Pearls & Flames: From Coastland to Cosmos with Spread Your Wings

Pearls & Flames: From Coastland to Cosmos with Spread Your Wings

Swedish Westcoast/AOR outfit Pearls & Flames may have roots stretching back to the late ’90s, but their new album Spread Your Wings—out November 21st via Pride & Joy Music—feels like a bold new takeoff. Built on decades of melodic craftsmanship, studio camaraderie, and a shared love for soaring guitar solos, the project reunites Markus Nordenberg and Sven Larsson after their long run with Coastland Ride. What began as a shelved idea has evolved into a full-fledged revival, blending vintage songwriting with fresh firepower. We caught up with Markus and Sven to talk about the album’s origin story, their collaborations with Tommy Denander and Frédéric Slama, and the bittersweet realities of bringing melodic rock to the stage in 2025.

And here is an introduction to the band from the one and only Tommy Denander:

Tommy Denander: Markus was the original singer of Lion’s Share and the leader of that band, Lars Chriss, is one of my closest friends for 40 years now. So the connections were close.

Markus‘ love for music is much closer to my background with AOR and Westcoast so we tried having me produce a few ideas that worked out so well that I ended up doing their previous album. It got a lot of great reviews plus we like working together so it was natural to keep the team going for this new album.

High quality music with great people involved so I had a blast!

And now on to our interview…

We’re here with Markus Nordenberg and Sven Larsson of Swedish Westcoast/AOR band Pearls & Flames. First off—how did this project come together?

Markus: Pearls & Flames actually started way back in 1997 or 1998 as a collaboration between me and Tomas Coox. Around the same time, we also formed Coastland Ride, which eventually released three albums. That band felt more serious at the time, so Pearls & Flames was shelved.

Fast forward to 2019—we’d completed three Coastland Ride albums. Sven Larsson had played solos on the second and third records, and in 2016 we were invited to perform live in Stockholm. We brought in Sven for those shows, and he played with us on all three performances.

After 20 years with Coastland Ride, we decided to put it on hold. We had started writing and recording for a new album, but the energy just wasn’t there to finish it. Still, I had a lot of songs I believed in and wanted to keep recording. So I asked Sven if he’d be interested in joining a new project. He said yes—he’d enjoyed working with Coastland Ride, and the material felt familiar. Tomas had also played live with us and co-written some songs, so it was natural to invite him too. That’s how Pearls & Flames was reborn.

Sven, what was your perspective? How did you come aboard?

Sven: Markus asked me after we’d played together in Coastland Ride for a few years. I think it was maybe five years ago. It felt like a natural next step.

Is there a concept or story behind the album title, Spread Your Wings?

Markus: That song has a long history—it goes all the way back to 1987. I was in a project called Heartbeat Gallery with two other guys. We wrote a few songs and recorded one: “Spread Your Wings.” It was a bit over-arranged and the project didn’t continue, but I always felt the song had potential.

It sat in a drawer for decades until I decided to revisit it. I asked the original co-writers if I could rework it, and they agreed. I rewrote the lyrics and tweaked the melody in the verses and bridge, but the chorus is exactly as it was in 1987.

The song tells the story of a girl growing into her own—finding confidence and realizing she can take on the world. That’s the message: believe in yourself and go for it.

A cool detail is that Anders Ringman, one of the original writers, plays the solo on this new version—nearly 40 years later! Back then, he was just 17 and heavily influenced by Ace Frehley. Sadly, Ace passed away recently, and Anders still considers him his number one guitar hero. You can really hear that influence in the solo. It’s a beautiful full-circle moment.

What has it been like working with the prolific Tommy Denander?

Markus: Tommy is incredibly talented and versatile. Of course, he’s a great guitar player, but he’s also a skilled songwriter, arranger, and plays keyboards and bass. He’s just a solid all-around musician and a pleasure to work with.

We connected during the COVID period, when it was difficult for the band to meet in person. Around that time, our friend Tomas had to prioritize other things in his life, so Pearls & Flames was briefly put on hold. Then I saw a post from Tommy on Facebook offering to help artists and songwriters with demo production. I reached out and told him we had a project with a lot of songs, but we were struggling to get them recorded. He was up for it.

I sent him a chorus and some lyrics from a Westcoast-style tune called “Goodbye.” I had the chords and the refrain, but no verse or bridge. I asked him to give it a shot—and three days later, he sent back a complete version of the song. I finished the lyrics and melody, and it was done. I sent him two more ideas, and within a month, we had three finished tracks.

Working with Tommy has been a huge part of Pearls & Flames’ progress. He’s easygoing, always delivers on time, and is very professional. He’s also humble—he listens to our input, makes changes when needed, and brings his own ideas to the table. It’s been a very smooth and inspiring collaboration.

Sven: It’s also been fun playing alongside another guitarist—trading parts and building arrangements together. It’s been a great experience.

Sven, you’ve worked on so many projects. Let’s talk about a few. First, what was it like working with Steve Overland on the Groundbreaker project?

Sven: That was a great experience. I recorded guitar parts for the album Soul to Soul, which I think came out in 2021. Steve’s a fantastic singer, and the band had some really talented musicians. It was a lot of fun to be part of that.

And what about Rain Times, the project with Michael Shotton from Von Groove?

Sven: That was pretty similar in process. They sent me the songs, and I recorded my parts at home over the course of a year—ten or eleven tracks. It was in the same melodic style. There was another guitarist on that album too, Ivan Gonzalez from Spain. He’s a very good player, and it was cool to work alongside him on that record.

Sven, if we covered every album you’ve worked on, we’d be here all day—so let’s shift gears. Markus, what was it like working with Frédéric Slama on the AOR project?

Markus: I believe it was Tommy Denander who connected me with Frédéric. Frédéric needed a vocalist for a few tracks—he works with different singers, and some songs were still missing vocals close to the album deadline. Since Tommy and I were already collaborating on Pearls & Flames, he suggested me.

Frédéric reached out, and I said I’d give it a shot. He sent over some demos, and I recorded the vocals at home. The demos didn’t have any backing vocals, so I added choir parts where I felt they fit. I sent the files back to Frédéric and Tommy—Tommy mixed the album—and that was my first collaboration with Frédéric. I ended up doing two or three songs in total.

It’s similar to what Sven described earlier: these days, we often get files sent to us, record our parts at home, and send them back. That’s how a lot of projects work now.

Looking back on the three Coastland Ride albums released between 2003 and 2017, how do you feel about them now?

Markus: I’m proud of them. We were three songwriters who’d played in cover bands for years. Before that, we had our own bands writing original material. In the ’90s, we missed that creative spark, so we decided to meet up and see what would happen.

It all started when home computers became more accessible and music software let us record at home. That’s how Coastland Ride began—we wanted to write and record our own music again.

Once we had a few songs for the first album, we sent them to Georg Siegl at AOR Heaven. He liked what he heard and told us to write four or five more songs of that caliber, and we’d get a deal. That’s how the debut album came about.

I think we evolved with each release. The last album, Distance, is the strongest overall. The first album had a lot of variety, and the production wasn’t as cohesive. But every album has standout tracks, and I’m proud of all of them.

It was also great to have Sven onboard. We had strong musicians in Coastland Ride—especially Anders Rybank, who played many of the instruments—but when you bring in a dedicated guitarist like Sven, the solo quality goes up a notch. We were proud to have him on those records.

Sven: Thank you, Markus.

With the new Pearls & Flames album coming out, do you have any plans to play live or tour?

Markus: That’s a question we get a lot. We played live with Coastland Ride three times, but Pearls & Flames is more of a project band. Coastland Ride had three members; Pearls & Flames officially has two. To perform live, we’d need to hire additional musicians, cover travel and food costs—it gets expensive.

We’re not famous enough to earn much from live shows, so we’d have to pay out of pocket. For example, our first Coastland Ride gig in Stockholm in 2016 cost me and Anders about 10,000 Swedish crowns. In Gothenburg in 2019, I paid around 5,000 or 6,000 crowns myself. It was worth it for the experience, but it’s not something we can do regularly.

A full-band performance would be tough financially. Maybe we could do a scaled-down, unplugged set—but a full show would be hard without losing money.

Any message for melodic rock fans in the States reading this now?

Markus: I hope they’ll give the album a listen. If they like what they hear, please stream it or buy it. It’s a 13-track album with a diverse mix—from AOR and melodic rock to Westcoast and high-tech AOR. We’re proud of the songs and the musicianship. There’s something for everyone who appreciates strong melodies and great playing. Sven’s solos are incredible—you could buy the album just to hear him play!

Sven, are you working on any other projects at the moment?

Sven: Not really—just a few local bands back in my hometown. Otherwise, it’s mostly Pearls & Flames.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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