The Night Flight Orchestra To Descend On Australia

Get those dancing shoes and capes ready for action… Sweden’s answer to Sherbet and all good things AOR & Yacht Rocky, THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA are coming back for a second landing with their latest album GIVE US THE MOON – this AOR Force’s most cinematic offering so far. Acclaimed Swedish rockers THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA have released their seventh studio album and Napalm Records debut, GIVE US THE MOON.

Founded in 2007 by members of high-profile bands such as Soilwork, Arch Enemy and Mean Streak, over the years THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA have been nominated three times for the Swedish Grammys, gathering millions of streams via their hits. The band has also won over live audiences internationally with their incredibly entertaining performances, including enormous festivals like Wacken Open Air and even opening for KISS on their very last two shows in Sweden at legendary Dalhalla, as well as several successful European tours, one in Australia in 2023 and a Latin American tour in Summer 2024. Now it is Australia’s turn and Björn Strid talks to Hi Fi Way about this upcoming tour.

Inside two weeks now. You must be looking forward to coming back from another Australian tour, which is even bigger than last time.
Yeah. It’s fantastic that we’re able to come back for a second time just two years later. In the first place, I didn’t expect us to be able to come to Australia. And so we are, and here we are again, super excited. The band cannot wait.

Looking at the past two years, can you believe how much has actually happened since the last time you were here?
I know, right? Just nuts. I don’t even know where to begin, but yeah, I hear you.

For Australian music fans who don’t really know much about Night Flight Orchestra and haven’t caught on to how good you guys are, how would you describe the show for this tour?
Well, I think we’ve grown a lot as a live band, even in just the last two years and with this new album, I think we’ve reached something quite special both musically and performance-wise. These new songs are working out really well live, and we’ve managed to put together a really strong set list that sums up our career in a great way. We have new outfits, I got a new cape, and we look great, sound great, and hopefully smell good too, like James Brown would have said. People always say, “Oh, we never sounded better,” but I can guarantee you, we’ve never sounded better. It’s a fantastic set list and an exciting look, and the vibe will be electric. This band has so much fun performing live, and we always connect well with the crowd.

Do you put the improvement down to experience or are there other factors?
I guess it’s an experience thing. We’ve played a lot, and we just came off a five-week European tour. But there’s also the physical side of things. I’m not twenty three anymore, but I feel like my voice is still developing and improving each year, without lying to myself. That’s a great feeling, and something I don’t take for granted. Doing a lot of touring and singing teaches you a lot, and that goes for everyone in the band. I think we’re more connected than ever as members, and there’s a great vibe in the band, we truly enjoy what we’re doing.

Is balancing Night Flight Orchestra with Soilwork getting tougher?
Yeah, it can be. There are times when logistics are really tough, but we try to separate the touring cycles and album cycles to prevent overlap. Of course, things bleed into each other sometimes, but we work with a master plan that covers the next two years. Having the same booking agent helps, and we’re more selective about touring now, making every show special. Touring too much can lead to burnout, so we aim to be present and keep each show meaningful.

Do you think you’ll ever have to pick one band over the other, or does keeping both satisfy different creative sides of yourself?
I hope not. It can be tough sometimes, and I’m getting older, but both bands represent me in a special way. I’m super grateful to be in two established bands spanning different genres, that’s quite unique.

Stepping up the size of the venues, giving fans a chance to experience the full Night Flight Orchestra show must be exciting as well?
Yeah, we’re traveling far, so we can’t bring all our stage props, but we’re doing our best. These bigger stages make us look better, give us more room to move around, and allow us to put on an even stronger performance. If you liked the last tour, this one will be even better, we’ve grown a lot.

Four shows in four days is a pretty tough undertaking. Does anything prepare you for the flight and then jumping straight into performing?
It’s going to be intense. We have some time off before the tour, so we’re trying to rest up. I’m keeping my pipes warm, after this interview, I’m heading back to rehearsing on my own. Then it’s four intense days, followed by a long journey back. And then we go straight to Freedom Rock Festival, landing the day before our performance there. It’ll be a hectic week, but totally worth it.

Congratulations on the new album, Give Us The Moon. You must be really stoked with the end result?
Thank you! Absolutely, and I’m very proud of this album. It’s been quite a journey, especially after losing David. We had to take time to grieve, not just as friends, but as band members and find our way back to the joy of making music again. It was important to carry this on, to make him proud, to make ourselves proud, and to prove that we can still pull this off. That journey has made this album deeply emotional and multilayered. You can hear the sincerity in the music. In the end, it became a celebration of David’s life, of the band, and of everything that makes this project so special to us.

You mentioned about finding your way back. Was that something really difficult as a band, just taking time to get there?
Yeah, we needed time, and the last two years of David’s life were quite dark. It was heartbreaking because we could see where things were heading, but there was nothing we could do. When Rasmus stepped in to play guitar in David’s place, I had a conversation with David while he was in his final days. I asked him if he thought we should continue this journey, and to him, it was obvious. He told me, “This journey’s far from over. I really want you guys to continue.”

He was one of our main songwriters, so losing him was a huge challenge, not just musically, but personally. He was like a big brother to me. It’s still surreal that he’s no longer here. But making this album was about honoring him, proving to ourselves that we could do it, and channeling all that emotion into something meaningful. Throughout the process, there were moments when it really felt like he was still present. I’m not a very spiritual person, but there were times when I wasn’t sure how I had written a certain song, it just felt like David was right there with me.

With the album being a celebration of David’s life, did that shift the songwriting focus? Did it make the album more upbeat or vibrant?
It definitely shaped the direction. It became a reaction to those darker years. Even though Aeromantic I and II were uplifting albums, there was a darker undercurrent in the lyrics. David was a unique lyricist, and no one can truly replace him in that regard. But I had to find my own way of expressing things. If you knew him well, you could sense that he was on a dark path. There were times when I felt that certain songs were too heavy, too bleak. And while I want this band to be multilayered, I love the ABBA melancholy that makes our sound distinct, there were moments when it didn’t feel uplifted anymore. That’s why this album became a reaction to that. It’s a tribute to David as he was before he got sick. I hope, somehow, he can hear it, because it’s truly for him.

Did making this album turn out to be more therapeutic than you expected? Did it help you process emotions differently than you would have without songwriting?
Absolutely. That’s the power of music, it’s an outlet, a way to process emotions. When something like this happens, there’s no better way to work through it than to write, whether it’s words or melodies. For me, melodies are how I express emotion best. Of course, I write lyrics too, but composing melodies is my instinctive way of dealing with things. Working on this album made me realise more than ever how music helps us move forward, process grief, and turn the page emotionally. It really is an incredible tool.

What was the feeling in the band when you played the album back for the first time? Did you listen to it together once you had the final version?
It was a mix of pride and disbelief that we actually managed to pull it together. I was heavily involved in the mixing process, I wasn’t the one mixing it, but I worked closely with Sebastian, our guitarist, who was doing the mixing. He would send me updates constantly, and after a while, you go deaf to the nuances. You doubt yourself. You wonder if it’s really as good as you think it is because you’re so deep into it.
Eventually, we reached a point where we had to say, “Okay, this is it. We’re closing the door on mixing, and now it’s time for mastering.” After taking a break from listening to it, I put it on again and went through the whole album start to finish. That moment was special, I felt proud, and honestly, I got teary-eyed. It was a deeply emotional experience.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch The Night Flight Orchestra on the following dates, tickets from Hardline Media…