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MORGANA LEFAY - January 2006 - Interview with Charles Rytkönen (vocals), Fredrik Lundberg (bass), Robin Engström (drums) AND Tony Eriksson (guitars) - Peter Grehn (guitars) was unavailable. Written by Alina Michelle and John Coyne. PHOTOMISTRESS: In one word, describe each band member, including yourself. CHARLES: Robin: Sagittarius, Tony: Libra, Fredrik: Virgo, Peter: Cancer, Me: Sagittarius. FREDRIK: Me: Tired. Tony: Happy. Peter: Angry. Charles: Short. Robin: Even shorter. |
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TONY: Charles: Charlene, Peter: Pertonella, Fredrik: Frederica, Robin: Golfball, Me: Mr. President. PM: Since you and Charles have been together for about 20 years, what things do you think make your musical relationship work the best? TONY: I think it's due to lack of thinking [to hard], it works as it does. PM: How did you discover Kristian Wahlin? What attracted you to his artwork and how did you start working with him? CHARLES: We discovered him through Black Mark. His style is awesome and his obscurity is close to our lyrics. That's why we work with him. PM: What is the symbolic nature of the hourglass appearing on each of the album covers? Does Kristian come up with the concepts for the covers or do you give him a general idea of what you want? ROBIN: Time is, has always been and will always be. It's a powerful thing... We give him some pointers and the rest is up to him, we trust him completely. PM: Is there a reason a lot of your CD titles start with the letter "s" (S.O.S., Sanctified, The Secret Doctrine, The Seventh Seal)? TONY: I haven't thought about that, maybe Charlene's into SSSSex or something. PM: How many copies of the "Rumors of Rain" demo were made and released? Was it only released in Sweden? CHARLES: I don't have a clue.
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PM: How do you manage to keep your musical creativity always flowing? What inspires you after so many years? TONY: Actually, it comes and goes. But when it comes, it comes, so to speak. PM: Do you ever get stuck for a long time when writing new material? TONY: It happens but it’s no big deal, it always comes back to ya sooner or later. I don't panic because if I do, I’ll get stuck big time. PM: Who's idea was it to write the song "State of Intoxication"? Did you write the lyrics yourself and were you drunk when you did?
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CHARLES: It was my and Tommi's idea. It came up on a cafe’. We were in a hurry cause the song was recorded and there were no lyrics to it. We had a cup of coffee and started brainstorming. So, absolutely sober, the idea of a "dirty song" came up. That is one of the easiest lyrics I've ever written. And maybe the most immature lol. PM: Have you achieved your goal of surpassing 538 copies being sold of "Symphony of the Damned - Resymphonized"? ROBIN: Yes. PM: When Peter and Robin joined the band, and Fredrik soon after, how did it affect the direction of the songwriting and sound of the band? CHARLES: In the beginning not that much for the songwriting. But we gained energy on stage though. Since a couple of years ago we have both Tony and Peter doing the songwriting. Peter came up with most of the instrumental parts for the Grand Materia album. I think we are a very dynamic band and the sound will always be the sound of Morgana Lefay. No matter what sound that is. PM: How did you feel coming into such an established band? Was it challenging to you personally to learn the old songs and pick up where Jonas left off? Have you added your own flair to the old songs? ROBIN: At first it was eerie, kinda like walking on someone's grave, ya know? I mean, I've rehearsed right next door from M.L. for many years and for me I guess Jonas was not only a friend but also my closest "role model" as I was learning to play drums myself. Technically it wasn't that hard because Peter had been pushing me pretty hard in Fantasmagoria. It was a bit hard to get into Tony's way of writing/arranging stuff, but it was fun. Maybe I added a little, I try to play them as close to the original as possible, I dunno, you tell me...haha. PM: How long have you known the rest of the band? FREDRIK: I've known all of them for a looooong time. As I said before I was in a band with Peter and Robin, and that must be 17(!) years ago. Tony and me had a side project called Hellvetica about 15 years ago. Charles is the only one that I hadn't played with before joining this band, but he’s probably the one I've known the longest anyway… |
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v PM: How were you approached to become a member? FREDRIK: The same way as Trujillo. They offered me a million dollars! PM: Were you a fan or at least familiar with the Morgana Lefay tunes before joining the band? FREDRIK: Yes, I was a big fan! PM: Was it hard to change back to being a bassist after having been frontman for Divine Sin? FREDRIK: No, I really enjoy being a bassist. I like singing too, but I have no interest in the frontman thing just for the sake of being a frontman. Besides, I still do a bit of vocals in Morgana Lefay to, so things are pretty perfect for me.
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PM: Do you do the majority of the leads for the older songs and then share a bit more with Peter on the newest material? TONY: I do the lead parts I’ve always done and Peter takes command over the other lead parts his way. When it comes to the new stuff neither of us really wanna do the lead parts 'cos we suck as lead guitarists. We argue about who’s NOT playing instead of who IS playing. PM: Where do you think you have the biggest fanbase? And where are the craziest fans? ROBIN: I'd have to say Germany is probably the bigger fanbase for us right now, but we're hoping that the USA will challenge [them], hehe. And I guess all our fans must be crazy, hahaha. PM: In a hundred years from now, when you're gone, would you rather be hatefully remembered or totally forgotten and why? CHARLES: I wouldn't care that much, dead and all. But maybe my children or children's children would. So I'd say totally forgotten! FREDRIK: Do you mean like Hitler? Otherwise no. ROBIN: Hatefully remembered, I'd like to leave an impression when I go.... TONY: I guess I would like to be remembered by near and dear ones the way they wanna remember me. Hopefully it’s in a good way, though. PM: What are your personal musical tastes lately? CHARLES: I can't leave the past behind. I'm still addicted to bands like Uriah Heep, Judas Priest, Nazareth, Deep Purple, and Savatage, Crimson Glory(2 first albums), Queensryche. Some Metallica and Pantera (Cowboys from hell album rules). I can go on forever..... When it comes to new metal stuff I'm almost lost. I like some of it but hey: "Keep the rap out of my metal!"
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FREDRIK: I listen to a lot of different things. But there hasn't been anything that exactly have blown me away lately. ROBIN: Disturbed, System Of A Down and just to annoy a bit more...Slipknot! TONY: Old school Metallica, Disturbed, Pantera and stuff in that genre. PM: What are your favourite thrash bands? FREDRIK: Forbidden is the greatest thrash band of all time. If you're only gonna own one album its “Forbidden Evil”! PM: What other bands are you (or have you) been in? Can you give a brief description of each?
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CHARLES: Early bands (We were kids at the time): Manifest, Exist, Superstition, Fastrack. [Also] Sepher Jezirah: Christer(Tad Morose), Tommi (Former member of Morgana Lefay), Stefan Persson and I. Later also Peter (Morgana Lefay). Some kind of progressive metal performed before it's time. (Or maybe just badly performed?) [Also] Virginia Creeper: Sleazy hardrock kind of music. (Didn't last for long!) [Also] Damage: The beginning of what should become Morgana Lefay. [Also] Voodoo Highway: Cover band playing only 70-80's hardrock. But none of the bands are active today. FREDRIK: At the moment I’m not in any other band than Morgana Lefay. Me, Peter and Robin still have our band OG3. It’s kind of a party band where we sing in Swedish. We played quite intensely some years ago and made 2 CD’s, but nowadays we only play if we really want to, or get paid a lot. I started out as the singer in another band with Peter, Robin and Mikael Åsentorp, ex Lefay. Peter took over the vocals later on and they changed their name to Fantasmagoria. After that I was the singer in the band Divine Sin for about 10 years. I would describe Divine Sin as a strange thrash/metal band. We made 2 albums on Black Mark. I played in a death metal band called Incarnated. We recorded an album for a label in the US, but they ripped us off and the record was never released. I think they distributed some of our demo tapes over there though. I sang in the band Korp for a while. It came about by me guest singing on some parts on one of their albums. That's something that I've done with many different bands over the years (even Lefay, before joining the band) but with Korp I eventually became a permanent member. The band can be described as black metal that with time developed into something else… I rejoined Fantasmagoria (this time as bassplayer) after Mikael left the band. ROBIN: Fantsmagoria - crunchy, thrashy metal together with Peter and now Fredrik. Released one CD "Fuck You All". [Also] M.I.D - a typical Swedish punk, melodical, cynical, funny...together with Peter and a guy called Rolf. Released 5 CD's "Aldrig En EG", "Bollnäs Idioternas Stad", "M.I.D Sommar", "Snart 30" and "Vet Din Pappa...". Then I've played in various cover projects on and off just for fun. PM: How did you, as a band and individuals, feel about your performance in the us last year? What was your reaction to being asked back so soon? |
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CHARLES: For the band it was like a part of a dream coming true. The States have always been the goal. Even if it was a small venue it felt great and the crowd were...well, it was beyond my expectations. It was a very positive thing and I have very good memories from JJ Kelley's, the crew, the crowd and the bands. To be invited again? My reaction: Erection, ejection! (Seriously: I'm honored!) FREDRIK: It was a great experience for all of us to play in the US. And of course it was a big step for us as a band as well, the first time in the USA! I can't remember any special details about the actual performance. The thing that stuck with me is the great crowd! [editor's note - for Fredrik I also asked him about coming back and also if he's afraid of being sent to Canada on his return trip home because that was something that happened at the airport last time and this is his response - Alina] I was ecstatic! As I said we had a great time last year and we made a lot of new friends. I can't wait to go back. And I'm not afraid of being sent to Canada as long as we get to play there. ROBIN: I think all of us together and individually got blown away by the opportunity last time, for me personally just going to play in the USA was to fulfill a longtime kinda childish dream, hehe. And for the second part...ARE YOU GUYS NUTS! |
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TONY: It was totally awesome last time we where there and it feels even more so to come back this soon, thanx!!!!! PM: Fredrik, how long did it take you to grow your hair? FREDRIK: I would guess that it took 3-4 years to grow it. I've had about the length I have now or longer for the last 10 years. Before that it was shorter… By the way, I'm going to have a haircut next week so who knows how much is left when I see you in April. My plan is to give the hairdresser a photo of Peter Grehn and then just see what happens. PM: How did the idea for the concept of the Grand Materia album come about and how did you tackle the job of writing lyrics to the story line? CHARLES: I read a lot about alchemy and hermetic mysteries at the time and I found this Nicholas Flamel guy. I took him into my brain and gave him my own story combined with facts, theories and my own beliefs. The band thought it was a great idea to make a concept album. I wrote a novel and we decided to combine the novel and the lyrics (Which I wrote parallel). We all did some brainstorming and I had some great input from the band. I did a lot of rewriting in both the novel and the lyrics. I wrote the lyrics directly in English and the novel in Swedish. When we were satisfied we had it translated by a.....translator. It took approximately nine months to give birth. Quite normal... if you're a woman! PM: Is there a particular reason you decided not to sing on Grand Materia at all? TONY: Nah, I just couldn't be in the studio the same amount of time as the others so I missed out on it, so to say. PM: Can you explain a bit of how the filming went for the recent video shoot for "I Roam"? What do you expect owe (Nocturnal Rites, whom is producing the video) will do with the footage? FREDRIK: I have no idea! I just stood there rotating my head in front of a greenscreen for a few hours. It will be really interesting to see the end result, but I'm confident that Owe will make something good out of it. PM: Do you think there will be plans for any future videos for songs off Grand Materia? |
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FREDRIK: Maybe, we'll see. As always it's a question of time and money. PM: Are you satisfied with the overall outcome of Grand Materia? CHARLES: Yes! But it can always be better (i.e. Distribution) FREDRIK: Yes I am actually. Much more satisfied then I usually am after a recording. So I guess that's a good sign… ROBIN: Absolutively...diddely... TONY: Oh yeah I think it turned out great. PM: How do you feel the response has been for Grand Materia from the old fans? Do you believe you are gaining a new fanbase at the same time? |
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CHARLES: Very good response. We gain some new fans and we keep the old :) FREDRIK: You'll never know in advance what the response for a new album will be. Especially in this case when it had passed 5 years since the previous release. But the response has been great form the old fans. And we're definitely gaining new fans every day. ROBIN: Both good and bad, mostly good...some people kinda thought that Tony should have wrote more, but since they don't seem to know who wrote what anyway I take very little notice to that. It's an album we're all happy about. I hope we woke up some new people, we'll see in the future I guess... TONY: The response has mostly been positive, even among the guys who like the older stuff more. It's goooood!!! PM: How do you think you've progressed from the earlier albums until now - musically and lyrically, individually and as a band? |
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CHARLES: I don't know. To the better I hope. ROBIN: Well, I'd like to hope we've all gotten better at playing, hahaha. But seriously, we try to take more time producing the songs, record them in the rehearsal, let them rest for a bit, listen again... Stuff like that, a lot more work on the final product so to speak. TONY: We’ve grown older (much older) and wiser (NOT much wiser) and now we’re at the point were we are about to accelerate towards the stars (n’stripes). PM: What is your favourite accomplishment while you've been in Morgana Lefay? CHARLES: My favourite accomplishment: I'm in a band that have made a bunch of albums and we have performed in front of thousands of people. We have fans. That is something that I'm really proud and honored by. We're not very rich and famous but we're in a band that have struggled through thousands of setbacks without giving up. |
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FREDRIK: Showing up for rehearsals on time! No, I don’t know… We’ve only done one album while I've been in the band, so I guess that’s my favourite accomplishment. ROBIN: All the shows and all the people I've met...awesome...some highlights are WOA-99, Chicago, Sweden rock, WOA and BYH -05. Best crowds ever... TONY: We always "play" sober! But first of all I think the fact that we’ve been playing for so long and getting "nowhere" - THAT'S A JOKE, HAHA!!!
Official Website:
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