How Standfast started was pretty interesting. Suzanne Mosson and Patrick Tucker met in Stockholm in 1997 and decided that they should try their luck as a team. “We rented a rehearsal studio without windows in a basement. The place was filled with young songwriters, writing and 'demo-ing' around the clock.” They acquired an 8-track recorder, a cheap red plastic organ and started off with a little help from their friends, “The room was so small you could barely close the door after you've squeezed in a drum set.”

“We started without preconceptions and just allowed ourselves to have fun. The only thing we knew was that we both liked the melodies in 60's pop as much as the groove in today's music and we also like lyrics that take you somewhere, that let your imagination go. We spent almost a year in that small room, writing and recording. But we didn't present anything, didn't shop the songs to record companies. The songs got better and more focused as time passed. There was no hurry.”

Suzanne began writing songs when she was 15. She learnt to play the guitar and bass but she found it difficult to play and sing simultaneously. She then left home to backpack in Australia for six months and then moved to Stockholm in the early 90's. She studied at a university for a year and worked in television production for a while before deciding that music was her passion, “I decided to focus on music again. I toured as a back-up singer with Swedish singer Dilba before concentrating on my own career.”

Patrick listened to a lot of Beatles and Dylan when he was a kid, thanks to his parents. He started to play the guitar at 10 and had written songs ever since. He took up classical guitar at the Music College in Karlstad. As music was in his blood, he started his own enterprise right after school. “A brilliant concept; me and a friend sold “musicgrams”, musical telegrams, which we delivered at the door. And after that I worked as a studio and tour musician in Stockholm since then.”

After spending a year in the windowless room, the duo decided to take time off. Patrick became a member of the Murlyn Music song-writing team and wrote a couple of hits like “Because of You” by 98 Degrees and “Only For You” by Ronan Keating. At the same time, Suzanne composed a tune that was to become a track on the Standfast album. “Shine On,” the lush pop tune was written by Suzanne's temporary patner, Matte Hedstrom.

“We had been working so hard with the songs and didn't just want to send a demo to a record company. We wanted to present them in person, otherwise you just get lost in the flood. But EMI refused. They told us to send a demo or forget it. We got pissed off… didn't even write “kind regards” in the letter. Two days later they called and said they liked “No Longer” and wanted to see us”.

“We've been fortunate enough to work with the right people. Producers like Arnthor, Alar Suurna and Carl-Michael HerlÖfsson has helped us bring the songs alive. And we got mixer genius Brad Gilderman (Madonna, Whitney Houston) to mix three of the songs. It was great just watching him work. The whole album's been a long creative journey”.

Suzanne has never considered herself to be a singer, a proper singer while at that. “I've never felt that I'm a real singer. I've never played and sung other people's songs just for fun. I started singing because I had to deliver my songs. Which is what it's all about for me. I don't like singers that get in the way of the song”.

“I used to think song-writing was such a struggle. But our chemistry was perfect. It suddenly felt so simple”, Suzanne says. Patrick believes that a good way to inspire each other is never to present a finished idea. “There must be room to contribute”. One day Suzanne woke up with the words Car crashes, TV-shows, a drunkard on the side of the road. “Couldn't get them out of my head, so I thought we might have something. Took them to Patrick and we had a song”.

“The only thing you can ask of pop music is that it should reflect its times,” says Patrick. Susanne, on the other hand has this to say, “The musical climate today is incredibly inspiring” Ask them, and they'll name the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Wyclef Jean, Coldplay and Erykah Badu as philosophical. “Every generation has its heroes”.

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