JAYCE LANDBERG: Articles/Magazines

Please let me know your musical carrier.

I started playing guitar at the age of 14 after seeing a guitarist in an old movie abusing and smashing his guitar on stage. I was absolutely thrilled and asked my mother to buy me an electric guitar. She had always encouraged me to be artistic and play an instrument and had wanted me to play the violin and the piano. But being a child and thinking that music was not for real men, I had always refused. She signed me in at the Music Conservatory in Switzerland where I was taught the basics of classical nylon string guitar but after a while I got bored and wanted to develop artistically. So I asked her to buy me a Fender Stratocaster and so I started to create from the very first day I got it. After a while I also got interested in piano and started to compose classical music. Since then, I've been in a lot of different band constellations but always felt that you can only compromise so much before it kills inspiration. So I decided to embark on a solo project and called a few friends, among them drummer Micheal Storm and some bass player to play songs I had been writing the last few years.

 I heard that you're also a novelist. What kind of a story do you write? Yes that's true. I write mostly sci-fi and horror stories. My first novel 'Shades Of Night' was released in 2005. It is a pyschological thriller and sort of a ghost story that takes place on a haunted island. The island in question does really exist. Also, I have recently written a new collection of short stories that will be released this year and that I think people will like. The language is more fluid than 'Shades Of Night' and rich in content. I've got a new one coming soon and I am working on a third one .

Which is your main work, novelist or musician? Right now, music is definitly my main focus.

I ask about your debut album 'Break The Spell'(BTS). Are the songs written after the release of debut EP?

Most of the songs on 'Break the Spell' were written in San Francisco some time after my EP 'Lost Without You' was released. I actually wrote them a month before we entered the studio in Sacramento. I came up with the main theme on 'Left On A Dream' two years ago in Spain, but the lyrics and the rest of the song were written in California with the other songs. I wrote 'Black Magic' in Stockholm during the same period when I wrote 'Marilyn' and 'Lost Without You' which by the way was co-written with my singer Goran Edman. As to 'Tell Me Why', it was written a long long time ago and pulled out of the drawer (Laugh).

When I listened to it for the first time, I was reminded of Yngwie Malmsteen. Compare with your debut EP, especially 'Lost Without You', BTS features fast guitar-plays and neo-classical melodies. Did you consciously make BTS neo-classical? Yeah, I wanted to make a record with a lot of classical influences and fast guitar runs. On the solo of 'Black Magic' for instance, I approached the guitar as Nicolo Paganini would approach the violin. Which is in a technical way. But I didn't compromise technique for feeling. However, a few solos are more blues oriented. I wanted each solo on the record to be different both soundwise and when it came to style. On most of the solos, I used my Surf Green '57 reissue strat whereas on 'Left On A Dream' for instance, I used 'The Venus' which is a Fender Strat that I bought from Abba's guitarist and that I have modified with a Gibson pickup. But even though most of the guitar work is neo-classical, not all the solos are fast. I played slow when I had to. Goran Edman used to sing for Yngwie Malmsteen which is also a contributing factor to why the record can remind of him.

Your picture on the front sleeve also looks like Yngwie. Are you influenced by Yngwie strongly?  (Laugh) What? I thought I looked more like Richie Blackmore. But maybe you're right. Yngwie has a strong impact on me musically when I younger. I really like his first records and I think that somehow his style can be heard in some of my work, but it is not a conscious thing.

I'm surprised that Goran Edman sings all songs on BTS. How did you ask to sing?  After we recorded the 'Lost Without You' EP, Goran and I kept in touch and actually became really good friends. He's always been my all time favorite singer and it is a privilege to work with him. It just came as a natural thing that he sang on my album. I told him I had come up with new song ideas for an album and he asked me 'Who's gonna sing them?' (Laugh).

When you recorded first EP, how did you contact him and ask to sing? I think that he is not a singer who play with any musicians.

I had just finished writing 'Marilyn' and called my girlfriend at the time to ask her what she thought of it. She loved it and said 'You need a really, really good singer on that one honey!' So I thought, who's better than Goran? A musician who's a friend of mine gave me his contact info and I sent him the song. I guess he must have liked it.

Did you record with him at a studio? Or did you and Goran record songs separately? Yes, we recorded the music separatly. I gave Goran a demo CD on which I sang the songs and he recorded his vocals in his studio. When I didn't like something, I asked him to redo it.

Does 'Kusamura' means Japanese 'tuft of grass'? If so, why did you title the song 'Kusamura'? Good question! Everybody wants to know why I chose that title (Laugh). On the one hand it is a tribute to all my Japanese fans. After signing with the record company, and knowing that it was going to be released in Japan, I wanted to have a Japanese title on the record. It's a mythological kind of thing. The music is supposed to depict a trapped beast in the jungle awakening at dawn and dying to be freed. There is a section in the song where I make all of these crazy sounds on the guitar. It is the beast awakening (Laugh). I called it Kusamura.

Please let me know your favorite songs. My favorite is 'Left On A Dream'. I am pleased with the solo and the vocal harmonies. Goran sings like an angel on it. It is a very special song that I wrote to my ex-girlfriend. We had been together for several years. I had never written her a song so I felt I owed her that. I kinda like 'Land Of The Dark' and 'New Generation' of course which is a bit Bowie-like in the verses. 'Marilyn' of course is one of my favorites.

I'm sorry if you feel uncomfortable. I feel that the sound quality is not high. The rec level is low and the guitar sounds a little boxy. What do you think of my opinion?  I inteneded to make the record very 80's sounding. So the boxy sound was a bit on purpose and the strats of course might have contributed to it. I don't think the recording level is too low though. A lot of records from the 80s have the same level and you actually get more dynamics in your stereo that way. A lot of people think that a high rec level is better which is false because you loose dynamics when you turn up the volume knob on the stereo. As to the mastering of the record, the European version of the record has been completely remastered by Martin Kronlund and sounds totally different. Martin has worked with such artists as Joe Lynn Turner.

Are you satisfied with sound quality? I'm okay with it but I think the record could have been mastered differently. I'm very satisfied with the European verison though.

Is the release of BTS scheduled outside?  It was released in Europe in September by Escape Music Records and at the moment I'm negotiating with American record companies.

Please let me know your near future plan. I've just recorded a radio jingle for CBS in California and I am now working on new songs for the next album which is going to be more raw and punky. I already have the whole concept down and also there might be some guest artists and musicians on the new record whose names I can not yet reveal.

Are you already making new songs? You're a workaholic! But your words make me anxious about next album. Will you make punk rock album? Not melodic rock album? (Laugh) I guess I like to always have something to look forward to, whether it's books or music. I already got 5 songs down. Don't worry, it's not gonna be a real punk record, only slightly rawer but the melodies will always be there. If you listen to the new jingle I did for CBS, it's called 'When frisco Wakes Up' you'll get a rough idea. It's on my website for free download. But who knows what happens? Sometimes you intend to bake a cake and you end up with a pie.

Please give a message to Japanese rock fans. I think Japan is a fantastic country with a great musical taste! It's thanks to you guys that neo-classical rock scene still exists! Rock on!

(As told to Yuki Sakai in October, '08)