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Transatlantic comes with a new album - we are talking with Roine Stolt |
 You have been playing guitar in many a great band over the years, but
you started with the bass – what made you change to guitar?
ROINE: Don't know - it's a long time ago - but maybe with the
guitar I had better ways of expressing myself .
KAIPA, a hard-working, professional, progressive rock band made you
their guitarist in 1974, how did that come about?
ROINE: I just heard about them and that they were a trio and played
ELP style rock -I found it interesting and after meeting the drummer
and hearing they were ambitios and rehearsed every day - I called
him >> and asked if I could join. >> I went to audition and got the job.
What did Kaipa mean to you and your career?
ROINE : very much - I had the chance to suddenly become a full time
musician at age 17.
What is the strong points of Kaipa in your opinion?
ROINE : the early melodic stuff - the interplay between hammond and
guitar .
Why did you decide to team up with them again for their comeback
album in 2002?
ROINE : because Hans Lundin asked me and I thought - why not .
Why leave Kaipa to form your own group, Fantasia - and why did it end
after just about 4 years?
ROINE : at that point back in 1979 and after being in Kaipa for 5
years and many hundred shows and 3 records I felt the band was or
was about to stagnate.
Parts of the band were more interested in partying than rehearsing or
writing songs.
August 1994 you released “The Flower King” and started something
really interesting and good that became the band The Flower Kings.
What is the all about, and what inspired you to make the songs on the
album – an album I never seem to grow tired off.
ROINE : I just saw the opportunity to make prog rock again with all
the new samplers and cool instruments to make a full symphonic
sound. Also I was tired of playing on other peoples albums -
Do you find lot`s of classical and/or progressive influences in
Ritchie Blackmore`s playing and/or releases?
ROINE : I saw Ritchie more like a blues guitarist but with an
interesting bend to the blues - being in DP and spiced up by some
classical elements. Jeff Beck , Rickie and Clapton took the blues to
new listeners by doing a fusion of all things .
What is the strong points of Ritchie`s playing and songwriting?
ROINE : at the time with early DP it is the energy and the sound and
the inventive playing that has both finesse and raw power .
The FenderStrat and Marshall stack surely did add to it also .
TransAtlantic, by many named as a supergroup, tell us how the band
was established and the creative process towards releasing the first
album >> and the first concerts.
ROINE : I just got a mail from Mike Portnoy in 1999 and he asked me
if >> I wanted to join his new project . >> We met up in a studio in New York and just started tossing >> ideasbetween the four of us - very creative and surprisingly fast . >> We're effective as a unit and very focused.
How was it to play alongside such great musicians?
ROINE : Very nice - but again I'm a bit spoiled with the fabulous
musicians in FlowerKings so it wasn't really a big deal .
You have also played with Andy Tillson and King Crimson drummer Pat
Mastelotto, what did you get out of that musically?
ROINE : Pat is a fabulous guy - extremely nice and very professional.
We've worked together again on the new AGENTS OF MERCY CD and I've
helped him with some stuff that he did for Steven Wilson and another
project with a guy from Tool.
Flower Kings are an established act and releases and tours
regularly – what do that mean to you at this stage of your musical career?
ROINE : we'll as you say - it is regular and it's taken me around the
world to see fabulous places and meet wonderful fans,a great time and
it will go on but we have put it on ice this year- so maybe new
record in 2010 .
Daniel Gildenlöw from Pain Of Salvation was a part of Flower
Kings, how did you manage to recruit him – and why him?
ROINE: I just called him and asked if he was interested to sing a few
tunes - after that I also asked if he wanted to join on stage. He was
there between 2002 - 2004.
Where do you want to take Flower Kings in the next few years ahead?
ROINE : Can't really say - but as I said we're taking some time off
and we'll see what's next - we need to find new ways .
Having Foxtrot as a label name, a son called Peter Gabriel it is
impossible not to get you to comment on the Gabriel era Genesis –
what is so great about it?
ROINE : you tell me - no seriously it wasn't me that named my
company - but a guy who had no idea about Genesis .
To me Genesis between 1971 and 1977 is a great band - I still like
that music.
If you were to switch to manager and about to form an all-star
progressive rock band, choosing people from 1960 and up to 2009, who
would you choose?
ROINE : McCartney -Bass, Elvis Costello - Vocal , David Bowie-
vocal ,Steve Winwood-Hammond & vocal, Dave Gilmour-guitar
& lapsteel,Abe Laboriel Jr- drums.
How do you define prog? What is it?
ROINE : Music that is free of dogma.
Having been involved in around 250 cds/dvd releases and a lot of
concerts and touring – how do you manage to be motivated and fresh,
where do you find the energy?
ROINE : No idea - can't help it's fun.
AGENTS OF MERCY – your most recent release gives me a feeling of
hearing Genesis with Peter Gabriel in the first part of the album, as
if he had never left and they had released an album this year, how do
you react to my experience playing your brilliant new album?
ROINE : possibly yes - it does have that flavour in a few songs -
the instrumentation -the mood and Nad's vocal .
Will you tour with the AGENTS OF MERCY project?
ROINE: possible - concert premier is this summer in July .
What is coming next?
ROINE : Working on a jazz/afro/fusion album in a project called 3rd
World Electric - together with Jonas Reingold,Lalle Larsson and Karl
Martin Almkvist. Much of the album is my tribute to the late great Joe Zawinul . Cool we've managed to get a few VERY hi profile american drummers in on the project.
So- who took initiative to get back together to record another
Transatlantic album and what can we excpect?
Roine: Neal Morse was the one who asked us - or "changed his mind" about
letting TA sleep ......Can't say yet what to expect but my guess is anyone who loved the other CD's will like this one too.
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