Ulrick Lönnqvist

Code Red

Ulrick Lönnqvist of CODE RED was kind enough to reach out and add me as a friend on my personal Facebook page. He thanked me for the review I recently wrote about their latest album, "Incendiary" and a simple, amicable conversation blossomed into an interview opportunity! "Incendiary" is topping the Melodic Rock charts in Sweden and when you listen to it, you'll understand why.

-Metal Temple Writer Tina Webber

By Tina Webber

• January 21, 2018

Since the release of Incendiary, how do you think it has been received by the fans? What is the feedback? How do you take it all in?

Well, frankly we have been quite overwhelmed by the response, and it has been received very well from the fans all over Europe, and in Japan and the US. The feedback has been very positive, both from critics and fans, which is of course very pleasing. It triggers us to make a really great follow up.

What is your favorite track on the record and why?

"Heat of the Night." Mainly because of the energy, and a sort of CODE RED sound. It's hard, but still melodic, sort of a trade mark-kind of thing. We also chose to make a first music video of this song.

One of my favorite tracks on Incendiary is "Like I Remember You" because of the emotions involved with it. It hits me hard. How was this track composed? Where did you find all the right words?

It started out as a song by me and Hal Marabel, but me and Morgan felt the chorus didn't really work, and that the lyrics weren't "there". So we handed it over to Morgan to rewrite the lyrics. And since he's sitting here right beside me I'll let him answer the rest of the question: Hi, Morgan here, yes together we worked out the melodies for the chorus, and then I rewrote the lyrics. I often write the lyrics for our songs, but we always discuss the themes and topics, so that Ulrick can relate and put his emotion into it. In this case it's about the one that got away, the one love which always stays with you, it can be just a scent, a song playing on the radio, or just a view or a place, which instantly takes you back down memory lane, and stirs up all these emotions. Even though it didn't work, the memories are still there. Does she think of me sometimes? Does she remember me? Like I remember her? I think most people can relate to that.

If you could change anything on "Incendiary," what would it be?

Not much actually. I'm not a believer in changes or remixes after it's done. We had some discussions regarding the final mixes on some of the songs, but now I'm fine with it. Maybe guitars up a notch, maybe a bit edgier in parts, but we'll save it for the next one.

What inspires you?

I'm probably a romantic deep at heart, so I would say love, good things, friendship. The world is already so full of haters, I think we need a little more love and compassion to get along. And I'm also inspired by other bands, artists. I love music. Good music inspires me a lot!

What is the next step for Code Red? What should fans look forward to?

Me and Morgan are currently writing songs for a follow up, and its coming along great. We'll record some Morgan demos with Mike Palace, and also arrange the songs with our new bass player Ken Sandin (Kee Marcello, Alien). We'll see when we'll head into the studio, but probably early or late summer. In the mean time we'll also probably release our next music video.

I understand there were some musical differences when you were with Sahara, which happens often, what did you learn from your time with Sahara? How did it help you become the musician you are today?

Yes, we parted company due to some musical differences, but that's water under the bridge now. One thing I learned was to stand your ground if it's really something you believe in. But also to listen and compromise if that seems like the right way to go. Progression is important, and moving ahead, not dwelling in the past.

Do you plan on touring anytime soon? Do you have any road trip stories you would like to share?

No touring plans at the moment, although we've had some requests. But we're a bit scattered across Sweden at the moment, and we want to concentrate on writing new material for the time being. Maybe we'll play live later this year after the second album is out. But anyway it is being discussed. Any war stories from the road, well that's more Ken or Morgan's department, since they toured a lot. Maybe too many stories to mention... like waking up in a snowdrift five metres from the hotel.

If you could go on tour with any one and go anywhere, who and where would it be?

Tough one to answer. It would be great to tour the countries where we have gotten a lot of good response and a lot of fans, like Spain, Germany, Greece and Italy, but also the US and Japan of course. And with whom? Anyone? Well, let me think... opening for a reunited original JOURNEY would be a dream come true.

Who musically influences you?

A lot of melodic hard rock acts from the 80's and 90's like JOURNEY, WINGER, STRANGEWAYS, GIANT, BAD ENGLISH, FOREIGNER, the WHITESNAKE 1987 album for instance. And singers like Steve Perry, Lou Gramm, Jon Waite. I listen to all kinds of stuff, bit it needs to be melodic to catch my ear.

What are your other hobbies besides creating music?

Music is such a big part of my life, so when I'm off I tend to spend time with my kids, my girlfriend, and my friends. Go to the movies, restaurants, stuff like that.

Thank you again for this opportunity. Is there anything else you would like to share that I may not have asked?

Thank you! Well in the meantime maybe you can check out the new Find Me-album (produced by Daniel Flores) or the new Creye-album (released later this year) where we have contributed with some songs. And hopefully wait for the next Code Red-album to hit the stores. Best regards!