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InterviewsSeventh Wonder Discusses The Great Escape

Posted on Wednesday, November 17 2010 @ 18:37:23 CST by Duncan Glenday
Progressive Metal 2010 started started out strong for new music, and thanks to bands like Seventh Wonder it's finishing with even more. The Great Escape is where you will find more of their wonderful songs including one very impressive epic. Here we have an interview with band members Andreas Söderin and Andreas Blomqvist, who go into some detail about their new album and other things Seventh Wonder related.

Scott Jessup - Sea Of Tranquility : Hi guys and thanks for doing this interview for Sea Of Tranquility's readers, many of whom I'm sure are Seventh Wonder fans.  The Great Escape is yet another great Seventh Wonder recording no doubt at all, but I like all your releases so much it's not easy to pick a favorite. Why do you believe Seventh Wonder's albums have been such a hit with the fans?

Andreas Söderin : I think it´s because all five of us in the band come from different musical backgrounds and we all try to implement our own touch to the music. Sometimes there´s pure powermetal, sometimes only piano and vocals and other times there´s some crazy progthing going on. When you mix this all together, there is something for everybody and this concept seems to work pretty well.

Andreas Blomqvist : That is definitely true but two big other things that contribute is that we have such melody based songs and we also have Tommy on the vocals ... and me on bass! [Laughs]

SoT : How excited is the band about this new album?

Andreas Söderin : We are of course very exited! It is always a lot of fun to see how the new record will be judged by the fans.

SoT : When did you start working on "The Great Escape"?

We started the work right after we finished Mercy Falls. Some of us were pretty tired of playing then - it had been a tough recording period-  but we knew that we had to continue with the new songs right away, because writing a new song for us takes a lot of time, and we did not want the next album to take too long.

SoT : Does each band member come up with their own parts or are they given a guide to work with?

Andreas Söderin : Usually, someone in the band comes to a rehearsal with an idea, and then we jam for a while. Then we twist and turn every part of the song until everybody is pleased with the result.

Andreas Blomqvist : Yeah, but I think that as we've become more and more pressed for time over the years with us touring more and what not we don't really have as much time to jam anymore. Now it's more like "hey Kyrt - write something like this" or "Andreas, write something like that" and then we bring the more or less complete thing to the boys. But sure, like Kyrt said, pretty much all arrangements happen together and everybody's involved.

SoT : Who came up with the title The Great Escape and the idea to record such a lengthy title track, was this the most challenging song Seventh Wonder has recorded so far?

We wanted to have something special on this album.. We had a couple of ideas, but we ended up with the 30 minute song. It was Andreas B who came up with the idea after reading the book Aniara by Harry Martinsson. Andreas also wrote the whole song and then we all added our own little twist to it.

Of course it was very challenging, not only to learn, but also to remember every little part of it. We divided it into four sections which made it a little easier.

Andreas Blomqvist : I've always strived to make sure that there was something new on ever new Seventh Wonder album. For Waiting in the Wings, it was Tommy who was the new thing and an orchestral part finishing the album. For Mercy Falls it was the concept thing and also using acoustic guitars. This time my idea was to write a massive epic and also include a softer song -we did both. As for the concept I also felt it to be pretty cool to do something Swedish-based.
What tour plans do you have and will you be performing this song live or is the running time a problem? I suppose you could play quite a few other tracks in the same time period.




Andreas Söderin : Currently, there are no tour plans other than a mini-tour in Finland in November. We just finished the album and it is not until now that we have time to look forward and book gigs. But there are many places we would like to visit (and revisit) and we all love to play and meet the fans, so we just have to see where we end up next year.

SoT : Any news on the drummer front, were you surprised that Johnny Sandin has decided to leave the band?

Andreas Blomqvist : No, I can't say that I was really surprised but I was very saddened by his departure. I've known him for 15 years and played music with him for the better part of those years. It really makes me sad.

SoT : There must be many talented drummers out there who would love the challenge and opportunity, have you had many applicants?

Andreas Blomqvist : We've received a bunch of applications but most guys don't really cut it I'm afraid. We have a couple of guys we hope for, but we are still collecting applications and we'll see what happens.

SoT : What are your favorite Seventh Wonder songs?

Andreas Söderin : I would say for me, it would be the new 30 minute epic. There are so many things going on at the same time. For me, that song represents a whole Seventh Wonder album musically.

Andreas Blomqvist : If I go album by album, I guess ... Like Him or What I've Become, Devil's Inc. or Taint the Sky, Hide And Seek or Paradise and then probably The Great Escape.

SoT : What do the bands members enjoy doing away from Seventh Wonder?

Andreas Söderin : I personally love to fly. I have a pilot license and it helps me to relax and puts away stress and other bad things. That and party hard all weekends! [Laughs]

Andreas Blomqvist : [Laughs] Yup that's the truth. High in a plane or high on booze that's Kyrt alright! For me, now I'm a family man so enjoy a beer in the couch back home cuddled up with my wife and daughter to watch Rambo or some other cool stuff on TV. I watch a lot of films and stuff but besides that and working out music has always been pretty much my only hobby.

SoT : Which releases have you enjoyed the most in 2010?

Andreas Blomqvist : Eeh ... you, know I'm really not up to date and we've lived in the studio both arranging and recording for the better part of 2010 - so whenever you don't have to listen to music in a situation like that, you simply don't!

However I must say that I really like the samples I've heard of Russel Allen singing on the new Star One album. And from a live point of view I was impressed by DGM when I saw them at ProgPower USA where we played together.

SoT : Thanks again for the interview, and for another fine album.



Scott Jessup



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