Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What is the name of your band? Palantír

What does the name "Palantír" stand for? It doesn't really stand for anything. It's taken from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. A palantír is a kind of crystal ball in the fantastic universe of middle earth.

What made you call the band "Palantír"? We're very inspired by fantasy literature and it has a nice ring to it.

How was the band formed? It all began with Fredrik and his passion for this kind of music. He got to perform with a band in school and from that moment on, he knew what he wanted to do and that's it, basically. Firstly he got in contact with Kevin Crona who was said to be a great guitarist inspired by Yngwie Malmsteen. After years of searching and trying out other members they finally found the people that make up the current lineup.

What made you form the band? As I said, it was all thanks to Fredriks passion for power metal that gave rise to Palantír.

Can you briefly introduce your band and who you are? We're a melodic power metal band from Sweden. Don't really know what else to say.

Here's the lineup: (Me) Marcus S. Olkerud - Lead Vocals Fredrik Erixon-Enochson - Guitar Kevin Crona - Guitar Linus Helderud - Bass Joel Sjöqvist - Keyboard Emanuel Lindberg - Drums
We all live in or around Stockholm. Besides playing our individual instruments, we pretty much split the chores. If anyone finds a place to play, that person is basically in charge of that gig and so on.

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? Well, we're all dreamers, so our ambition was, and still is, to become famous to some extent. We're not really unique in that sense.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? It's like classical music played with electric instruments. And the vocals are pretty much the same thing; take a classical singer and hook him up to a car battery.

Where was your first gig? At Broder Tuck in Stockholm on the 20th of June 2012.

Where was the latest gig? At Nalen Klubb in Stockholm on the 31st of May 2013.

Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? I, as the singer, writes most of the lyrics, but almost everyone has written lyrics on a few occasions. The music is mostly written by Fredrik and Joel at the moment. I'm trying to get into that myself, but I usually just come up with a single melody and let them work out the rest (if they think it's good enough). We all have a part in the writing process of both the lyrics and music though.

Who has the best since of humor in the band? I would say me, but that's unfair, so if I can't choose myself, I guess I'll go with Joel.

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? The only bad thing is that we have a hard time finding places to play at. We're too big for the smaller stages, physically, and we're not famous enough for the bigger ones. Our genre would be, as stated before, melodic power metal.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We just like this style the most, I guess. We try to write motivational songs. Songs that inspire. Some songs, however, are more like subtle tributes to some artist or style that we like.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We write all our material.

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? Not yet, unfortunately, but we're working on it.

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes, we do. Here's a link to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Palantirofficial

How old are you? What got you started in music? I am 21. I'm the youngest member of the band. I've been singing for as long as I can remember. And I've been playing in bands since highschool. Don't really now what got me started really. It's something I've always been doing.

At what age did you start playing? I don't really know. I would guess somewhere around 6 or 7.

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? That must have been sometime during elementary school for me.

What year was the band started? I guess you could say 2011, because before that it wasn't really a complete band, but sometime during 2011 we began rehearsing seriously and we were finally a full set.

How old were you the first time you saw a liveband play? I was 10 or 11, and I saw Iron Maiden in Stockholm during their "Give Me Ed... 'Til I'm Dead Tour" in 2003. I still wear the t-shirt I bought at that gig.

How old were you at your first gig?/Best/worst gig you've played? I think I was 18, and it was reaaaally bad. I was in some kind of weird rock band with some friends from school. We had no idea what we were doing at the time, but we had fun and that's what matters in the end, right?

What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? We haven't got anything planned at the moment.

Where have you played from then till now? Small pubs and clubs around Stockholm.

What songs are in your live set's? Each gig is unique, we never play the same set twice.

Is it always the same set's live? No. That would get boring.

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? I believe that was our first gig actually. We had an amazing soundtech, everything went great. 

Have you had any bigger tours from start till now? Not yet. We're working on that part too.

How big crowds do you usually play for? Not so big at all at the moment. Around 50 to 100 people each time. But we don't mind. Sure, it would be great to play in a big arena with millions of people, but even if we play in front of 5 people, we would still try to do the best show ever.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Next year however, we're planning on entering the studio to record some more songs. 

Where do you usually play? That's the thing right now, we don't usually play anywhere. But as soon as we get a chance to play, we'll take it! We love playing live, that's what it's all about.

How do you get psyched up for a gig? We warm up. Also, I try to imagine my own performance beforehand, and I keep thinking to myself that I'm some kind of metal god just to buff up my ego.

What are your goals with your music? For me it's about doing what I love, and I guess it's the same for the other members as well. Money and fame would be nice indeed, but in the end, it's all about our love for music.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? I don't think anyone really has gone all in yet actually. We all have jobs or schools to go at the moment, because right now, music ain't paying the bills. It would be nice to go all in sometime in the future though, if we ever get that far.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I think it's easier to get inspiration from older bands or even bands from another genre. We don't want to sound too much like other modern bands, we want to have our own unique sound.

What are your sources of inspiration? Everything from movies, literature, comics, dreams, experiences and other music.

What's the first step when making a new song? We don't really have a routine, but most of the time someone comes up with a nice melody and we kinda build around that. Usually the music comes before the lyrics. It all depends on who's writing the song.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? We haven't really discussed it. Personally, I'm glad if anyone wants to listen to us, but if they would buy our stuff instead it would be easier for us to make more. That's just life. It would be awesome if all music could be free, but unfortunately, musicians have to eat too.

What would be your dreams for the band? A world tour would be awesome.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? I listen to almost everything. 80's pop and synth, classical, ska, blues, all kinds of metal, rock, new age and folk to name a few. My favourite artists of all time would be Iron Maiden, DIO and Ayreon.

What do you hold most dear? My family.

What would be your greatest fears for the future? That something bad would happen to me or my family.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? That I will forget the lyrics or that my voice would break.

What songs and what years were they released? We have so many songs, I can't list them all here. Everything released so far is on our youtube channel, but we have many, many more.

Have you been part of any other projects? Not any serious projects.

Have you been in any other bands? Same as above.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I'm studying to become a game programmer. Otherwise I'm a carpenter.

What would you do if there was no music? Invent it.

How important are your fans? Almost as important as my family. We only achieve greatness through the love of our fans. Without them, we are nothing.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Created his very own bandpatch depicting our logo. Almost brought a tear to my eye.

How often do you rehearse? We try to do it at least twice a week.

Where do you rehearseIn small room beneath a youth club.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Escaping Reality and Tragicomedy (I wrote the lyrics, not the music).

What do you feel is the best liveband you've seen? Saxon. Without a doubt.

What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing?A fool's hope.

Do you have any webpages? Our official facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/palantirsweden

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? As long as you are a part of this world, you have the power to change it. Pretty deep, huh?

Would you like to add anything else? I would like to thank anyone who reads this interview and shows their support by checking us out. Also, if you want more updates, please like our facebook page!

Describe your show, visually and musically Magical.

How do you view the musicindurty of today? It's definitely hard to get into to.

What advice would you like to give other bands? Never give up!

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Getting seen and heard in this massive ocean of bands.

What is best/worst with playing the clubs? The best thing is that we get to do what we love. The worst thing is that the smaller stages can't hold a fully equipped band of six.

Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? We will try to book as many gigs as possible during 2014, and you should be there because we're all about the live experience. The audience is always a part of the show, we don't just stand on the stage like robots, we try to connect with our audience to give them an intimate and good experience.

How would you describe your sound in one sentence Like an angel with wings of steel soaring through a thunderstorm ready to face off with anything that comes in it's way.

What is your favorite crappy instrument? There's no such thing as a crappy instrument. You can create wonderful music on any instrument you choose if you just practice hard enough.

What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? That time has yet to come.

Whats your Pre-show ritual?It's a secret.