Hey Per, how are you?
Hey Leo, I’m doing just great. Great to hear your voice.

Yeah, about time we meet, laugh. Thanks for the great photos?
You are welcome, hope they will be of any use to you.

Oh yes, I’ll use them for this interview, laugh. How is the new album” Left To Burn” coming along.
We are working hard on it, trying go get it finish. I’m very happy with the songs, even though we decided to re-record all of them. I was not happy with the sound the first time around. It’s very hard work, because we do not have a professional studio, so we do it kind a like in “the old days”, mixing down tracks on to eachother, making terminal mix-downs and so forth. It’s a lot of work on the technical side, to do it like this. But we are getting there, step by step.

Please tell about the title?
Well, I would like to make 4 albums in a series of all the elements. You know, earth, fire ect. Try somehow to cover all the feelings we all have or get: anger, frustration, happiness ect. "Left to burn" deals a lot with anger, rage and frustration. And as you might know from the cover, that Tonny did, it kind of deal with the feelings one could get, when in a crowd with no connection, left alone, feel kind of left outside. I would like each album to kind of circulate around a given concept. You know we covered different kinds of fear on our first album “A Handful Of Earth”.

Differences from “A Handful Of Earth” on the new album “Left To Burn”?
Well, it’s more kind of a bands effort this time around. “A Handful Of Earth” was mostly me, even though Johan & Stefan were involved in the playing I wrote and arranged everything. Also I think the new album is more mature. It’s maybe not so direct as “A Handful Of Earth”. More symphonic and yet there are some very heavy tracks as well. The lyrics are better this time around, I think. Which is something that I work very hard on and do all the time. And as you might know, I still do and write many other kinds of music. Singer/song-writer stuff and you know? We still go out and play evenings with cover songs and all. Which is so much fun. And as you said, there’s a track on the new album that is sung in Swedish. It’s sometimes very difficult to get the right feeling out in English, when one thinks in Swedish, you know? Then there’s the “red button syndrome”, know that one? This is something I had a lot of problems with on the first album but I think I'm getting better and better. Well, it’s like this. When we play Live, I have no problems singing without feeling tense but as soon as we go into the studio, the red light is on; I kind of cramp up. But it’s something that I work on constantly. I’m so anxious to not sing out of key that I forget to relax. But, I think when the 4’Th album is done and finish, it should be a ok, laugh.

The line-up this time around?
Johan, who plays keyboards. We have been friends since high school. He’s a very tall guy, nearly 2 meters, laugh. He’s the “poppy” one in Salva, not into prog music at all actually. Don’t even listen to it. He’s kind of a groovy type of musician. Stefan is our guitar playerand a reel heavy rocker. Not the head bangers type of heavy. He loves his Jimi Hendrix. He might not be the fastest guitar player in the world but have a great “feel” when he plays, really a great sense of melody. For someone meeting Stefan the first time they might find him a bit tricky or quiet. But don’t be fooled, he’s so funny and always joking. Also he’s my oldest friend; we have been playing together since we were 14. Fredrik, our bass player is Johan’s little brother. He’s also the youngest in Salva. 26 years old. He’s open to anything when it comes to music and life in general. Lasse is our drummer and an old friend to. I think he’s a great drummer. Very steady and reliable. You know, none of us is actually virtuoso players, but we have a great understanding. And Salva is not a band that plays overly technical music therefore we have to rely on one another. So we kind of have it all inside Salva, Pop, rock, folk and sometimes heavy rock. Then there is me, laugh. Per, that’s my name, and if Salva have a "prog" person, then it’s me. I live and breathe music, 24 hour a day. And it’s not only playing music, I also collect music. I’m the one that pull all the strings, well it’s kind of my band, you know? When I got some time of, I write music all the time, laugh. But, you know? At the end of the day, I’m the one that kind of kick the guys and drive them to where I/we want to go. But I think every band need someone like that; to kind of take control and make things happen.

Future plans after the release?
I would like Salva to play more Live-gigs. But it’s kind of tricky with the others, because we all have day time jobs, family ect. Also the marked is very small for this kind of music in Sweden. Even though I’m very proud of the numbers of cds we have sold so far. Then when the new cd is out, we will start working on the next album. Well, we have actually written 2 new songs, laugh. Another thing I would love to do is to make kind of a minialbum. But, please don’t tell the guys. Haven’t told them yet, laugh. You know an album with re-recordings of the best songs from the first album now that we have live drums and everything. But I think that’s mostly my own “need”, laugh.

I was told that your web-site is being updated?
Yeah, it is hopefully. Richard from Caerllysi music have kindly said yes to help us getting our site more “up to date”. I know we have neglected it for a very long time. It’s not that we did not want to do it, there just wasn’t time, you know? I know it’s very important that our site kind have some news about Salva, let’s say every month. So my hope is that people will return to check it out, once it’s updated.

How would you describe your relationship to Will & Caerllysi Music?
Well, as you know he was the one that introduced us to the world, so to speak. I see it as kind of a blessing, to know someone like Will. Also I think it’s very important to have someone who knows the business. Will have always been very honest to us and our music. You know he bought I don’t know, how many albums? Just out of the blue and because he believed that our music could go somewhere. Will have been great just great all the way through our process. You know, I’m happy if we just break even, with the cost of production/recording ect. I don’t think Will knows how much this means to me, that he is out there.

Favourite band/musician?
For starters I’m into 1970s Progressive bands like Jethro Tull, Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd and on the more AOR:ish side but still pretty "proggy", Kansas, you know all the classic albums from that period of time. From the 1980s I love Marillion and IQ.
From the 1990’s its bands like Flower Kings, Spock’s Beard and most of all Transatlantic. They are just amazing. I really hope they get together again. Also I like the first Anglagaard. Now a day I think that a band like Pain Of Salvation is just out of this world great. Others I listen to are Black Sabbath, Deep Purple. And some sing-songwriter stuff like Cat Stevens/ Simon & Garfunkel. Also I think Counting Crows is a great band.

What’s on your cd-player right now?
Neal Morse’s “?” or if you like “Question mark”. Now that’s a great album. Neal’s such a great artist, I think.

Famous last words for the world outside, dear Per?
Laugh, that’s a tricky one, Leo, well let’s see? I would love if people, who have bought our music and hopefully will buy our new album, will get back to us and tell us what they think of it, straight up. I really want to know, that’s very important us, you know? What else?I would love if the world got into prog music, laugh. I think that there’s to much commercial music today without any meaning. I hope we at some point could get back to, lets say 1970 period, when people listened to music, read lyrics ect. I don’t have high hopes, in that direction, but it’s my believe that there are more and more young people who are finding their way back to the music and that there is a genuine interest growing throughout the world. So I think it’s getting in the right direction.

Well, dear Per. Thanks for taking the time and best of luck with the new album
Thanks Leo, it’s been great talking to you, let’s do it again soon, ok?

Sure, would love it.