Simon Steensland
Simon Steensland (born 30 November 1961) is a Swedish composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has worked in the theater industry in Sweden, while simultaneously crafting a solo career spanning 30 years. Steensland collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as JG Thirlwell, Morgan Ågren or Thinking Plague.[1][2][3][4]
Biography
Steensland began to play music as a teenager, inspired by his many musician friends. His first instrument was drums, but he later moved to electric bass as a main instrument, while developing proficiency with keyboards and a vast array of percussive instruments.[4]
In his twenties, Steensland encountered Morgan Ågren (Mats & Morgan, Devin Townsend) during a concert where Ågren and fellow bandmate Mats Oberg were playing Frank Zappa covers.[4]
They remained friends ever since and Ågren features on all of Steensland's albums.[5][6][7] Simon Steensland is also longtime friends with Meshuggah's guitarist Fredrik Thordendal.[1][2]
In the beginning of the nineties, Steensland began to compose his own music. One part of his production is rooted in the theater world, for which he composed the music of more than 150 plays,[1][2][4] while working as the artistic director for one of Sweden’s most revered free group theaters, moment:teater, which celebrated its twentieth birthday in the fall of 2020.[1] The other part of his activities is devoted to his solo career, which to this day consists of 6 studio albums, a compilation album and a live album.[6]
In 2020, Simon Steensland and JG Thirlwell (best known as Foetus), who had been working on a common project since 2017, released a collaborative album on the label Ipecac, titled Oscillospira.[1][2][8]
Musical style and influences
Simon Steensland's main artistic roots are to be found in 20th century contemporary and avant-garde music, as well as Rock in Opposition and metal.[citation needed] As major influences, Steensland cites artists as diverse as Frank Zappa, Meshuggah, Charles Ives, Thomas Adès, The Residents, Cheer Accident, Univers Zero, Art Bears, King Crimson but also pop acts such as The Beatles and Sparks.[1][2][4] French band Magma also plays a prominent role among Steensland's influences. In 2009, he contributed to a tribute album to the music of Magma's leader and drummer, Christian Vander.[9][10]
Steensland's music is dense, complex and highly dynamic.[citation needed] It often features large musical pieces: as an example, his 2014 album A Farewell to Brains consists of three long compositions (13 to 17 minutes) interwoven with two shorter ones.[11]
Although Steensland's numerous influences can often be identified throughout his music, his work never sounds derivative.[citation needed] One original feature of Steensland's music is the use of less frequent instruments such as harmonium, female choirs, marimba, and most of all, prominent, deep basses:[citation needed] one of Steensland's custom basses is a fretless 8 strings bass tuned one octave below regular E, and another is a 6 string fretless bass built by luthier Peter Arnildstam of Vapula Guitars,[12][not in citation given] and that can generate vibrations as low as 15Hz (one octave below regular B on classic 5 string basses).[13][self-published source?] The extremely low-range and expressive bass tone Steensland displays in his music can be considered as one of his signature sounds.[citation needed]
Discography
Solo albums
1993: The Simon Lonesome Combat Ensemble (Musea Parallèle)
1995: The Zombie Hunter (Ad Perpetuam Memoriam)
1999: Led Circus (Ultimate Audio Entertainment)
2001: The Phantom of the Theatre (Ultimate Audio Entertainment)
2004: Simon Steensland's KAMIKAZE UNITED: Live Gang-Gang (Ultimate Audio Entertainment)
2009: Fat Again (AltrOck)
2014: A Farewell to Brains (AltrOck)
Remastered and Re-issued in 2018 under the title A Farewell to Brains 2.0 (Transubstans Records)
2017: 25 Years of Minimum R&B (Compilation) (AltrOck)
Collaborations
1997: Under Öknar (Rankö Rednu) I – XII (in collaboration with Sten Sandell) (Ultimate Audio Entertainment)
2020: Oscillospira (in collaboration with JG Thirlwell) (Ipecac Recordings)
Other contributions
1997: Mats & Morgan, The Music or the Money
2009: Hur!: Hommage à la musique de Christian Vander
2014: Mats & Morgan, Shack Tati
2015: Morgan Ågren, Batterie Deluxe
2017: Morgan Ågren, Through the Eyes of a Morgchestra
2017: Thinking Plague, Hoping against Hope
2020: Miniatures 2020 (collective effort consisting of 124 one-minute compositions by 124 different artists)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Ipecac Recordings". ipecac.com. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "JG Thirlwell & Simon Steensland". Echoes And Dust. 2020-05-03. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ Thinking Plague – Hoping Against Hope (2017, CD) (in français), retrieved 2021-07-06
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Simon Steensland - Progressive Rock Music Forum". www.progarchives.com. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ "Simon Steensland". Discogs (in français). Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "SIMON STEENSLAND". Progarchives.com. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ "Simon Steensland discography - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ "Oscillospira, by JG Thirlwell & Simon Steensland". JG Thirlwell & Simon Steensland. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ Hur! (Hommage À La Musique De Christian Vander) (2009, CD) (in français), retrieved 2021-07-06
- ↑ "HUR | Soleil Zeuhl" (in français). Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ "SIMON STEENSLAND - A Farewell To Brains (2015)". Progarchives.com. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ "Vapula guitars". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ↑ "tools". simonsteensland.com. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
External links
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