MelodicRock Records is very pleased to announce an extension of the relationship with S.A.Y mastermind Jan Akesson, working with the guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/producer on his debut solo album ‘Ascension’, set to be released August 26 under the moniker Jan Akesson’s Shadow Rain.
Jan Akesson's Shadow Rain is an intense, in your face hard rocking rollercoaster that is both unique and melodic as well as very familiar to fans of the debut S.A.Y album, released on MRR in 2015. Guitars and menace run through the album’s 10 tracks, whilst each throws in a hook and melody that draws you back in for more.
Sweden based multidimensional musician Jan Åkesson, was born in October 1965 and is known for his works with hard rock band StoneLake. Åkesson started playing guitar in 1978 and became a songwriter early in his life. In 1984 he got to know singer Peter Grundström while playing lead guitar in the band “Ravage”. Grundström was lead singer of the band “Whitelight” which Åkesson became a member of in the fall of the same year.
In 1987, Åkesson left Whitelight and wanted to pursue a career and a sound that was more guitar-oriented and harder. He went on to form new bands: “Why Not”, “Perfect Stranger” and “Dr. Blue”, playing many very successful gigs and making several acclaimed recordings.
In 1994 Jan decided to step back from live performance to concentrate on writing and producing songs in his new studio on the emerging digital recording platforms that would soon come to dominate the music industry. The studio he created in 2005, was called “UMP”, which is an abbreviation of: “Unlimited Music Production”.
After the split from Whitelight, who later changed their name to “Kee Avenue”, singer Peter Grundström was enrolled to join “StoneLake”. Åkesson and Grundström became a successful songwriting team and released several albums and singles on different record labels.
In 2008 they were invited to write all the music for the project “Solna” and shared the credits with well-known artists from the industry such as Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear, Gamma Ray), Alex De Rosso (Dokken), Rob de Luca (Lynch Mob, Sebastian Bach) and Pamela Moore who is known for her work with classic band Queensrÿche.
In 2015 the duo formed the project “S.A.Y.” and released the critically acclaimed album: “Orion”. Reviewer Kieran Dargan of the site “Rocktopia” wrote: “... the musical class on show here is simply too good to ignore. A rather fabulous little album that is well deserving of a home in your collection”.
Åkesson has been busy as a songwriter for different genres of music as well as hard rock, and has written pop music for numerous artists in Japan, but also hard rock music for artists such as “Liv Moon” and produced punk covers that were released on the album “MAX! - Punk it!”.
Look for ‘Ascension’, from Jan Akesson’s Shadow Rain to be released wide and far by MRR on August 26 alongside the debut Fiction Syxx album ‘Talk Dark Secrets’.
MelodicRock Records is very pleased to announce an extension of the relationship with S.A.Y mastermind Jan Akesson, working with the guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/producer on his debut solo album ‘Ascension’, set to be released August 26 under the moniker Jan Akesson’s Shadow Rain.
Jan Akesson's Shadow Rain is an intense, in your face hard rocking rollercoaster that is both unique and melodic as well as very familiar to fans of the debut S.A.Y album, released on MRR in 2015.
Guitars and menace run through the album’s 10 tracks, whilst each throws in a hook and melody that draws you back in for more.
Sweden based multidimensional musician Jan Åkesson, was born in October 1965 and is known for his works with hard rock band StoneLake. Åkesson started playing guitar in 1978 and became a songwriter early in his life. In 1984 he got to know singer Peter Grundström while playing lead guitar in the band “Ravage”. Grundström was lead singer of the band “Whitelight” which Åkesson became a member of in the fall of the same year.
In 1987, Åkesson left Whitelight and wanted to pursue a career and a sound that was more guitar-oriented and harder. He went on to form new bands: “Why Not”, “Perfect Stranger” and “Dr. Blue”, playing many very successful gigs and making several acclaimed recordings.
In 1994 Jan decided to step back from live performance to concentrate on writing and producing songs in his new studio on the emerging digital recording platforms that would soon come to dominate the music industry. The studio he created in 2005, was called “UMP”, which is an abbreviation of: “Unlimited Music Production”.
After the split from Whitelight, who later changed their name to “Kee Avenue”, singer Peter Grundström was enrolled to join “StoneLake”. Åkesson and Grundström became a successful songwriting team and released several albums and singles on different record labels.
In 2008 they were invited to write all the music for the project “Solna” and shared the credits with well-known artists from the industry such as Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear, Gamma Ray), Alex De Rosso (Dokken), Rob de Luca (Lynch Mob, Sebastian Bach) and Pamela Moore who is known for her work with classic band Queensrÿche.
In 2015 the duo formed the project “S.A.Y.” and released the critically acclaimed album: “Orion”. Reviewer Kieran Dargan of the site “Rocktopia” wrote: “... the musical class on show here is simply too good to ignore. A rather fabulous little album that is well deserving of a home in your collection”.
Åkesson has been busy as a songwriter for different genres of music as well as hard rock, and has written pop music for numerous artists in Japan, but also hard rock music for artists such as “Liv Moon” and produced punk covers that were released on the album “MAX! - Punk it!”.
Look for ‘Ascension’, from Jan Akesson’s Shadow Rain to be released wide and far by MRR on August 26 alongside the debut Fiction Syxx album ‘Talk Dark Secrets’.
MelodicRock Records is very excited to be able to announce the signing of new Swedish band S.A.Y., featuring two veteran artists under the new band name, reflecting their decision to record a melodic hard rock album together.
S.A.Y. is guitarist Jan Åkesson and singer Peter Grundström, musical partners since 1984 and teamed in StoneLake for six studio albums from 2006-2013.
Deciding to record an album with power and finesse, but in a more commercial melodic vein, Jan and Peter settled upon a new name for the project – S.A.Y.
Now it’s time to reveal the cover art and album track listing:
01. Tragedy
02. Heroes
03. Crash And Burn
04. Never Say Goodbye
05. Eight Hundred Miles
06. Broken Wings
07. Dream On
08. Love And Affection
09. Illusion
10. Memories
11. Under Your Spell
The album contains 11 tracks of polished and powerful melodic rock and features the distinctive vocals of Peter Grundstrom and the hard edged guitar work of Jan Akesson; which will immediately bring comparisons to TNT, Westworld and Final Frontier.
S.A.Y. are:
Peter Grundstrom – Vocals
Jan Akesson – Guitars, Keyboards, Bass, Backing Vocals
With: Jens Westberg – Drums
“Orion” is set to be one of the noted debut albums of 2015.
And here is another exclusive FULL track from the album to preview – the opening track ‘Tragedy’
Time to check out one of the tracks from 'Orion', the anthemic "Broken Wings":
MelodicRock Records is very excited to be able to announce the signing of new Swedish band S.A.Y., featuring two veteran artists under the new band name, reflecting their decision to record a melodic hard rock album together.
S.A.Y. is guitarist Jan Åkesson and singer Peter Grundström, musical partners since 1984 and teamed in StoneLake for six studio albums from 2006-2013.
Deciding to record an album with power and finesse, but in a more commercial melodic vein, Jan and Peter settled upon a new name for the project – S.A.Y.
The album contains 11 tracks of polished and powerful melodic rock and features the distinctive vocals of Peter Grundstrom and the hard edged guitar work of Jan Akesson; which will immediately bring comparisons to TNT, Westworld and Final Frontier.
S.A.Y. are:
Peter Grundstrom – Vocals
Jan Akesson – Guitars, Keyboards, Bass, Backing Vocals
With: Jens Westberg – Drums
“Orion” is set to be one of the noted debut albums of 2015.
Time to check out one of the tracks from 'Orion', the anthemic "Broken Wings":
History:
The duo got to know each other after performing at the same show in different bands; Jan was lead guitar in Ravage and Peter was fronting Whitelight. Their meeting led to the conclusion of Jan’s work with Ravage and he became a new member in Whitelight in the fall of the same year.
Whitelight’s focus was melodic hard rock, initially influenced by Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Bad Company and then by a “new wave” of English, American and Canadian bands such as Whitesnake, Van Halen, Journey, Toto, Riot, Wrabit and Dokken. Whitelight played many gigs and produced many demos in search of that elusive record deal.
After 3 years with Whitelight, in 1987, Jan decided to leave the band and went his own way to spread his wings with tougher, more guitar-oriented hard rock. Peter stayed in Whitelight, who changed their name to Kee Avenue.
Jan went on to form new bands Why Not, Perfect Stranger and Dr. Blue, playing many very successful gigs and making several acclaimed recordings.
Kee Avenue split up in 1991 after the bass player and the keyboard player left the band. After this final breakup Peter went on to play and sing with several different, mostly cover bands, though he kept on writing songs, always looking for the right project to showcase his talent.
In 1994 Jan decided to step back from live performance to concentrate on writing and producing songs in his new studio on the emerging digital recording platforms that would soon come to dominate the music industry.
Finally, 15 years after the two first played together, Jan decided to give Peter a call, thinking that it was time for a “reunion”. A good meal and a few beers was the spark that lit a new beginning. Their reunion became the band StoneLake with 6 albums released to date.
Now the guys have set themselves a fresh new challenge with S.A.Y. and their stunning debut “Orion”, Out May 22.
