Thursday evening (23rd February 2023) in Stockholm, not any other Thursday, but one long waited for, especially one day before the official release of Siena Root’s new album “Revelation”. The band had already prepared something special for their friends and fans, and we were very excited to have been there, among the band and some familiar faces. After all, a lot of people playing in other Stockholm-based bands were present to support their friends.
Five minutes passed 19 o’clock at the Warner Music premises at Rehnsgatan, the doors opened, and we went up to the 5th floor, where the band warmly welcomed everyone, kindly offering some snacks and drinks, before the actual video premiere started. We had the opportunity to speak with the band and mingle with the other guests as well, speaking about, what else, Siena Root, but also other music related stuff. There was also a merchandise stand, with many different t-shirt designs, old and new, the new album of course on vinyl and CD, and also all the rest of the band’s releases. Hallelujah! We grabbed our copy and continued chatting with the rest of our company.
After approximately 15 minutes, we were also welcomed by the record company guy who made a small prologue, speaking about the video and some technicalities of the program, so that we are all informed and aligned. Lights went lower and the video started.
40-45 minutes of duration, where the whole “Revelation” album was playing as background music, no dialogues, just the real thing. This idea was so brilliant! The video basically describes the whole journey – literally and not – of the band to record their new album. From Stockholm, to Värmland, Dalarna and Småland. A road movie/documentary with amazing photography and video production, not missing anything at all from the essence and the spirit of the Root Rockers, who wandered in the Swedish woods, both during summer and winter time. Fantastic landscapes of the beautiful Swedish nature, with drone shots and close-ups of the band, both outdoors and in the studio. For those who had not previously the opportunity to listen to the new record (lucky me, I had!), this was the perfect way to do that, following a small story, the band packing their stuff on their vintage tour bus (which is a cult item, but I think needs a bit of service and care, haha!) in Stockholm, and then driving all the way to the studio. Different video shots of course during the recordings, with the band having fun, resting, taking breaks, long walks in the woods or listening the recorded material. This really cannot be more intimate, in terms of showing almost everything from this process and giving this ‘warm feeling’ of closeness and music artistry. Everything so nicely put, also shooting some scenes at Tyrolen, in Alvesta in Småland, such an awesome place to visit and spend time with bands. The diversity of the video included of course snowy woods, icy roads, but also warm summer dip in the nearby lakes, such a fantastic video overall, by any means and any angle!
Those 40-45 minutes passed so much quickly, and we wanted more of course, but we had the outro so to speak from the four band members who came in front and said a few words about the video, the new album, their experience overall doing this and also answering a lot of questions from the guests without any hesitation. The beautiful evening finished with the band signing tirelessly the vinyl records and the CDs and mingling with all the guests on such a great evening overall, to be remembered for long time!
Skål och tack så mycket!
Antonis Mantzavinos
