Swedes return this December with the much-anticipated Himlabacken Vol 2.
Swedish progressive rockers Moon Safari, will end a 10-year period of inactivity when they release their fifth album, Himlabacken Vol 2. It’ll be a direct follow-up to 2013’s Himlabacken Vol 1 and is out on the band’s own Blomljud Records on December 8, and through Marquee Inc in Japan on December 6.
“We can’t believe it’s been 10 years; time flies!” says guitarist Pontus Åkesson.“When we released Himlabacken Vol 1 we had four kids between us and now we have 16 together, so that’s the main reason it’s been so long. Of course, the children bring a lot of love and joy, but they take a lot of time out of music creation. Now the children are a little bigger, we have more time together and can be a lot more active again. No one is happier we’re back than we are.”
The guitarist adds that it had always been the band’s plan to write a second volume to the Himlabacken concept arc, which charts the musicians’ journey from childhood to adulthood in their small hometown of Skellefteå. The success of …Vol 1, however, mounted an extra pressure on the band.
“If it had been a random album I think we could have been a lot faster,” he believes.“We couldn’t make any mistakes with this album, it had to be perfect. It’s a big pressure to keep improving every album, but I don’t think we have sounded better than we do now.”
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