Just to start off, take us back to how you first discovered music.
My earliest memories of music would be at my day care mum, where I got dropped off real early and got to sleep in this big room full of pillows. The radio was always on there and I remember that Janne Schaffer and Björn J:son Lindhs ”Brusa högre lilla å” and “Local Hero” by Mark Knopfler caught my attention and I loved how they made me feel and put me to sleep.

How come you ended up a singer?
Very randomly, really. I was a sports guy who loved music and fooling around with different music styles at my friend’s place whose dad had a rehearsal room in the basement. I tried to sing and noticed that I kinda liked it but was more into guitar and drums really. Later in high school I met Peter who I started Soilwork with and became the singer because I looked metal and was curious enough to start doing screamy vocals. 

Was clean vocals always on your radar and something you wanted to do or did on grow on you? 
I started out singing clean but it was more for fun and didn’t take it too seriously. Didn’t really have the confidence either. It really started to develop when I decided to introduce it in Soilwork’s music on our third album “A Predator’s Portrait.”

You’ve been in Soilwork from the very start and are coming up on 30 years with the band. Looking back on this journey, what are some of the absolute stand-out moments so far for you?
I would say going to Japan for the first time in 1999. We had only done a house van tour through Europe before that, playing living rooms and small clubs. Suddenly you came to Japan and got treated like royalty. It was surreal. Also doing Ozzfest in 2005 together with Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden all over the US was a crazy experience. The current tour that we’re out on is also ticking off some boxes: playing Hammersmith Apollo in London and crazy arenas in Germany where Bob Dylan seems to be following us and playing the same stages.

And with The Night Flight Orchestra?
I would say the absolute highlight would be opening for Kiss on their very last shows in Sweden ever, at Dalhalla. Also doing our first Australian tour was fantastic and a great success!

Seeing as you’re in two touring bands, how do you juggle your schedules between them?
We try to do album and touring cycles with the two bands, so we don’t clash. It worked very well up until Covid and then when everything opened up, we had to get both bands out on tour at the same time, basically. It became very hectic to say the least. Now we’re slowly approaching “normality” again where it’s easier to divide the cycles. I really feel like I have best of both worlds, though, which I’m very grateful for. 

How do you normally approach writing lyrics for songs? Do you have a set theme going in or do you let the song “tell” you what it should be about?
Both ways I guess – sometimes the scenario or topic just comes to you as soon as you write a melody. I’m a very melody-driven person and sometimes I feel like I express myself best that way, rather than put it into words. I have become better, though, and that’s really a never-ending journey. On the new TNFO album, there are some real-life stories that are very important and that I’m very proud of. Overall I think I take my own emotions and try to place them in different worlds and scenarios, where they can get a different meaning.

Walk us through your creative process when writing songs for your bands and where Toontrack’s gear comes into play!
It usually starts with a riff, melody or beat and then it’s real easy to open EZdrummer 3 and quickly find a beat that matches what you hear in your head. I very much love the disco section when I create songs for TNFO, for example. It has a real nice organic sound but still a nice stomp. The metal add ons are great too. I usually end up using IA’s presets for rhythm hits on EZmix when I write Soilwork stuff and use Devin Townsend’s presets for leads and melody guitar – real atmospheric stuff. I quite often use the Meshuggah presets for bass, love the tone. Love both of those programs and they’re really user friendly and quickly get you “there!”

What’s next on your agenda?
I’m doing Christmas shows in December with Mikkey Dee and members from TNFO. Also next up is album release with TNFO (“Give Us the Moon”), on Jan 31st. We’re also embarking on a full European tour right when the album comes out. I will also start writing for a new Soilwork album in the beginning of the year where all Toontrack stuff will come in handy. Looking forward!