Linnéa Vikstrom, Swedish metal singer for QFT (Quantum Force Theory) and Therion, spoke with me about QFT’s debut album, Live in Space. She was so pleasant to talk to as the conversation went in the direction of musical inspiration, the idea behind the album, and even into education.
Listening to QFT’s album earlier this week, I was thrilled to ask about how it came about. It has a lot of musical influences of rock legends in my personal rock library that are evident in the music, but it also has interesting themes of space and science in every track. It was also interesting to speak with her about how Sweden’s culture varies from America’s and perhaps that’s why their music theme is different.
QFT is somewhat of a side project for Linnéa and her band mates as they juggle their own band schedules with QFT’s, but it was a project that came together out of mutual interest and passion. Read on to see what goes into the band’s music, and check out their announcements at www.facebook.com/qft.band
Side Stage Magazine: How are you today?
Linnéa: I’m fine, how are you?
I’m great, thanks! I just listened to your album and I absolutely loved it!
I’m so happy! Thank you so much!
I could definitely hear the Black Sabbath inspiration, and I heard some Queen in there and Rush, and it just fits with a lot of the music that I like.
Thank you, I’m so happy! You say “Queen” and I’m happy.
“Live in Space” was my favorite [track], and I think that’s the one that sounded like Queen to me.
It’s very funny to me when I talk to people about the album, they all have such different favorites. It’s really funny, cause that doesn’t usually happen. In my experience, people have 3 or maybe 4 songs that they like and they’ll say “that’s one I like.” It really seems like people really have different favorites with this album, and I’m really happy about that. I think it’s a good thing.
I liked every one, but that one’s my favorite. I love the piano in the beginning and it has this really pretty melody. It’s a good rock ballad.
Thank you so much!
So, this is your first solo album, correct?
Yeah! That’s correct.
Are you still singing with Therion?
Yes, I’m still singing with Therion.
So, you’re going to balance between QFT and Therion?
Yeah. The good thing with Therion is that we tour a lot, like during one year, then we have a hiatus where we just do some festivals and that’s it, then we’ll go back on tour. Sometimes we tour relentlessly, all the time! With Therion, we have the opportunity like once every other year. So that’s good, because in the gaps, I can work with QFT.
That’s good, so you don’t get burned out.
Exactly!
So what other language do you speak?
I speak Swedish. That’s my mother tongue, and then I speak a little bit of Spanish. I can make myself understood, and I can understand if people speak slowly.
Oh wow! That’s awesome!
Yeah, in Swedish school, you have to choose a third language. Everyone learns English, and obviously Swedish and you have to choose a third language. I chose Spanish and actually studied for six years, so I should be better than I am!
Oh wow! American schools aren’t really like that. They’ll encourage you to take two years of a language, but it doesn’t really make you fluent.
Right, but at least it gives you an understanding of other languages.
I did notice, your album is in English, which obviously translates well over here.
Yeah, most Swedish bands I know of will sing in English. And Yiddish bands, Norwegian bands, Scandinavian bands, tend to go in English. Because if you’re going for the Swedish market, you don’t want to sing in Swedish. Unless it’s for some big reason. Everybody will think it’s sort of cheesey or something. Meatballs should be in Swedish.
Yeah, it’d keep you just to Sweden I imagine.
Can you tell me why you based your whole album, even your artist title, on science and space?
I guess it was one of those ideas that really stuck with me for a while. Like heavy metal bands, they always sing of like monsters and I don’t know vampires–scary stuff, you know? But for me, the scariest stuff in the universe is the universe itself. When you start to think of the concept of time, you sort of just get lost in the thought. I think everybody tends to do that. You get stuck in this loop of thinking of life and death and the universe, it’s endless. If you think about that stuff, it’s a scary place to be but it’s so fascinating. And the scientists of the world, they’re trying to uncover those mysteries. I guess that’s why it fascinates me–that feeling of loneliness, but still the feeling of being on the planet with people I love. Just the concept of that is awesome.
I always like seeing those graphics that keeps zooming out and shows you how big the universe is. And our universe is really small compared to the other universes it’s inside. It’s just really mind-boggling. I really love that that’s the theme of your album.
Oh, thank you. I’m very happy about how it came out, and also how it came out to be sort of playful with it. From the beginning, I was like “I’m going to be so serious and I’m going to get everything right, and in the end I can’t understand all these subjects. It’s really difficult to grasp. From one end it came out like me trying to understand those concepts. And then you have a song like “Alien” where we’re just playing with some of the concepts and not being scientifically accurate at all and being more Sci-Fi and going on a space adventures and being more playful. It’s a good balance to not be too gloomy and serious.
I feel like American musicians, a lot of our music has to do with emotions. You know, hatred, love, anger. Saxon actually came out with an album this year where I was fascinated that it was based off of a lot of mythology, Norse and Greek mythology, and then your album is just science based. Excuse the pun, but it just seems so foreign to me, and I really like that.
I’m happy to hear that! I guess for me, love and hate and all of that–Van Halen is one of my favorite bands. I love it, and I love when people sing a love song, or a total hate song, I love that. But to me, the bigger emotions lie in those big questions that I can’t really get an answer to. Trying to understand it is another way of coping. When you don’t understand how you’re here and why you’re here, scientists are not trying to explain why you’re on the planet, and I don’t expect them to try to figure that out. I guess seeing that concrete picture on how the universe works will give me an idea of why I am here, to lay down my path of life. I don’t believe that there is a divine creature that has determined that for me. I think it’s up to me to choose that path, and understanding the universe allows me and gives me more space in my mind to figure out me. Even though it’s not that concrete feeling on loving or hating, which are very concrete emotions, I guess it’s very easy to resonate with that. For me, it was. It’s very easy to listen to a beautiful love song and be very touched by it, but when you have to dig deeper into yourself and find that strong emotion of helplessness and a sort of anxiety–something that not all people maybe want to do, but for me, it’s important to do to become a deeper and more intelligent and more emotional person as well.
Do you think your nationality helps with that? It feels like a lot of scientific people come from Sweden, or parts of Europe. It seems like you guys have scientific advancements that America doesn’t necessarily have or celebrate, so i wonder if it’s a cultural thing.
Maybe it is. I don’t know. A big difference to me when I visited the United States and when I visited Western Europe–Germany, France and even Sweden–Americans are much more open. It’s easier to friend an American quickly, but it’s harder to get deep with an American person. That’s from my perspective in my experience, and that’s not true of all Americans or all Europeans, but like a general thing. In Sweden you’re sort of cold in the beginning. People will come to Stockholm and say “oh, you’re so cold,” and yeah. We sort of are probably cold in the beginning, but once we get to know each other, we’re going to be best friends forever and have a really deep relationship. Again, that’s generally speaking. I don’t think that of all Europeans or all Americans. I think that’s something that I’m not alone in thinking.
I agree. I’ve travelled in Europe and I’ve lived in Japan, so I can totally understand how Americans are viewed and I think it’s a lot of understanding the different nuances of each culture.
Yeah, absolutely. You have to sort of live in a culture to understand it.
Yeah, definitely.
But for the science part, I guess we don’t know. In my eyes, in the U.S., if you want to be a scientist, that’s where the funds are, where the money goes to science. That’s my perspective from the Swedish version. If you get a new scientific revelation, yeah you’ll get some Europeans, Japanese, Korean, but usually it’s like MIT who will get a new scientific revelation. MIT comes up a lot when you do a lot of research.
I guess looking at it superficially, looking at any STEM career in America, it’s definitely revered and respected, but like when you’re young and in school, it’s not exactly encouraged. There’s still that social stigma of “being a nerd” and that sort of thing. It is important and people are trying to elevate it, it’s kind of split, actually. Now they’re cutting out arts and it’s really sad.
They’re cutting out arts?
Yes, it’s really sad. In our public schools here, the art departments are really struggling. A lot of people don’t see that that’s a necessity.
I see, I’m very sad to hear that. And it’s the same in Sweden. It’s really sad, because art in itself is really beautiful. But if you’re not an artist, it’s a beautiful way to encourage kids to excel in their other subjects in school.
Absolutely! I think our priorities seem to be in entertainment. Our sports get the most funding in our schools, and then those are the big paychecks when you get a career in sports. I would love to see sciences and arts elevated and a higher priority.
Me too! And to see those subjects work together. Some schools here in Sweden, it’s probably the same in the U.S., some schools work in a way that the subjects work together. So if you’re working on a science project in school, then the art teacher is in on it too and you make the science project into an art piece. Like the test is to make an art piece based on what you learned in science. That’s really cool and I think teachers are learning more to do that and get out of the classroom, go out into nature and play more to get the answers that they’re teaching in their career.
One of my last college classes was a psychology class, and out of that, Sweden was doing some experimental things with how they run school for little kids. I was just captivated by that and wish we could adopt more of your educational plans in our country.
Yeah, maybe. I’m not sure how the educational plan is in the States, but I know here a lot of changes have been made because some of the changes have not been for the better. They’ve lowered the age of when they go into their first grade, and that’s not what I think is good for the kids. Or that “you’re a good person if you do well in school,” that’s just not what I believe in.
Yeah, that’s a little how it is here. I appreciate that Sweden has a higher priority on free play. And I love how the Japanese take the first three years to learning manners, and cleaning up after themselves, and cooking, and being respectful. That would be the perfect plan to adopt.
Absolutely, there are many different ways that would be good educationally, but it’s how you come to it. Just the basic thing like learning how to do your taxes. How is it that I haven’t learned that in school? Seriously! That’s one of the biggest things you need to learn to do as an adult.
We have the same struggles here.
Ok, there you go!
It’s a universal problem. So it’s funny you were talking about balancing art and science. That’s what you’re doing too! I think maybe that’s why I love your album. And I love your logo too! I was looking at your album and I noticed how you worked in the Pi symbol with your initials.
Oh you saw that! Very good! I love that. Not my idea, actually. That was the idea of my artwork guy, Paolo Vallerga. I was so happy when he presented that to me. “Oh my gosh you got the Pi symbol in there, I love you!”
I love it! And March 14th is my favorite day. Oh yeah, we do our months first, so it makes it 3.14
Oh yeah, of course. Cause we do ours the other way around. Then you must make some pies or something like a big “Apple Pi.”
So do you have anything next coming up since you just released your album? Do you have any touring dates with QFT anytime soon?
The plan is to absolutely tour. I just came back from an almost four and a half month tour with Therion, so we’re planning on doing some touring. Since all the other guys are in different bands, it’s almost sort of a puzzle with time and all of that. We need to make room for it to make it happen. But we’re working on it and we have some dates, which I can’t reveal yet. Not a tour, but we have some gigs coming up. And I’ll reveal it soon enough.
OK, great! I’ll be on the lookout for that. Do you think there’s ever a chance you guys will come to America?
There’s absolutely a chance! But we don’t, unfortunately, have any plans for it right now.
I will definitely be on the lookout for your dates, whenever they’re released. I appreciate your time today, it was really great talking with you today.
It was really great talking with you too. Thank you for the nice conversation!
