I grew up in Halmstad, Sweden where I was the middle child of three with an older brother and a younger sister. I started playing the guitar at the age of 9 when my parents told me to choose what kind of instrument I wanted to learn. Since my brother already played the keyboard I chose the guitar and started to take lessons. However, when the guitar teacher only taught me how to play rhythm guitar (when all I wanted to do was to know how to play lead guitar), I eventually quit taking lessons (it turned out to be the only music education I ever got). It wasnt until the age of 15, when I bought a brand new nylon stringed guitar, that I started playing again. My brother and I used to jam a lot and eventually I started to transfer the things he played on the keyboard to the guitar. This was a turning point for me as I discovered a new way of learning how play the guitar, simply by using my ears as tools. I learned how to play Metallica, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest songs. At the age of 17 I got my first electric guitar and started to play in different bands. I had developed a proper technique from playing the acoustic guitar which gave me a head start on the electric guitar. This inspired me to practice even more. The first band I was in was a rock band playing Swedish rock covers. Another band was a punk quartet and we played Green Day and NOFX covers. While most of my friends were into one specific type of music I constantly tried to explore new grounds, trying to learn as many different songs as possible no matter the genre. Eventually, playing covers no longer inspired me so I started writing my own music and a whole new world opened up. Another breakthrough in my development as a guitar player and as a musician happened when I, at the age of 18, heard Dream Theater for the first time. It totally blew my mind. Dream Theater soon became and are still my main source of inspiration in writing and playing music. I started to get in to more technically advanced music and I also started listen to Frank Zappa, Rush, John Mclaughlin, Steve Morse etc. I mainly compose heavy rock songs with big orchestrations. One of the main ingredients in my music is music from the far east i.e. Indian and Arabic music. I mix this with "traditional" heavy western melodies and chords. I live with my wife Caroline and daughter Emelie in Lund, Sweden. When I..m not playing guitar I spend most of my time with my family and my friends.
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