Eternal Motion Forward
Soen were treated as a novelty supergroup of heavy prog musicians when they debuted in 2012. Eleven years later, they’ve legitimised themselves as a full-time band. But, with new album Memorial containing their most concise songwriting to date, do they still truly play prog? Prog catches up with frontman Joel Ekelöf to find out.
Matt Mills
Joel Ekelöf, who may or may not be channelling his inner Peter Gabriel here.
Jeremy Saffer
“There’s no point redoing old stuff. What we do next could well be intricate and experimental – but it will never be the same.”
Joel Ekelöf looks incredibly zen. The Soen frontman is sitting in what he calls the “Japanese house” in his back garden, Swedish sunshine peering into the bright room as he slowly puffs on a cigarette. His video call with Prog is taking place in July and it looks like he’s enjoying a perfect summertime in Stockholm.
“It was very warm in June, but it’s a bit windy now,” the singer calmly states as he gazes past the camera. He breaks into the smallest of smiles. “You’ll never get a warm summer in Sweden.”
Prog and Ekelöf have only been talking for a few seconds, but he already strikes as a constantly composed person. He speaks in short sentences with a serious yet quiet tone. His demeanour is the polar opposite of Soen’s music, which is a particularly high-energy and bombastic form of prog.