Jørn Lande
May 2008
Last year was a really busy one for you. You had three albums out...
Yeah. (Laughs) I think this year will be even busier on the live scene. Less studio and more live playing this year. The new album will be out in a few weeks and then after that I'll just be writing some new stuff as I travel. I still have to prepare for a new Jorn album in 2009 so I have to start writing as soon as the Avantasia gigs are starting to get into shape. When we are feeling that the band is tight and we can focus less on remembering of what we're gonna do on stage then I can start writing some stuff for the next Jérn album. (Laughs) I'm always inspired when I'm travelling especially when I'm on the tourbus or on the plane.
And how about the boat? Did it inspire you?
Yeah, it was a cool thing. It was definitely a good experience. The whole venue is incredible so I'm looking forward going back there. We're planning a bigger, more extensive tour this year starting in the autumn. First I do the Avantasia world tour and from the 22nd of August we start playing in Spain and then we do some shows until the end of September here in Scandinavia. Then we go straight to South America to play and then by the end of October we come back to Europe to tour. That would be the perfect time to play on the boat in Budapest again. It was really cool on the boat last year.
Out of the three albums you did last year two were sort of a compilation and also you released a live album. Was it something you always wanted to do?
I guess it was more like a combination of my plans and Frontiers' idea. I was about to re-record a few songs from the old albums. For example I was really keen on re-recording Something Real and also I had the same thought about some other songs. We discussed it with the record label and we found out that instead of re-recording some of the songs and put them on a new Jorn album it was better just to make a compilation with re-recordings and remixes. That's basically why I did that. Then I got to do what I wanted to do, which was to make a couple of improved versions of some of the songs from the past. But we never wanted to mix some of the covers that were on Unlocking The Past. Some of these songs were just older songs or leftovers from other albums, stuff that never got released and stuff that were supposed to be bonus tracks or something for special editions or a single. But then again, some of these songs never happened and we just had some drum tracks and some basic guitars on there and we never really finished it and mixed it. It was just the decision that instead of mixing some of these covers with the original Jorn songs for the compilation, we wanted to separate everything instead. So we had The Gathering with only original related material and then we had the cover album on it's own. So what happened was that we recorded a couple of more tracks for the covers album just to be able to have enough songs to release it. (Laughs)
And the live album was pretty cool as well...
Well, thank you. The live album I think is a very good rocking record. It's a very classic sounding record. It sounds very honest and rough, which I like a lot. The ambient sound from the room is very much present in the mix. You're kind of there in the room when you listen to it and I like that with live recordings.
Was it recorded by the local crew or you decided on filming before going to the US?
We had a local crew at the gig there and they were filming it for us. The festival crew was very professional. We've been there before in another context so we knew what to expect. We never doubted their skill. It was very professional before so we knew what we were going to get. The sound guy that we used for that gig is incredibly good. He used to do some stuff with Masterplan before so I knew him from the past and I knew that everything will be taken care of. And the show itself was really special. I think that evening was incredible. The crowd was really grateful and enthusiastic. The size of the venue was in between. It wasn't too big but it was big enough to be the perfect place to make a live album at.
Not only the three Jorn album you did last year but also another Allen/Lande recording...
Yeah. The album that Russell and me did before was a big success for Frontiers. They were really happy with the sales because it sold more than we expected so we decided that w should do it again. The song ideas for the second album were good and I was inspired to go for it one more time so that's why we did it. The Allen/Lande records are different from everything else Russell and I do with our bands, so why not? It's good to try something different. Magnus Karlsson is a great guitarist and he's also a good songwriter. To be able to colour something without having to create everything from the beginning is also a challenge and it can also have a good result. I think with the Allen/Lande records we have a chemistry and recipe that really works. It's just we have something that becomes a good quality recording no matter what. It's just because of the people that are involved. We have the right people to get it. You easily get the good result. I'm very happy to do it and I'm very happy not to tell people what to do because everything is just going very smooth and I don't have to complain about arrangements or the mix or anything. I don't have to worry, I can just wait for the album when I finished with my vocals and I don't have to be afraid of the result. I know I'm not gonna be disappointed when the finished product arrives. And that's a rare thing. Normally you can't do that because you have to have a say on everything to make sure to secure the quality of what you're doing. The Allen/Lande records are just something we decided to do it again and we might even do another one. (Laughs)
That's good news. I thought the second one was even better than the debut album.
Do you think so? Thank you. Actually I agree with you but I know that many people say the opposite. Many think that the first one was better but I think the new one is more powerful and it's not as polished as the first one.
Also in 2007 you participated in Avantasia and Ayreon...
Oh yes. Arjen Lucassen approached me several years ago when I was in Masterplan. We met in Holland or Belgium some time ago and he asked me if I was interested in appearing on is new album. At the time I couldn't do it because I was busy with Masterplan with whom we had a tight schedule. I said I would consider it but it might be difficult time-wise. When I saw the development with Masterplan then I just had to say no to Arjen. Then he asked again later and I still couldn't do it but finally when he approached me the last time I had the time to do it. He's a nice guy and he creates quality products. It wasn't difficult to say yes. Same thing with Avantasia. It was a privilege to do that record with Tobias. To be on the same album as great musicians like Alice Cooper, Rudolf Schenker, Michael Kiske, Bob Catley... great and talented people that I really respect. It's an honour to work on such a project. It was easy to say yes and I knew Tobias from before. He's also a great guy. And since I'm almost German myself after some years in Masterplan (laughs) I know the German culture very well and I actually like it very much there. Especially the German countryside is very beautiful and historical. It's very green and it has a lot of nice old villages with old buildings. There's a side to Germany that people don't think of. People only think about the concrete and big cities and World War 2 but there's a lot of countryside and beautiful nature which is really inspiring. I went to Wolfsburg to record the vocals for the Avantasia album. Wolfsburg is a nice small place in the countryside and I really enjoyed it there. I'm happy with the outcome of the record and the fact that it's one of the most successful albums this year in Europe. I'm really looking forward to do the world tour now starting in a few weeks. It's gonna be many gigs. We start in Switzerland, then we do gigs in South America and Japan and then we come back to Europe to do more festivals. We're gonna play Wacken and also Sziget in Hungary so hope to see you there.
Not this time I'm afraid as I'll be in Lillehammer at that time.
Oh, in Lillehammer? I was just there a couple of weeks ago. I played a show there with Glenn Hughes at the Lillehammer Classic Rock Festival. I just did some of the Purple songs for him. It was more like a special appearance but it was fun. The only problem with those gigs in Norway is that when you start playing late Norwegians get too drunk. The best thing if you're a real heavy metal band because then you take the crowd's attention and capture them instantly. But if you play more artistic music like Glenn does with a lot of dynamics and quiet and soulful parts then people tend to focus on drinking and when they get drunk they forget about the music. (Laughs) That's the only problem in this country. If you're Udo Dirkschneider then you get the attention of the people so even if they are really fucked up they still gonna listen to you. (Laughs)
Speaking of Glenn Hughes, the two of you kind of worked together on the latest solo album of Ken Hensley. Was it a good experience to take part?
Well, there were songs very natural to perform but of course Ken belongs to a different era. Even though I have the same roots there's still a difference since I'm slightly more into heavy and I used to sing with more power. Ken Hensley's songs are more quiet and nicer so it's more difficult to adapt to that expression. I had to sing those songs easier and not with as much energy. That was the only challenge to make my appearance stand out without having to sing hard and heavy as I'm used to. It took some work to get it right really but it wasn't difficult. I think the song Blood On The Highway is a really good one.
What do you think of Ken's live lead singer Eirikur Hauksson?
I know him very well. We actually live in the same town so I see him often. He's a good friend and sometimes we drink together. Norwegian Vikings and Icelandic Vikings drink together. (Laughs) He's a good singer. He's maybe less bluesy as a singer than where I come from but we are definitely coming from the same roots. He used to be in a Norwegian band Artch many years ago and they were quite heavy. They had a couple of cool songs with true classic potential. Back then Eirikur was working a lot on the heave and hard rock scene in Norway. He's a good singer and I think he was supposed to do something on the record as wel but it never happened. Don't ask me why. Ask Ken Hensley. (Laughs) He's a good guy and he loves all the Uriah Heep stuff so I guess he's perfect to do that when they go to play live.
You do these musical projects from time to time. What are the main criteria to accept these things when you're asked to sing on someone else's record?
It depends. If I respect someone or I know someone's work from before then I can say yes based on the fact that I know that together we would come up with something brilliant or something that would be really good. If I don't know what it's all about and if I don't know the musicians I'm supposed to work together with then I prefer to hear some demos before deciding. It's different when you work with old heroes like Tommy Iommi or Ritchie Blackmore. If someone like them called me and said, "Hey, do you want to write an album with me?" then it's a different story. (Laughs) You know where they come from and you know that you're gonna be perfect for that role because it's gonna be something natural to do. In that case I wouldn't have to hear anything in advance just to meet up and start writing and I'm sure it'd be a great result. But it's different with people I don't know too much about and especially with people that work in different type of music or styles. Then I would be much more sceptical and I would prefer to have a demo just to hear what it's all about. It's also important to me that I can contribute to do something good. If I can't do something inspiring on it then I'd rather not do it. I don't want to do it just for the sake of doing it or the money. It has to be something that I feel strongly about.
Would you touch something experimental like Ark or Beyond Twilight was ever again?
I guess I'm closer to the Beyond Twilight expression than I am to some of the Ark expression. In Ark I changed my voice a lot. I was like a chameleon. I think in Beyond Twilight the music was much more dramatic and power vocal oriented with opera elements. To me The Devil's Hall Of Fame is a rock opera. It's not like a band, it's just Beyond Twilight and that album that stands for itself. I like that record, it's one of my best albums definitely. I don't know if I would do anything with these guys again but you never know. It's always interesting to think the thought how would it sound if Ark made a third record now. Or what would happen if me and Finn Zierler sat down together to write a Devil's Hall Of Fame part two. (Laughs) It could be interesting. Right now I'm just focusing on Jorn and I think what I have with Jorn is more than enough and I also have the ability to play these songs if I want. If I want to play a song from my past as a bonus or just to add something special in a Jorn show, I can do it. I can play a heavier sounding version of any Beyond Twilight, Ark or Masterplan song. I can even record it on an album if I have a good idea to re-record one of the songs in a slightly different arrangement. With Jorn I can do everything, I can get my classic hard rock expression and I can focus on that which is where I really feel comfortable and in control and at the same time I can play these old songs with an even heavier sound because I have two guitarists and a classic hard rock line-up. I'm really happy with my band. I'm not as experimental as I was before. I'm more to the point now. I care more about writing good songs instead of always thinking about big concepts. I don't feel like doing that in the same way anymore. I want to write good hard rock and metal songs that people can really enjoy and that people can identify with me. I don't want to write albums that people have to analyse for a long time before they understand. I don't like the idea of someone has to be fucking educated to understand an album. (Laughs) I'm tired of those big concept albums where things start with long intros and full of quiet mid parts that never end. It's just too complex and boring for me now. I just want to make it more to the point so people can listening to the album get the riffs straight in the face and they're gonna know the song and feel the groove and the power and they're not gonna be bored with a lot of theatrical stuff. We don't need it. I mean if you have a big production like Pink Floyd or Genesis then it might be cool to have huge concepts and then you can perform it live and make it interesting to the listener and the crowd.
I think it's time to talk about your new album too. How do you see it compared to the previous Jorn albums? What did you change?
There aren't many changes. The new album is not as bluesy as The Duke was. That album had more heavy blues elements. The new one is more rock'n'roll. The Duke was more bombastic sounding and the production was very huge with a wide and big sound and the songs were constructed with a lot of air. I think the songwriting gave room for the powerful and huge sound that The Duke had. The new album is much more a rock'n'roll album, it's rougher and it has more energy. It's very spontaneous, very honest and I'm really happy with it. I'm very proud of The Duke and this new record and I think they are my favourites so far. Of course I like my other albums too but it's more like that there are some great individual songs on those albums and these two is great as a whole. Many people say that Tungur Knivur is a classic song but I think the album Worldchanger is great as a whole. Ther are like 2-3 songs on that record that really spectacular. But when it comes to The Duke I feel that's very much of a complete record and I feel the same way about my new album. I like all the songs almost. I like when I can enjoy an album to the full not just pick out one or two songs.
Then here's a tough one for you: what is your all time favourite song you sung? (Laughs)
That's difficult to say. (Laughs) I don't think that's possible to pick just one song. I like many songs and I always refer to the latest record. So far Lonely Are The Brave is my best record and I always feel that way when I do something new. I always feel that I am doing something that is one step further and that has more magic than the record before. It's really difficult to find that one song because sometimes I worked in different bands and if you look at it from an artistic point of view then of course when I was in Ark we did some magical stuff, which was very artistic and experimental and very creative and unique. But then again you have the other aspect of writing simple songs that are really kicking ass and hard rocking, which again is a brilliant way of looking at it. So it's difficult to pick just one song. It depends on how you look at it but as a songwriter I'm mostly happy with the songs that are more to the point and for example the song I already mentioned Tungur Knivur has something special. I feel the same way about We Brought The Angels Down and some other songs that are easy to understand and relate to. I like that kind of songwriting and I think Lonely Are The Brave has some songs that I really love and I think the title track has something classical, something unique, which I like very much. I think every record of mine has an improvement and the moment I start to do worse records than the one before then it's about time not to quit but to stop making albums for a while and focus on touring instead to try and find something again. But so far I still have the drive to improve things. Lonely Are The Brave is my favourite album so far and I think that song and Soul Of The Wind and War Of The World are my favourites. Okay, okay, I can give you one song. I think my favourite song right now is Man Of The Dark. I forgot about that song but actually that song is probably my best song recently. I really love that song and I really think it has everything. It has both the majestic, powerful and dramatic qualities and at the same time it has those classic hard rock and metal elements mixed with something that reminds me of Queen or Freddie Mercury vocally.
Besides the new Jorn album is there any other recording we can expect from you in 2008?
Not right now. I've been asked to do another Allen/Lande record and I might say yes to do that. I have been thinking about the next Jorn album and that's basically it. Of course there's always some ideas of stuff that I'd love to record and stuff that might happen in the future but not right now. I have a lot of cover songs that I grew up with that I would love to do but then again, they don't in the context right now and I'm kind of fully booked for this year. I think the most realistic thing would be just to start writing little by little for the next Jorn record that will see the light of day in 2009 and see where it ends. And if I have time to squeeze in another idea to record more than one album then I'll do that. I love a lot of the bands that I've worked with and sometimes I think it's a smart idea to record some other songs again, and other times I think it's not the right thing to do, so sometimes I'm a little bit uncertain about those things. But when I decide to do something I do it.