GUNGFLY SET FOR LONELY AUTUMN
New album Alone Together revels in its sibling chemistry.
Swedish multi-instrumentalist Rikard Sjöblom will return with a new Gungfly album, Alone Together, via InsideOut on September 4. The Big Big Train and ex-Beardfish man says it’s “the prog rock record I always wanted to make”. He explains: “It has all the little noodling and twiddly bits that I love, but it also has depth and purpose with its lyrics and feel.”
The six-song follow-up to 2018’s Friendship sees him stripping back his sound in favour of a power trio set up. “We didn’t want a whole bunch of bells and whistles we didn’t need,” he says.
“It was about making space for each other to really shine.”
The line-up is completed by brothers Petter and Rasmus Diamant, who have been the backbone of Rikard Sjöblom’s Gungfly’s live band over the past two decades. And the band leader reports that they’ve blown friends away with their latest studio performance.
“I’ve never heard them play this well,” Sjöblom says. “There are favourite moments of mine sprinkled all over the album. It’s always a pleasure working with those guys and they really bring it on this record.”
Lyrically, Alone Together reflects on how social media can impact people’s perception of their own lives in the light of others, with digital platforms able to both unite and divide viewers with ease. “I wanted to write music that meant something to me, so I hope it means something to other people too,” Sjöblom reports.
For more, visit www.rikardsjoblom.com.