[Interview] Exclusive interview with Kristoffer Gildenlöw

Dear readers, we are honoured to be able to interview one of the most important artists in the modern Prog Rock/Metal scene in this article. We welcome Kristoffer Gildenlöw.

Hello, how are you?

I’m fine, thank you for asking. Quite excited and also nervous about the release of the new album.
Guess time will tell.

You are one of the leading exponents of modern Prog Rock and Metal, where does your passion for these sounds come from?

I wouldn’t claim that I’m leading in anything, especially not prog rock but this is where I roam and have been roaming for almost 30 years now. I actually seldom listen to progressive rock and metal but I guess the mixing of all I do get inspired by reaches this result and that might be considered progressive, I’m not sure.
The great thing about progressive rock though, is that it is quite consistent in the way it is constantly moving in all directions yet much less effected by other changes in the music industry and pop culture.

You have worked with Pain Of Salvation, Kayak, Neal Morse and many other important Prog artists and not only, what memories do you have of these experiences?

So many great experiences and memories.
Had so many great moments with so many great musicians both musically and on a personal level.
I love to experience things and take it in. Even if something “bad” happens that you might not like at that moment, it usually results in some great stories and memories for later, when you can laugh about it.
With PoS we were walking into unknown territory and trying things out as we went along. From naive teenagers taking inspiration from everything around us to finding our own sound to sticking with our guns.
Going to Japan with Lana Lane was a great experience. The Neal Morse tour had me on an extreme learning curve and we had such a great time with the whole band and crew for the whole trip. You know… sometimes you just have to do it and see where it gets you and enjoy the ride, because once it’s over you’ll miss it.

Your solo career offers your version of Prog, how does it differ from other projects and how has your style evolved over time?

Making music with DIAL, back in 2006 was for me the start of actually making my own songs.
Since I came from prog rock/metal, that’s what I set out to do. Never expecting me to singmyself.
But the songs turned out quite soft and very personal and it felt wrong to give them to someone else to sing. So I stuck within my personal limitations and went from there and that became the album RUST (2012).
Right away you noticed that the PoS-audience wasn’t that interested in me… to soft and… well.. the wrong Gildenlöw ha-ha. But I went on to make more music and more albums and each time I moved on with more
experience than the last time. With each album I’ve changed my approach on song writing, arrangements and instrumentation.
Also the music style is put in perspective of the theme of the album and the lyrics.
I really like it that way, the music in the centre and the rest will follow and connect to
that.

The new album “Empty” will be released on February 08, 2024 how would you describe this work?

Empty is more of a progressive rock album focussing around a rock band of drums, bass and guitar and the rest goes around it. More up-tempo and power than earlier albums. So you’ll hear some Pink Floyd, some Mike Oldfield, some Blackfield mixed with some dirty, bluesy tones and both traditional and modern (progressive) rock. ‘Empty’ was supposed to be my third album but when writing it, I also came up with so
many soft, acoustic-isch songs that I had to separate them. The softer songs became the album ‘Homebound’ (2020) and I actually started recording both albums at the same time, with the intention of releasing them both in 2020. Sadly, the pandemic put a stop to that and only ‘Homebound’ was released as it was finished before ‘Empty’. So I had to put ‘Empty’ on the backburned before I could get back into the studio to finish
the recordings. Meanwhile – I mean, I can’t still and stop writing music… inspiration is everywhere and
constant – I wrote, recorded and released the album ‘Let Me Be A Ghost’ (2021), choosing an approach where I didn’t need to meet up with musicians in the studio as we were on lock-down. And so it goes…
But finally… I get to release ‘Empty’ and sort of “get it out of my system”.

Both the music and the vocals are very intense, what themes do the lyrics deal with?

I don’t write concept albums in the traditional sense, with a story and dialogues and characters.
But each for sure has a theme and common subjects and brings the listener into a certain state or mood.
‘Empty’ is a sceptic and somewhat cynical look at humans and humanity, looked at from three different perspectives: the personal view as human amongst humans, humanity as phenomenon on a global scale and as species inhabiting the pale blue spot in space, looked at by the creator who has its doubts. It deals with personal struggles and human feelings, with us v/s them as humanity and our self-given right to rule this planet with all that comes with it. I’ve never seen myself as a singer and always do what I can. But then again, most of my favourite singers out there are also not the best technical singers perse. Their ability to tell you a story and make you feel the lyrics is what always gets me and that’s what I’m going for as well. I want to make the listener feel.

You have released the video for “Harbinger Of Sorrow” are there any other singles planned before the release of the album?

Probably a lyrical video around the release.
Then we’ll see what happens once the album is being released.

Yours is a solo project, will there be a chance to hear you live in the near future?

We’ll do a release show in February to promote the album and I have some festivals ready for this year. I’m also looking into joining a suitable band as support, to reach out to a new audience. But times are hard and since I’m alone doing this, there’s just so much work to be done. We’ll see, I’m hopeful.

What advice would you give to young artists approaching music in a more sophisticated genre like yours?

Standard answer would be: don’t quit your job.
There’s no money in progressive rock, not even the bigger bands in the genre can make a living out of it. This is music you do because you want to (or need to depending on your creative output). Once you get the balance right (just like any other hobby), it will be rewarding on a mental and spiritual level as you’re doing something you love doing. This is not to discourage anyone but to prevent disappointments and twisted views on reality. This is not to kill anyone’s dreams because you can still have those, just see better how
you’ll reach them.

Music is constantly evolving, how do you see the modern scene and the future of the Prog genre?

Very hard to predict. I give away my cynical view on the matter in the song ‘saturated’. There’s just so much these days and things are moving faster and faster. We all know that music industry isn’t what it used to be and music has almost completely lost its value as a cultural artform. It has turned into something consumers take for granted and expect to get for free via streaming. It has to be available everywhere, anywhere and all the time. People don’t take the time to actually sit down and listen to music and take it in. It has turned into background noise or something to make you trip to work feel less
boring. I’ve noticed that music isn’t a cultural thing anymore. It used to be a part of your personality, of who you were and where you stood in society. You could see on the way people dressed if they were a punker or metalhead or new wave-er. Music used to be in the centre of the youth as they got together.
Trying to find out more information about their favourite band/artist, joining fan-clubs and finding other people with the same love for music. Now bands and artists put every second of their lives on social media, every no-body (including me) can record an album on a laptop and release it or make vlogs and blogs and you name it. Just over-kill of everything and everyone is just sending and sending all the time and no one is receiving. There’s so much great out there but it gets drowned in all the crap that flies around all the time. There’s no focus anymore. But, as they say: it has to get worse before it gets better.
Hopefully there will come in change in how we look at ourselves and music (and culture)
within a nearby future.

Do you have any other passions or artistic activities outside of music?

Artistic activities, well I like to film and edit and create. Also take photos, although I haven’t had much time for that lately. Other activities would include cooking and gardening, whenever I get the time and occasionally play a good video game.

I thank Kristoffer for the interview and wish him all the best for the release of his new album and the continuation of his artistic career.

Kristoffer Gildenlöw |Official Website|Bandcamp|Facebook Page|Twitter|Instagram|Spotify|YouTube Channel|

Author: Jacopo Vigezzi

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