Freakin' awesome - interview with Mattias IA Eklundh (2011)

Swedish guitar freak Mattias IA Eklund is not just a hell of a player who brought never before heard chops to shred guitar in the last couple of years, but a very funny guy to talk. Hope you Folks out there will enjoy this article as much as I did!

Let's start with the early days! At what age did you start to play the guitar and how do you remember your very first musical steps?

IA: It all started with Kiss and AC/DC for me. I was around six when I got my first Kiss album (Destroyer) and Swedish national television broadcasted an entire AC/DC concert the year after, God bless them. I couldn't believe the raw energy of Angus and the guys. Even managed to break the Eklundh family sofa in sheer excitement over what I saw and heard. I also loved the idea of spitting blood and fire on stage like Gene Simmons. A few years later I saw Frank Zappa live and it messedme up pretty bad too. Initially I began playing the drums (still do)but wrote primitive three chord songs with appropriate titles likeHomework Rots my Mind and Go to Hell on guitar. At the age of twelve I dropped the drums as my main instrument for the guitar and begun practicing fanatically, around ten hours ever day after I quit school when I fifteen-sixteen. I got frustrated after a while that I didn't know what to call the various modes and chords I was using. So I went to the library where I studied music theory from books, learned how to read and write music. This is pretty much how I grew my own moustache, so to speak.

Were your musical desires supported by your parents?

IA: Yes, very much so. I am grateful every day they supported me when I needed it the most. They could see that I had genuine passion for music and instead of fighting it, like most folks would do, they embraced it. I think they knew it would blow up in their faces otherwise. I have four elder sisters they tried desperately to raise in a good way. I was a mistake that sort of popped out of my mother when she was 38. My parents have always been insanely cool with what I do and quite proud that I have managed to make a fine living on my tunes for the last 23 years professionally.

Can you remember your very first piece of gear?

IA: Certainly. The guitar was a dreadful Duke Telecaster copy that was impossible to tune. After that I got me a Vantage Flying V that was slightly better. Spent an entire summer looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame with the guitar between my legs, riffing my brains out after Kill 'Em All with Metallica was released. Amp wise I plugged into all kinds of crap but for practicing I used a Sharp transistor radio that was also used on the Fate album Scratch 'n Sniff and the first Freak Kitchen release Appetizer. I have never been a gear guy but merely interested in the actual playing. I detest foot pedals and racks. Who were your earliest musical influences? IA: Besides Kiss, AC/DC and Frank Zappa, I was deeply into Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, Metallica, Slayer, Van Halen but also stuff like Mahavishnu Orchestra, Django Reinhardt, Miles Davis and tons more. 

Are you a self taught player?

IA: Very much so, yes. I took a flute lesson in school when I was ten and didn't like it at all. Since then I have walked the road less traveled. Maybe it's not widely known that you were a member of the Danish hard rock outfit Fate in the early '90s. How did you get there? IA: I got the gig as a nineteen year old by going to Copenhagen equipped with my guitar. I thought everything I had recorded up until that point was crap. I learned their latest album and had a shot in the drummer's living room where I played to the record, freak-style, how I wanted it to sound. I could see the guys smiling and nodding to one another as my confidence grew. All the hordes of players before me brought overproduced tapes with their playing. Better to do the real thing apparently. I saw you on stage at the Musikmesse twice, and was always freaked by your eclectic style built from dissonant intervals, exotic lines/scales, whammy bar antics and crazy harmonics - all in all, it's a so damn unique way of playing. How do you describe this approach? IA: Thank you for your kind words. I do what I do and don't pay it too much attention. I have developed my homegrown style for quite some time now and the cool thing about getting older is that you refine your life, playing and know better who you are and how to get that through in your music. To use a cliché, I make the music I want to hear but can't find anywhere.

I think your technical mastery is awesome, all the shred-tools from sweeping to rapid fire alternate picking to tapping are in perfect balance in your style. How do you see, is there any technique out there you should be better?

IA: Oh, I suck on so many things! All of it could be better and little by little I get there. However it is about having something to say more than actual technique. I use whatever ways I can to get the sound in my head out through my fingers. I am terrible at playing other peoples stuff. Don't know a single tune from start to finish that I didn't write myself whereas colleagues and friends like Bumblefoot and Guthrie Govan can sit in anywhere and get away with it.

Are the abilities of reading sheet music and understanding theories important for a rock guitar player in your opinion?

IA: I think it is unless you want to limit yourself. I grew tired of the Church modes and the minor pentatonic scale quite early on and got into more exotic and unorthodox tonality. In order to fully understand it and how to use it, you need the theory and also philosophy behind it.

As a guitar player, I really enjoy you collection of exotic scales on your website, they could open up new doors. How did you get into the world of scales that deep?

IA: I remember my brother in law handing me a transcription book of John McLaughlin and Mahavishnu Orchestra's Inner Mounting Flame. That opened a lot of doors for me in my teens, sinking my Viking teeth into modes like the Enigmatic, Lydian Dominant, Melodic Minor, e t c. Thank you, John. McLaughlin is the one to listen to if you need to move on with your musicianship if you ask me. He rules.

A lot of players feel at least once in their lives that they could not improve their playing anymore, and no chance to step up on a higher level. What advice could you give to them?

IA: Don't stop. I find it sad so many fine players dropped off along the way. You need to focus. Turn off your damn smart phones, get offline, go outside for long walks, get real, play for many, many hours straight to overcome the licks and tricks you normally use. You have to cleanse yourself. I would never have any internet connection nor phone in my studio for instance. You get distracted from what is important. Most shredders prefer the highest gain settings for the sake of the easiest fast playing, but they forget that it could kill the tone, which would become quite one dimensional.

You are considered as a shredder, but got a pure, organic EL34 powered British tone even when you're soloing. How did you find this holy grail of sound?

IA: It is spelled Laney amplification. Hard working tube amps are instruments of their own and should be treated as such. You play the amp almost as much as the guitar. I loathe digital amplifiers and re-amping is the work of the devil. There is nothing more unmusical. You need to struggle with the amp a bit. The Laneys are not necessarily easy to use, they are beasts and have to be controlled or else they will take over. If treated well they will however give you such an amazing tone. I have used the gear since 1996 and adore it. 

How are your current amp settings both in the studio and on stage?

IA: Same thing. I don't do anything different whether I am in the studio or play live. It is either the new 120W Iron Heart, GH100R or VH100L cranked up high to make the tubes respond. We recently did a US tour with my band Freak Kitchen and in New York the very experienced sound man said he never heard volume like that from a guitar rig in his entire life. It has to be good volume though. Then you can be truly loud in a groovy way.

Which speaker types do you like more, Vintage 30 or Greenbacks or something else?

IA: Gee... I am not even sure what is inside my cabinets. I know they are Celestions... Sorry, I am awful when it comes to gear. I have to ask my guitar tech, Fredrik. Maybe he should do this interview instead of me?

Do you use some kind of overdrive in front of the amp for boosting?

IA: Nope. Nothing. The more crap you put in between your guitar and your amp the further away you get from what is really you. Keep it simple. To the point.

How is your pedal board? I guess you might not use too many effects... IA: I don't have a pedal board I am afraid... A volume pedal from Jim Dunlop and sometimes a wah-wah, that's it. Potent. No bull.

Could you introduce your signature Caparison Apple Horn guitar?

IA: To me it is the most stunning instrument on the planet. I don't need anything else. It is well-balanced and has an almost acoustic feel to it. 27 frets, signature pick-ups, devil tail headstock. It also looks cool! I have been with Caparison since 1996 same as with Laney.

It has a True Temperament Formula 1 fretboard. What did you think when you first saw Anders' revolutionary idea for the perfect intonation?

IA: I can not praise Anders enough. He changed everything. Guitar playing has never been this much fun. He is the best together with Caparison guitars' Itaru Kanno who are designing my Apple Horns. Genius gentlemen. I truly believe that True Temperament frets are the best thing that happened to guitar since the invention of the string. There is a video out there on YouTube where I play it for the first time (I wasn't aware being filmed) called Warming up for Beethoven. You can tell from watching it I am flabbergasted from the divine intonation. Breathtaking invention. Anders Thidell for president!

Wasn't it strange playing on that for the first time? I mean, you have to learn new fingerings, haven't you?

IA: It takes no more than five to ten minutes to get used to it... And then there is nowhere back since you realize how much regular frets suck! I strongly believe it is better for the hands and much more organic. Try it!

Most players always change the pickups in their guitars during their way of the ultimate tone quest. What about you?

IA: Not really. Again, I am such a simple schmuck. Sure, I have a few Seymour Duncans and what not but I can't hear that big difference compared to my own pick-ups, so...

What kind of string and plectrum gauges do you prefer, light or heavy?

IA: I use DR strings and Dunlop 2.0 mm picks. Depending on what tuning I am using (I use six different) I use different gauge. For regular tuning it is 009-042. For my Bbm13 tuning it is 011-052. The whole nine yards.

Please tell us about the annual Freak Guitar Camp you host!

IA: Freak Guitar Camp is my favorite time of the year and I have had the camp each summer in August for the past twelve years. It is the time where I truly need to get my butt together and come up with new things constantly. You can't hide for weeks in front of very dedicated musicians from all over the world. You need to break new ground and challenge yourself. Each camp I write brand new backing tracks packed with various ways to approach the guitar. It is a wonderful kick in the butt if you are stuck in your same old licks. Check www.freakguitar.com for more information.

Your kitchen is quite silent for a while. What kinda freak things are you cooking these days?

IA: So much music being prepared you wouldn't believe it! It is going to be a feast to remember in 2012. First dish to be served is Freak Guitar - The Smorgasbord which just might turn into a double album and released on Steve Vai's wonderful Favored Nations label before summer if all goes as planned. Then we plan to release the next Freak Kitchen album late next fall. On top of this my buddy Jonas Hellborg and myself will release an album as well together with drummer Ranjit Barot. Stay tuned.

You just played a guest solo for my dear friend Jonas Tamas' new record. Did you enjoy this session and what do you think about this young Hungarian player?

IA: I think Jonas is stunning, very versatile with lovely tone. Good stuff awaits him around the corner if keeps working hard and stay true.

During the last couple of decades generations of Swedish musicians/bands reached international acclaim from ABBA to Europe to Roxette and countless others in between. What do you think, what do swedish people do better than any others when it comes to music education?

IA: This is really hard to say. Sweden is great place to live. I adore the country. Loads of Swedes complain like crazy but when you travel the Earth like I do, it is easy to see how insanely well-off we are. Nobody lives in Sweden. We are around nine million people in one of Europe’s largest countries. Plenty of space for everyone. Being a musician is fairly accepted, I think. We have lots of music schools. You can pick up any instrument and try out. (This wasn’t for me obviously but I do think it is a tiptop idea). The winters are cold and harsh and there is not much to do but to stay inside and grow your own moustache, practice your instrument, write tunes, e t c.

Photos: Lennart Sjoberg (www.lennart.se)

www.freakguitar.com