Hällas: "Music is what the listener wants it to be"

Another great album for the Swedish prog rockers gave us the opportunity for a very interesting conversation. So, Nicklas Malmqvist answered about where Hällas are at the moment, with "Panorama" claiming the title of their most complete work to date.

What does the term "adventure rock" mean to you, and how did it originate?

I wasn't yet in the band back then, if I recall correctly we were recording what was to become Hällas' first EP in my studio. As we were listening to the recording I said something like "This sounds like you're out on an adventure, it's adventure rock". We thought it was a pretty good description so we started to use the term.

How did you initially deal with comparisons to '70s prog and classic hard rock bands?

I think we were just happy to be compared with those genres and bands since those were our influences.

What role do keyboards play in shaping your atmosphere?Does melody come first, or does it emerge from the structure of a song?

As for the vocal melodies they're often composed after the structures, and then we may have to change the structures to make it fit, but instrumental melodies are more often composed along with the structures.For the keyboard parts, I try to make them enhance the arrangement, I try to fill in what I think is needed and sometimes I just see it as a kind of an extra rythm guitar. If nothing's needed I'd rather do nothing. I think because of the playing styles of the guitarists, with a lot of riffs and twin guitars, the keyboards have often taken the role of adding atmosphere rather than "competing" with them.

We want the listener to be able to escape reality for a while

How important is visual identity in relation to the music?

It's part of the experience.. So when playing live we wear makeup and capes to be in line with the music. It wouldn't be the same thing if we went on stage wearing sweat pants and Birkenstock, which obviously would be more comfortable...

How strongly are you influenced by fantasy or science fiction? Is there a political or social subtext beneath your seemingly escapist world?

We are mainly influenced by the sci-fi and fantasy we experienced when we grew up, books, movies, video games and comics for example. There are messages and thoughts in our lyrics, questions about life and meaning etcetera. But it's really up to the listener to interpret or not, the music is what the listener wants it to be.

How do you balance nostalgia with a contemporary perspective?

We aim to write as good music as we can, to evolve and to see where it will take us musically. We try not to care too much about whether it's contemporary, nostalgic, too much or too little.

How do you view "Excerpts from a Future Past today"? Do you see each album as a chapter of a larger story?

It was an important album as it was sort of a breakthrough for us. Our first three releases form a trilogy but Panorama and Isle of Wisdom are not part of that story, even though they are probably part of the same universe. I see the album concept as a movie for the ears. I always have the vinyl with its two sides in mind throughout the process. Because it's perfect in the way that you have about 45 minutes with a pause in the middle. Not too much, not too little. With "Excerpts" it was the first time I was part of creating something with this mindset of seeing an album like a movie. So it's special to me in that way.

The ambition is to one day make a perfect album

Have creative tensions played a role in your evolution?

Yes, we disagree a lot. If it was all up to me we'd probably sound like Bryan Ferry by now. But in the end we are all still able to meet somewhere in the middle of everyone's ambitions.

"Panorama" is a Greek word that means a broad visual view of a landscape or scene, or a comprehensive overview or survey of a situation, topic, or period. But what does this album title represents for you artistically?

The title just seemed to fit well with the story. And with the music too, especially with the first track "Above the Continuum", but also as a whole.

What was the core idea behind the new album? Has your songwriting philosophy changed this time around?

We wanted to compose a full side track, that's how it started. It is more than double the length compared to anything we've done before. It was challenging to write such a long track as we wanted it to work for the listener, to make it exciting and listenable from start to finish. Then we felt we wanted to balance that up on the rest of the album, with the more minimalistic song "Face of an Angel" and the ballad of "Bestiaus", with two more structurally complicated songs in between and after. I would say the album is our broadest yet, so Panorama is a fitting title.

How central is the live experience to Hällas' identity? Do your songs transform when performed on stage?

It's different from the records. The arrangements have to be boiled down to the essence so you lose a bit of detail. But on the other hand you get a more basic and uncontrolled version of Hällas. More raw and sometimes heavier.

Do you feel part of any specific movement or wave? How do you view today's prog and retro-rock scene?

No, I don't know a lot of other bands doing the same thing as us. I know we're sometimes seen as part of the retro rock scene but I'm afraid I'm pretty bad at keeping myself updated.

Is there a risk of repetition with such a distinctive sound? What keeps you creatively restless?

I felt our second latest album "Isle of Wisdom" was a bit of a stand still. I've always strived for the feeling of moving forward and I feel the day we're not able to evolve anymore then this has lost its purpose, at least for me. But after "Isle of Wisdom" I had a strong feeling we could do better, because we did take a step back on that one. I still feel we have a couple or even more albums to create, we can still make better records. As long as I feel like that I'm confident we're on the right track.

If you had to summarize Hällas in one sentence, what would it be? Is there an unfulfilled ambition you still carry?

An attempt at writing music we'd like to hear ourselves. The ambition, at least for me, is to one day make a perfect album.