Checking in with Bjorn Englen as Desert Fire hits the atmosphere
By Melanie Falina
When you look at a list that includes Ted Nugent, Yngwie Malmsteen, Scorpions, Dokken, Quiet Riot, Uli Jon Roth, DIO Disciples, Unida, Player, and Leatherwolf, you might think you’re in store for one hell of a concert festival. However, in the case of the melodic powerhouse Soul Sign, everyone on that list has indirectly played a part in creating Soul Sign’s signature sound, proving the theory that diverse perspectives absolutely enhance creativity.
Having just unleashed the follow-up to their debut release, Life in the Dark, the highly anticipated Desert Fire demonstrates it was well worth the wait.
We caught up with Soul Sign founder and bassist, Bjorn Englen, and he’s pretty adamant about Desert Fire‘s purest approach to recording, insisting there’s no autotune or additional over-production in any way in the making of this album. While AI and other computerized tools have made it easy for artists to enhance their recordings, it’s refreshing to see a band so committed to staying true to just good old-fashioned studio recording.
“It cheats the fans, but it cheats the bands even more,” explains Englen on why Soul Sign had nothing up their sleeves in the studio aside from sheer talent and dedication. “When things start to sound overproduced and too polished, it’s no longer as fun to listen to, I believe, in the long run.”
But the recording of Desert Fire wasn’t without difficulties for this Los Angeles-based band. “The most challenging was some of the technical issues we had, and us being in geographically different locations made the album a bit delayed, but now it’s here,” exclaimed Englen. “Working together and creating the pieces was really fun and fulfilling. I loved the pre-production with Mike [Cancino, drums], and I also loved the recording sessions with both Mike and Rob [Math, guitar]. It was very nice to work so easily with Mark [Boals, vocals] from a distance, he is very professional and it was not a problem at all having him do his vocals in Las Vegas.”
And with each member of this all-star band bringing so much to the table from their former groups and projects, we asked Englen if that combined wealth of experience has helped Soul Sign in the creation of these songs: “I think it’s helped us a lot, and us being of a mature age has helped us create a record that we can stand behind.”
Now that the long-awaited sophomore release is finding its way into the hands of music lovers, Soul Sign can finally reap the rewards of their hard work. “It feels great,” comments Englen. “It’s been a long time in the making, and we’re looking forward to getting people’s reaction to the songs.”
“We’re proud of the record and feel like it represents the band really well,” Englen adds in earnest.
And although asking a musician to pick one of his favorite songs is somewhat akin to asking a parent to choose their favorite child; even so, UnRated Magazine inquired as to Englen’s favorite of the eleven songs on Desert Fire: “Very tough question, but I would have to ‘Lost Vague Ace.'” But then he added, “I also think that ‘Negative Thoughts,’ ‘Desert Fire,’ and ‘Clean Soil’ came out great.”
Check out the video for the album’s new single, “Lost Vague Ace” here.
So now that Desert Fire is available everywhere, what’s next for Soul Sign? “We’re doing four shows in California at the end of May, two in the Bay Area, and two in Southern California,” explained Englen, “We’re also looking to go to the East Coast later this year and Europe by next year.”
And what would Englen personally like Soul Sign to accomplish in the next few years: “A new record, of course, within a couple of years. But big festivals in Europe, and world tours with bands like Queensrÿche, HammerFall, or Judas Priest would be nice. We definitely would love to go play Japan and Australia, but also South America and Mexico too.”
Grab a copy of Desert Fire now and be sure to stay tuned to Soul Sign’s official website and Instagram pages for tour dates and announcements!
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