About the album Brain Boogie:
Brain Boogie is the fresh new album from the Nils Landgren Funk Unit sideman
Andy Pfeiler, his fifth solo flight to this date. Lyrically a political statement but
also a tribute to the funk. Andy Pfeiler manages to reinvent himself with a
sound leaning towards contemporary R & B and with a distinct live-in-the-studio
feel. And he always does it with a twist. A little something for your mind
as well as your feet, as the title implies. Gnarling synth bass lines, popping
guitars and drums, atmospheric samples and soulful vocals make Brain
Boogie into something quite unique in today’s musical landscape.
- I’ve always liked the element of surprise in music and try to implement that in my
own songs and arrangements. Also, I want each new album to be something different
to the one before. This is a challenge that really gets me going, Andy Pfeiler says.
The Stockholm based guitarist and vocalist is one of Sweden’s most sought after
live- and studio session musicians, so finding time for his own projects can
sometimes be tricky.
- I decided to be a bit more dogmatic when recording this album. On my
previous records there have been quite a bit of different people playing. Horns,
multiple layers of keyboards, guitars and backing vocals and so on. So, this time I
wanted to limit myself by only using two more musicians beside myself. A funk power
trio. The exception is the song Space Xpress, where my daughter Astrid is the fourth
musician, singing the choruses together with me. I also forced myself not to add too
many extra sounds in the process. Guitar, bass and drums were recorded live in the
studio in one take and vocals and a bit of electronics and samples were added
afterwards.
Andy’s words about some of the tracks:
Space Xpress – reflects my worries about the way we treat each other. There are
constantly multiple wars going on in the world and that makes me really worried and
angry. So, in the song I am playing with the thought of leaving Earth to make a fresh
start somewhere else in space.
The Rest Of Us – climate change is a well-documented fact. Still, so many politicians
and major corporations continue living in total denial, just keeping on abusing our
planet. As long as money comes first, this, unfortunately, will never change.
Brain Boogie – The groove and opening words “…I let the brain do the boogie and
then intertwine what’s going on in my head with a positive vibe…” basically sum up
the vibe and concept of the album. I want to make the listener think about the
important stuff but also have a good time. Maybe tap a foot to the beat or even get an
urge to get up and dance.
Earth Bound – is the only ballad on the record and a song about peoples equal
worth, no matter sex, color, ethnicity or religion.
Butter On Top – is all about making the most out of life and never stopping personal
progress. It’s never too late to learn something new and never wrong adding a bit of
butter to whatever dish you may be cooking.
The other two thirds of the funk power trio are made up of long time band mates and
friends Thobias Gabrielson (bass and keyboards) and Tobias Tagesson (drums).
Their individual styles are key ingredients to the sound on Brain Boogie.
Andy Pfeiler is keeping as busy as always with studio work and touring. There is the
new Nils Landgren Funk Unit album Unbreakable, a record he has contributed to as a
guitarist, vocalist and also as a composer. He has also co-produced Swedish soul
legend Kaahʼs new EP, JUNGL. Extensive touring is going on with the Funk Unit and
will continue all through 2017.
About the album FutureMan
He is Mr Red Horn’s first supplier of funky guitar riffs, as a member of The Nils Landgren Funk Unit. And he is back once again with a new soulful and funky solo flight.
”FutureMan” is his fourth album release and it’s filled to the brim with classic soul, retro-futuristic funk, beautiful ballads and smoking afrobeat-inspired grooves.
”I love to travel. When I’m not on tour I try to go away as much as possible anyway. Either with my family or to just do intense songwriting sessions on my own in different parts of the world”, Andy Pfeiler says. A large part of FutureMan has been conceived in cities like Berlin, Paris and Cannes but also on the Portuguese west coast and of course in his hometown, Stockholm.
”Being on the move inspires me a lot, widens my perspectives and also gives me focus. Since I’m working with different projects all the time, I sometimes need to be able to really concentrate on one thing alone. Especially when it comes to finishing lyrics. Berlin is a great city when it comes to that. I just love walking those avenues for hours with my headphones on and with my pen and note book ready.”
To Andy Pfeiler the songwriting is essential. That’s where his music starts and ends. ”I’m not very interested in showing off, it’s just not in my nature. Therefore I try to keep my productions, vocals and guitar solos as honest and free from excess material as possible”, he says.
”If it’s good for the song, it stays. If not, it’s out in a heartbeat. I just adore the old Marvin Gaye recordings from the seventies where he is so beautifully minimalistic in everything he does. Music needs air to breathe. Sometimes it means taking away an instrument and other times it’s about sticking to that groove just a little bit longer.”
But there are of course different approaches to writing a tune. The title track, FutureMan, started as a band jam in the studio, on which Andy later added vocals and layers of sound.
”I’ve known most of the guys and girls that are playing on the record for quite some time. And I really trust their musical intuition. It’s therefore really nice to just let everyone do their thing and see what comes out.”
Thobias Gabrielson on bass, Petter Bergander on organ and piano, Ingela Olson, Per Ekdahl and Valter Kinbom on percussion and Britta Bergström and Anders von Hofsten on vocals are all long time friends and colleagues. But newer acquaintances, like Tobias Tagesson on drums and Philip Neterowicz on electric pianos, can also be heard on the album.
And there are some exciting guest performances by Brazilian diva Simone Moreno, sweet singing Linn Segolsson, flute virtuoso Magnus Lindgren and trombone queen Karin Hammar.
In 2013 Andy Pfeiler wrote the score for the Swedish award winning television series ”The Other Sport”, recorded and toured Europe with Nils Landgren Funk Unit and did session studio- and live work for Swedish soul-star Kaah. He also mixed the upcoming release for the project Serious Coffee, featuring performances by Mike Stern, Lew Soloff, Mats Öberg and Per Lindvall. And in between all of this he of course also recorded and produced his own fresh, new record.
2014 doesn’t seem to be any less intense than 2013, with touring in Germany and Sweden in support of the new album. Alongside that, Andy Pfeiler will be doing shows in Europe with The Nils Landgren Funk Unit.