Interview by Winston Arntz

LOM: The album Tardigrade made quite an impression on me. In my review I mention that you were able to melt several prog rock styles onto one album. Would you agree that?

Stefan Renström: Thank you. Yes, I have always had that ambition. Songs can take me anywhere they want, I don't have any option but to tag along if I like the idea. It's no fun confining yourself to just one style. I also think it's counter-productive.

LOM: It has been no less than six years since the previous album. Can you explain what happened in between Paradise Square and Tardigrade?

Stefan Renström: First we did the Kalevala track, that was in summer 2002, I believe. Then we tried to rehearse, bringing Nils Stenström from the Ceinwen lineup back into the fold. That didn't work out, he had personal problems and never showed up for rehearsals. Instead Magnus was taken on board and we rehehearsed for quite some time. But because the band was scattered across Sweden and different members had other projects, it was hard to get any continuity. We focused on new material instead and recorded the drums, Daniel's vocals and some keyboards for Tardigrade, in summer 2003. I started to have problems with my wife, which slowed down everything. A lot. 2004 we skipped Tardigrade and did "Minds of Mortal Men" for Colossus and Musea instead. That felt a lot fresher. In 2005 we did nothing, I was on the verge of ditching Tardigrade, because it felt "old". But after my divorce, I listened to it again and thought we really had something there. It took some time for me to gather the necessary strength to start working on it again, I was pretty down for a long time. We spent the fall of 2006 laying down the remaining tracks and stared mixing in April 2007. And so, after endless computer crashes and technical problems we managed to bring it all home.

LOM: When did you get to write and work on the album and did it turn out the way you thought it would?

Stefan Renström: Well, the bulk of it was written pretty quick after Paradise Square. I think I did it in a couple of months time in spring 2003. Then we added "Strawberry Jam", "Moon Mountain" and "Your Future" later on. It turned out pretty much as I intended, especially "Brother", which sounds almost exactly as my vision of it. Songs seldom do, on Paradise Square only the title track ended up just as I imagined it.

LOM: Can you tell a bit more about the concept of the album and the main character Simon?

Stefan Renström: Simon, which we left on PS without really telling what happened to him, awakes as Tardigrade after 100 years of sleep. The world has turned into a wasteland, the industrialized countries waging war against the poor. Tardigrade has the chance to lead the fight against the ruling party, originally a sect born on today's Internet. But he refuses, up until his woman is killed. He takes up arms, starts a war – and of course dies. The entire story can be found at www.paradisesquare.net or www.myspace.com/simonsayssweden.

LOM: The song "Brother Where You Bound?" is the epic of the album, did you plan this? As it is common use for a prog rock band to do tracks of many minutes ...

Stefan Renström: I never plan songs. If I stumble across a few bars that sound interesting I always let them decide which their surroundings should be, by playing them endlessly until I "just happen" to play the piece that seem to fit next to them. Or things come naturally, in real time. So if songs want to be of a certain length I let them – even if it is 26 minutes. Or 26 seconds.

LOM: When you had to compare Tardigrade to either Selling England By The Pound (Genesis) or The Yes Album (Yes) which one would it be and why?

Stefan Renström: Hard question. From my point of view these records both are pretty unlike Tardigrade. Hmm ... musically The Yes Album was a bigger step forward for Yes than Selling England By The Pound was for Genesis. I guess Tardigrade is pretty logic if you listen to Paradise Square. So if I have to choose, I'd choose Selling England.

LOM: The prog rock scene is quite large but not many bands are able to go out on a tour that often. Are there plans for Simon Says to go out in support of the album?

Stefan Renström: We had plans, and had started rehearsals with me on bass and keyboard wizard John Lönnmyr on the synths. But one month ago I had a mild stroke, which changed everything. I was hospitalized and am still nursing myself back to health. We'll see what happens in the future. The intentions are there, anyway, but we can't time any tour with the album, I'm afraid.

LOM: As well as the album turned out the more disappointing is the more and more important representation of the band on the Internet. Your site hasn’t been updated in a while. Homepages, or a MySpace page, are very popular and relatively easy to maintain. Any plans to pick that up?

Stefan Renström: Our home page is under reconstruction. Parts of it are updated. We also have the Myspace page I referred to earlier.

LOM: Record companies are becoming less important these days, bands and artists have more control of their career because the internet and modern techniques offer easy access and promotion. What’s your view on that?

Stefan Renström: I think that is just great. Music has never been better than it is now. Just surf around on MySpace, for instance, and you'll find thousands of interesting bands, in any genre. Also it has been easier for niche companies to represent themselves, at least up until home burning and downloading exploded.

LOM: Anything specific you want our readers to know about the band, the album or yourself?

Stefan Renström: Can't think of anything now, sorry.

Interview (Translated from original Italian) by Daniele Cutali

Daniele Cutali: Greetings, Stefan, and welcome on Movimenti Prog pages, an Italian webzine about progressive music and culture. How and when precisely Simon Says was born?

Stefan Renström: Simon Says were formed in 1994. A sort of offspring from a band called Egg, with which I played in the early 90's.

Daniele Cutali: What are your most musical influences?

Stefan Renström: That really is a tricky question. I like to think the songs themselves are. I've played in a lot of bands through the years, everything from punk and reggae, to pop, space rock and prog. But of course it's obvious that I really love bands like Yes, Genesis and King Crimson. I also like a lot of italian bands like Banco (such splendid musicians!), PFM, Le Orme, Cherry Five ... just to name a few.

Daniele Cutali: How has been born an album like Ceinwen? What do you particularly remember of it, since did pass just 13 years from its release?

Stefan Renström: We did it in 10 sessions, spread over almost a year, so it was a sort of relaxed, very calm atmosphere about doing it. No time limits, no pressure. Also I was the one playing most of the instruments – bass, keyboards, acoustic guitars and the odd electric guitar. Daniel was very young, only 17, and did exactly what I told him to :-) I also remember we were very inexperienced in the studio – which is painfully obvious when you listen to it. I still love the songs, though. "A Bedtime Story" is a number I really want to play live again. And "Kadazan" has some very strong moments. The studio itself was situated far out in the swedish countryside, on a farm. Beautiful landscape, filled with history, with tradition. The heartland of Sweden. But the equipment kept giving us hell. Only the studio owner could deal with it, and in his own special way. Every time something broke down we had to call him on the intercom and then he appeared, sucking on his pipe, humming and mumbling. "Hey Alf! There's no sync!" Or "Hey Alf! What's that noise on channel 14?" More humming and mumbling and eyebrows frowning. Then he used to take his pipe out of his mouth and knock on the tape recorder or the mixing desk and it would work again! Great guy!

Daniele Cutali: Six years passed from the realease of Paradise Square. Meanwhile there was the song for Colossus' Kalevala. Why did you take so long to record another album?

Stefan Renström: Writing Tardigrade was actually finished about a year after PS. We also laid down the drum and vocal tracks ... in 2003. Jeez, that's long ago. Then we got the offer to do 25 minutes for The Greatest Tale, a triple concept CD about Odysseus. So we did that in ... 2004 ... I think it was, and it took most of the year to write, arrange record and mix. Because all the time I was having a lot of marital problems, which ended in a divorce in 2005. All this comsumed a lot of energy and time. For years I was not capable of doing anything. Then, about a year ago we finished the old sessions and also added some more songs to Tardigrade.

Daniele Cutali: Daniel spent a lot of time in India and Middle-East. Is he come back definitely in Sweden to go on with Simon Says?

Stefan Renström: Yes he has. He has also moved to – and back from – Berlin. He is always on the move, so you never know. But given the rate we produce records in, it should be no problem! :-)

Daniele Cutali: Daniel attended some lessons to learn to play the sitar. Why didn't you put this instrument played by him in the new album? It could have been interesting and fascinating, maybe.

Stefan Renström: Yes, and I have some bad feelings about this. Because I told him after PS that the next record should feature a lot of his Middle Eastern instruments. As it happened it ... never happened. But he plays some sitar on our latest recording, "Becomes A Boy", soon to be released on Inferno by Musea.

Daniele Cutali: So we arrive to Tardigrade, that is the nickname for Simon, the main character of the conceptual theme of your album. What does precisely mean the name "Tardigrade"? Are you inspired by something or someone?

Stefan Renström: Daniel studied marine biology and wrote an essay on tardigrades – water bears. They are small tiny creatures that look a little like teddy bears and live everywhere where there is water. You can see one on our MySpace, www.myspace.com/simonsayssweden. They are the ultimate beings -- they can survive almost everything, we should be glad they are not two metres tall! Daniel told me they just needed water and if they dried they would hibernate. They can hibernate for a 100 years and then wake up if you pour some water on them. I thought this was a foundation for a good concept: the story of a guy named Tardigrade, who wakes after having slept for 100 years and finds his world has changed completely. So we made Simon sleep for a 100 years and return as Tardigrade.

Daniele Cutali: In "Tardigrade" you have rearranged and recorded again "As The River Runs", your great song from Kalevala project. Why did you put it in? Is it connected in some way to the concept?

Stefan Renström: No, it wasn't. But when I wrote it for the Kalevala record we were given only 7 minutes. I felt that version was a bit chopped off, there were some other things to develop. So I wanted to redo it. And it was fairly easy to fit into the new concept, since I had to write new and English lyrics anyway.

Daniele Cutali: Why the protagonist is called Simon? Has that name something to do with the monicker of the band?

Stefan Renström: That originates from an Egg song, actually. Per Lindblom, guitarist of Egg asked me if I knew of someone representing total wisdom. I immediately answered "The pillar saint", the guy who lived in the desert and to whom people came to have their every day mysteries revealed. Turned out the Pillar saint's name was Simon. Then "Simon Says" came out of the blue and struck me as a very good name for Egg. Simon Says being a child's play and what the Pillar saint said. It could be interpreted as "worth listening to but also playful". It felt only natural to let the main character bear the name too.

Daniele Cutali: There's the figure of Simon in Paradise Square too, but not in Ceinwen. Is it so?

Stefan Renström: In fact Simon is on Ceinwen too. The story of Simon actually starts with "Pilgrim's Progress".

Daniele Cutali: In which way the concept of Paradise Square is connected to the Tardigrade one, since Simon is at the centre of both stories?

Stefan Renström: Tardigrade is the world of Paradise Square 100 years later. The priests no longer are in power, now the technocrats are.

Daniele Cutali: Simon is destined to save the corrupted humankind. In which way? Is there some metaphor behind the concept, connected to our modern world?

Stefan Renström: Tardigrade is a sort of Messiah for the poor countries. There's the myth of this "sleeper" coming back to save the poor. The resistance in the industrialised world takes advantage of this myth to overthrow the technocrats. The concept can be read in it's entirety on our MySpace page, we are also [going to] to put it on www.paradisesquare.net [here]. And yes, I meant the story to refer to a lot of things in our world, it's definitely metaphoric.

Daniele Cutali: Is this the last adventure of Simon?

Stefan Renström: I think so. I am longing to write just "songs" :-)

Daniele Cutali: Six years between two albums are a lot of time and the band went through technical, line-up and personal problems. Will Tardigrade be the last chapter for Simon Says too?

Stefan Renström: Good heavens, no! "Becomes A Boy" will be released this year, then there is the Purgatorio song and some more stuff waiting to be conceived. I have tried to quit making music a lot of times. But there's no use, I HAVE TO write.

Daniele Cutali: What would you like to say to the Italian readers of Movimenti Prog?

Stefan Renström: You should be very proud of living in a country with such a strong prog tradition. A lot of great, great artists emanates from Italy. You are all part of this. So I should say: THANK YOU!

Interview by Freek Wolff, IO Pages

IO Pages: Did you record any album with your first band Egg? You made some "unorthodox" music with those musicians…why did it not work out and why did it with Simon Says?

Stefan Renström: No, we never did do an album, which was one of the reasons I left them. I strongly wanted to do an album. They didn't. We had different ambitions I guess, and I was also taking over as main song writer in the band, which caused some friction. Which is too bad, because they had some strong characters in the band. But maybe it worked out for the best: Egg's keyboard player Johan Wallén and Egg's extraordinary drummer Ricard Nettermalm are now members of Paatos, along with Stefan Dimle from Landberk.

With Simon Says it was totally different. In 1994 I formed the band as a project, my ego trip. I made the music, they played the stuff I didn't play myself. But now I feel the sound of Daniel's voice, for instance, is almost inseparable from Simon Says sound. Matti has contributed a lot. And Jonas plays guitar like I certainly NEVER could. I guess we eventually settled into a good constellation: even if it's still me doing 99 percent of the music the other guys understand what it is I'm trying to say.

IO Pages: It's obvious your inspiration comes from the old Genesis-albums of The Seventies. Can you tell me something of your first love-experiences with that classic prog rock music?

Stefan Renström: I was fourteen at the time. Only listened to classical music, apart from some ELO and Jean Michel Jarre. Then one evening I watched a swedish documentary about norwegian war refugees during WWII. There were these somber pictures of the border, up in the highlands ... and some fantastic music on the soundtrack. Felt like an electric version of Vivaldi's concert for piccolo to me. Turned out it was Pink Floyd's "Shine on ..." and it was love at first ... hear. Then I heard Mike Rutherford's "Smallcreep's day" some weeks after – when it was just released I believe – got to know he was in Genesis and started to buy my way through the prog classics. I consumed every second of them hungrily, just had to hear more and more and more. I still do.

IO Pages: You played the flute when you were very young. Why don't you bring this instrument into Simon Says, like Peter Gabriel did?

Stefan Renström: Oh, I did. There is some flute on Ceinwen, but I hadn't played it for so long and had lost a lot of my technique. And a lot of my lung capacity, I was a notorious smoker for over a decade. So it didn't sound good enough. But maybe ... we'll see ... I've got some interesting flutes among my instruments.

IO Pages: You play bass and keyboards ... I read you prefer the bass, why is that so?

Stefan Renström: Well ... I am not that a natural keyboard player. Sure, I can play some very hard things – if I practice hard enough, but ... to be honest I hate practicing. I am much more confident as a bass player, I've played the bass since 1980. Keyboards are nice to compose on, though, and with a lot of patience I can do manage at least some convincing stuff on the synths. But when we rehearse with John Lönnmyr nowadays, I only play bass. He is marvellous, as skilful as any prog band could wish.

IO Pages: Why is Jonas Hallberg - the clown - playing his guitar solos naked?

Stefan Renström: Ha ha, that's just some of the crazy stuff happening when you're in a band of loonies, I guess ... Jonas is not the only clown, but surely the worst! Similar incidents happen all the time with these guys, we all love ridiculous humour, have always tried to keep a good distance to ourselves. But never to the music.

IO Pages: Is he very much influenced by Steve Howe of Yes (listening to "Moon Mountain" for instance)

Stefan Renström: He is very impressed by Steve Howe at least. But I shouldn't say influenced. I am, though, so I'm sure that's what you may hear. Most of the stuff he's playing on Tardigrade we worked out together. The good thing about working with Jonas is he has complete trust in me as an arranger. So I told him "no, play the very opposite!". Or "no, play rockabilly riffs here!" Or "play like Hendrix here". And he did and I think his guitar work all through the record is fantastic. Regarding "Moon Mountain", it's all mine. I recorded those parts on a demo ... and then we recorded him playing them like I intended :-)

IO Pages: Does the name "Simon Says" refer to the children's game or the horror film? Why did you choose it?

Stefan Renström: When I was in Egg, Per Lindblom the guitarist was working on some lyrics and asked me if I knew of a person representing total knowledge. I suggested the Pillar Saint, the man who according to legend sat out in a desert and answered people's questions. Turned out he was called Simon. Then the name "Simon Says" came out of the blue, I thought it was great, referring to "worth listening to" as well as the childrens' game. I like that mixture of seriousness and playfulness.

IO Pages: Do the other musicians always have to do what you say as the leader of the band? (like Simon says ...) or is democracy neccersary?

Stefan Renström: They do as they're told or else they're fired! No, to be serious ... I do act as a dictator most of the time, but it's only natural that the song writer has a veto. If I have a very strong vision I will absolutely not allow myself to compromise with it. Someone has to lead the way too, and since we've been only a "project" for so long there was no need or time for democracy. But nowadays I am a bit more open to their suggestions than I used to be.

IO Pages: Does the story of Simon and the transformation into Tardigrade have anything to do with your own life? If so, what's the autobiographical thing or feeling to you?

Stefan Renström: Well, both Ceinwen and Paradise Square were autobiographical in some senses. Ceinwen deals with coincidence and destiny, and was written in a period when I seemed to have no control of my life and thought a lot about those issues. PS is about religion and was conceived when I went from an agnosthic to an atheist. But the stories themselves are completely surreal and absurd fantasies.

IO Pages: Looking at the name Tardigrade it seems the maincharacter seems to be lazy or slow person ... is that so? But he still has to "deal with the difficulties concerning survival and revolution in a depraved society" ... how can he do that?

Stefan Renström: Tardigrade means "slowly moving", yes. But they exist for real, tardigrades. They are also called "water bears", microscopic creatures living in water. Daniel once told me about them – he was studying marine biology – how they could survive even 100 years of hibernation. I thought that would be the starting point for a great concept to close Simon's story with, one guy awakes after 100 years and has to deal with a world that has no resemblance whatsoever with the one he remembers. I think that the parallells with our own world is easy to draw: when the church runs out of power, the technocrats will take over. And probably mess it up even more.

IO Pages: Looking at the albumcover the face seems to be split in two sides…a dark side and a bright, lighter side ... is that the Dr. Jekyll & Mister Hyde, the good and the bad, the yin and yang in every person?

Stefan Renström: Yeah, sort of. It's about the paths you can choose to follow. We had the same thoughts when we did the cover for PS. The sharp contrasts also seem to fit the music.

IO Pages: In the review I will write that Simon Says has the same supergroove like your Swedish brother Kaipa has, but now without the folky influence. Do you recognize this and agree?

Stefan Renström: I guess that may be a pretty good description. Such questions are tricky to answer, I tend to only hear the differences.

IO Pages: Due to a great drummer like Matthias Jarlhed is, what other aspects makes a prog band really swing?

Stefan Renström: Yes, he is great and becoming better every month. "Swing" is hard to define, though. It probably can be expressed as "when all musicians have the same conception of time". But that would be too dry, too academic. I like to think of it as "joy of playing, and keeping time most of the time" :-)

IO Pages: There's so much Mellotron, Moog and Hammond flying up and down ... why this love for the old, authentic sounds and not use modern digital stuff?

Stefan Renström: Well, I simply adore those sounds. Though I may not adore that equipment. We used a real Mellotron and a real Moog on Ceinwen ... and had a real hell with them. So 99 percent of the keyboards you hear on Tardigrade are software synths. Also, the Moog for instance is a highly versatile instrument, capapble of expressing a lot of things. Just listen to a guy like Manfred Mann, who makes the Moog feel almost organic.

IO Pages: Do you and Magnus play just as much keyboards on the new album and how do you decide who plays what? Is it hard for you to leave some stuff to him?

Stefan Renström: I play most of the solos and most of the organ. We split the piano parts and the rest of the keyboards pretty much in half. Magnus plays the long keyboard solo ten minutes into "Brother Where You Bound?" though, and a short solo in "The Chosen One". The "Brother" solo was tough for me to leave to him, but I really wanted him to do at least one of the highlights, so he got the best.

IO Pages: It seems to me "Suddenly the Rain" has all the ingredients of prog and a great melody as well…. I think it takes more time to discover the treasures of the epic "Brother Where You Bound", but that's probably because of the length ...?

Stefan Renström: Yes, I think so too. "Suddenly ..." is much more accessible and contains some of the best music I have ever written. But I am personally more into "Brother ...", which contains some of our best playing.

IO Pages: I think it is hard to deny that "Circle's End" had a great part of inspiration out of the Genesis track "Entangled" ... what's the basic charm of this music-atmosphere and what did you add to make it your own piece?

Stefan Renström: There are parallells, of course, but I think what makes you think of that particular Genesis piece is mainly the theremin/choir unison melody at the end. I had my thoughts about that, but decided to do it anyway, since it's such a great sound and worth to do anyway. On both songs there also is thosy dreamy, repetitive guitars going on all of the time, that's what enchants me about them. But I like to think of "Circle's End" more as a 13-years-later-"Pilgrim's Progress", the Ceinwen track that actually starts the story of Simon. But of course, every time you arrange a couple of acoustic guitars in that way, you will think of Genesis – and rightly so. They were first and it was a great contribution. Thank you guys for showing us new music with Trespass!

IO Pages: That's kind of a contrast with the uptempo "Strawberry Jam" and a lot of fast Moog solos. Do you love the type Yes (Wakeman) and Marillion (Kelly) just as much as Genesis (Banks) does?

Stefan Renström: Yes, I'm into both Wakeman and Banks, though I am more impressed by Banks, since he is a master of melodic, fast counterpoint. What I really love about Wakeman's playing is his passion. Modern music needs more passion.

IO Pages: I haven't heard the former albums ... yet. Did you make another step forward, concerning to the production? Because this one, Tardigrade, sounds great…

Stefan Renström: Staffan Bruto made a great job mixing and mastering Paradise Square, and I also liked our ambition to use only analog sound sources. It's a bit unorthodox, sounds almost like an old LP. Tardigrade is more traditional, more modern and compressed, there's not much air between instruments. But I am proud of both.

Tardigrade Interview by Christian Aupetit

Big Bang Magazine: Tardigrade is finally out before 2009 (remember our previous interview!), but you sent me an almost finished copy about 18 months ago so it seems that the final touches were very long to achieve. Why couldn't you issue the album earlier?

Stefan Renström: Well, we had some major technical problems all the way through the mixing process. Some days Matti's PC crashed every ten minutes – I'm not exaggerating – which was a bit frustrating.

Big Bang Magazine: You worked with the same musicians with the addition of Magnus Paulsson on keyboards. Can you present him ? Was it more challenging for you to have a "real" keyboard player in the line-up in terms of composition, playing, etc.

Stefan Renström: Magnus is a very old friend of mine, I've known him for almost 30 years. He played Hammond and trumpet in a group in the rehearsal room next to us and we hung out a lot together through those important teenage years. As for the challenge, I don't think it was that hard. It's still me doing the most of the keyboards, he really wanted to stay in the background. I gave him the long solo in "Brother", though, 'cause I really wanted him to have ay least one major spot on the CD. But he plays it just the way I did on the demo, so I kind of still regard it as "my" solo. He is no longer a part of the band.

Big Bang Magazine: This album is still very positive (musically speaking), even if some parts of your private life were not so good these past years. I mean, it was more predictable to find dark and sad music than what can be heard on Tardigrade. Do you think you were able to separate your music and your personal life ?

Stefan Renström: I have always tried to do that. I'm not very much for social realism, I think it puts a lid on your imagination and on your creativity. Inspiration carries you away, and you just have to tag along and see where you will wind up. Even so there sure is one or two bits on the CD that reflects my mood at the time ... the orchestral part in "Suddenly The Rain" I wrote in frustration and anger, for instance.

Big Bang Magazine: In my previous review of Paradise Square, I wrote that I was really impressed by the fact that your music was truly original ... but in Tardigrade, there is a strong reference to "Entangled", the Genesis song ... Is it more and more difficult to make original music ? With more than 40 years of rock music behind us, is it inevitable to use themes or tunes that one can have in mind, even unconsciously?

Stefan Renström: You're talking about "Circle's End" ... I thought a great deal about that arrangement, because with those two guitars, the Mellotron choir and the Theremin, it does sound like "Entangled". But I came to the conclusion that noone owns an orchestration, and I liked that arrangement so much I decided to let it stay, as kind of homage to Genesis, and instead face the possible negative critique that would follow that decision. I don't really think the actual melody sounds like Genesis at all, just the choice of sounds. I regard "Circle's End" more as "Pilgrim's Progress, part 2", concluding the song that started the "Simon cycle". So no, I don't think it is hard to write original music. I still think we sound a lot like Simon Says.

Big Bang Magazine: And finally, can you tell us your future plans with Simon Says?

Stefan Renström: Well, I'm still on the mend from my sickness in March, so we haven't rehearsed since then. We have no specific plans yet, but I have bought some new toys that surely will shape the future sound. Also, we are contributing on two tribute CD's, to be released later this year and the next year, I guess.

Paradise Square Interview by Christian Aupetit

Christian Aupetit: As many people there probably don't know you, can you introduce yourself and the band ?

Stefan Renström: I have played the bass since 1980, when I was 15. During the 80's I played the bass with symphonic act Atlantis, who were pretty good as a matter of fact. Many of the things we experimented with then I have developed in Simon Says. In 1990 I bought two synthesizers and since then keyboards have taken up more and more of my attention. I still feel primarily as a bass player, though. I am 37 and works as a journalist.

Mattias is 28 and have played the drums since he was six. He also is pretty keen on saxophone and has dabbled around with the clarinet, being very influenced by his father's collection of jazz records. He is also the drummer of proggers Valinor's Tree with whom he has cut two records, Kingdom of Sadness and And Then There Is Silence. He repairs trains.

Jonas is 29 and has played the guitar in rock bands since he was 13. He has studied classical guitar in the states and, since he loves and respects all kinds of music, is very popular on the local recording circuit, as a session player. He studies philosophy, works as a chef and constantly changes his address.

Christian Aupetit: Daniel, what is your musical background? I know you often go to India, does it means something special for you to go there ?

Daniel Fäldt: I listen to everything from Burundi folk songs to Whitesnake. I tried to play Jimi Hendrix at the age of nine, then joined a couple of local hard rock acts before joining progressive band Leifs Hyvel and eventually meeting Stefan and joining Simon Says. During the years I have put more and more emphasis on the vocals and less on the guitar. But I have been thinking for quite some time about gathering some musicans to play my acoustic songs. Regarding India; it's a kind of "shock-country" that makes you feel alive on all levels. I´m always thinking of when to go back. I am 27 and a student of philosophy and related subjects.

Christian Aupetit: What do you, Stefan, think Daniel brings into the band?

Stefan Renström: Daniel is a very expressive singer who, without really thinking about it, colours almost every syllable he sings in different shades. He also has a very nice warm voice. I think he adds that warmth, and a kind of folkish feel, to our music. The structure of my melodies can be pretty harsh, but he always finds a way to soften it up. His eastern instruments will also be given more space in the future.

Christian Aupetit: What is the origin of the band's name ?

Stefan Renström: 1993, I was in a band called Egg. Our guitarist, Per Lindblom - responsible for many a Crimsonish song - wrote a little ditty about wisdom. He then asked me if I could think of a person representing total knowledge. I immediately thought of the Pillar saint, a man who according to legend left his life and climbed on top of a pillar in the desert, where he remained for the rest of his life and answered peoples' questions about everything. Two weeks later, Per went into university to study literature history. The very first thing they read about was the Pillar saint, and his name turned out to be Simon. I just said "Simon Says" out of the blue. I immediately liked it because it stood for "worth listening to", and also Simon Says is a child's play - so it was both serious and playful. I said "Simon Says, that's what we're gonna call the band!" - because we had discussed changing the name, since there once was a band called Egg. They didn't want the name, but I kept it for the future ...

Christian Aupetit: Why was it so long between Ceinwen and Paradise Square? What did you do during all this time? And what decided you to come back? You told me that you went into more electronic music, and then throw almost all away to do symphonic rock music again but we can hear some "new" sounds in Paradise Square, so this new musical direction was useful somehow ?

Stefan Renström: The answer to these questions are related. It has been seven years, in which I have married, moved, bought a house and got two daughters. The room for music is certainly smaller now than before. After Ceinwen was released Daniel and I put a live Simon Says together to play those songs and also write some new material. Some of it ended up in "White Glove" - the clavinet/piano part and the dreamy middle section. But that particular constellation didn't really click and so we drifted apart and the band was put on ice.

Daniel went to India and I concentrated on my other band, The Moor, where I am the bass player. We recorded Flux and also did two short tours in Germany and Belgium. On tour with The Moor was German poet and video artist Knut Gerwers, he and I decided to make something together. Just keyboards and poetry. I programmed tons of material, some of it was good, some of it was not. The electronica CD was a very inspiring project, but fate had it otherwise: while programming I had also dabbled around with symphonic material, just for fun. In March last year I realised I had enough for a CD. And so there was no stopping it: I had to find Daniel, he was said to be in Benares, India. I eventually reached him and when he returned we started off with Simon Says again.

I called Jonas on the phone and asked him two questions: "Do you want to join the band?" and "Do you own a Les Paul?" And so he had to buy one, ha ha! He only used it for 30 seconds on the CD, the slide part during the piano solo on the title track. Anyway, it's a beautiful guitar ... And yes, I erased almost all of the electronic music, but it may still come out, who knows? As for the "new sounds" I am not that sure ... We had some electronica on Ceinwen ... but maybe the electronic bits on Paradise Square came more from the music of The Moor.

Christian Aupetit: Your music is really into symphonic rock but it is difficult to think of a "70's" band in particular when listening, so your influences are perfectly integrated. Can you tell us how you succeed ... and few words about your influences ?

Stefan Renström: I really love the well known bands: Yes, Camel, ELP, Crimson, Genesis ... but the last years I have been listening more to the Italian bands, like Cherry Five, Goblin and of course Banco. I guess that it's really easy to imitate your idols, you sit at the keyboards and think "now I'm going to play something that sounds like One For The Vine." And you will and the result will not sound very interesting, because you are not Tony Banks and it's 2002, not 1976. I have tried that, so I know (smiles). The songs that pass that test are the ones consisting of things you really never intended to play and of sheer mistakes, your fingers stumbled and suddenly it sounded great! I would say 95 percent of all my music has come like that, out of the blue, but of course it's filtered through my influences.

Christian Aupetit: This new album is a concept, can you briefly tell us the main story ... or do you prefer that each listener makes his own interpretation ?

Stefan Renström: Briefly it's about a man dreaming he is in another world, where religious belief is compulsory. He doesn't feel at home with the beliefs decided for him, though, so he goes off to pursue happiness. First as a religious freebooter, then as a successful business man. Through the story he is confronted with his bad sides and eventually accepts them. I wanted the story to end in a big question mark, so what happens at the end is up to the listener to decide for himself.

Christian Aupetit: When signing for your album, Patrick Becker from Galileo told me that your music is perfectly what he likes in progressive music (strong melodies, great breaks, nice playing ...), so can we consider that Paradise Square is "Paradise Square" for prog lovers ?

Stefan Renström: Well, of course I would really want it to be just that ... one of our objects was to squeeze everything we loved about symphonic rock into one CD. I, for one, wanted it to be the record I always had looked for but never found, the one missing in my own collection. A record with everything at the same time. I think some of the songs came pretty close to that. As for melody, we have always put our emphasis on it, rather than on flash.

Christian Aupetit: I think that Paradise Square has a very positive feeling, which is something very rare in music, and in prog music especially. Usually it is easy to share sad emotions than positive ones, Ceinwen was more on a nostalgic and dramatic feel, in my thought. What do you think of this point of view?

Stefan Renström: It seems to me that some people are of the opinion that "true" art is being made only by suffering artists, because that alone gives the art credibility and thus guarantees quality. That is of course crap. I think they mistake "sad" for "serious". Also the urge to express your anguish, to make people understand you, is a powerful driving force. Everyone wants to be understood, and ultimately loved. I don't think the need for expressing your happiness is as pushy. As for myself I simply write music easier in major keys - on Ceinwen as well. But yes, I guess it's kind of nostalgic and dramatic. Maybe even cynical. It was conceived during a period when I had no control over my situation and felt bitter, frustrated and generally miserable. Strangely enough I thought Ceinwen should have a bright, colourful cover, because that's what I heard in the music at the time. But the cover artist found a completely different angle and because I liked his work I only insisted on the disc being yellow, to save some of that brightness.

I am much more at ease with myself nowadays which surely is reflected in the music. On the other hand I think some of the material on Paradise Square, for instance the two last verses of the title track, are immensely sad, but they are played in a major key. For me, that contrast is what makes it interesting. I've always liked such things since I first heard Simon And Garfunkel's "Silent Night". Mostly, though, I prefer to talk about serious subjects in a humourous way. We did it on "A Bedtime Story" on Ceinwen, and now we do it for a whole CD. Also Paradise Square is a vaudeville, and as such shouldn't be too serious to be taken seriously.

Christian Aupetit: Do you still play with The Moor and why do you need to be in two different bands ?

Stefan Renström: I do, but The Moor never rehearses, seldom gigs and hardly plays live nowadays, so it's not that burdening. We are going to record our third record now, though. I guess I need something which is the total opposite from Simon Says - straight, moody, scary, anguished and mostly, almost totally improvised. Furthermore, in Simon Says I have close to complete control - and as much responsibility. In The Moor, I'm just the bass player. Oh, yeah, and occasional keyboard player. And I also played some percussion. And flute. Hmm ... anyway, it's great fun, and Kenneth does all the dirty work (smiles).

Christian Aupetit: Have you some plan to tour with Simon Says?

Stefan Renström: Not right now, no. We are in the middle of restructuring the band - Nils Stenström is coming back into the fold as guitarist/keyboardist - we need two keyboard players live and the extra guitar now and then. Then there are rehearsals coming up, and then we'll see.

Christian Aupetit: Do you plan to record a new Simon Says album before 2009?

Stefan Renström: Ha ha, you really got me there! Yes, we have been discussing what direction we should go from here. The restructuring of Simon Says from a project to a band is part of the idea for another record. Before 2008. Perhaps.

Christian Aupetit: Is Ceinwen still available and where can we find it?

Stefan Renström: It's practically out of print, but I am thinking of remastering it and releasing it again.

Christian Aupetit: Few words "in french please" that you want to say to your French fans and future listeners ?

Stefan Renström: Merci mille foix, tout le trois! No, sorry, both my jokes and my French really suck. One thing I hopefully CAN make myself understood with in French is one thing I really mean: C'est gents comme vous qui fait la toute difference.

Interview by Bjoern Noersterud

Scream Magazine: Congratulations to a great prog album. Can you start by telling a bit how the band started, how long you have played and so on?

Stefan Renström: Thank you. In the beginning of the 90's I lived in Stockholm and discovered that there were prog bands popping up just about everywhere. There wasn't just Landberk, Änglagård and Anekdoten but also a whole bunch of other, lesser known but at least as exciting groups. I was the bass player in a band called Egg, we sounded a bit like Crimson and a bit like Van der Graaf. But above all Egg was a curious and creative band who refused to know it's limitations. I thought the band had a huge potential and wanted us to record a CD, but the others weren't too keen. Finally I decided to leave the band and start a new one and it was to be called Simon Says. In '94 I moved to my hometown Falköping, where there - in spite of being a town of only 16,000 inhabitants - are many bands of really high standard. I started asking around for a good singer and everyone's answer was the same: Daniel Fäldt. I made contact, we talked, he auditioned and that was it. We were to run the band as a project, him and me being the core. As drummer we picked Ola Johansson, with whom I had played pop music earlier. Nils Stenström, guitar player from the same band was also willing to contribute. We recorded Ceinwen to and fro during '94 and '95, when we had some spare time. After the CD was released Nils moved and Ola got the boot. Daniel and I had to recreate the band, but unfortunately that line up was not quite right and a year later we put Simon Says on ice. Last year I discovered, though, that there was material for a new record and made contact with Daniel again. Jonas, who plays guitar on Paradise Square, was an obvious choice, I knew him since before and also that he was into progressive rock. Mattias, who played with us after Ceinwen, was the solution when the drummer who was supposed to play on the record didn't make it. As a matter of fact Mattias got only a four day notice and did a wonderful job. Today he is just the person for being Simon Says' permanent drummer.

Scream Magazine: Simon Says has released one album before, how does it sound compared to Paradise Square?

Stefan Renström: Ceinwen is a bit more raw, perhaps ... not as sophisticated as Paradise Square turned out to be. It "sprawls" a bit more. Many find it uneven but I am fond of offering many varied expressions. My friend Kenneth, who produced Ceinwen, sometimes says that Paradise Square holds what Ceinwen promises. That's probably adequate.

Scream Magazine: Sources of inspiration?

Stefan Renström: I would like to say the songs themselves are the greatest inspiration. I write music in two ways - either wholly improvised or wholly through stubbornness. All the songs but one on Ceinwen and four of the songs on Paradise Square are improvisations, they were written more or less in real time. All we did to them afterwards was really just about arranging. The other songs were laboured forth during months of hard work - but it's also those songs I am most satisfied with. But of course you'll hear, especially on the latter, that we like Genesis and Yes, I can't deny that and I don't feel the need to do it either, you really can have worse models than that.

But I still think that when it all comes around it's the songs themselves that decide how they want to be, we always try to listen to what this and that idea demands as it's surrounding. It feels like the finished music is already there somewhere, we stumble over it, or over a little piece of it, and in the latter case have to try to find the next piece and the next and the next. That the end result has been "filtered" through our musical taste is quite in order, I couldn't have been more personal than this in any case.

Scream Magazine: Have you played many gigs?

Stefan Renström: No. After Ceinwen we turned down everything but two free gigs for benevolent purposes. Now we are recording and hasn't had the time to rehearse live material.

Scream Magazine: Why Galileo Records?

Stefan Renström In February I sent a number of demos to different labels. Patrick Becker at Galileo wasn't the first to show interest, but he sure was the most eager - he sent me two or three mails a day for two weeks or so. That enthusiasm plus the fact that I was recommended to choose him was decisive. He also has a good reputation among other Galileo bands.

Scream Magazine: What do you think of the prog scene of today? Bands like Flower Kings and Spock's Beard?

Stefan Renström: I'm not the right person to answer that question, I have heard way too little of the new bands. Flower Kings seem to be very solid craftsmen. Spock's Beard I haven't heard at all, nor Transatlantic. But just the fact that there are progressive bands who can sell decently in the 2000's is fantastic, when you think about it.

Scream Magazine: And what about bands like Anekdoten, Landberk and Änglagård?

Stefan Renström: I liked Vemod a lot when it was released, Anekdoten has a wonderful ability to create tension, to be a bit "dangerous" and they are good improvisers who listen effectively to each other. Regrettably I lost them somewhat on the next album. Landberk I think grew better and better for every record, you could hear them developing fast. I like their Talk Talk-period the most. As for Änglagård, though, I am a bit ambivalent. But you can't be anything but impressed by their workmanship and sometimes, like in "Kung Bore", I think they really had something there.

Scream Magazine: Are there any tour plans ahead?

Stefan Renström: Of course we want to play live. There has been some tour offers from certain people, but we have to lay low for a while. We are currently restructuring the band. We need to be two more when playing live - and so Nils Stenström is coming back, both on guitar and keyboards and then we have to solve the bass problem. When that is done we will start writing new material and rehearse. After that, if we are satisfied with how we sound, a tour might be realised.

Scream Magazine: Can you say something of the story, the concept of Paradise Square?

Stefan Renström: For years I looked for a theme to write music around, but all who appealed to me were either already taken or too difficult. Finally I found a picture in a drawer, a photo my wife convinced me to take when we were in Oxford once. A street with terraced houses and cars, in front of them a dirty demolition site and at the very front that sign: "Paradise Square". I started thinking about that name. What was Paradise Square? Who visited it? What did you trade? Finally I realised it had to be a cult centre, like Mekka or the Church of St. Peter. And then it was pretty obvious the concept should be religion - and that I had to write the story myself. It ended up being about how diffcult it might be to grasp religions, how hard they are to understand and how you can react to them. Paradise Square is basically about a person dreaming he is in a world where religious faith is compulsory. But the stipulated faith does not fit him and he tries to find a faith of his own to put his trust into. First by being a spiritual "freebooter", then through money. My wife was right when she said I should find use for the picture if I shot it. It is the same that we used for the cover ...

Scream Magazine: How do you think the next album will sound?

Stefan Renström: We are currently recording music for Kalevala, a triple CD where a whole bunch of bands interpret the Finnish national epic. Then we will focus on where to take our music. Daniel and I has talked a bit about what direction to choose, but we'll see where the wind blows. The only thing we know is that we are going to write music for a new record during this autumn. Then we'll see.

Scream Magazine: Have you signed for a lot of albums on Galileo?

Stefan Renström: No. We have a three year contract for Paradise Square, but really no other obligations from either part. But Patrick seems to be satisfied and we are satisfied with him.

Scream Magazine: What are your views on the ongoing debate about however progressive rock is progressive or not?

Stefan Renström: I am fed up with that quasi-debate, it has added the genre nothing but a lot of crap. Progressive or not? That depends on how you look at that word. If you use it to describe how a particular band sounds I think it's a great word, not many will misunderstand. But if you use it only as an adjective and furthermore choose only to see the resemblance to the old bands and not what has happened to the music along the way, well, in that case many of the new bands are more regressive than progressive. I don't care, good music never grows too old. And new, good songs will always move the genre forward, regardless if they're "progressive" or not.