Heavy Paradise : Hello Jakob and welcome here in Heavy Paradise for this interview. Firstly, I would like to congratulate you for your debut album! "Reinventions" is really a solid album!
Jakob : Hi! Thanks a lot for having me and I'm really glad that you like the album!!
Heavy Paradise : So, can you tell us some things about Wigelius?
Jakob : Absolutely! Wigelius is all about having fun and making the music we love the most! It's a bunch of crazy, gifted and wonderful people put together under the same roof!
Heavy Paradise : Are you satisfied so far by the reviews and the feedback of "Reinventions" ?
Jakob : Yeah! We're really surprised over the commotion and it's mostly kind words as from Heavy Paradises' review. We're really glad that people like the album and we feel that it's a good start of something even better to come!
Heavy Paradise : "Angeline" is the first video clip from your debut. In my opinion, it is a killer tune! Are you going to release a new video clip?
Jakob : Oh, thanks! We have a plan of doing some acoustic versions with a hand-held camera and there's gonna be a video for the new single outfor sure! But nowadays, with youtube and smartphones, I'm sure there will be some clips out there before we know it, lol!
Jakob : That's a hard question... During the record process I constantly changed wish tune a liked the most, but if I had to pick one I would say "I Reach Out". It has a great atmospheric feel and a killer chorus!
Heavy Paradise : The songwriting in Wigelius is it a team result or a one man's responsibility?
Jakob : "Reinventions" is a result of many old songs that Anders and Erik wrote some time ago. I joined in at the end and co-wrote "Right Here, Right Now". Now I'm part of every new song we write and it's a blast working with these guys! As with all, you evolve best with great people around you and we have some killer tunes for the next album!
Heavy Paradise : The mighty Harry Hess from Harem Scarem mastered your debut! That's really impressive! How is to work with such a great musician by your side? How so and you guys collaborate with Hess?
Jakob : It was actually quite easy! Daniel Flores, our dear friend and producer, recommended that we should try him out so we send him one mix for a test master. We were very pleased with his work so we went for it! It's always easy to work with people when they're friendly and
great at what they do!
Jakob : Haha! I don't know about that, it's mostly snow up here! I think it's a mix of hard work and talent. People often start playing when they're really young and there might be a connection with our melodic folksongs that gives that little extra touch to the AoR-scen. I really don't know, but in Wigelius case it's just a mixture of different musical backgrounds and a great working atmosphere where we're allowed to try out the things we want!
Heavy Paradise : And now comes the most difficult question....which are your influences Jakob?
Jakob : That's the easiest question! I started playing guitar when I was about fifteen and I can only thank Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for that. I saw a VHS - "Take the Highway, Live" I think it's called - with these great guys and I was stuck! Over the years I've listened to a lot of different guitar players such as Steve Lukather, Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, Guthrie Govan, Kikko Luereiro, Brad Paisley, Steve Vai... the list goes on and on! And I have
always kept a wide spectrum of music and genres. There's always something good to find in any style or instrument. But my biggest influences are still the people I've had the
opportunity to play and grow with!
Heavy Paradise : A killer debut album and a very good record deal with Frontiers Records!! Was it difficult to get into Frontiers roster?
Jakob : For me it was really easy because Anders did all the job, haha! He came to attention on a Swedish TV-show and with Daniels help he managed to cut the deal with Frontiers. I'm really glad he asked me to join the band and I hope he hasn't regretted it, haha!
Heavy Paradise : Any plans for any live performances?
Jakob : Yeah, we're going to Madrid in June to play a concert and I'm sure there's gonna be gigs in Sweden in the near future as well! We'd love to come and play in Greece sometime!!
Heavy Paradise : So, what's coming-up from Wigelius Jakob? After your successful debut release are we going to expect a new album soon??
Jakob : We really hope so! Our intention is to release a new album as soon as possible and we're working on it as we speak! It's gonna be a blast and a killer record with lots of great songs and perhaps a guitar solo or two... haha!
Heavy Paradise: At this point, I have to thank you for this interview and to wish you all the best for your future plans!!
Jakob : Thanks a lot! And thank you for taking the time to do this interview! Hope to see you on the road and don't forget to keep track on www.facebook.com/wigeliusband and www.wigelius.net! All the best!!
/Jakob Svensson
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