Singer, guitarist and composer Hasse Fröberg is of course a member of one of the best prog rock bands from Sweden, namely The Flower Kings. However, he also has his own solo project called Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion abbreviated as HFMC. Their last album is called Eternal Snapshots, a wonderful record indeed. On June 29th HFMC played at the Midsummer Prog Festival in Valkenburg, the Netherlands, and I had the opportunity to have an interview with him, so here we go!

(July 2024, text by Martien Koolen, edited by Peter Willemsen)

You've been here before with The Flower Kings, haven't you?
"Yeah, I'm trying to figure out which year. I think it might have been 2019. It was a horrible show. I can remember that because I lost my voice, I didn't have a voice to start with, ha, ha! I didn't know what was going on

Hasse Fröberg

because this had happened very rarely throughout the years that I have been singing. Besides that, Roine Stolt lent his pedalboard to someone. It was also extremely hot and when he got it back it didn't work any longer. No, that certainly was not one of our better shows, but the place here is magnificent, it's really nice."

Your new album is called Eternal Snapshots (see review). How was it generally received by the press?
"Well, I was almost blown away by the reception of our new album, because when we wrote it first I wondered if it was good enough. But then many people said yeah, this is good stuff, and as we started recording along the way, I got more convinced that the music is good. The overall sound of the entire album is perfect, and I could hear that some of the arrangements that I had in mind really worked out well. However, when we went into the studio, I hoped to record a good album but strangely enough, I was not sure about it but according to the audience I was proven wrong."

Could you please explain the somewhat mysterious title of the new album?
"When I thought about the title for the new album, I realized that we, as human beings, are constantly visualising things about ourselves, but it's not a story with a beginning and an end. We are making snapshots from our life and other people's lives, and as we know new life is born every day and going on for centuries, so, that is in fact the meaning of the title."

Hasse Fröberg

You play the guitar and you sing, but what do you like most?
"I see myself mostly as a singer. Every now and then people say that I'm a good guitar player, but I never considered myself to be a guitar player. In fact, when I joined The Flower Kings I thought that my guitar technique was not good enough to play solos for instance. But Roine convinced me to join the band and I managed to adapt, and I practised something to get the chops together, but again I consider myself as a vocalist and a rhythm guitarist. I don't see myself as a flashy lead guitarist because I'm not!"

Is there a certain album that influenced your life?
"I would say that there are many. The music that inspires you the most is the music that you listened to at an early age, and there are some moments I remember very clearly. My neighbour listened to all kinds of music and among them was Fragile, the fourth studio album by Yes. I can't say that I liked or loved the album immediately, but when I heard Roundabout I thought this is special! Even for a ten-year-old boy this was awesome. However, I also had a much older friend who owned lots of albums! They had everything like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and all the glam bands like The Sweet, but also Genesis albums. I remember when I was a young boy and I heard the intro of Watcher Of The Skies, I knew: this is it. I could feel it instantly as it were, but back then I think that Deep Purple was my favourite band. When I got older I was really into Thin Lizzy, Queen and Rush."

What is the best thing about being a singer in a progressive rock band?
"For me, singing or whatever I do in a progressive rock band, means having slightly more freedom than when playing in a metal band or another genre. Take for instance metal bands. The production of most metal albums is the same, the technique of singing is often the same, while in progressive music you can still sound different as you can put your own ideas into the music and be who you are. You're not forced to sound just to fit in a certain category."

Hasse Fröberg and Martien Koolen (r)

What event are you most proud of?
"Oeps, you get me there... Well, it was of course a big honour to be nominated for a Grammy Award in Sweden. That was cool, but sad that we didn't get it of course. However, we were there and the whole event was great as it was broadcasted live on Swedish television, so yes, that was awesome. I'm not sure if that it is my proudest moment or the very first time we did a show with The Flower Kings in Canada. I was really nervous and the venue was sold-out. To get to the stage we had to go through the audience. That was really awesome and they greeted us very, very enthusiastically. In fact, I was not prepared for that kind of 'Beatles Mania,' but I was no longer nervous after that, ha, ha..."

Is there an embarrassing moment in your musical career as well?
"There must be, for sure! Not like driving into a ditch or that kind of stuff or destroying anything. Nothing comes to my mind right now but being without a voice here in 2019 was no fun of course and there are probably more embarrassing things, but I cannot remember them really. So, no total fiascos! However, my worst gig ever was at high school the last day for the summer holidays. My music teacher persuaded me to play something on my guitar for all the children at school and their parents! I was eighteen years old and when I saw the audience I became so nervous that I almost had to vomit. When I got on stage I didn't know what I was doing and when I got off I couldn't even remember if I had played or not. I asked my music teacher if I did well and he said that it was not my best version, but it was not the worst either. Then I promised myself for the rest of my life that I would never ever play alone again!"

What is the last thing you do before you enter the stage?
"I do vocal warming-ups. The other band members really get annoyed with that, ha, ha..! It is not funny to listen to, but that is what I do trying to maintain my voice, especially when I am on tour. My voice is an instrument that I must take care of since it must work during all performances."

Hasse Fröberg

The venue here in Valkenburg is wonderful, but what is the worst venue you ever played in?
"We played in some cities in the US, and I remember a venue in Philadelphia. It was a real shithole! The whole area was kind of depressing; it was situated in the worst part of Philadelphia I think. The venue had a small room with a bar in it for about a hundred people, a very small stage and it stank of beer and urine. However, the audience was surprisingly enthusiastic. The so-called backstage area was very dirty. We couldn't sit anywhere decently and the toilet was bad as well, but our gig was okay."

Have you got any ambitions left to fulfil?
"I guess I'm too realistic to have ambitions, ha, ha! I just want to create the best music I can as long as I think that it's fun and inspiring to do. If that is no longer the case, I will stop but I'm not there yet. When I play with my own band and with The Flower Kings of course, we still have lots of fun and I've been performing for quite some time now."

Suppose you would not have become a musician, what else would you have done with your life?
"Like many people I'm very interested in sports, and I played sports until I was fifteen or sixteen years old. From that time the music took over completely. Apart from that, I haven't studied anything, so I don't know, maybe a teacher or something like that, a music teacher of course."

Finally Hasse: if you were the journalist and I was Hasse Fröberg, what would be your last question?
"Oh, no, that's a nice, but tricky question to answer! That's really a hard one, well, let me see...: well, what was the turning point in your life when you realised that making music is what you want to do? And my answer would be: it was August 1977, I was thirteen years old, and I stood right in front of singer Phil Lynott and then I knew it: this is what I want to do. Thin Lizzy had just released Bad Reputation, so that was an impressive moment."

Thanks for your time, Hasse.
"You're ever so welcome."