Those Magical AOR Moments with Sapphire Eyes

Those Magical AOR Moments with Sapphire Eyes

Sapphire Eyes from Sweden present their own persuasive AOR songs that thoroughly envelope the listener with their impassioned vocals and towering melodies.  Their latest album Magic Moments is now available worldwide via Pride & Joy Music, and the spellbinding tunes are vibrantly wondrous to behold. Highwire Daze recently interviewed band mastermind Niclas Olsson to find out more about thise magical AOR moments to be found within the stratospheric tapestries of Sapphire Eyes.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Sapphire Eyes, and how long the band has been together.
I am Niclas Olsson. Keyboardist, main songwriter and founder of Sapphire Eyes. I think this lineup have been together since 2017 or something. It all started as a project with the debut released 2012 with a mix of musicians. While the second album was recorded we formed the band pretty much as it is today.

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music scene like there?
The band is based in Helsingborg, southern parts of Sweden. The music scene is tough here just like everywhere else. But at least we still do have a couple of clubs with a live scene which is great.

How did you wind up signing with Pride & Joy Music?
The second release, Breath Of Ages, had very poor promotion and things didn’t work out at all from our perspective. We then discussed back and forth how we should proceed. Birgitt Schwanke has a very good reputation and she has been handled the promotion for a couple of other releases I have done with Alyson Avenue and Second Heat with total professionalism. We are very happy with her work for this album as well.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Magic Moments album title?
Actually there is. I had a hard time coming up with great song ideas for the album. I didn’t know in what direction we should go. One day I thought about making an album that would make people smile and feel good and came up with a theme about our youth when everything felt a lot easier and there was something going on every weekend. The rest of the band agreed and we just started to have fun.

How does Magic Moments compare to the previous Sapphire Eyes releases?
I do believe Magic Moments is more easy listening and more uptempo. We excluded songs that maybe would need a couple of spins. But even if it’s easy on the ears we do work a lot with the instrumentation and arrangements.

Select two songs from Magic Moments and what inspired the lyrics.
Still Alive: It’s about an old crush. It’s always about a girl right? A guy missed the signals she gave and several years later he finds out she did hit on him and he is still interested cause they are both alive and well.

All I Need Is To Hold You: My friend lost his wife in December 2019 and it really hurt me when he announced it. I could feel his pain so strong that I wrote this song.

What has it been like to release a new album in the middle of a pandemic?
I know many releases have been pushed forward due to the pandemic. Our opinion is that people need something to look forward to and our album is with a positive message. I don’t think the sales numbers and reactions would have been much different in a normal worrld.

What could one expect from a live Sapphire Eyes show?
A bunch of happy guys performing music they love and with one of the best frontmen in Kimmo who is such a pro on stage. And of course we deliver the songs the best we can everytime.

If Sapphire Eyes could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
Journey with Steve Perry would have been magical. That band have meant so much to me and still does.

What is currently going in with Alyson Avenue?
I don’t know really. We were supposed to record some new material but we all have had other commitments so we just have to see what the future will bring.

Has Sapphire Eyes and Alyson Avenue ever played any shows together or plan to do so in the future?
No and no. Three of us are playing in both bands and it would be too much I think. Anette has performed with Sapphire Eyes though.

Alyson Avenue singer Anette Olzon appears on the song Bring Back The Night on Magic Moments. How did that come about and would you ever perform the song live with Anette?
When we recorded Kimmo’s vocals for that song I already knew it would be either too high or too low in the chorus and we both said that Anette should do the topline which she kindly agreed to.

What’s up next for Sapphire Eyes?
We will enjoy this great feedback for a little bit and then recharge for possible live shows depending on the pandemic and also start the writing again.

Any final words of wisdom?
First of all, we wish everyone to stay safe and healthy. And please visit www.sapphireeyes.se and place an order for our new album that we hope will put a smile on everyone’s face.

Band Members
Vocals: Kimmo Blom
Keyboards: Niclas Olsson
Guitars: Emil Knabe
Guitars: Mikael k Nilsson
Guitars: Patrik Svärd
Bass: Christer Engholm
Drums: Fredrik Eriksson

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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