He's an artist and designer from Sweden who has been working in the musicindustry the last few years. During this time he had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented musicians like: JOURNEY, STRATOVARIUS, EMPIRE, EDGUY, TONY HARNELL, HOUSE OF SHAKIRA... These projects include artists like Yngwie Malmsteen, Richie Sambora (BON JOVI), Eric Martin (MR. BIG), Reb Beach (WHITESNAKE, WINGER), Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW), Harry Hess (HAREM SCAREM)...

Fanclub: Who are some of your artistic influences?

Carl André: I have been working with design and art (in various forms) - for 20 years (I will be 35 this year) - and began my career drawing typefaces and making logos for restaurants and shops in a small advertising firm owned by my mothers brother. Learning the "basic" skills soon got me interested in classic art and I turned to the old masters for inspiration since I never cared much for modernistic art. I grew quite fond of the impressionists for their bold colours and the classicists of the 17th century for their mastery of the human form. The only "movement" in the 20th century that I have found especially intruiging is the surrealist movement.

Four artist in particular have had a big impact on me; Eugenè Delacroix, Fredric Leighton, Gustav Klimt and Salvador Dalí; their visual language is often seen in my works. If I were to name my "style" I would have to come up with a name that has bits and pieces from all of those artistic expressions that I am fond of; perhaps "embratic" is a fitting name; that would be a style of art that embraces everthing but still holds its own, unique voice.

In my artworks and designs, I often tend to exaggerate paradoxes and contrasts, such as lights and shadows, warm and cold colours; but also associative shapes and metaphoric truths. In a way I am a symbolistic expressionist. Expressionist in a way that I do not wish to circumvent any prospect of "normality" in my art, but rather find and behold a description of life, and at the same time, life itself...

Fanclub: How did you begin to design artwork for music and to work for Frontiers Records?

André: When I was 16 years old, I had a band called "Last Caress" which was heavily influenced by the L.A. guitar-scene, but also with neo-classical guitar masters, such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Tony McAlpine. I, myself, at the time, was quite fond of so called fast and impressive solos, since I thought only masters of their instruments could be such good players, but the singer of my band, which was a very versatile singer with an unique voice which I loved, felt there was too much guitars, so he left. After that I concentrated more on writing melodic songs in the vein of Dokken and Badlands, still with nice solos.

A few years later, the band "Mister Kite" emerged, and I was asked (since I had started having exhibitions will my oilpaintings a few years earlier) – if I would like to paint the cover to their debut album: "All In Time". I accepted and was soon approached by the label Lion Music to do more graphic artwork. I gathered a portfolio together and sent out about 30 mails. I got job offers from 15 of them, and since then (2001), I have not had to "look" for more jobs, since I have been very fortunate to work with clients, labels and artists that appreciate my art and want to work with me again because they like the philosophy behind them, but also of the result as well.

I contacted Frontiers in 2001 and got a very nice response from the regarding my pictures. When I got my first job (Brazen Abbot – My Resurrection) – the result turned out very well and I loved working with them, and our collaboration has continued. They are a great label that understand the music scene and the way a release should look and sound like.

Fanclub: Do you design the whole booklet? Do you add the lyrics or only do the graphic designs?

André: In most cases, I do everything fram scratch to finish, that means lyrics and textual info, cover artwork + full booklet artwork, and the additional artwork which is the CD-Label, Cleartray and Traycards of a CD. If it is a special edition, such as Digipak, or DVD-release, more things need to be done.

Fanclub: Do musicians give you some ideas to start with and work on or do you just make it all by yourself?

André: Some do, and some just say: "Give us the best you can", and from that I can often create what I feel is the best thing for the artist.

When I worked for TNT, and the album "All The Way To The Sun", - I did over 100 different sketches. Since the title of the album changed many times, there was a need for a different visual profile in each of the sketches. It was a great ride, and really put me to the test. The result is the album that is out today.

Fanclub: To make the cover/artwork for an album, do you need to listen to the music beforehand?

André: No, I don’t need to, but I like to. Being a graphic artist, illustrator or painter, in your career, and while you are learning, you have to "learn" by watching art over and over again until you understand every angle. For Kiske's new album, I have heard the songs before, but I have not heard them in their new versions, so for that, I have to create something to fit the new vibe of them.

Fanclub: What do you find more difficult: making the cover or the logo for a band?

André: The logo, since it is such an integral part of the visual style of the bands music, it has to fit perfectly, that way a cover is more versatile, more open to imagination. In the logo you must see clearly what the band is all about.

Fanclub: What musical artist would you like to work with?

André: There are many, but let me try to tell you some of them:

Yngwie Malmsteen – my old idol...
Paul Gilbert – another idol and favorite...
Dokken – of course...
Iron Maiden – would love to make a version of "Eddie"...
Europe – since "The Final Countdown" was one of the first album I bought…
Dream Theater – fantastic musicians...
Helloween – it is time to get rid of the pumpkins.
Tobias Sammet – I have already worked for Edguy, but Mr. Sammet has other interesting projects such as Avantasia that I like...
Motley Crue – I can do grunge art as well...
George Lynch... and many more...

Fanclub: You work for a lot of musicians but do you like music? do you play any instruments?

André: I work for many, since 2001 I have worked on more than 300 albums, and about 150 different artists.

Yes, I love music... Music is the essence of communication. With speech you only deliver words (in most cases), but with music, you touch the heart and the soul, you reach further into a human being. But of course, you can’t go into your local supermarket and start singing "Where is the milk?", there is a time and place for everything.

I play the guitar…

Fanclub: What do you think about Michael Kiske as a singer and a musician?

André: The voice of Kiske inspired me immediately the first time I heard him on the "Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I" – album. Only used to American and Swedish singers before, his voice blew me away. There was so much sensitivity in that voice, so much maturity and poetry that I have followed his career ever since.

Fanclub: Is it easy to work with him? Does he say exactly what he wants or does he say nothing?

André: He is very easy to work with since he tells what he likes and doesn’t like. He listens to my ideas and comments them very directly, and that is because he has good eye for art. Many musicians only have an ear for music, but I feel Kiske has both. I appreciate his comments, and in my works, the most important thing is that the artist is happy. I am not doing artwork to boast my own ego. I always feel that my best work is yet to come, and I stay humble. It is an honour for me to do artwork that will represent music that will live on long after I am gone. Working on any Kiske album is something I am very proud of.

Fanclub: What about the new cover?

André: I like to work with numerous meanings, symbols and emotions when I do artwork, this is because I get many ideas when listening to the music I am doing design for... This new album, is a step back into the past, but at the same time it is the present... These acoustic versions of the old Helloween songs are recorded in anew, with a more mature Kiske, and I find that fascinating. I like you love Michaels voice, and the tangible moods I find myself when listening to them - perceived especially by the sense of abstract touch of my mind - is inspiring...

There is a Owl on the cover, and a sort of a giant clock, alchemic symbols yes, and also symbols of faith and courage, elapsed moments, the past and the future... This may seem like the cover is drowning in details, but it is not...

Imagine yourself waking up in a dream where you find yourself dreaming, and at the same time, seeing yourself in different moments of your life. Once your where young, and then your grow older, some memories last, some fade away. You get wiser, you hear a tune that reminds you of something, but it is new. When you mix and take fragments of all these things in consideration - you get a life; and life is like alchemy, instead of creating gold, you create substance, you create meaning to your life... The cover and artwork tries to capture all that, and perhaps even go beyond...

Fanclub: When you see your early designs, how do you feel? Are you very critical with yourself?

André: In some cases I cry because I wonder "What the hell was I thinking?". That has only happened to me once, in most cases, I always know what I am going after, and I know my limitations. So I don’t venture too far away from my artistic abilities, even though I love challenges, I am realistic, and that way I can live with most of the designs I have done.

Fanclub: To be a good graphic designer, is it necessary to be a good painter?

André: A good question, both yes and no. It depends on what you want to say with your art. If you are a figurative artist (people, things – etc. that need much detail), you need to learn your craft. Since I painted oilpaintings for 7 years before I started with painting on the computer; I knew all the basics and could use my digital drawingboard as if it where a real sketchbook. In art, there is a need to be able to express yourself with the tools of the trade. It certainly helps if you know how to use a brush both in the real world and in the digital.

Fanclub: Which programs are the most used for your works?

André: Best software is the brain :) After that I would have to say Photoshop CS3 (the best version yet), Painter IX, Adobe Lightroom (since in some cases I use my own photos), InDesign, Acrobat, and Microsoft Word for doing Design Documents...

Fanclub: What do you prefer to use: photos or vector graphics?

André: I never use vector graphics for the images I design, only some of the logos. Vectorized art is great to look at, but not in my style at all...

Fanclub: Is there one particular area (lithographs, illustration, graphic design, website design, typography) of your work that you enjoy the most and why?

André: I love creating worlds from nothing, and I do that with my covers, in "real" art, I love drawing, and I try to get better at it. Take a look at any of the drawings of Gustav Klimt, and you will see that it takes a lifetime to master the perfection of the pen. I am aiming for that. I also like webdesign, but never have time for it that much, that is why my own webpage is in a state of "Almost Done" always... :)

Like Kiske, I also have an urge to write, so I am writing on novels and poetry as well, but more on that another time...

Fanclub: In art-design, do you agree with the phrase "Less is more"?

André: Yes I do, but also in the credo of the surrealists, who say that there are no rules, but the rules that where never made, meaning, even if "less is more", there could be room for something different even in that approach.

Fanclub: What are your plans for the future?

André: I will continue with my artworks for the music industry, and at the moment I am also sketching for artefacts that will be made into glass-art, I am going to Europe this summer to research to a book that I am writing, getting engaged with the love of my life, travel more, and just have a nice life.

Fanclub: What are the restrictions to work in/with internet?

André: There is a lot of junk on the internet, so a sort of "filter" would be good. I am for humanity, and I do not like to see or read things that mock our intelligence, different races, honour killings and so forth. I hope that will get better with the new WWW. Version 2.0 when it is done. The best thing with internet is that there are no borders, you can reach anybody anywhere. And I have done that. My artworks are all of the world, but without music they wouldn’t have been out there...

I would also hope that people understand the seriousness of this downloading "culture" that is today. We all need to support music, and the musicians who give their lives for their art. I am passionate about my art and I would like to see that continue, but without music, I cannot.

Internet is a bridge between countries, but also a portal to our future. What we make of it today, will be the future of tomorrow. I am thankful for the internet, since many things would have never happened. Like your great fansite, or this interview...

Keep up the good work and your support of Michael art...

Interview by © Michael Kiske Official Fanclub.