Ah, the 1980s. The decade that some of us love to hate, or hate to love. Or maybe even love to love – and why not?
It certainly was a decade of contrasts, with culturally great highs and equally terrible lows. No matter what, it was a colourful decade, and things just seemed to be a bit more fun then. No wonder that era keeps being revisited.
How about you? Are you feeling a bit retro? Do you miss that 1980s melodic rock sound? Do you pine for the catchy guitar riffs, the synth-laden hooks, the very 80s way that songs were written, and the larger than life choruses?
If you do, you can take solace in the fact that the Swedes in the Night Flight Orchestra are keeping it all alive. And they are amazing.
The name alone should conjure up a few memories for at least some of us who lived in the 1980s. Night Flight was the name of a TV show that played a mix of mainstream and alternative music videos. They had a lot of other pop culture content as well – artist interviews, short films (and B-movies!), stand-up comedy, documentaries, on-site cameras at events, and much more.
Most of their content would be related to music, and we would get the music-related parts of this show in the Norselands. They were shown late at night (I guess they took the name literally over here), and I remember some of those episodes very fondly. And who doesn’t remember the iconic title sequences where the Night Flight logo flew over night cityscapes and landscapes?
The guys in the Night Flight Orchestra must feel as nostalgic towards the “Night Flight” logo and show as a lot of us do, as the name and a lot of their sleeve art and music videos constantly pays tribute to it.
The band was created as a side project out of boredom on the road. In 2006, as Soilwork was out there on one of those endless American highways, Björn Strid (vocals) and David Andersson (guitar) started playing around with ideas in the style of their early years as music fans. They gave themselves the challenge of staying within the boundaries of those beloved 1980s. This sparked the desire to take it a step further and record a full album in that style.
It took a couple of years to get together a line-up of likeminded musicians who shared the same vision, but being thorough paid off. They were joined by Sharlee D’Angelo (bass) Richard Larsson (keys), Jonas Källsbäck (drums) and Sebastian Forslund (guitar).
It speaks volumes that this line-up has remained the same since the beginning. It was also a great sign of things to come that the first time they all got in a room together and started playing, the magic was instantaneous. The sound of The Orchestra was born there and then.
The band has released albums regularly: Internal Affairs (2012), Skyline Whispers (2015), Amber Galactic (2017), Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough (2018), and Aeromantic (2020).
ALBUM REVIEW: THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA – «Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough» (2018)
ALBUM REVIEW: THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA – «Aeromantic» (2020)
What started out as a side project has pretty much forced itself to the forefront due to its success. The band has received several Grammy nominations in their native Sweden. Their albums have built them a solid reputation, not just as a retro act but a strong melodic rock band in its own right. That is a very important point – while they are certainly celebrating the 1980s in their music, this is much more than a pastiche of music from times gone by. There is a great injection of modern melodic rock, the power of modern production techniques, as well as influences from all over the place lurking around the corner.
The Night Flight Orchestra have catchy tunes, musical artistry, melodic hooks, a great retro flair, and are guaranteed to bring some fun times for one and all!
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