PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Velvet Insane new album Rock N Roll Glitter Suit set for release on 16 July via Wild Kingdom Records
Velvet Insane rose from the ashes from the band’s founder and guitarist Jesper Lindgren intense career who fell apart after his manager tragically passed away at Nottingham Rock City. Distraught at his death but determined not to quit Jesper decided to invest everything he had in a new musical direction. With a passion for big choruses, melodies and riffs Jesper wrote and recorded demos of songs for a band that in his eyes would be bigger than life itself. Like a bolt from the blue, Jesper came up with the band name Velvet Insane.
Former bass player Jesper Sandström heard that Lindgren had something going on and they talked about playing together. At the first rehearsal, Sandström brought along his friend Jonas Eriksson, who then played the drums for the band, and the moment they struck the first chords together it became clear that something special was born.
More songs were written and more demos were recorded. In April 2014 Velvet Insane went into ESTA Studios in Stockholm and recorded their first EP which was released in May 2014. That summer Sandström moved from Östersund and therefore quit the band.
A new line-up was made when Niklas Henriksson (bass) and Tobias Reimbertsson (drums) joined the band and in September 2014 Velvet Insane recorded their official debut EP “Youth on Fire” which was released worldwide in October the same year. Youth on Fire sparked an enormous interest in the band which led them to their first tour abroad which took place in Australia.
After releasing a few Ep’s and touring the world in countries like Spain, UK, Japan, the USA and Croatia, the band released the self-titled debut album in February 2019 (recorded in 2016). Produced by Matti Alfonzetti (Skintrade) the album breathes inspiration from the 70’s glam like Mott The Hoople, David Bowie and KISS.
When Henriksson and Reimbertsson left the band in 2018 Jesper and Jonas asked an old friend and bassist Ludvig Andersson to join the band to form a trio.
With a new groove and a handful of inspiration, Velvet Insane headed to Stockholm in mars 2019 to record multiple singles at the respected studio Rixmixningsverket. This time they had Tomas Eriksson (Kapia, Kapia Da Capo) as a producer. The recording session led to well-known songs like “Time Will Tell” and “The Dance of Life”. Time Will Tell was a collaboration with the award-winning photojournalist Christoffer Hjalmarsson, who made the famous documentary “36 dagar på gatan” and Stockholms Stadsmission.
This was not the first time Velvet Insane was involved in charity projects. Ever since 2012 Jesper Lindgren and Velvet Insane have arranged a charity event in their hometown called “Stjärnfall” which raises money for different organizations. So far artists like Lisa Miskovsky, Kristin Amparo, Thomas Di Leva and Nicke Borg have performed and among organizations they’ve worked with you will find FATTA, Kvinnojouren and BRIS.
In December 2019, the band released the hit single “A Brand New Start” featuring none other than legendary Bruce Kulick (KISS, Grand Funk Railroad) on guitar. Of course, this was a dream for everyone involved, but as a lifelong fan of KISS something extra was in it for guitarist Jesper Lindgren:” I think it’s amazing to be able to release a song together with one of my childhood idols. I’ve listened so much to KISS and Bruce is a phenomenal guitarist who has made big footprints in music and music history.”
Among the year’s Velvet Insane has shared the stage with several major Swedish bands like Crashdiet, Thundermother and Dregen (Backyard Babies & The Hellacopters). Today Velvet Insane is a 3-piece gang of rockers that reinvented glam rock by mixing the pop harmonies of the ’70s with the heavy sound of today. This Scandinavian outfit has been moving forward since their debut album and now they’re ready to deliver a swaggering statement.
On the new album “Rock ‘N’ Roll Glitter Suit”, produced by Sören ‘Sulo’ Karlsson, it’s all “glam bam thank you ma’am” and the lights of legends like Bowie, Slade, T. Rex and Sweet are shining through. In fact, Velvet Insane’s star is shining so bright they might be the next thing to explode!
