The Ark is a Swedish glam rock band formed in 1991 and disbanded in 2011. They released five studio albums and became one of the most successful groups in Scandinavia. They released their breakthrough in 2000 with the song "It Takes a Fool to Remain Sane", and since then several hit songs followed; they reunited in 2020.
History Early years The Apocalyptic Era (1991–1994) The Ark was formed by Ola Salo (at the time named "Svensson") in the small town of Rottne outside Växjö, Sweden in the summer of 1991. At the age of fourteen, during a family vacation to Ireland, he wrote a poem in six lines with the title The Ark and got the idea to form a new band from this concept."And God told me to build an ark
To gather the ones who wander in the dark"
- first lines of the poem The Ark (1991)He formed the band with his friends Lars "Leari" Ljungberg, Mikael Jepson and Magnus Olsson, all of whom had previously been in the band Ashram, and they held their first band rehearsals in August 1991, and their inspiration for both music and fashion came from the psychedelic 60's and the decadent 70's. According to Ola Salo the name The Ark was not only intended as a religiously grand symbol but also a symbol for sailing away from Rottne and out into the world.
While Ashram had mainly played covers, such as Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, The Ark was meant to focus on original material. Ola Salo had written some amateurish songs - such as Ashram's only original song "The Kinky Blues" - but in the summer of 1991 he studied the tablature anthology of The Beatles, a book he had received as a Christmas present, and entered a new phase of songwriting.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 3. .
The Ark's earliest repertoire consisted of covers of "My Generation" by The Who and "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones, but also original songs written by Ola Salo such as "Only the Wind" and "Crumble and Fall". The music was in a light-hearted and folky 60's style but the lyrics were dark and epic and the recurring theme was philosophy and religion, most notably about the World's ending with much inspiration from the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 3-4.
The very first show was played at an outdoor festival on the main street of Växjö in mid-August 1991. On November 16 that same year, the band played their first club show at a venue called Uffes källare in Växjö, as the support act for the band The Shiremen who were fronted by Leari's brother Pelle.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 5.
The band was totally unknown outside Växjö but got a local audience. They wanted to make every concert unique, and Ola Salo wrote new songs for each concert. In 1992 the rock club Café Kristina released a double album to promote the local scene, and The Ark participated with the song "The Lamb". This is their first official recording, and for this song they also made their first music video. The song became a small hit in the underground scene of Växjö, and the band had secured a small but devoted local audience.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 6, 8
In the autumn of 1992 the band changed drummer, since Magnus Olsson had chosen a school that demanded much of his time on weekends and since he had also enlisted with the Swedish Home Guard. He was replaced with Markus Rosengardten who was a school friend to Ola Salo.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 7-8
Ola Salo kept on writing songs with an apocalyptic and darkly philosophical theme, with titles such as "Merciful Sledge", "The World's Aflame", "Eucharist", "Rip It Out", "Up Against The Wall" and "My Sin". The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had become a major influence. The music had grown darker, heavier and more psychedelic with complicated chord changes. But at the same time, The Ark wanted to break down the barriers between the art-kids who liked moody and heavy stuff and the kids who liked catchy pop. Songs from this era that would live on and become properly recorded after band's breakthrough are "Topsy Kaiser", "Cygnet to Cygnet", "The Homecomer" (all released on the band's early cd-singles in 2000 and 2001) and "Uriel" (recorded for the album "Prayer for the Weekend" released in 2007).Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 19-21
In 1994 the band made their second music video, this time for the song "The Flower King".
Racing With the Rabbits (1995–1996) In the winter of 1995 they travelled to Malmö, Sweden to record some newly written tracks in a studio called Dundret. The songs recorded during this session was "What Do To With Aileen?", "Racing With the Rabbits" and "Cracked Messiah". The youngest band members were by now 18 years.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 22
This studio session inspired Ola Salo to re-think his way of song-writing, and the first song to came out of his new phase was "Like Mortals Do". It became a fan favourite in the band's live set and Ola Salo describes this song as "the biggest hit of The Ark's Apocalyptic Era".Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 24
In March 1995 the band returned to Dundret studio and recorded two additional new songs: "I Laid It Down" and "Od Slatrom Ekil".Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 25
The Dundret recordings, excluding "What To Do With Aileen?", were compiled into an EP with the title "Racing With The Rabbits", released by the small sub-label Beat That! on a small record label in Malmö called Energy Records. 1000 copies were pressed on CD, less than 100 were sold, and the few reviews where negative.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 39-43
The band members all moved to Malmö, and planned to record a full-length album with the best songs from the Apocalyptic era. The album was to be called "Speak Loud", but Beat That! could never afford to make the album.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 41
Depression and re-ignition (1996–1999) In the years following the failed EP-release, Ola Salo was once again re-thinking his life philosophy and his song-writing. He was experiencing a lingering depression and The Ark was fading from existence. Outside of Växjö the band had no fan-base, and Malmö showed no interest in their music. In 1997 Ola Salo was thinking of breaking up the band, but Martin Axén joined the band as a second guitarist and brought them new energy.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 57–58
In Malmö, Leari and Jepson had formed a new band with Martin Axén and Jens Andersson, called Stereo Explosion, and together with The Ark they began organizing popular parties to promote their music, often sharing the stage with The Ark. The idea was to make fun music and make people dance. Ola Salo was inspired by this and decided to mix the superficial and seemingly plastic aspects of pop music with his heavy and deep themes. Another important revelation came on December 16, 1996 when Ola Salo, Leari and Jepson went to see Kiss perform at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, and Ola Salo had a clear epiphany of outrageous aesthetics and plastic image, combined with superficial but powerful music. But instead of the shallow lyrics from Kiss, he intended for The Ark to have a much more important message. The dark and drawn-out apocalyptic theme was over, and it was time for accessible pop music for the masses, but with a sincere substance. In 1998 Ola Salo also began to openly embrace his bisexuality, which further added to the band's new image and message.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 43-72, 88
But when Ola Salo presented his new vision for the band, their drummer Martin Rosengardten was not as rapturous as the other members. He was very sceptical of the new image, and also had little time for the band because of his education at university. By Christmas 1999, he was sacked from the band by Ola Salo. Sylverster Schlegel, an old friend of the band's from Växjö, became their new drummer.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 65-73
While The Ark were experimenting with their new pop sound they got help from Robert Jelinek from the successful Swedish band, The Creeps. Robert Jelinek gave the demos to Jon Gray who was well-established within the music industry and had his own publishing company called Mad House. One of the demo-songs was "Laurel Wreath", and two others (never released) were called "It Seems To Be The Way" and "Activity". Jon Gray would later become manager for the band and according to Martin Axén he was the first person to really believe in their potential.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 66
The band kept recording new songs as demos, with help from Jens Andersson in the home studio he had built together with Jepson, and the first song they recorded together was "Siamese Centerfold" (later released as a b-side on the cd-single "Let Your Body Decide").Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 68
In 1999, a record deal for three albums was signed with Grand Recordings, who were soon to be merged with Virgin Records, and preparations began for the recording of a debut album. Gula studio in Malmö was chosen for the recording, and Marco Manieri was hired as producer.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 84
We Are The Ark (2000–2001) In the winter of 2000 The Ark went on tour as the support act for kent during their Hagnesta Hill tour, with the premiere in Gothenburg on January 28 and finishing in Stockholm on March 9. They opened their set with the song "Laurel Wreath" and played soon-to-be hit singles such as "Let Your Body Decide", "Echo Chamber" and "It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane". Halfway through the tour, on January 31, the first single "Let Your Body Decide" was released. The song peaked at #9 in the Swedish charts.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 90
The second single, "It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane", was released on May 15. The song became a huge radio hit and the music video was on heavy rotation in the music channels. The song was also successful in Europe, especially in Italy where it remained a top 10 in the charts for four months.Patrick, Christian (2011). No End: The Story of the Ark. Sweden. p. 91-95
The debut album, entitled We Are The Ark, was released on September 25. Another title, "Electric Body Design", had been considered based on how a friend of the band had misheard the chorus of "Let Your Body Decide". The album sold 120.000 copies, making it one of Sweden's most successful debut albums of all time.
A recurring theme on the album is to find strength and joy in being an outsider, to choose joy and lust in life and to go one's own way regardless of the stagnated norms and views of the world. This was also the message that Ola Salo and the rest of the band would often speak about in interviews and during concerts. This theme was to remain constant throughout the remainder of the band's career.