The drummer makes the band they say...

What do you do when your own solo project starts feeling too limiting and confined? The answer of course, is that you start another solo project. And that is exactly what drummer, guitar player, singer, bass player, percussionist, composer, producer, video director, art director etc. Patrik Jansson did.

Being a child of the 70 ́s Patrik Jansson grew up listening to the music of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and Jimi Hendrix and as he started playing himself, first the drums at the age of four and then later on the guitar, he developed an interest in all kinds of music not just blues and roots based.

And like a fine wine that slowly matures over time...

Growing up in the small town of Gävle he got his first chance to play in a real band in junior high school. It was mostly early blues and rock covers like the music of ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy and Freddie King but it sparked his interest in drumming and music in general. As he grew and matured as a musician, always seeking new challenges he got more and more into jazz and fusion and the music of Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Weather Report and the Mahavishnu Orchestra which in turn led to more progressive rock and bands like RUSH, Dream Theatre and Fates Warning.

While studying music in Stockholm in his early twenties he played and toured with several punk and hard-rock acts and he also played in smaller jazz combos, big bands and blues bands. He also started the Patrik Jansson Band, a blues-rock act that by now have released four albums and toured extensively in Europe. What does Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Stevie Ray Vaughan and 70 ́s Jazz-fusion, like Weather Report have in common? Answer is, it's all good baby!

Fast forward to 2020 when the pandemic struck and Patrik got some time off to start recording songs that had been piling up over a couple of years. Being a creative person and always looking for new challenges can be both a blessing and a curse and this was the ultimate challenge. Working alone in his own studio, playing all the instruments himself he ended up with 16 recorded songs, more than enough for a complete album. That sparked a vision of getting to play these songs live in a band context and just like that a new project was born.

”I believe there is only two kinds of music, good and bad. Listening to and playing so many different kinds of music, from Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, John Coltrane, Chic Corea and Weather Report to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath to name a few, there has never been a shortage of influences. If it sounds good, it is good! This time it was quite liberating to create music without putting up any limitations or boundaries and the mix of different genres and styles is bound to be nothing less than interesting. This is the first time I have played all the instrument myself. It was a great experience and it was great to have the time to really find the right feel and sound for each song. This album is 100% Patrik Jansson. It’s a mix of everything that I have played and listened to throughout my career. It's dark, beautiful, melodic, rootsy, heavy and groovy. It’s music played with passion and I’m very proud of it.” - Patrik Jansson, May 2022.