FOCUS: "YOUR OWN WORDS"- Interview to SIMON ANDERSSON

Hi Simon. What first inspired you to make music?

I've been doing music for as long as I remember so it's difficult to say. I've always loved to be on stage and I grew up with lots of music around me at home. Started with drums when I was three and had my first teacher at five. He got SO MAD when I later got my first guitar ha ha, saying "Simon is to play the drums! Not guitar". My teacher was a famous drummer. Toured the world with Demis Roussos back in the 70's.

Your musical background and experience is really notable. What's the best advice you've ever received in the past?

Follow your own path and don't be afraid. But it's important to study things and learn stuff early on. Learn how things are done. The tricks of the trade and THEN don't be afraid to come up with something on your own. Otherwise you'll spend too much time inventing the wheel.

Do you have a band or work team?

Yes I have a band and also substitutes when or if someone is not available. It's nice to have a pool of musicians you work with that you get to know over time. I don't have too explain too much. They know what I like or what I'm looking for most of the time.

How well do you know the music industry and its current trends?

I use to know all to well. I lost a lot of money due to other people's poor performance and decisions and then I couldn't bounce back. I was stuck. Knowing the resources needed and the lack of such really left me uninspired for quite some time. The sweet naivety you have when starting out and your passion was switched for business know-how and other stuff that had nothing to do with music in itself. Understand this, to succeed you need to have a business mindset and be willing to go the extra mile or even five miles, BUT people and fans don't care about that. It's about your story, your image and it should be most of all about your music! Even though music is a commodity that has lost so much of it's value in todays society. That's sad.

How do you balance creative expression with commercial appeal?

I only care about reaching people with my music and being sincere. I'm not 14 years old and the next pop icon. Never will be. That's ok. I have a lot of experience through my life and hopefully someone likes to listen to that in my music. I sing for them. And then the next one and the next one etc. What happens happens. I've stopped chasing success. It's tremendously liberating. It's not that I don't care. On the contrary, but I care about the people listening and not about the radio chart. That one follows when you get the first one right.

What are some of your favourite songs to play live?

I love jamming on old classics. Ain't no sunshine, Summertime or something with Ray Charles perhaps. There's a soul in that music so liberating. Then I also love to play a song like Fix You with Coldplay, what a song. I've always been like that. High and low, left and right. To me that's the beauty of music - there's no wrong! Just enjoy it. Right now my favorite song to play live is TRY though, ha ha!

If you had one message to give to your fans, what would it be?

Let's go through life together! We'll make it a joyride.

On Rotation: Simon Andersson - 'Try'