Interview by Ary G
“Thrive” is the first solo album released by the Swedish singer Angelica Rylin, known for her work in The Murder Of My Sweet. On the occasion of this brand new music effort, we got the chance to exchange a few chats with this amazing brunette.
Hi Angelica. Welcome back to FM. Last time we had the chance to exchange a few chats with you was on the occasion of the latest release by The Murder of My Sweet. Today we obviously talk about your first solo album, called “Thrive”. It was released by the Italian label Frontiers Records a few months ago. What could you say about this record?
“Thrive” is a modern melodic rock album. I wanted to make a solo album that was slightly different from what we do with The Murder of My Sweet and this genre has always been close to my heart. The album has strong melodies and hooks and great performances by the musicians.
Nowadays, a lot of female singers who are the lead vocalists in the most diverse female fronted metal bands try to embark on a solo career and they also gain lots of positive feedbacks. We could name Tarja Turunen or Liv Kristine, for example! What has actually pushed you to release a solo album?The opportunity was given me and I though it would be great to get a chance and show my strength and diversity as a singer and a songwriter.
What could you say about the band duties with The Murder of My Sweet? Is there something new on the road?We are working on a third album with the band. It will be a big project for us and I am really looking forward to a spring of creativity and music making!
Reconnecting to your solo album, one thing that has impressed me the most is the attendance of so many musicians, in particular reading the notes I’ve seen that Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear) and Jesper Stromblad (ex-In Flames) have recorded the guitar parts and moreover Matt Guillory (James LaBrie), Harry Hess (Harem Scarem) and Alessandro Del Vecchio also have taken part in this record. well, there are a lot of people in this record! What could you say about the cooperation with these musicians?I am still in awe by their contributions. I get goosebumps listening to the solos and I am still very excited to have them all on my first solo album. I was an honour to be surrounded by such pros.
Listening to the album, we could easily hear some hard rock influences that fit very well to your voice. Have you got inspired by some icon of this music genre somehow or did you want to experiment something different from what you usually propose with The Murder of My Sweet?I wanted to explore my full vocal range on this album and the melodies really opens up for that. I sang some very high and strong notes on this album that I am particularly proud of. And as I mentioned earlier I wanted to show my fans another side of me and establish myself as a great singer and not just the front woman of TMOMS.
This song was a collaboration between Harry Hess, Daniel Flores and me. It’s a great single with a strong chorus and a guitar solo by Magnus Karlsson that is epic. And again, a total honour to be working with such legends.
Would you mind telling us something concerning the writing process of the record? How did the lyrics come to birth?I wrote the lyrics for most of the songs but some songs were already finished when I got them. I always start by listening to the music and try and hear if it has anything special to say to me, a word or a feeling for instance. Then I decide on a topic and just let the pen follow my mind. Sometimes it’s brilliant and sometimes it’s just crap but the important thing is to let go and let your creativity guide you.
Do you think that you could make a second album in the future for your solo career?I very much hope so. The feedback from fans and media have been great so far and hopefully enough people will go out and buy the album too.
It could be interpreted/taken as a “trivial question” but what is your personal thought about the actual metal female panorama?I think it is great that we have so many strong female vocalists out there today. I am part of a community called Eve’s Apple with about 50 other professional female metal singers from around the world, Charlotte Wessels, Lisa Middelhauve, Lindsay Schoolcraft to name a few. We chat and give each other tips and feedback and stuff. It’s a privilege to be one of them.
Now that the album has been released, do you have something new in mind? Any new project?I will focus on my band for the moment and then hopefully a second solo album. These a two big projects so I think I will have my hands full for a while.
Thanks for your time, Angelica. As usual, you have carte blanche to say something to the people who follow our work and to those people who will read this interview!I want to thank my fans for the massive amount of support and love you show me. It may sound cliché but you are the reason we musicians can keep on making more music. Please keep sharing my video and visit me on Facebook.
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