Festivals and concerts are conspicuous by their absence. Most recently, it was the organizers of Sweden Rock who threw in the towel.
The hard rock band Eclipse, fronted by Erik Mårtensson, has been forced to cancel tours in the US, Europe and Japan for two years in a row. At home in the studio on Rothagevägen, however, Erik is fully booked with work. “In addition to writing and composing, I produce music for bands all over the world,” says Erik. “I’ve even had bands from as far away as Honduras send me music material that needed to be mixed in the studio.”
Erik says that it started with his brother, who was three years older than him, listening to hard rock, which had a strong following in Mora. At the same time, Erik heard his neighbor Hans Eriksson playing Spotnicks and Shadows on guitar. “That’s when I got hooked on hard rock as a genre and guitar as an instrument,” says Erik. “What you experience in your youth leaves a deep mark on the rest of your life,” continues Erik, who has been living off his music for about 15 years.
Erik plays in several bands but Eclipse is the main group. It was with Eclipse that the journey with records and live performances on the big stages started. The group has also competed in the Melodifestivalen and he has written contributions to both the Finnish and Norwegian Eurovision. "We hope to be able to tour in October but it feels very uncertain as the situation is right now."
Solleröbladet asks how Erik gets ideas and inspiration?
"It's the breaks that are important for creativity. It happens that when I'm out running on Sollerön, I come up with a song. When I get home, I run straight into the studio and sing the loop so I don't forget it," laughs Erik, adding that it's such a quality of life to be able to live and work here on Sollerön.
Eclipse's music is available to listen to on Spotify or, if you wish, can be ordered from any record store on CD or vinyl.
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