“On Track” With Andreas Rydman
Musician and composer Andreas Rydman was born and raised in the village of Granö, in north Sweden. Playing guitar since the age of 13 Andreas went on to study music in London and since his return back to his native Sweden back in ’99 he has embarked on a busy and successful playing and recording career. He has toured all over the world playing in over 150 cities in over 40 countries. Writing and playing in different projects, Andreas found himself often drawn to blues and roots music and soon became an excellent all round slide player. And so this is where the Weissenborn instrumental track “Granö” taken from his 2012 solo album “Simply Amplify” comes into this story. I recently had the pleasure of speaking to this very affable man about his seminal Weissenborn recording.
Hi Andreas thank you for joining me today and talking about your Weisenborn instrumental “Granö.
Hi Aron! It´s a pleasure.
First off lets get the back story behind the track. Tell us when and where this track was written and recorded?
I wrote this song as a homage to my home town (Village rather) called Granö. Granö situated in the north of Sweden. 700 kilometers from Stockholm and quite close to the polar circle. It was written in my studio in Stockholm in 2011
How long did it take to compose?
It was one of those that just comes to you. I started thinking about the main melody in the car on my way to my studio and it was written within 30 or so minutes.
The title “Granö” is very obviously a reference to your childhood upbringing. Does the tune bring back special memories of your home town and that’s why you named it “Granö”?
Yes definitely inspired by the village Granö. The melody has a vibe of Swedish folk music.
What was the inspiration behind the track?
Granö lies by the Umea river in the middle of nowhere in the north of Sweden. It´s a very beautiful and calm place. I´ve actually written 3 of the songs for my new album up there this august.
What can you remember about the session? Was it a good day at the office?
Yes it was a good day at the office. I remember the session as smooth sailing 🙂 I Actually recorded the intro to the song after the song it self was recorded. I realised that´s how I always play it: With a short improvised intro. I used Two Neuman KM85 and a Royer 122.
Do you play this tune live on stage very often?
Yes. I play this tune at all my gigs. I´ve had several people wanting to do lyrics for it. Both in Swedish, english and Irish.
Do you play it exactly the same every time or are you of the opinion that a song and especially an instrumental should be open to change as the mood and circumstances take you?
I definitely play the intro of the song differently every time I play it. The song itself is actually also played with some variations. I love improvising and do believe instrumental music should be open to change as the mood and circumstances take you.
What other songs do you use your Weissenborn on in your current live set?
Oh. I have 5-6 new ones I have recorded but not yet released. And sometimes I play Hank Williams ‘I´m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ , ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Little Martha’.
What Weissenborn did you record the track on? And what tuning did you use?
Oh.. I can’t remember oh hang on yes I can, it was my K&S Weissenborn. Open D Tuning
Have you recorded any other solo Weissenborn instrumentals?
Yes there is a song called “Raisa” on my first album. It´s the first tune I ever wrote on Weissenborn.
What projects are you currently involved with in the studio and in the road ?
Right now I´m about to finish my second album. I also work with country artist Vivien Searcy. A swedish artist called Tommy Nilsson and various session work.
I understand you have a new solo album coming out soon and I also understand it has it’s fair share of Weissenborn on it including a “Weissenborn soundscape track”. Tell us more.
Yes! I´m working on it right now. The album will have 4 songs with Weissenborn. One solo piece. Two with band: Frasier’s Song and Bob´s Funeral and a ”soundscapey” track called Bob (it´s the intro to Bob´s Funeral.)
Touring plans for this year?
As for my solo stuff I´m working on dates for the Fall of 2015 when I release my new album.