EN: So let's start with the most obvious opening question & that concerns, yes, you've guessed it, Kraftwerk, who are obviously the biggest influence on your music. What was it you found so inspiring in their music & are there any other artists you look up to just as much?       

Owe: I first heard Kraftwerk in 1978 on Radio Luxenbourg through a mono radio over the AM band.I was 10 years old, and "The Model" just swept me away. This was very different from what I'd heard before, sounds that were produced by electronic machines didn't get that much air on the Swedish radio at this time. I like the repetetive feel in Kraftwerk's music, some people think that it's cold and "unhuman", but I just love it, they are a great source for making rhythmic patterns and synth hooks. Jean Michel Jarre is also an artist that I look up to, he has got that original sound that makes me listen and I have to mention Depeche Mode, they put another dimension to my musicmaking. Kraftwerk will for me, always be No1. In my studio I have a painting/collage 27Ӡx 39Ӭ with pictures, interviews etc. of KW, it gives me tons of inspiration, talk about icon worship uh?

EN: So how did you make the move from devoted listener to music maker? Were you able to afford much gear at this time?       

Owe: I bought a small Casio calculator (VL-Tone), it had a rhythm box and you could play on the mini keys, you could even record a short song.I was 15 and my father noticed my interest for music so he bought a Korg MS10 synthesizer as a present, they were cheap 'cause the digital synths were more popular than the analogue at this time. All my friends were out on their mopeds, I sat with my synth, and made sounds, everything from helicopters to basses. Later I bought a TR 808 drummachine, then I could sync it with CV together with the MS10. The breakthrough was the Ensoniq esq1, it had a built in 8-track sequencer that was easy to use. Now I use software but I think a combination between soft and hardware synths is the best solution.

EN: So older instruments are still important to you?       

Owe: It's not that important what kind of gear you have, it's how you use it that matters. The virtual software instruments, sounds practically as good as the old analogue hardware. You can buy software with perfect sounding Moog clones, full racks of synths and drummachines at a very low cost. On both "Electric" and ҏn The Road To Wisdom" I only used two software programs! I recorded the vocals in Tracktion and all the synths were programmed in Reason. I've sold all the hardware synthesizers to save space & now I'm rebuilding the studio and I want to have some hardware in it. When I started to make music I had several analogue synths and I want to get back to that feeling.

EN: Were there any projects before ABOD?       

Owe: I've been making music more or less since 1983, I had several musicprojects before ABOD, like one called Tekknik Bureau sounding exactly like Kraftwerk but after that it was mostly techno stuff. In 1996 I had a project together with Ola Lindstrom, called Electrocowboy. We did the song "Down to Vegas" and a couple of other 'cowboysynth'-inspired songs. We thought they were really good so we sent them to some labels but no response. I reworked "Down to Vegas" and with Ola's permission it came out on the latest ABOD album.

EN: Synthpop seems to have a good following in Sweden with several well-respected bands (Children Within etc) &, I believe, a nightclub dedicated solely to old & new synthpop. Did you have much contact with any such people & did this environment help or inspire you in your quest to achieve your musical goals?       

Owe: Synthpop is very hyped right now in Sweden and there are a lot of really good bands like Universal Poplab, The Legends and The Knife but I don't have any contact with people in the genre and I don't go to clubs, it's not my thing, really. Right after I did "The Sea" I took a course in musicproduction and met some of the town's leading musicians which gave me some new ideas and influences to my music. When it comes to making music I'm a bit of a lone wolf; I present my ideas to Monica, my fiance and she will say "that's good", "get rid of that", -too much italo disco!". She has inspired me a lot.

EN: A Blue Ocean Dream doesn't sound like the sort of name a Kraftwerk-inspired band would have. Was the name chosen with the express intention of not giving away what kind of music you make?       

Owe: No it's not a name that you connect with electropop, maybe Teknikk Bureau would have been a closer description of the music. The story is that I had a break after Electrocowboy, I needed new ideas, and my first album "The Sea" was a way to express my fascination for seas and oceans. I've always had a wish to live close by the sea and A Blue Ocean Dream is a reflection of this. I think it's a good idea to have a name that's not so obvious, it makes people more curious.

EN: My first contact with your music was with your latest album "On The Road To Wisdom"(released on A Different Drum) but before that was the self-released album "Electric" which, despite not being as accomplished as your latest work, still has some fine music on it with "The Sound Of The 80s" being the stand out track for me. How, in your opinion, has your latest work progressed from your earlier material?       

Owe: Well, I think I have progressed both as a musician and as a song writer. The music has gone from instrumental, ambient and laidbackpop to a more electro-driven sound. I sing a hole lot more on the latest album, Monica convinced me, and it turned out well. Right now I'm working on a new album, and it will have more atmosphere to it.

EN: When I first heard OTRTW my first thought was that this album was very similar to Karl Bartos' solo material in that it took the classic Kraftwerk style & make it more human, was this your intention all along?       

Owe: Yes I like Karl's work, I would like to work with him someday. I can see the similarities.In fact all the the music I do comes directly from the heart, I can not make music that I can't stand up for. The sounds should have some kind of life of their own, even when it's repetitive and synthesizer based.

EN: I think it's fair to say that "OTRTW" is your defining moment to date, starting with the superb "People Unite" which is one of the finest opening tracks I've ever heard. It seems as if people are finally waking up to the music of ABOD but have their been any particularly satisfying moments or events surrounding the album since its release?       

Owe: Thank you for all the kind words! Yes people are slowly beginning to find ABOD and they like what they hear. I put all comments up on the website and I have only met positive reactions from people who have heard my work. The feedback I get from some of the fans is overwhelming. I haven't done that much promotion for "OTRTW" so I hope it finds it's way out by itself'cause it's a great album.

EN: I guess having ADD promoting it must have helped too.       

Owe: Todd at ADD has been a great help and support, the promoting part from ADD's side has been a big push forward for "OTRTW" but I must also thank Brian Hazard, who made a superb job with the mastering of the album, he really made it shine!

EN: You also released "Cold" as a mini single, with 3 remixes & a new track. What convinced you that this was a good marketing ploy when anyone who is curious about your music could simply go to your website?       

Owe: The contract with A Different Drum included a single so I had to pick one. It could have been anyone of them but I chose between "People Unite" and "Cold". I went for "Cold" because it is a very good song and it was the last one I did for the album, it's one of my personal favourites. You can listen to all tracks on the ABOD website but it's only short clips streamable in 96khz. The single is meant as a collectors item cause the three extra songs are only available on the single, you can't download them via iTunes as the rest of the album. One funny thing is that the 'Dusseldorf' version is switched with the'Slam Mix', if you listen to it you can hear that one version is a KW pastiche and every fan of KW knows they come from Dusseldorf.

EN: You've said in the past that your earlier music had no style that was yours. Presumably you're feeling that the music of ABOD is in the process of changing this or already has, perhaps?       

Owe: I feel more secure when I do the music today. The sound of ABOD today is standing more on it's own, I don't look at trends and I don't need to copy what's on the charts. When the music feels right and when I start to think that somebody must have done this great tune already then I know I'm home.

EN: What about playing live, any possibilities there?       

Owe: ABOD is only a studio project and I don't have any plans for playing live. Maybe that will dissapoint some fans but I believe that you really must have a great show to pull it through, otherwise the music will fall flat.

EN: Many synthpop artists stubbonly refuse to change their sound at all, sticking to one style &, in some cases, picking up a devoted & loyal fanbase. Is this something you might do or are you intending to develop or even change your style to any great extent?       

Owe: This is a question that I struggle with, should I do another album sounding the same as "OTRTW"? Or should I just break up and do something totally different? The next album will be in the neighbourhood of "OTRTW" but it will still be different. When I finished "OTRTW" I had ideas for some new songs and I've developed a sound concept that is ABOD music so I think it's a great opportunity to release them while people still want to hear more. It will have more influence from Air to it yet it will be the ABOD sound, but I use more different softsynths so it may sound more 'sparkling' and 'crisp' perhaps. As a matter of fact, I even have thoughts of the album after that and that one has a more drastic change in the music.