Interview With Horisont

One of the best retrocombos around right now and will be for a great long period ahead. Horisont from Way Out West, Gothenburg have unleashed their stunning debut album 2 Sidor Av Horisonten, a cd/Lp with a great package of excellent hardswinging heavy Boogie Rock. A brilliant fivepiece whose liveshow is a tempting experience. Here is frontman Axel who have responded my questions for this Horisont special here on the GL web.

A mighty salute to your wonderful and spiritual debut masterpiece 2 sidor av Horisonten, how pleased are you with the response from press and fans so far ?

We're very pleased, we've actually not read a single bad review of the album. Don't think there are any.

At last you signed with Crusher Records, a label that I thought you would land on, how pleased are you with Crusher and how did you hook up with the label ?

It was actually Peter ( Crusher Boss – Ed) who told us he was interested after a gig at Club Radio London. He then got to listen to a few of our own recordings and he liked it. He has done an amazing job promoting the album.

Talking about the strength of Horisont, one of the elements is your liveperformance, when I saw you a few years back I saw the talent but nowdays you are really burning up there, talking about the progression of your liveshow, what is your opinion about the progression and the strength of the band ?

We've all gotten better in what we individually, do but we've also gotten more "together" as a band. We all enjoy playing live but it can be just as fun just rehearsing and making new songs.

Before I focus on the album, lets go way back in time, tell me the tale how Horisont was formed and how was the reaction to that old demo you did ?

Since we're quite bad at promoting ourselves we only got great feedback from our friends. I (axel) joined Union when Charles, Pontus & Magnus had been playing for a while. I quit the band shortly after about a month before the first gig because the music didn’t turn out as i imagined it would. My old pal Kristofer who i knew from my hometown Karlstad then moved to Gothenburg. Me and Kristofer started playing together, me on bass and Kristofer on guitar writing a few songs but didn’t have a drummer good enough. We then asked if Pontus would like to join because we knew he had the right influences. Later Charles and Magnus also joined. Charlie is still claiming I quit the band and started a new one with the same members so I could be in charge. Union had their own groove because they had played together for so long and had become a tight band. They just needed someone to guide them through both music and life.

I have tracked the album down a few times, I am very pleased with your performance, fill me in on the progression and studioprocess of Två Sidor Av Horisonten, did you record it live or did you do it track by track, give me all the details and fill me in on any nice stories that happened in the studio ?

We recorded everything but the vocals live. It took about a week or so. A real smooth session, nothing really spectacular occurred

You have made a split here with English lyrics and Swedish lyrics, was that planned in the beginning before you made the record or did that come during the process, and fill me in on the lyrical side of the album, fill me in on some of the stories in here ?

We've always made songs in both English and Swedish and since we knew the album was gonna be released on vinyl we liked the idea of one swedish side and one english side. The songs tell stories of everything from brew to being a true good time warrior. The song "Efter Min Pipa" tells the tale of how Horisont was started.

The title 2 Sidor Av Horisonten, it must have to do with the previous question I had with the splitvision of those 2 lyrical outcomes ?

Yes.

Talking about the soundpicture that you have, if I have put a label on it I would say very Retro, a soundpicture buried deep down in the early 1970s alley, what is your opinion about the Horisont soundpicture ?

That was what we where going for, we wanted it to sound like the first Wishbone Ash album but with a heavier touch.

Talking about the coverartwork, you had some ideas for the artwork, one was similar to Rainbows Long Live Rock N Roll, but you picked this one, the elkman sitting in front of this mysterious tree, what made you choose this cover and what is the picture representing to you ?

On that matter our opinions differed a bit. But once the record was out everybody was pleased with the outcome.  We are really into Elkmen that's a fact.

Maybe a question that may not be that relevant, but Horisont is a great bandname, once upon a time there was a Swedish A.O.R type band called Horizont with that corny singer Tommy Nilsson, they are long forgotten but how did you find the name and what means Horisont to you ?

We knew of the old Horizont but we took the name from a phrase in the first song we ever wrote "tiggaren" and in that song you'll find the meaning.

I touched this earlier, your impressive liveshow, for me are you nowdays a killer liveact, talking more of your liveshow, compare to your early gigs to now, have you made a lot of effort in your rehearsalplace on that show or does it come natural when you are up there onstage ?

I guess it comes naturally, with us becoming better musically and therefore more comfortable onstage.

Talking about the current  Swedish Retro Scene, yourself, Dead Man, Graveyard, Witchcraft, new ones like Rosemary and Marulk and other combos, what is your opinion about the current scene and where do you place Horisont on that Retro Map ?

We owe a lot, mostly to Graveyard, for speaking so well of us, but also Witchcraft and Dead Man. All of them sort of paved a way for this kind of music. I´m not really the person to ask about all the other new bands cause I really don’t know, but I definitely think we´re one of the best.

I am very very curious on the follow up to this one, how much will you progress on the next one compare to this first one ?

We´ve already started writing new material and right now we´ve composed a lot heavier songs than we have done before, but all that can change in time.

The final question is your next plans, what is the schedule that you have now in the supporting work for Två Sidor Av Horisonten, have you plans for a tour, fill me in whats coming up ?

We have just been asked to play at the Roadburn Festival in Holland, so if that will work out for us we´ll probably do something around that date.

Finally, I have always been a huge Horisont fan since I first saw you live and with this debut masterpiece, my impressions have grown even stronger. Thank you ever so much for the interview and for a excellent album, all the best.

Thank you Gabbe, you´ve always been a great support !

Gabriel Lilliehook

Visit Horisont on Myspace www.myspace.com/horisont