Jan Martens "Voices - Part 1" New Solo LP from the Nymphet Noodlers & Free Fall Bassist

Jan Martens with Nymphet Noodlers, Uppsala 2017 - Photo Retro Man Blog

Jan Martens originally made his name as the bassist with the Karlstad based Nymphet Noodlers who, according to our in-depth Retro Man Blog retrospective, would go on to become one of the most underrated yet influential bands in Sweden. After all, Jan and his band-mates, vocalist Mattias Hellberg, guitarist Mattias Bärjed, keyboard player Martin Hederos and drummer Jesper Karlsson certainly had a lasting impact on the Swedish music scene. The Hellacopters, Nicolai Dunger, A Camp, The Solution, Stefan Sundström, Dundertåget, Henrik Berggren, Diamond Dogs, Refused, Tonbruket, Sofia Karlsson, Anna Ternheim, Nationalteatern, Håkan Hellström and of course The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Free Fall…the list of bands, artists and projects that each has been involved with in some way or another over the years could be longer than a telephone directory!

Jan, whose inventive and thunderous bass playing has seen him compared to John Entwhistle, has just released a brand new solo LP entitled "Voices – Part 1". The seven track album starts off with the stomping fuzzed up robotic sound of "Big Muff Strikes Again" and then takes us on an eclectic journey that encompasses the catchy guitar driven Pop of "Reaching Out" to the free-form jazz of "U&I" and the atmospheric Pink Floyd influenced dreamy Psychedelia of "Coming Down/Below". So, let us speak to Jan and get a bit more background information on his journey from Nymphet Noodlers right up to the present day and the release of this intriguing new album.

Jan & Martin Hederos, Nymphet Noodlers, Uppsala 2017 - Photo Retro Man Blog

Q: Jan, Nymphet Noodlers called it a day rather unexpectedly after releasing just the one full length LP "Going Abroad", what did you do after the split?

JM: Well, I joined up with ex-Noodlers’ guitarist Mattias Bärjed in the band Mindjive for about six months. We toured Sweden and Germany (with Refused). Then I moved to Stockholm and got into Rocket 99 with Jesper, another ex-Nymphet Noodler and Andreas Byhlin from Singer. We made one album in 1999 but then that ended so I formed The Jan Martens Frustration, also with Jesper. At the same time I toured with Text, a very loose, improvisational band/project started by, among others, David Sandström from Refused. I was also a member of David’s backing band when he toured his first solo album after Refused. I’d recommend “Om det inte händer något innan imorgon, så kommer jag”. An entire album about his grandfather, a farmer in northern Sweden. It’s a fantastic record, really unique.



Q: I love The Jan Martens Frustration album, especially the track "Pole Position" which has such a superb bass line. It was a shame that this project was also short-lived. What happened?


JM: The recording of the JMF album was very troubled, mostly due to a conflict regarding the financial deal between the record company and the producer. It led to huge delays in the recording, which was horrible. This was a time when the whole music industry went through major changes and things were very insecure. Also one member, Olof, got very ill in 2002. Jesper started playing with Diamond Dogs and I started thinking of getting an education. I got me one in psychology. JMF grew into my next band, Convolutions.

Q: Did you stop music while you were studying?

JM: For a while I was in Thomas Rusiak’s touring band along with Christian Gabel on drums and Free Fall Producer, Martin "Konie" Ehrencrona on guitar. During this period I also rehearsed and recorded with The Plan although that material was never released. During my university years I rehearsed and recorded with Convolutions, a duo featuring Olof Korlén, Jesper’s younger cousin. He had also played guitar solos on four songs on the JMF album and played live at most of our shows, sometimes with Robert 'Strings' Dahlqvist on second guitar. Unfortunately, they both died within less than four months of each other, not long ago…Olof very sadly killed himself in late 2016. He suffered from a severe mental illness, with psychotic episodes, that first broke out when we were playing in JMF. The song "x7009" on the new album is about him.



Q: Of course we know about Martin Hederos and Mattias Bärjed joining The Soundtrack of Our Lives, but you have also had some association with them too haven’t you?


JM: Yes, I also played on some songs on Mattias Bärjed’s soundtrack to the TV series "Upp Till Kamp" and the movie "Call Girl" and was a member of the fictitious dance band "Marzipan" in the "Gentlemen" movie and TV series. I also stood in for Kalle for some Soundtrack of Our Lives shows in 2011 and 2012. This year, in addition to "Voices – Part 1" I’ve also done some sessions for Daniel Haeggström’s Haertz Arkestra. He’s not performing himself, he’s producing and he likes to get different people together to see what happens. He has chosen and rearranged several songs from Björn Olsson’s "Shellfish" albums… When we were mixing the NN album in '94 me, Mattias and Mattias stayed in Björn's apartment. He then played us some of his peculiar home recordings that later came to be TSOOL songs. Also, Ebbot produced the NN album.


Jan with Free Fall, Paris 2012 - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Q: You released a critically acclaimed classic Heavy Rock album with Free Fall in 2013 with Mattias Bärjed, vocalist Kim Franson and drummer Ludwig Dahlberg and many people have been waiting for a follow up. When did the idea for a solo album come about? After all, it’s been 14 years since the last album to bear your name (Jan Martens Frustration) was released.


JM: Well, I began working on this album sometime in the summer of 2014 when it had become clear that the motivation was not where it ought to be for every member of Free Fall. I decided that this time round I didn’t want to try to form a new band again as it is very difficult to find the right chemistry. However, I definitely didn’t want to give up playing - not at all - as during the Free Fall years I found myself getting more into music again after studying psychology for half a decade. I wanted to try a bunch of ideas that I found interesting and original but that had either been rejected or met with disinterest or just didn’t work out well in earlier bands. "Voices – Part 1" is much more of a solo project than the Jan Martens Frustration, which was after all, meant to be a band. I’ve never really been interested in being a solo artist, for the most part I simply prefer bands. Always saw myself as a band person. Had to change that, though.

Jan & Ludwig Dahlberg, Free Fall, backstage London 2013 - Photo Retro Man Blog

Q: You’re not only playing bass on the album are you, you’re also playing guitar and singing?

JM: Yes, and piano and percussion and drum programming… I thought I should try to do as much as possible by myself this time which meant that I needed to get better at playing guitar. I mean I really had to learn to play the guitar the way that I wanted it to be played on these songs. I’m very keen on improvisation, I want a loose, spontaneous, jazzy feel. To me that’s the highest art, most of my favourite bands improvised a lot, especially live. And I think in rock music that part of it since has been lost, to a large extent. So, for 3-4 years I’ve been annoying my family with hours and hours of noisy guitar, practicing at home using Marshall and Hiwatt amps.. Listening to someone practicing controlling guitar feedback can’t be too rewarding…



Q: Were you nervous about singing?

JM: Yes. I needed to improve my singing. In fact, I ended up singing more than I first intended as originally I was thinking of asking people to sing guest vocals quite a bit. But as time went by I came to decide that it would probably be necessary to also try to do that myself. There was lots of trial and error with what keys the songs should be played and sung in, as my vocal range is quite limited.



Jan Martens, Free Fall, London 2013 - Photo Retro Man Blog

Q: You said you had a clear idea of how you wanted the album to sound, how did you go about making it happen?

JM: Quite clear at least. One more thing that I needed to do was get the right gear to be able to record and produce the music at home, to make it sound the way I wanted it to. I have never been satisfied with the production on anything I’ve played on before, especially not with the bass guitar sounds. So I began searching and trying out guitars, microphones, guitar and bass speakers and even different strings that actually can make huge differences in sounds and playability. I also tried and learned to control various fuzz pedals and other stomp boxes and different methods of recording too. I love fuzz boxes, they’re like instruments in themselves. Extremely dynamic and sensitive to touch and guitar volume and tone controls. I ended up with a basic set-up of one small guitar speaker, one small bass speaker and three not so small amp heads - I must use an attenuator to avoid me and my family getting evicted! I recorded everything in a room in our house using three different microphones, always just one at a time, and all the editing and mixing was done on my laptop.



Q: There’s a 'real' drum sound on the LP; did you play and record the drums at home yourself? 

JM: At first I thought I might record everything with MIDI drums or drum loops but it didn’t take long until I felt the need of a real drummer on several songs. So I asked a childhood friend that I thought could fit well. For this we needed to record in a real studio so I booked Studio Cobra, where Free Fall recorded everything we did. It went well and he has since come to Stockholm from Karlstad once more, playing on nine songs so far. He played along to the tracks that were already recorded with drum loops, which were then deleted afterwards. That’s not too easy to do, but he did well and was really quick. I also asked another friend to play trumpet on one song and synthesizer on two, and asked my wife, stepdaughter and Kim Franson from Free Fall to sing backing vocals.

Jan & Kim Franson, Free Fall, London 2013 - Photo Retro Man Blog

Q: Lyrically, what sort of subjects do you tackle on "Voices – Part 1" and do you enjoy this part of song writing?

JM: Lyrics are always slow, and quite painful, work for me and I tend to write them late in the process. Subjects this time range from pretty nonsensical stuff to my close friend’s mental illness and suicide. Most songs turned out pretty relationship-focused although that wasn’t my plan, that’s just where they ended up…I always let the atmosphere 'decide' where the lyrics may go.



Q: So, are you already thinking of a "Voices – Part 2"?

JM: Yes, I recorded more songs than those that ended up on the album. I chose these seven to get the right length for a vinyl album and so they would work OK together. So Part 2 might not take too long to finish since there’s quite a lot more material that has already been worked on…

Jan & Mattias Hellberg, Nymphet Noodlers, Uppsala 2017 - Photo Retro Man Blog

With many thanks to Jan for his time. For more information on how to order "Voices - Part 1" please check out the official Jan Martens Facebook page. LP cover art by Hans Selander at SelanderArt. For our in-depth feature on the story of the influential Nymphet Noodlers including a feature on their reunion showin December 2017 please check the Blog archive here.

Haertz "Them Jokes" featuring Kim Fransson (Free Fall) & Martin Hederos (The Soundtrack of Our Lives)

Martin Hederos in Atlantis Studios - Photo by Sören Carlsson

Here's a little P.S. to my recent feature on what the ex-members of The Soundtrack of Our Lives are up to these days. "Them Jokes" by Haertz is a one-off collaboration that started off as the brainchild of Producer & Lyricist Daniel Haeggström who was to secure the talents of Kim Fransson and Martin Hederos. Kim is the lead singer with Free Fall, the band formed by TSOOL guitarist Mattias Bärjed along with his ex-Nymphet Noodlers colleague and bassist Jan Martens and drummer Ludwig Dahlberg from The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Of course Martin Hederos will be well known to fans of Soundtrack of Our Lives but also as a hugely respected and in demand keyboard player, arranger and composer, having worked with such diverse acts as Tonbruket, Ane Brun, Nina Persson and most recently Sofia Karlsson, among many others. "Them Jokes" was an idea that was to take three years to complete as Daniel wanted only the best musicians, the best studio and the best mixing and mastering that he could find to fully realize the sound he wanted to achieve.

Haertz in Atlantis Studios - Photo by Janne Hansson

The track was recorded in Stockholm's legendary Atlantis studio which has hosted sessions from pretty much every notable Swedish band and artist from Cornelis Vreeswijk, Jerry Williams, Lill Lindfors and Abba to The Hives, The Cardigans, Teddybears and Lykke Li. You can read more about the history of Atlantis studio here. Daniel, Kim and Martin were joined in the studio by Robert Eriksson on drums, Heikki Kiviaho on bass, Hannu Kiviaho and Sören Carlsson on guitars with the Stockholm Strings and additional contributions from Linn Segolson and Calle Olsson. 

Martin Hederos in Atlantis Studios - Photo by Sören Carlsson

You can download "Them Jokes" from Spotify and iTunes and get more information on the background of the song at the Haertz Facebook page. Photos courtesy of Daniel Haeggström.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives "Rest In Piece 1994-2012"

The Soundtrack of Our Lives Stockholm December 2012 by Steve Worrall

It’s hard to believe that exactly one year ago today I saw my very last gig by The Soundtrack of Our Lives. As 2012 drew to a close so did the band with six consecutive sold-out nights at Stockholm’s beautiful Södra Teatern. Each night saw them playing one of their albums in chronological order, played in it’s entirety along with relevant B-Sides and encores comprising a selection of singles and obscure tracks. I went to the first three nights only, not just because the first three albums are my favourites, but mainly down to the fact that the cost of such a long stay in Sweden is prohibitive to say the least. It meant I had to accept that I wouldn’t be present at the very last show ever, but so be it, something I have to live with! So, first of all December 17th was the night of the classic debut album “Welcome To The Infant Freebase”, then on the 18th we were treated to the Psychedelic masterpiece “Extended Revelations…” and on the 19th it was the turn of their commercial break-through, the faultless “Behind The Music”. Rewinding to the beginning of 2012 it all started off quite promising for fans of TSOOL as the band released a new album “Throw It To The Universe” which followed on from the creative and critically acclaimed double album “Communion”. 

The Soundtrack of Our Lives Stockholm December 2012 by Steve Worrall

However this great news was somewhat marred by the accompanying press release stating it was to be the band’s very last album. The band then toured extensively to give the fans a last chance to catch them play live but as the dates were ticked off, the realisation started to set in. The “last ever” London show at the Scala was closely followed by the “last ever” Slussens Pensionat show. Then “the last ever” Gothenburg show at Pustervik was followed by the final stand in Stockholm, the “last ever” shows full stop. Then that was it, it was all over. But to me TSOOL were more than just a band, they were an inspiration. Indeed they rekindled my passion for music and I looked back to my old 80’s fanzine days and decided to start up Retro Man Blog. In fact the very name “Retro Man” comes from my favourite TSOOL song and not just because I am a miserable old git always looking back to the past…although some might agree with that last bit..! For someone such as me who had become jaded and cynical about the music industry and tired of the dull Indie scene, seeing TSOOL for the first time just blew me away. They were a riot of energy, colour and showmanship with songs that stuck in your head for weeks after. In my youth, despite being a musician and a huge music lover in general, I had never really been a real “fan” of any band as such, even as a teenager I’d never joined a fan-club, never bothered about collecting records and later, as the days of the internet dawned I certainly never entered the murky world of the internet fan-forum. But all that was about to change, after seeing that very first TSOOL show I wanted to find out all I could about this bunch of mysterious Swedes. 

The Soundtrack of Our Lives Stockholm December 2012 by Steve Worrall

I just had to track down each and every song they had ever recorded and had to make sure I would know when I could see them play again at the next earliest opportunity. So began an adventure full of wonderful experiences, travel and discovery. Sure there were the occasional frustrations and disappointments along the way but generally great fun was had, a lot of alcohol was consumed and great lasting friendships were formed. But of course, above all there was the music. Timeless music. I have never known a modern band with such an impressive back catalogue of high quality song-writing – drawing as they did from many aspects of Rock history. Love, The Damned, Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, The Who, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, sometimes sailing a bit close to the wind with their influences if truth be told, but usually managing to stamp their own unique footprint on well trodden paths. My investigations led me to two of the previous bands that formed the nucleus of TSOOL, and they were the stunning Union Carbide Productions and The Nymphet Noodlers. Then there were also the various spin-offs and the side-projects, not to mention the solo music too. 

The Soundtrack of Our Lives Stockholm December 2012 by Steve Worrall

The Soundtrack of Our Lives were a band made up of very distinct characters; a fact that was noted by the acclaimed Swedish artist and author, David Liljemark, who created the “Cartoon Animals” comic book based on the band. Each member certainly injected their own character, persona and sound into the TSOOL mix. In the beginning there was the enigmatic Björn Olsson and his coastal influenced soundscapes playing off against his ex-Union Carbide Productions colleague, guitarist Ian Person’s raw power riffing. The classically trained keyboard player Martin Hederos could spin out Sixties Psych Hammond organ nuggets or play beautifully minimalist Erik Satie style ballads. His ex-Nymphet Noodlers band-mate Mattias Bärjed, who replaced Björn Olsson, brought in a heavier classic rock influence and with his Pete Townsend Union Jack jacket and unashamed guitar-hero theatrics upped the visuals of the band’s full-on live assault. Drummer Fredrik Sandsten was a blur of energy of Keith Moon proportions, certainly the best drummer I have ever seen. Bassist Kalle was the quiet one, and his songs brought an eclectic and cinematic aspect to the band, somewhat reminiscent of John Barry meeting Serge Gainsbourg, in fact he even drafted in Jane Birkin to guest on the song “Midnight Children”. Then up front was man mountain Ebbot, a kaftan clad force of nature, bursting with unpredictability, a mischievous glint in his eye and a voice that could switch suddenly from a rich baritone to a howl of rage. A man who revelled in confrontation and reaction, in fact a passive audience to Ebbot was like a red rag to a bull. 

The Soundtrack of Our Lives Stockholm December 2012 by Steve Worrall

I have seen many gigs over the years but I have never seen a better live act – the perfectly plotted set-lists and the sense of dynamics all shot through with an underlying air of unpredictability. Following 2008’s decidedly uncommercial yet critically acclaimed double album, “Communion”, things were looking up, the band seemed happy, the fans certainly were so the news that the follow up, “Throw It To The Universe”, was to be the band’s last album came as a shock. It was a crying shame (quite literally for some people in the crowd at the Södra Teatern) that TSOOL were going to call it a day. But that was it, the band said they wanted to go out with a bang, to end at the right time in a positive light and they certainly did that. Those final shows at the Södra Teatern last December, although tinged with a certain sadness, were a joyous and emotional celebration of a truly remarkable band. So what happened next? Well throughout TSOOL’s career each band member was often away doing something or other, whether with side projects, soundtrack music for high profile TV and films or in demand as guest musicians or producers. So it’s no surprise that already 2013 has offered us the excellent debut album “Power & Volume” by Mattias Bärjed’s new band Free Fall, where he teams up with ex-Nymphet Noodlers bassist Jan Martens, singer Kim Fransson and ex-International Noise Conspiracy drummer Ludwig Dahlberg. The band played a quite brilliant debut London gig at Camden Dingwalls back in February, which you can read about here. 

 
Mattias also wrote the score for the critically acclaimed Mikael Marcimain movie “Call Girl” starring Ruth Vega Fernandez. Martin Hederos was busy with the latest Tonbruket album “Nubium Swimtrip” as well as appearing on albums by artists such as Ane Brun and Marie Modiano. Kalle continued his production and engineering duties at Svenska Grammofon Studion and Fredrik took up a post as a cultural ambassador for the city of Gothenburg. Ebbot featured on great records by La Fleur Fatale and Caviare Days as well as resurrecting The New Alchemy with Per Svensson for a new album “The Other Side of Light”. Ebbot is also becoming a bit of a celebrity on mainstream Swedish TV with his part in the music reality show “Så Mycket Bättre” which is being aired on TV4.

 
I heard from guitarist Ian Person recently and he too is busy. “My plans for next year, well, me and Kalle are writing music for a new TV drama series called “Viva Hate”, from the screenwriter Peter Birro, the same guy who wrote “Upp Till Kamp”. It's about a band in Gothenburg in the early 90's, young kids. No, not Union Carbide Productions - could have been - but Peter was more into The Smiths than anything else. So it’s an imaginary band from that time sounding like something in-between Broder Daniel and the sound of Gothenburg. So we are writing the music for the band and most of the score. So far I've done the most writing, and we are also going to work with the actors to make them look as real as possible. I’m, also working on my album as well. Trying to get a good team together and hopefully everything will fall into place in the spring and the album will be out after summer next year.”

The Soundtrack of Our Lives Stockholm December 2012 by Steve Worrall

Parlophone Records will release a 38 track double CD “best of” compilation entitled “Rest In Piece 1994-2012” on January 22nd 2014. It seems a bit of a cynical move from the label to cash in on Ebbot’s current high profile, after all it’s not long since the band released the compilation “Golden Greats No. 1”. But it would appear the track-list has been hand-picked by Ebbot himself and I guess if it generates more interest in the band and increases the clamour for the band to get back together, then job done!
 

Mattias of The Soundtrack of Our Lives Stockholm December 2012 by Steve Worrall

Of course we will keep you updated on any other Soundtrack of Our Lives related news – in the meantime you can search the Blog archive for various features, photos (including some fantastic exclusive Paul Slattery shots), Podcasts and videos. Please click the highlighted links to take you directly to reports on the last ever Slussens Pensionat show, the last London gig at The Scala and background to Mattias Bärjed’s soundtracks to “Upp Till Kamp” and “Call Girl”. There’s also Ian Person’s score to the IFK Göteborg movie “Fotbollens Sista Proletärer” and we even have a special Retrosonic Podcast with the movie’s directors and the ex-Liverpool and IFK footballing legend Glenn Hysén. There are special Podcasts with Mattias Bärjed and Ian Person and a fascinating episode with Nymphet Noodlers singer and long time TSOOL friend and collaborator Mattias Hellberg. There are pieces on TSOOL-linked bands  who all have new records out now, such as Caviare Days, La Fleur Fatale, The Movements, Mattias Hellberg and Side Effects too. So there is still plenty of great music to check out if you are missing your fix

Please do try and take the time to click on the highlighted links and discover lots more good stuff hidden away. I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Ebbot, Ian, Mattias, Kalle, Fredrik and Martin. Not forgetting Robert and Vibeke at Slussens Pensionat, Mattias Hellberg, Kim Fransson, Ludwig Dahlberg, David Liljemark, Daniel Eriksson, Wayne Lundqvist-Ford, Anders Magnusson, Hans and Liselott Selander and all the great TSOOL stalkers, fans and Slussenistas I have had the very great pleasure to meet along the way.

Marie Modiano - Two New Albums "Ram On A Flag" and "Espérance Mathématique" & Debut Novel released on September 30th.

Marie Modiano by Julien Bourgeois

Marie Modiano, the Paris based singer, songwriter, poet (and now author), will be very busy on September 30th as she simultaneously releases two brand new albums "Ram On A Flag" and "Espérance Mathématique" and her debut novel "Upsilon Scorpii" all on the same day! I saw Marie perform as part of a special Scandinavian weekend event at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris last year and was captivated by her performance. I snapped up a copy of her album "Outland" at the merchandise stand and although it has since become one of my favourite albums of recent years, it was slightly disappointing that so many of the great songs she played that night were actually new and unreleased at the time. But now the long wait to hear those songs recorded is finally over and we also get the bonus of the second album too. The Event in Paris was curated by Swedish Singer-Songwriter Peter von Poehl and orchestrated by Martin Hederos, who not only appeared on stage with his own band, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, but also with Marie and Peter too. Equally as busy was the excellent drummer Ludwig Dahlberg (ex-International Noise Conspiracy and Mattias Hellberg's White Moose) who played brilliantly during Marie and Peter's sets and then rocked out with his band Free Fall. You can read a report and check out photos of that great weekend on the Blog here.

So, onto the new albums and Marie Modiano is once again reunited with Martin Hederos and Peter von Poehl on the English language "Ram on a Flag", which follows on perfectly from "Outland". With lyrics and music by Marie except on three tracks which are co-written with Peter von Poehl, the album was recorded at various studios in Sweden and features Marie on vocals and piano, Peter von Poehl on guitar and vocals, Martin Hederos on piano and organ, Christoffer Lundquist on bass and saxophone, Jens Jansson played drums and percussion and Thomas Ebrelius on violin and viola. Just like its predecessor "Outland", the album is a stunningly orchestrated piece that is organic and uncluttered and has a slight tinge of melancholy. Similar to Martin's old Soundtrack of Our Lives colleague Björn Olsson's current solo music, "Ram on a Flag" is extremely evocative of a coastal landscape, you can almost hear the sounds of seagulls and fishing trawlers heading off into a beautiful sunset. The lyrical subjects of "The Islands and The Skerries" and the stunning "Long Journey on a Rock-Pool Train", with it's swelling gospel choir backing vocals, reinforces that coastal atmosphere even further. My favourite track on the album is "New Wings of Mine", which would make a great choice as a single, and features some seriously impressive, almost Jon Entwistle style bass. "Paper Boots" is a great duet with Peter von Poehl, who also shares vocals on "Shutters of Sand" which is an epic track that builds nicely to a crescendo. The album ends with "Twilight Rhapsody", a beatifully simple piano based song that highlights Martin's admiration for Erik Satie and would be appeal to those that appreciated Soundtrack of Our Lives "Tonight". So, "Ram on a Flag" is a really impressive follow up to "Outland" and thoroughly recommended if you enjoy the orchestral side of The Soundtrack of Our Lives, David Sylvian's more accessible work, Kate Bush and other similar emotionally engaging music.

The second album "Espérance Mathématique" is a collection of Marie's poems put to music by Peter von Poehl and was recorded and mixed in Paris. It's a spoken word album with Marie reciting her poems in French over music performed by Ludwig Dahlberg on drums, Nicolas Mathuriau on percussion, with the string section of Zach Miskin and Marielle de Rocca Serra. All other instruments are by Peter von Poehl and the string arrangements are by Martin Hederos. Of course, my understanding of the album, if not my enjoyment, is hampered somewhat by my not speaking French, so I cannot appreciate the poems themselves, but I can certainly enjoy the wonderful delivery from Marie and of course the music itself. What springs to mind first of all are the two great Serge Gainsbourg concept albums "Histoire de Melody Nelson" and it's more musically diverse follow up, "L’Homme à tête de chou". So, an impressive double hit of albums from Marie, with both complimenting each other perfectly.

Marie with Martin Hederos & Peter von Poehl, Paris 2012 - Steve Worrall

Marie Modiano is the daughter of French author Patrick Modiano and originally started out as an actress, studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and appearing in films such as "La Vie Privée". She then began peforming as a singer with a folk-jazz-pop group that included Grégoire Hetzel (piano), Daniel Yvinec (bass), and Arnaud Lechantre (drums). In collaboration with Hetzel as her producer and co-writer, she released her full-length debut album in 2006 on Naïve Records entitled "I'm Not a Rose", which included the single "C'est dur l'Amour". She then collaborated with Peter von Poehl and Martin Hederos on her 2008 follow up, "Outland", some of which was recorded at Svenska Grammofon Studion, the Gothenburg based studio run by Kalle Gustafsson from The Soundtrack of Our Lives. Then in 2012 l’Arbalète/Gallimard published a book of Marie's poems "Espérance Mathématique", on which the new album of the same name is based.

Martin Hederos, Marie Modiano, Ludwig Dahlberg, Paris 2012 by Steve Worrall

The albums "Ram On A Flag" and "Espérance Mathématique" are both released on September 30th by Nest and Sound Records and on the same day, Marie Modiano's first novel "Upsilon Scorpii" is published by l’Arbalète/Gallimard.

With many thanks to Damien Besançon at Laitdbac Records and Ludwig Dahlberg.

Free Fall: Camden Dingwalls February 15th, The First London Show, Exclusive Paul Slattery Photographs

Free Fall (L-R Mattias Bärjed, Kim Fransson, Ludwig Dahlberg & Jan Martens) - Photo by Paul Slattery

Mattias Bärjed has certainly hit the ground running, it's not been long since The Soundtrack of Our Lives packed up their flight cases for the very last time - just before Christmas in fact - with their final shows at the Sodra Teatern in Stockholm. Now, his side project Free Fall, which has been bubbling under for the last couple of years, has developed into a fully formed and full time band in it's own right. A band that have just unleashed their stunning debut album "Power & Volume" in a blaze of positive media reaction. There have been numerous magazine, web-site and Blog features including a full page spread in Classic Rock magazine, all extolling the virtues of this Swedish rock "super-group". Tonight, the band were making their very first appearance in the U.K. as a low-key support to The Datsuns at Camden Dingwalls, and from talking to some people in the venue, it seemed a pleasant surprise for most to find out the calibre of the night's support band. It was certainly a great chance to catch the band at such an intimate place as I am sure next time they return it will be as headliners at much larger venues. 

Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

The band, comprising Mattias on guitar, vocalist Kim Fransson, bassist Jan Martens and ex-International Noise Conspiracy drummer, Ludwig Dahlberg, took the stage and slammed straight into the superb opening number, "Free Fall". Now, Mattias has never hidden his admiration of The Who, this is after all a man who once upon a time proudly wore a Union Jack jacket when touring with The Soundtrack of Our Lives, and indeed the album's title is taken from a Pete Townshend quote. "Free Fall" is more of a nod to "Quadrophenia" era Who with it's frantically strummed guitar intro and unbelievably great bass playing from Jan Martens. As Mattias commented in a recent interview, "the only one who could play the bass like that is Jan, or John...! (Entwistle)".

Jan Martens of Free Fall - Photo by Steve Worrall

In fact a lot of Free Fall's songs are built around Jan's growling bass riffs, he has always been a superb player, you only have to listen to The Nymphet Noodlers "Going Abroad" album or "Pole Position" from The Jan Martens Frustration to realise that, but in Free Fall his inventive bass work is second to none. The band's mission statement comes next, "Power & Volume" is - sorry but I just have to use this word - "awesome", it has one of the fastest riffs I have ever heard and standing as I was, right at the front, I got the full force of Ludwig Dahlberg's depth-charge strength drumming right in the the chest. "Power & Volume" was the first song they ever wrote, apparently it originally started off based around an African drum beat but it has since mutated into a Motorhead-style thrash that takes the breath away. The next song, "Midnight Vulture" has a nice slow groove with Kim's voice not a million miles away from the throaty growl of Bon Scott.

Kim Fransson of Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

Actually, there is a lot of that AC/DC groove in Free Fall, and similar to their Swedish counterparts Spiders, that goes a long way to making their music far more accessible to me, as I have never really been into the Heavy Rock genre. "Damnation" has a heavy thudding minimalist rhythm over which Mattias sprays his trademark guitar. Next up is "Top of The World" which is a fine uptempo number with a funky guitar riff and here the band hit their stride, proving they are going to develop into one of the best live acts on the circuit. The too-short set draws to a close with the new single "World Domination" and, while Mattias leaps and kicks on one side, Jan throws his bass about on the other and Ludwig drums up a storm behind him, this is where Kim really takes control. He is brought to his knees by the song's immense chorus as he stretches his voice in a mightily impressive display of raw rock and roll vocal pyrotechnics. Kim may look angelic but there is a devil lurking within! It was a great show, much better than when I saw them in Paris last year. There is a chemistry evident both on and off the stage and a confidence that is bound to grow when the band head off on their upcoming European Tour and get  to play shows more regularly. Check out Free Fall's Facebook page for news on tour dates, more reviews and info on how you can order the album.

Mattias Bärjed of Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

Free Fall - Photo by Steve Worrall

Ludwig Dahlberg of Free Fall - Photo by Steve Worrall

Paul takes one for the team..! - Photo by Paul Slattery

You can listen to Mattias talking to us about his journey from The Nymphet Noodlers, to joining The Soundtrack of Our Lives, his successful Movie and TV soundtrack music right up to forming Free Fall, on this Special Edition Retrosonic Podcast.

Free Fall's debut album is out NOW on Nuclear Blast Records and available on vinyl, CD or download. You can see more photos, including backstage before and after the show shots, by "Liking" the Retro Man Blog Facebook page. There is a live video of "Damnation" up now on the Retro Man Blog YouTube Channel, which also features lots of The Soundtrack of Our Lives material.

Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

With many thanks to Mattias, Ludde, Jan and Kim and also to The Datsuns. Photographs strictly copyright Paul Slattery 2013 and Steve Worrall Retro Man Blog 2013 as credited.

Free Fall - The first UK appearance Friday February 15th at London Camden Dingwalls

Free Fall, the Swedish Heavy Rock "Super-Group", will be making their very first live U.K. appearance this Friday, February 15th at Dingwalls in Camden, London as support to The Datsuns.

Free Fall's debut album "Power & Volume" is out on February 22nd on Nuclear Blast Records. Free Fall were started by guitarist Mattias Bärjed – while playing guitar with The Soundtrack of Our Lives - as he felt the urge to form a classic four piece band (drums, guitar, bass, lead vocals), that would play straight-up heavy Rock 'n' Roll. As far as a musical direction, there was a clear intention to sound like a mix between early Van Halen, The Stooges and The Who. Other obvious influences on the band would be rock classics such as Led Zeppelin, UFO, AC/DC and Judas Priest to name a few. First in line to join the band was long time friend and ex-Nymphet Noodlers band-mate Jan Martens on Bass, who was to be joined shortly after by Drummer, Ludwig Dahlberg (ex-International Noise Conspiracy and Mattias Hellberg's White Moose). The last and very vital piece of the Free Fall puzzle was lead singer Kim Fransson, who has that raw vocal style of Steve Marriott and Bon Scott.
 

Free Fall live in Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall

The latest issue of Classic Rock magazine has a full page feature on the band and the track "Free Fall" is at Number One on their "Heavy Rotation" chart. You can also check out the Retro Man Blog review of Free Fall's May gig at La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris here and read all about Mattias Bärjed's soundtrack to the new political thriller "Call Girl" here. Also available to listen to and download for free is our exclusive interview with Mattias on this very special edition of Retrosonic Podcast.

Free Fall Photos on the flyer copyright Steve Worrall Retro Man Blog 2013.

Retrosonic Podcast with Mattias Bärjed of The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Free Fall

I met up with guitarist Mattias Bärjed as he prepared to rehearse for the second night of  The Soundtrack of Our Lives week-long residency at Stockholm's Södra Teatern. The band were to bow out on a high after sixteen years together, playing each of their six albums - along with selected tracks from their B-sides and rarities compilation "A Present From The Past" - on consecutive nights, building up to their last ever performance on Saturday December 22nd.

However, 2013 will see Mattias hit the ground running, as he has already secured a record deal with his new band, Free Fall. The band have just released a brand new single "Power & Volume" on Nuclear Blast Records, with a full length album to follow soon. Mattias talks about how he got Free Fall together with Jan Martens, his bass playing colleague from the Nymphet Noodlers, ex-International Noise Conspiracy drummer Ludwig Dahlberg and singer Kim Fransson. 


Mattias at Slussens by Steve Worrall

Like Ian Person, his fellow guitarist in TSOOL, Mattias has also branched out into writing scores and soundtrack music for movies and TV series such as "Familjen Babajou". In our interview Mattias talks about his work with the acclaimed Director Mikael Marcimain on "Upp Till Kamp" and most recently the movie "Call Girl". Both of these soundtracks have been released on the excellent Razzia Records and are thoroughly recommended. This very special episode of Retrosonic Podcast is soundtracked itself by lots of great music from throughout Mattias' career so I hope you enjoy listening to it. Many thanks to Mattias Bärjed for his time.

You can also listen to special Podcasts with Mattias's ex-Nymphet Noodlers band-mate Mattias Hellberg and his TSOOL colleague Ian Person too. Put together this trilogy of episodes tell a fascinating tale of the genesis of The Soundtrack of Our Lives, its' various off-shoots, the side projects and the important contributors along the way and of course, the future following the band's split...

Free Fall - "Power & Volume" new Album and 7" Single news

Mattias Bärjed - Photo Steve Worrall

Free Fall, the Swedish Heavy Rock "Super-Group", has just announced a record deal with Nuclear Blast Records. Free Fall was started by guitarist Mattias Bärjed – while playing guitar with The Soundtrack of Our Lives - as he felt the urge to form a classic four piece band (drums, guitar, bass, lead vocals), that would play straight-up heavy Rock 'n' Roll. As far as a musical direction, there was a clear intention to sound like a mix between early Van Halen, The Stooges and The Who. Other obvious influences on the band would be rock classics such as Led Zeppelin, UFO, AC/DC and Judas Priest to name a few. First in line to join the band was long time friend and ex-Nymphet Noodlers band-mate Jan Martens on Bass, who was to be joined shortly after by Drummer, Ludwig Dahlberg (ex-International Noise Conspiracy and Mattias Hellberg's White Moose). The final, last and very vital piece of the Free Fall puzzle was to find a lead Vocalist. And not just any vocalist - but a guy that could deliver the very high standard in over the top vocals that the band was looking for to front Free Fall. The word hit the streets that the band was looking for a vocalist in the school of Steve Marriot and Bon Scott.

After some time, help was found from Mattias and Ludwig's long time friend and producer Don Alsterberg (Graveyard, José Gonzales etc). Don claimed that he knew a guy called Kim from his hometown that he was sure was the right guy for the job. Kim Fransson showed up at rehearsals, the band jammed a couple of songs and the rest will be history. After signing a deal with Nuclear Blast, the band went into Studio Cobra in Stockholm and have, together with producer, engineer and mixer Martin Ehrencrona, recorded an album that will show the world what Free Fall and their "Freedom Rock" is all about - Power and Volume!

"Power & Volume" is scheduled for an early 2013 release. However, a first impression of what their Freedom Rock is all about will be due on November 30th 2012 when the band release the 7“ Single of the album's title track. "Power & Volume", the single, will be made available on black (retail version) and white vinyl (Nuclear Blast Mail order only) as well as digitally via iTunes. All versions of the single will also feature the non-album track, "Stand Up For Your Rock 'n' Roll".



Jan Martens, Ludwig Dahlberg & Kim Fransson - Photo by Steve Worrall

Free Fall will be opening for Gothenburg band and labelmates, Graveyard, in Oslo, Norway on November 8th and in Malmö, Sweden on November 15th.

Check out the Retro Man Blog review of Free Fall's May gig at La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris here.

You can also read all about Mattias Bärjed's soundtrack to the new political thriller "Call Girl" here.

Call Girl: Mattias Bärjed from The Soundtrack of Our Lives soundtracks new Mikael Marcimain movie.

Mattias Bärjed, Guitarist with The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Free Fall, has written the soundtrack music to "Call Girl", the new Swedish political thriller by the acclaimed Director Mikael Marcimain. The soundtrack album will be released by the Stockholm based Razzia Records on CD and Vinyl on October 31st and you can pre-order your preferred format from Ginza, Bengans or CD-On. "Call Girl" is the debut feature film from the highly rated Marcimain, who previously worked with Mattias Bärjed on the excellent TV Series, "Upp Till Kamp". "Call Girl" is inspired by a real-life Swedish political scandal known as "Bordellhärvan", which linked underage prostitution with powerful and influential Clients, believed to have come from the highest levels of society. It is set in late '70's Sweden, a time of women's liberation, sexual revolution, and political neutrality in the nuclear power age. However, under the polished surface of Sweden's model utopian society, other desires are eager to be fulfilled, and within a stone’s throw of Government buildings and offices lie the seductive, yet dirty world, of sex clubs, strip shows, discotheques and apartments used for illicit and profitable rendezvous.

"Call Girl" tells the tale of how a young girl is unwittingly recruited into a ruthless world where power can get you anything. The story also follows a dogged Detective investigating the case which will take him on a dark trip, from the very bottom of society, through a superficial world of glitz and glamour, to the labyrinth corridors of power, which are full of secrets. The movie had it's world premier at the Toronto Film Festival and you can read a review of the movie on the Variety web-site. Two stars of the movie, Sofia Karemyr and Josefin Asplund, have been nominated in this year's Rising Star category by the Stockholm Film Festival. You can also watch a trailer for the movie at the Trust Nordisk web-site.

Razzia Records have also previously released Mattias Bärjed's soundtrack to Mikael Marcimain's award winning 2007 TV Series, "Upp Till Kamp", which featured the outstanding actress Ruth Vega Fernandez and actor Simon J. Berger from "Call Girl". In fact, it seems Marcimain is building up quite an impressive and hugely talented ensemble around him, as both Fernandez and Berger have also appeared alongside "Upp Till Kamp's" lead actor, Sverrir Gudnason in episodes of "Wallander", the popular Detective TV series starring Krister Henriksson, that he directed.

"Upp Till Kamp" is a superb drama, and as a fan of The Soundtrack of Our Lives, it is well worth watching, as not only do you have Bärjed's acting debut, but also his impressive score, which features the beautifully moving song "Coming Down Cold" with Ebbot Lundberg. Swedish music fans might also spot ex-International Noise Conspiracy, and Mattias Hellberg's White Moose drummer, Ludwig Dahlberg, who is now part of Bärjed's heavy rock outfit, Free Fall. Marcimain, I suspect, must be quite a music fan himself, as I loved the way he captures the authenticity of hot, packed out gigs in small clubs in "Upp Till Kamp". The live show scenes are some of the most realistic that I have seen committed to film. Gudnason also excels as Tommy, the charismatic lead singer of the fictional band, The Heartbreakers.

I am really looking forward to hearing the "Call Girl" soundtrack, and will of course review it as soon as I can get hold of a copy. Likewise the movie, which has it's Swedish domestic premiere on November 09th, and then hopefully an International general release will follow very soon after.
  

Mattias Bärjed at Slussens Pensionat, September 2012 - Photo by Paul Slattery

Thanks to Hans Selander and Daniel Tivemark. Mattias Bärjed photo courtesy of Paul Slattery.