Interview with Simon Alexander: ‘I travel between nostalgia and looking forward’

Gothenburg-based folk/blues singer Simon Alexander will release his next album, Riverine, on 13 November, with a new single from the album, ‘Ocean’, slated for release on 23 October.

Riverine is a fitting title for the 11 track album given that Alexander has ‘always been drawn to rivers’: ‘This album includes two new songs – ‘Ocean’ and ‘Riverine’ as well as as my full band recordings from my debut EP ‘Won’t Be Found’ (2017).’

‘Oceans’ is about ‘an emotional ocean’, according to Alexander: ‘It’s about various kinds of addiction, including toxic relationships and other addictions. It’s a kind of Hozier sounding, ‘dark folk’ song.’

‘All of the songs on this album have a relationship to rivers and water’

‘Riverine’ is a tribute to his love of water: ‘All of the songs on this album have a relationship to rivers and water or were written in cities with rivers,’ he said. ‘It feels just right to end this chapter by having two complete albums to depict my journey so far and thus begin the next chapter with an empty page, ready to tell new stories.’

Last month, he brought out his album, ‘A Place To Call Home’, an 11-track folk/blues mix about what home means to him: ‘A home to me is whatever you want it to be,’ he said. ‘It’s where you feel that you belong and can find peace. For years, I’ve been writing music in different homes, from recording guitars in small shared apartments to writing lyrics on top of mountains. With this album, I wanted to give a small piece of me, a personal reflection on different situations throughout my life where I’ve either been in search of something or have found a place I call home. I travel between nostalgia and looking forward.’

The title song, ‘Home’, reflects all of that beautifully: ‘The sun has been my light in the absence of her, but when it leaves at night it’s nobody’s concern,
among the stick and stone I’ve learnt to be alone, but not knowing what is right, I’d rather stay unknown, believe I’m sent here to roam, no need for sympathy ’cause all I need is a place to call home.’

Another song on his recent album, ‘Phoenix Fire’, is a pick-me up designed for a friend: ‘That’s actually one of the older songs. It’s about a friend of mine in a bad situation. It’s my way of saying ‘hold on’. A lot of songs are created around people I know. I talk to them about it first, not just two days before release. I don’t want to out anyone, so I keep the references quite opaque, but I let them listen to it and give me feedback.’

‘Writing the last few songs, I was more worried, life seemed very fragile’

The last four tracks on the album, including ‘Heading Nowhere’, were written in lockdown and it shows. ‘Writing the last few songs, I was more worried, life seemed very fragile. ‘Heading Nowhere’ is more dreamy than some of the others because it’s about dreaming yourself somewhere else. It’s my favourite on the album because it resonates given what we’re living through.’

His debut EP, Won’t Be Found, has a very different feel to his latest songs, it’s heavier, rockier. ‘I think it reflects that I listened to more rock at the time, whereas now it’s more about bluesey/folky music and I write more acoustic tracks now.’

Nonetheless, his taste in music remains eclectic, and he cites Led Zeppelin and Neil Young as two favourites. He also laments that folk singers Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake both died so young. ‘They had so much more to give. Jeff’s cover of ‘Hallelujah’ is the best cover of it ever made, in my opinion. It’s a song that has been over-used over the years, much like ‘Wonderwall’ but when you just listen to ‘Wonderwall’, it’s a pretty damn good song.’ He cites ‘Place To Be’ as his favourite Nick Drake song: ‘It’s such a serene song with a lovely melody and beautiful lyrics of him reminiscing about his youth and the struggles of growing older.’

Alexander grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Sting and is also a fan of The Tallest Man on Earth (a Swedish country singer-songwriter) and American rock band Rival Sons. ‘People like that and José González (an Argentinian-Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Gothenburg, Sweden) directed me to where I want to be, musically. José González is often just him with two guitars yet he creates a vast landscape and transports you to a different place. To be able to do that with the simplicity of his music is something special. He’s a major influence for me, it would be so cool to open for him. Or for Matt Corby (an Australian singer-songwriter), I listen to his albums all the time.’

He is also a fan of Aussie indie roots transplant to Stockholm, Ryan Edmonds. ‘I also love First Aid Kit (Swedish folk duo) and Land Of Trees (the working name of Swedish folksinger/songwriter Marcus Friman), he’s a friend of mine.’

He admits that it’s easy to play a song on a loop when he’s really into it: ‘I have to force myself sometimes to put a different song,’ he laughed. ‘I get stuck on songs sometimes! I have always have music on – I always like to find something new.’