this Thursday from 4 within the afternoon until 10 within the night. Balancing that with day care or kindergarten, simply typically being round, could be difficult. It’s a must to work along with the one you created the children with, I assume, and have a reasonably good relationship, so there’s a giving and taking state of affairs.
“I had a harder time entering into making an album, as an illustration, or writing songs, however as soon as I’m there, it’s like I by no means left or by no means had youngsters. I’ve simply bought to have the ability to get into that realm of writing and creating as a result of it may be difficult, nevertheless it’s doable. It’s a number of years of no sleep. I’m going round wanting like a zombie.”
For many musicians, being on tour is a marathon in sleep deprivation however, with youngsters at dwelling, it’s the other for Sjöblom. “After I exit of city and I keep in a lodge, I sleep my ass off,” he says. “It’s one of many perks.”
On Her Journey To The Solar is drenched in fantastic sounds. Whereas the album could not have been made by a bunch of musicians jamming in a storage, it sounds natural and alive, which can be thanks partly to Sjöblom’s love of classic keyboards. Working example, the observe Polymixia incorporates a Clavinet.
“It’s an actual Clavinet, the previous Stevie Surprise, Superstition keyboard and I ran it by means of
a complete bunch of guitar results” says Sjöblom. “I had a discipline day after I recorded that!
“I’ve at all times been an enormous fan of classic keyboards. I’ve a few Hammond organs, I’ve bought a Fender Rhodes piano, some synthesisers from an previous ARP Professional Soloist, the one which Tony Banks used on the previous Genesis recordings. You discover all these previous keyboards and go bankrupt each time you buy one, nevertheless it’s quite a lot of enjoyable. There’s a lot power and heat that comes from utilizing actual devices that you just lose in case you solely use Digital Instrument plug-ins.”
When inspiration strikes, Sjöblom prefers to start out with a melody, slightly than a lyric. “I can have a melody nagging me for days earlier than I do something about it,” he says. “Generally that melody could be impressed by only a line or one thing that I’ve scribbled down on a chunk of paper however more often than not it’s melodies or chord progressions that do it for me.”
As soon as he has a musical thought, that may recommend a lyric or a theme. “It’s normally a sense. One thing within the temper of the music speaks to me and will get me going lyrically,” he says. “Then typically it will probably change as nicely. You begin writing one thing and then you definitely don’t really feel it’s proper and you must return and revisit the lyrics. That occurred a number of instances on this album. The final actual track on the album, The River Of Unhappiness, that modified a few instances all through the writing course of. At first it handled two lovers after which it ended up being extra about dropping pals.”
The place Beardfish used to rehearse at size after which document, with Gungfly it’s a case of recording then rehearsing the band to carry out the studio creations. Sjöblom is eager to take On Her Journey… on the highway, though he does have considerations. “I’m a worrying particular person,” he says. “I’m not afraid that everybody goes to have the ability to play all the pieces. It’s extra that I at all times have a sense like, ‘Is there sufficient time to study all the pieces? How can we get the Hammond organ from the trailer to the venue?’ I fear about small stuff on a regular basis however I by no means present it so I’m going round twitching.
“I’m simply wanting ahead to getting on the market and making an attempt it out. It’s at all times good to see a track come to life that method as a result of recording is one factor, you witness a track come to life there as nicely, nevertheless it’s a distinct beast once you convey it out on the highway.”
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