CRASH THE SYSTEM
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 13th July 2009.
Crash The System is a collaboration between songwriter Sören Kronqvist and drummer/producer Daniel Flores. It features vocalists Göran Edman, Mats Levén, Thomas Vikström and Björn Jansson laying down their voices on a variety of hard rocking tracks.
Sören answers questions on behalf of the band.
Hi Sören, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well? I’ve read you’re a former 400 metre champion. What sort of level did you compete at?
SK: I ran at National level in Finland. I was 6-time national champion in the Junior series and once in the Men's series. I don't count second places and third places, but I have a few of those also. A few National records came along the away also in the hurdles and a couple in relays. I never went to the Olympics, World-Championships, etc. I was about half a second too slow in the 400 meter hurdles.
Did you ever have the pleasure of running against the man with the crazy laugh, Kriss Akabusi?
SK: I don't think I ever had the pleasure of running against him, not that I can remember at least.
Has the passion for music always been there alongside the athletics?
SK: I always used music to focus before competitions. I still remember many of the songs that I played over and over before certain important races (National Championships).
Do you come from a musical family?
SK: My dad played the drums in a local band. He started to play the drums almost as a coincidence. He and some friends of his were going to a dance to listen to a band. Just before the performance they announced that the drummer was "sick" and can't play so they have to cancel the gig. Actually the drummer was too drunk to play. My dad said that he can play the drums (even though he had never played the drums before in his life). The gig went fine and he ended up as a drummer for that band and some other local bands. My mom used to be a good singer when she was young. She also plays the piano and has a great ear for music. She can listen to a song once and sit down and play it almost like the original. So, I have heard some music at home while growing up. Hopefully some of that "having an ear for music" has rubbed off on me...
You’ve co-written songs for House Of Lords, Michael Bormann and more. How and when did you get into song writing?
SK: I basically started with music about 5 years ago at the age of 36. Better late than never I guess. I felt I needed some kind of hobby since I have not been able to do much sports since 2001 (after an illness). I have only been able to train less than 5% of what I used to do, so that has not been fun. I thought why not try to write songs; that's not physically demanding...
You play keyboards, rhythm guitars and bass on The Crowning. Do you have a favourite instrument?
SK: I am not much of a bass player, guitar player, or keyboard player. I only did it because I did not have money to employ people. My producer Daniel Flores knows some of the best people in Sweden. Some of them would actually have played on the album if I would have had the money to pay them. Maybe next time... :-)
How did you and Daniel Flores start working together, and how did that partnership turn into Crash The System?
SK: About 2 years ago Daniel put some drums on a few tracks for me. We kept in contact after that and last autumn I asked him to produce a track for me, it was "All Because Of You". We both like the process and the end result. We also got lots of positive feedback from the song from labels. The original plan was to make one song and try to get it out to an artist or to a band. The following week we recorded three more songs and the next week I got an offer for a record deal, which I accepted. Throughout this process we had contact with Frontiers Records.
You’ve enlisted the help of some big-name vocalists including Göran Edman and Mats Levén. How did their involvement come about... was that mostly through Daniel?
SK: Daniel Flores had worked with all the people we have on the album previously in other bands, projects, live, writing sessions, etc. We are fortunate to have four of the best hard rock singers in Sweden on the same album: Göran Edman, Mats Levén, Thomas Vikström and Björn Jansson. Only two of these vocalists have been on the same album before, (that was a little bonus...) Daniel also brought in other great musicians for some solos, etc..
What made you decide to use several singers rather than one?
SK: We wanted variety and thought it would be something interesting to have many great vocalists on one album. Nothing is finalized regarding the second album yet, but it looks like we will use multiple singers.
Are there any other singers you’d still love to work with?
SK: There are many great singers in the world. As an old Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen fan, Joe Lynn Turner is fantastic, Jeff Scott Soto, Sabbath has had a few great vocalists, Tony Harnell, Jorn, Pekka Heino (Leverage/Brother Firetribe), etc. The list goes on... Perhaps some female vocalists?
What is the best way to summarise the Crash The System sound? How would you describe your music to someone who hadn’t heard you before?
SK: It is basically 80's hard rock and AOR with catchy choruses and a touch of modern metal. All this with four of the best hard rock singers in Sweden and a few other great musicians on solos.
Are there any particular bands that influenced you or the sound of this album?
SK: Not really. Growing up as a teenager in the 80's I guess that the whole 80's era influenced me one way or another. I listened to tons of different music: hard rock, metal, AOR, hair-metal, etc.
What individual songs are you most proud of from this album... or from your writing career in general?
SK: "All Because Of You" will always be special since it was the song that opened up the door to the record deal.
What’s the best band you’ve ever seen play live?
SK: Hard to say... I happened to see the first US concert ever with Van Halen (with Gary Cherone on vocals) in Houston and that was something special. The opening number "Unchained" just blew me away plus a long list of other hits. As an old Malmsteen fan, Yngwie is just on a different level than many other guitar players. Probably one of those is my favourite live performance.
Would you describe Crash The System as a project or a full band?
SK: At the moment, Crash The system is only a recording project. However, it is not impossible that we will do some gigs sometime (if the timing is right, etc). It will be a little difficult getting everyone together since the people are from different bands, but hopefully we will get some people together sometime.
Are you planning to release more material under the Crash The System name?
SK: We have already started plans for the second album, who to contact, etc. But, first we need to have a discussion with the record company (Frontiers). After a couple of months I should know more. I do have a stack of songs that could be used for that album, but I will write about 10 new songs specifically for us (some maybe with Daniel Flores). After that we will pick out the songs we think could work together.
What would you list as your top 5 albums of all time?
SK:
Rainbow - Rising
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
Yngwie Malmsteen - First album
Def Leppard - Hysteria
Danger Danger - Danger Danger.
The list probably changes with time...
What does the future hold for you?
SK: I am writing new material for the next Crash The System album. I also have received a few offers to write for other bands, so I will try to get songs out to different artists and bands. As soon as some songs are accepted I will let you know! ;-)
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
SK: Continue to work on a song for a Swedish metal band.
Anything else you would like to mention?
SK: It would be great to hear what the Rock Realms readers think about Crash The System. Feel free to mail us through our myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/crashthesystemproject. And, maybe we will see you at a festival or something one day?
Thanks for your time :)
The new Crash The System album, The Crowning, is out now. Check out the review on Rock Realms here for further details...
http://www.myspace.com/crashthesystemproject
