INTERVIEW: The Night Flight Orchestra - Björn Strid

For their first time in Australia, the band that formed as an idea between friends from several well-known Rock/Metal bands (Soilwork, Arch Enemy, Mean Streak) almost a decade ago and have been dropping jaws ever since arrive Down under for 3 exclusive shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

With 5 albums already under their belt, 2 nominations for the Swedish Grammies, countless live shows and praises from fans and media alike, The Night Flight Orchestra have steadily upped their game when it comes to paying tribute to a decade that influences all sorts of people and even industries to this day – the 80s. With hits like ‘Domino’, ‘Lovers In The Rain’, ‘West Ruth Ave’, ‘Divinyls’ and ‘This Time’, the band manages to maintain a variety of vibes and emotions with every album. From hard rocking tunes, poppy digressions to progressive epics, disco-esque songs and deliciously cheesy yet loveable ballads… they will take you on quite the heady journey!

We caught up with Björn Strid to talk about why TNFO ‘Death to False AOR’ Tour Downunder is so unmissable!

Björn: Hello Mark!

Mark: Great to talk to you! What an absolutely truly amazing and wonderful band you have!

Björn: (laughs) Well thank you.

Mark: I don’t often open like that but Night Flight Orchestra is a truly remarkable and I think unique band these days. And so wonderful that you are bringing the music Downunder for us for the first time.

Björn: It is, that’s one of those dreams that I had when things started happening for this band. I wondered f we would get the chance to play for you at some point ad here we are!

Mark: Of course you’ve visited before with Soilwork, but to bring this project must be amazing for all concerned. How many i the touring party?

Björn: Well in the band we are eight people . I talked to Doug at Hardline Media and said maybe we should do it at the same time as Soilwork because we have people in both bands. But we started discussing it a while ago and I’d poked him before about Night Flight Orchestra. So when we did the Soilwork Tour last year that’s when things started to become almost doable and now here we are!

Mark: And here you are! Three shows along the East Coast Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and it’s just around the corner, you must be on the verge of packing those bags?

Björn: Pretty much. We still have so many things to do before we leave. We rehearse of Friday then we have a show in Germany on Saturday, coming home Sunday and then we have Soilwork opening for Megadeth on Monday, then we’re taking a night train, me and Rasmus the guitarist, to Copenhagen and then we fly out to Australia!

Mark: That’s crazy!

Björn: That is nuts! (laughs)

Mark: Let’s hope you get all the connections! (laughs) The two latest Records ‘Aeromantic I and II’ are fantastic, I thought you’d have a hard time beating my favourite ‘Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough’ the fourth record where for me everything just comes together, but you’ve kept that momentum going. For me at least the band is standing in that ground where you are today’s Toto or today’s ELO or whoever, you have that stature and uniqueness as a band that sets you apart.

Björn: Wow. That’s a lot f compliments, thank you! (laughs)

Mark: Well it is, but I have one more for you! When I was a kid growing up there were a number of Rock songs that I found absolutely essential. ‘Hold the Line’ was one, ‘More Than a Feeling’ of course, ‘Hold Your Head Up’ by Argent – all absolute classics…

Björn: Yeah (nodding)

Mark: But ‘Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough’ I can sort of put in that company.

Björn: Wow. That’s a huge compliment. Thank you, that means a lot.

Mark: Knowing the history of the band and how it all came together and producing such wonderful music, it must be hard now to do it without David?

Björn: Yeah, it’s a challenge, of course he was a big part of the band. Me and him started the whole thing and we’ve both been writing through the years. He did the majority of thigs, but I’m just trying to take this with me because learned a lot from him and I really feel that we should carry on this legacy. And that’s something that we talked about before he passed away. He wanted me to continue with the band, and I don’t think we should underestimate the band as a whole. We have Rasmus replacing David on guitar, an amazing guitar player and song writer, and human being on top of it all. So that’s really important, and the vibe is really good. The hardest part for us was to enter the studio again without David: we didn’t know how that was gonna feel. But it was a very good experience in the end: we had so much fun and he (David) was very present the whole time. He’s always present you know, he’ll always be there and t’s still hard to accept that he’s not here anymore. How can that eve be possible? But me and Sebastian have been writing a lot of stuff through the years, and more and more for each album, so I think it’s something that we take with us, but also David’s presence is there. And he’s always going to be present through our music. Ot might sound pretentious, or a cliche but it really is true.

Mark: A wonderful legacy already and long may it continue. I’ve read here and there about the origins of the band and the music that fueled it but what was the music of this type that you loved growing up? Or was this something that came to you later?

Björn: I mean I listened to Radio Rock and Pop in the 80’s, Mom was playing a lot of music in the car and her biggest favourites were Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart and Eurythmics! (laughs) Kind of a weird mix, but there’s a lot of good stuff there!

Mark: I’m kind of glad that you don’t sound like the last one.

Björn: (laughs) Yeah. So I wouldn’t say that I was growing up on Foreigner or Boston, I mean I heard the singles, but Boston was not very big in Europe. So that’s something that I discovered later. But I definitely grew up on 80’s radio. I was born in ’78 which is kind of my favourite musical era which is kind of strange as I wasn’t there to experience it, or was too small, I should say. But we discovered so many things me and David as well, we always ended up on that first tour that you talked about. He was a session player for Soilwork in 2007 on our North American Tour and we instantly hit it off and ended up listening to music in the back lounge, and there were song battles all night long. We discovered so many things, but not just the music, everything around it – the aesthetics of the 70’s and 80’s even production, everything! And we felt like there was a void out there that needed to be filled. Because Retro-sounding Rock bands was not really a new thing, but mots of them had that Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, early 70’s bell-bottom Orange amps feel. Not that there’s anything wrong with, we enjoyed that, but we felt that there was this huge hole that needed to be filled with music and a way of producing and a way of writing songs that people hadn’t heard for a long time. And that’s what we built the bad on – to promote something that we felt was missing, and then also building a concept around it to make it a whole experience.

Mark: I actually felt it was incredibly brave to do something like that and go against the tide. Like you said there are so many that look to Sabbath and Zeppelin even bands like Rush. The thing about AOR is that there are still so many AOR bands around but the newer ones sound thoroughly modern and none manage to capture that late 7’s early 80’s vibe as effectively as you do.

Björn: Thank you.

Mark: It’s purely personal of course but It’s like you’ve kept the ‘best bits’ of that music and discarded the excesses that bloated it at times. And on songs like ‘White Jeans’ and ‘Satellite’ to name just a couple of songs I’ve just been playing, it works flawlessly. Almost as if you are a band from another time.

Björn: Ww. Thank you for saying that. I do think that we are quite unique in a sense, like you say there is a lot of AOR out there but most of it as you say sounds different, very modern and there’s nothing wrong with it sounding modern, but it’s more sort of processed I guess. And we have a more organic sound and production I think, we really sound like a band playing with not too many studio tricks. So we chose a different path and I think it’s really one that fits us. Like I mentioned before it’s not only about being nostalgic and providing that, it’s also about recapturing ways of producing and writing music that’s been lost – and that’s what we want to capture because that’s when we felt that music was sounding the best.

Mark: I absolutely get that.

Björn: So we try to cherry pick a little bit and make it our own thing. I guess we hijacked an era, but we also wanted to not be too nostalgic about it. We wanted it to present it as “This is the way it should sound” because that is what we felt, but we also wanted it to make sense today. We wanted it to be refreshing not just “Hey look at us, we can sound like Boston in 1978“. That’s not what it’s about in the end you know. It’s something timeless you know? And that’s also where ABBA come in as an influence – I mean who hasn’t been inspired by them? (laughs)

Mark: exactly – you can only sell nostalgia to those that were there to feel it, but you are one of those few bands that can take that feeling and make it new and relevant again to a fresh audience. I listen to a song like ‘Turn To Miami’ and wonder how on earth you come up with a song like that and then I realise it’s because you’ve got into the mindset of the musicians who were creating that music bac in teh day, that has that disco in there and maybe a dab of ABBA? And they work on different levels – they are so pervasive the hooks just grab you but there’s a wonderful complexity to them too.

Björn: I think that’s part of it, and there’s also such a great sense of melody running through this band from the start. And I think we got high on just the fact that we could do this! (laughs) And it’s also very much a band where anything goes. You sit there and say “Could we actually go that way” and the answer is always “Of course you can” (laughs) It’s always a “Yes!” somehow, which can of course sometimes go wrong but I think we’ve also found a way of creating our own little sound, even though we are definitely wearing our influences on our sleeves. I think we found our own path where anything goes and we can put different music styles on the same album but it’s all making sense in the end. And that’s sort of how it was in the 70’s and 80’s – you could have a fast track to open then a reggae influenced number like 10cc in the middle but it still all makes sense.

Mark: I think the 70’s was incredibly fertile ground for doing just that, even bands like Zeppelin were doing reggae and other styles. With Night Flight though I must admit I love the fact that you don’t keep us waiting – there’s always something new on the way and no chance to get bored! Is there something new on the way? Have you already started writing for the next?

Björn: I believe we have two new singles that we are going to release in the lead up to the new album which should be released sometime in April or May next year. So we will do a last recording session in September and record a few more tracks and that should shape up to be the album. So exciting times!

Mark: That’s sounding great. Have you had any push back from fans of your other band (Soilwork)?

Björn: No, not at all. Which is quite amazing because I expected a lot more reaction like “Hey stop doing that, go back to Soliwork and do the real thing” but there was nothing.

Mark: That’s great and just shows what an open-minded bunch Rock fans are.

Björn: Well not always, but most Soilwork fans I think have learned that there is more than just Slayer and Entombed that influenced Soilwork you know. There’s much more than that and I think we’ve managed to develop Soilwork into something amazing too, with influences from so many different types of music. So I think most of our fans have learned to love the ‘surprise’ elements when we release a new album! So I think they can tell that it wouldn’t be so strange if some of the members went off to do something completely different, you know.

Mark: That’s great.

Björn: It is, and it’s such a big part of me know that I really do think I have the best of both worlds. I think I have just about everything I need within these two bands.

Mark: And I get to enjoy both so that’s great for me. Stepping aside from those two worlds for a moment – what makes a great song for you?

Björn: It needs to basically just create pictures in my mind that I enjoy, that take me somewhere else. Usually its a melody but it can also just be a vibe in a song. It’s almost like when you’re half asleep and you have a really good dream, that’s sort of how it should feel like when you listen to a song.

Mark: It is, it’s that connection, you hear so much music, and it might be nice but it just passes you by. But its the songs that make that connection, and that might come from the melody or the lyrics that just draw you in that really take you somewhere else.

Björn: Absolutely.

Mark: If you could have been a fly on the wall for the creation of any great album from any point in the history of Rock and Roll, what would you love to have seen being made?

Björn: Wow! That’s a tough one. I would say Fleetwood Mac – Rumours. That’s the one.

Mark: That would have been incredible for a number of reasons, not just the music!

Björn: It would have been chaos! (laughs)

Mark: When did you know that music was going to be such an important part of your life? Was there a defining moment for you?

Björn: Well my first musical memories are probably from when I was about four years old. I just loved how it made me feel. So I knew at a pretty early stage that it was going to be a pretty big part of my life but not necessarily my profession, even though I’ve never really seen it as a profession. But, I don’t know, I guess getting my first guitar and discovering the instrument and learning how to play around with harmonies. That did something. And then playing live for the first time and the kick that it gave me, because I was sort of a Sports guy, I was into hockey and that was going to become my career, and that was a huge kick, scoring a goal – and I didn’t think that existed somewhere else. But music was even more of a kick I would say.

Mark: Can you remember the first song you wrote?

Björn: I don’t think it was a full song. Maybe I was just playing around with some riffs and melodies, layering stuff, and like I mentioned before – harmonies. When I discovered that it just opened up a whole new world. When I was growing up we had a lot of dogs and when one of my favorite dogs died I was so devastated and I decided to write a song for that dog and I recorded it onto a tape and I buried it with the dog.

Mark: Oh wow.

Björn: It’s kind of a beautiful story.

Mark: It is. And we always leave you with a really easy question: what is the meaning of life?

Björn: Wow! To have a really good time and not (laughs) experience too much stress while having fun! it’s a strange balance you know.

Mark: Sounds good to me! You’re here next week, have a safe flight and we’ll next see you rocking Downunder! Thank you so much for your time, it’s wonderful that you’re coming down here to play this wonderful music for us.

Björn: Thank you. Thanks for all your support Mark.

Mark: My pleasure.