Some new punk ballad stuff coming up! Been preparing for this new unit for the last few weeks. Something as unusual as a cover band. I have been working with drummer Johan Björklund for 14 years now and with bad ass singer Lindha Kallerdahl for 10 years. We decided we needed to celebrate that by forming a cover trio! So fun! Now we’ve been rehearsing and recording tunes by Avicii, The Cure, Foo Fighters and Chaka Khan for a couple of days. We’re stoked and just wanna get out and play. While in Gothenburg I also laid down some guitar tracks on Johan’s new solo album. That music sounded great. Now you have some wonderful music looking forward to! Can’t wait!
Lately I’ve been getting into the music of Queen and the guitar playing of Mr.May. I was asked to play guitar for a Queen production featuring a large orchestra and a huge choir. I really dug into the tunes and tones of Mr.May, thinking that this will really put the trusted Line 6 Helix to the test. 10 years ago I was a part of another Queen production. Then I was relying on another Line 6 product, the M13. I must say guitar technology has made a huge leap in 10 years. While the M13 really got me into the ballpark for the tones, it didn’t have the amp modelling or the snapshot features of the Helix. Helix is also a big upgrade in terms of sound quality and useability. Right now in this production I’m using it without an actual amp, relying on the modelling of the unit. This is a great way to work when you need total control of your stage volume while retaining the sounds of a pushed amp. I run two FRFR speakers as monitoring and then direct out to FOH via the XLR outs. On may 6th we’ll be playing a show at Västerås Konserthus, Sweden. Will be really fun!
This is a playlist featuring a selection of songs that I worked on as a guitar player, writer, producer and arranger. Stay tuned for more songs added to the list 🙂
It’s been two years now since Bowie left this earth and he is greatly missed. I just read an interview with longtime Bowie collaborator Mike Garson where he told that in the seventies, Bowie had been visiting a psychic who had forecasted his death in january 2016. Garson says “(The psychic) told him he was going to die exactly when he died. There are a lot of psychics who are out of their minds and full of it, but this one was real. David knew it and didn’t doubt it for a second. He told me about (the reading) with certainty, accepted it and planned his future out based on that. He had 30, 40 years to plan out his life.”Reading this, it becomes more apparent that Bowie had a master plan and that he was in total control over his creative output right until his last breath. It’s all so staggering.
During the last few weeks I’ve seen many artists celebrating the life and times of Bowie by putting out shows and tribute concerts. Unfortunately I haven’t been asked to participate in any of them, although I really would love to. I know most of his songs and the love and passion I have for his music combined with the knowledge about the different styles of his guitar players would make me a goddamn perfect guitarist in a Bowie tribute band. However, I created my own little tribute by recording some Frippish/Belewish guitar playing over the Scary Monsters chord progression. I made some drum programming, recorded a few rhythm guitars and laid down a basic synth bass. Over that I improvised a couple of takes and here’s what came out. Hope you enjoy it! And don’t forget to call me if you’re planning to pay hommage to David 🙂
I’m very proud to have my shot featured on Parallel Activity’s new album “Rubicon”. It was shot in Skåne, Sweden last summer on a windy day. Please head over to iTunes and purchase the album. I’ts full of great tunes and stellar musicianship. Check it out!
Swedish Arts Council will support Thymeshift + Amsler in 2018. We’re stoked and look forward to a great year with lots of new music and an upcoming tour. Stay tuned!
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