Claire : Hello Patrick ! How are you doing ?
Patrick : I'm fine,thanks !

Claire : Tell us, Watertouch is your project, right ?
How did the idea come to you ?
Patrick :Yes, I am the leader of the pack (laughs). A former friend of mine had an independent record label specializing in more progressive rock and I put forward a suggestion that maybe we could collaborate in some way because I had some material written that I thought would suite his label.
But to cut a long story short, the record label went bankrupt and in the end we got the master tapes. And now I'm gonna release it on my own label "Watertouch Productions".

Claire : Why Watertouch ? I mean this is a pretty cool name...
Would you mind telling us where it comes from ?
Patrick : From the beginning I actually considered the name Touchwood, but I remembered that the name had already been used. So I went with Watertouch instead. There are several meanings to the expression. One is with bungy jump, another is that it has got something to do with Islam (I can't remember right now what it's supposed to mean). And there is a more 'pubertal', 'zappaesque' meaning to it. Anyway I just liked the sound of it. And I always seem to have the tendency to include water in my lyrics, I don't know why really. With another band I was in I wrote a song called "underneath my waterbed" that was released on a compilation cd with bands from my hometown. I think I have a good relationship with water, except for the fact that I'm a lousy swimmer (laughs).

Claire : Before going on talking about this great project, I'd like you to tell us a little bit more about you.
For how long have you played the guitar ? How did the music enter your life ? Who did inspire you ?
Patrick : I started to play guitar when I was 18 years old, so I've played for 19 years now. Lord how times fly...My first musical memory was when I, 7 years old, received two Deep Purple albums from my oldest brother, "In Rock" and "Machine Head", I found the music totally breathtaking. Especially the organ actually. What a sound! If I could relive my life I would have been an organ and piano player. And from that early age of seven, music has always played a major part in my life, though it would take eleven years till I, myself, bought my first guitar. A Fender copy called Ranger if I am not mistaken.

Claire : We never went to the moon, Ilike the title. Could you explain it to us ?
Patrick : There is this American guy, Bill Kaysing, who claims that the Americans never succeeded to put a man on the moon. If you don't make it, fake it, in his own words. Ha … There's another good cd title. Anyway, me and good friend, who co-wrote the lyrics, found the theory quite hilarious so we started to joke about it. We were pretty hangover at the time I remember. And after a while we came up with the lyrics to the song. It was just a spur of the moment and later on I wrote the music. Otherwise it's usually the other way around, the music first then the lyrics.
Claire : Why did you choose to record mainly instrumentals (five to be precise) ?
How do you compose the music ? Are you composing on your own ?
Patrick : As I mentioned earlier I've already had some material written, and two of them were instrumentals, so it seemed like natural progression to go into that area. And it was really a challenge for me to do that kind of thing, because I've never done that before. Sadly I think most instrumental albums suck, especially those guitar shredders cd:s. Often it's just a simple tre chord progression, with the guitarists playing as a fast a possible, with no interesting harmonies. The song is just a vehicle for them to show off. For me the most important thing is the composition it self, if you don't have a good tune, what's the point.

Usually I just sit and fiddle around with the guitar and then something interesting just pops up. I never sit down with the intention to write a song, that doesn't work for me. Often I write the music myself. When I've come up with an idea I have a strong view of what it should sound like when it's finished. But when I put the ideas to the band, I welcome suggestions regarding the song. And when it comes to the arrangements it's always a pleasure to work with our producer Tommy Andersson, he is brilliant!

Claire : You wrote both lyrics, didn't you. What does inspire your writing ?
Patrick : The title track I co-wrote with a friend of mine. And the third song on the cd "The burning of my ashes" I wrote myself. The topics for the lyrics is sometimes more personal reflections of my life, and sometimes it's just statements of things that goes on in our society. I'm very much in to Frank Zappas lyrics, very sharp satire with a great sense of humor. I like writing lyrics, even if it's hard work, and I've actually written some short stories in Swedish. They go under the name "Acquired reading for hangover academics".

Claire : Could you tell us a little about each track of the album ?
Patrick : Well, first on the cd we have "Maybe I'm a Muslim". It's like a blend of Swedish Folk music ,70's Hard-Rock and more Oriental stuff (probably due to my Ritchie Blackmore influence). On this one Tommy Andersson (our producer) is playing the sitar and he does some marvelous stuff with it.

Second, we have "Funeral procession from Åselby". It's also in the vein of Swedish traditional music, but a little bit lower key than the first track. The solo section features those well known chords by the famous classic pianist Satie. And on this one we have Nils Andersson playing flugelhorn, which really gives the track an additional dimension.

The third track, "The burning of my ashes", was really a struggle to write. It clocks in on over 10 minutes.
But I'm very pleased with the result ! Per Wiberg (the keyboard player) plays a wonderful piano intro, before going on to some jazzy stuff, with some excellent saxophone playing by Thomas Alm. And then...well you just have to listen when the cd is out.

"Foxhunt": Is a track that Per Wiberg wrote together with Jan-Erik Liljeström of Anekdoten. It's more of an Irish tune, performed with a 70's Hard-Rock attitude. I think the song blends in very well with the other material on the record.

Next up is a waltz, I've always been a sucker for that kind of tempo. It's also in the vein of Swedish Folk music, with a lengthy organ solo from Per.

Just before, "Cleavage hill" is a jazz ballad in the vain of Steve Vai and Zappa. The refrain is sort of a homage to the seventies film scores, like the private eye Kojak. We sometimes refer to it as Detective jazz. Nils Andersson does a wonderful trumpet solo in the Miles Davis tradition.

Last but not least, the title track. "We never went to the moon". The most progressive and symphonic track on the album. It's hard to describe this one. You have to hear it ! Anyway Tommy Andersson sings his heart out on this one, perfectly portraying the anxiety of the astronauts who never got the chance to show the world that they were made of the right stuff.

Claire : Who are the musicians and the sitarplayer ?
Patrick : All the musicians are very good friends of mine and excellent in their trade.
The line up consists of Per Wiberg on organ and piano (Spiritual beggars, Opeth, Sky high).
On bass we have Peter Holmstedt (Soulstation).
On drums Eiron Johansson (Tomas Larsson-ex Glenn Hughes)
And myself of course, guitar and voice (In Flight Entertainment, Fred's Perfect)

We also have additional musicians on a couple of tracks. Tomas Alm (saxophones), Nils Andersson (trumpet and flugelhorn), Anders Hammar (flugelhorn) and finally our producer Tommy Andersson on sitar and vocals. He usually plays with the Swedish band Stonecake who has released four albums up to date. Great band by the way!

Claire : When do you think we can expect the album to be released ?
Patrick : Unfortunately it's gonna take until the beginning of November before it's released, because the manufacturer I'm gonna use has suddenly chosen to have some kind of vacation for two weeks.

Claire : You are working on a few other projects besides Watertouch, aren't you ?
What can you tell us about them.
Patrick : One band I'm in is a tribute band to Thin Lizzy. We are called Fred's perfect and it features Jan-Erik Liljeström from Anekdoten on vocals. It's just good fun with good friends. But Jan-Erik does a good interpretation of the late Phil Lynott.
The other band I'm in is called In Flight Entertainment. It features Tommy Andersson on keyboards and the same bass player from Watertouch. But the music is quite the opposite from Watertouch. It's kind of a pop-jazz-funk-rock outfit with no instrumentals and a female vocalist. Actually we have recorded an album. Hopefully we can get some interest from some record companies. But we have no website or anything at the moment.

Claire : What's your biggest wish ?
Patrick : Oh that's a tough one. I think I'll have to pass on that one for the moment.

Claire : Fair enough !

Claire : If there is something else you´d like to share with us,feel free to do so.
Patrick :I really hope this cd sells enough, so I can afford to record and release a follow up. I have some really good material up my sleeve for the next one.

Claire : Cool !!!

Claire : Patrick, thank you for your time. Good luck with Watertouch. Talk and see you soon.
Patrick : It´s been a pleasure Claire ! Take care.