5 Questions With... is your chance to get to know a new or up-and-coming band. The Swedish group Soen's latest album is Tellurian. Vocalist Joel Ekeloff and drummer Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth) introduce us to their band.

Give us a brief history of Soen.
Martin Lopez: The idea behind Soen started around 2002 or even earlier. I always wanted to do something outside of Opeth, something on my own, so I started writing riffs and recording ideas to see what I could come up with but it wasn’t more than a couple of songs and and a few parts here and there.

Kim joined 2004 and we recorded those ideas properly to be able to audition a few singers we had in mind.The band got serious when Joel joined us back in 2011 when we all heard and felt that his voice suited the music perfectly and that we could build something very interesting together.

Describe the songwriting and recording process for Tellurian.
Martin Lopez: I started writing for Tellurian a few months after Cognitive was recorded and we started to go through that material as a band a year and a half ago. We worked as we normally do. I’ll write the core of the songs at home and then bring them to the rehearsal place so that we can polish them together and add whatever needs to be added.

Some songs got done really fast and some took over a year to get them as they’re on Tellurian. When the song writing was done we started recording with Kim taking care of the production. The recording process was a nightmare that we all want to forget, but we’re happy with how the album turned out so I guess it was worth the pain.

How has your sound evolved/progressed from your debut?
Martin Lopez: The new album is more direct and emphasizes on human emotion.We worked hard on finding a balance between technicality and feeling to give the album a lot of sentiment but still keep it adventurous.

We also focused on all details and took longer time than before developing every instruments addition to really enhance the whole experience of Tellurian. We also gained some experience while recording Cognitive and that helped us to avoid error while recording Tellurian. Not all of them, but at least a few.

What has been your most memorable Soen live show, and what are your upcoming tour plans?
Joel Ekelöf : We did a great gig in Tunisia a few days after the fall of the regime. There was great energy and expectation among the audience and it felt magical. The venue was quite small and packed and the sound wasn’t what we’re used to, but the audience was so incredibly polite and full of energy that nothing really mattered besides sharing that moment with all that people.

It was a very interesting concert due to the huge change Tunisia was going through. There was tension in the air and everyone we met was really hopeful about the future and eager to somehow start building their country again. We just feel lucky to have been there at that time exposed to such a great event.

Anything else you'd like to mention or promote?
Joel Ekelöf: We hope to get the chance to tour the US. Both Martin and I toured there before and have nothing but positive memories from those trips.It can be hard to get that chance and it all depends on sales, but I can promise that we’ll do everything in our power to bring Soen to the US as soon as we can. I’ll like to thank everyone who bought Tellurian and supports our music and hope to see you all soon.

(interview published November 22, 2014)