Den 24 april fick jag en pratstund med Pekka Heino, sångare i Brother Firetribe som är aktuella med nya plattan Diamonds In The Firepit.
The sound on your new album is very similiar to the one before (very keybordish). Did that just happen or have you found the typical B F:sound?
That´s the sound that this band is built upon. We´ve always had massive keyboards and tend to keep it that way. Keyboard sounds and riffs spark up a certain brand of melodies and hooks that we´re really comfortable with. We´ve never felt the need to change our direction or style dramatically. It also could be that that´s the only stuff we know!
You sing very well. You often sound almost as good as Jimi Jamison from Survivor. Is he an inspiration to you or is it just a coinsidence?
Being ”almost as good” is a huge compliment for me as I´ve always thought Jimi Jamison is one of the finest singers ever. His voice defines powerful AOR, it´s tailor made for soundtracks and stuff that pumps you up. I love Survivor. Vital Signs and When Seconds Count are one of my all time favorites. I salute him.
I got the impression that the new album is softer than the previous one. Did that just happen or have you noticed it yourselves?
Could be that it´s a bit more on the AOR side of melodic hard rock, haven´t really thought of it. We didn´t consciously steer it to that direction, the songs just shaped up like that. It´s all a part of natural development, a 6 year break is a long time after all.
Who is generally writing the songs?
Me and Tomppa write the blueprints for the songs and everybody throws in their own instrumental parts. That´s how the songs find their shape.
I especially like the songs ”Close to the bone”, ”for better or for worse” and ”edge of forever”. What are the stories behind these songs?
Close To The Bone is one of earliest songs we wrote during our break. We knew we wanted it to sound epic and worked toward that goal right up until we had to let go of it. We thought it was a perfect song to end this album. For Better Or For Worse started out with a massive keyboard riff by Tomppa which kind of forced me into writing a really hooky chorus. It almost wrote itself as I started approaching it through rhythm. We think it´s one of the strongest tracks we´ve ever come up with. Edge Of Forever is the heaviest track on the album and that´s what we had in mind when writing it. We came up with the idea of having a kind of monastery choir as a part of the chorus and it works brilliantly.
Do you plan on doing some gigs in Sweden in the near future?
We´d love to play Sweden naturally, no two ways about it. We plan on touring as much as possible after the summer so I´m keeping my fingers crossed to be able to drop by and say hello to you guys at some point then!
If you could choose to be singer in any band? Which will it be? (you can not say B F)
Well The E-Street Band would be nice. Suppose their singer has a steady job in that band though. Oh well.
Finally, what are your top 5 favourite albums that you think everyone should own?
In no particular order:
Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue
Steely Dan – Royal Scam
Journey – Raised On Radio
Baton Rouge – Shake Your Soul
Rush – Permanent Waves
Peter Dahlberg