Tim Wallander
Professional Musician
Introduction
My greatest passion and joy in life is music, especially as a drummer. I've made the choice to invest in music full time, a tough road to take, but definitely a rewarding one.
I follow my curiosity, reflect and analyze constantly, I believe that these are some of my finest qualities as a musician. I enjoy the process of learning and growing through my own insights and discoveries. Obstacles and challenges give me a lot of meaningfulness and joy, as it's truly exciting to overcome them and reach new levels of myself. I've learned that our potential as human beings is huge if we make room for growth, use our imagination, put in the work, strive to thrive, relearn everything if necessary, make consistent decisions and find a balance between self-love, discipline and playfulness. I'm all about that. A bad day for me is a day without music and growth.
Every sound I make on the instrument must serve a purpose and I'm always 100% present in performance, regardless of music style or situation. I have high ambitions and big dreams, neither of them get compromised these days, as I'm striving to fullfil them.
I'm based in Malmö, Sweden where I work as a freelance drummer, a private drum teacher and in the studio (more info of my services bottom page). I love the diversity in my daily life and teaching really puts things into perspective. I treasure each one of my students, I'm proud to be their teacher and I'm gladly putting my heart into every drum lesson.
I'm a multiinstrumentalist and that gives me a lot of freedom, allowing me to be absorbed by a musical moment to my full capacity. I've been writing music since I was 14 years old and I'm mostly self taught. It also serves as a pedagogic tool in my teaching. Multiple times I've taken the journey to learn an instrument and with that process comes a lot of wisdom which I pass on to my students. In my teaching it's essential to combine theory with practise and painting that canvas with a musical context. See *Watch and Listen* below for examples of my playing.
Some of my qualities as a drummer are: versatility & adaptability/improvisation, musicality, presence & energy, endurance, fearlessness & curiosity, timing, creativity, groove and communication.
Biography
Encouraged by my mother I began taking drum lessons when I was 13 years old and when I was 14 I started my first band. I was very fortunate to get my childhood home extended with a music room. Although neither of my parents are musicians, my father filled it up with many different instruments. There I spent hours each day exploring with boundless creativity, as well as writing my own music. A lot of jamming with friends from school and with my big brother kept my musicality growing. It was the start of something beautiful and real.
At the age of 15, I began to study in a music class at Heleneholms Gymnasium (3 year music high school) in Malmö and along with that I got to know many musicians who would later become very good friends and fellow musicians over the years.
Almost every lunch break I went to the practice section of school and explored all instruments they had and I often stayed after school jamming with friends. It was an incredible time for me socially as all of my friends suddenly were musicians as well, the school was such a beautiful playground. During that time I was also active in several different bands which I frequently played live, made low budget recordings and jammed with. Among them a blues band (The Wang Dang Doodle Orchestra) and a jazz quartet (The Flowtrain Quartet).
Every Thursday night after school, I took my bike to a local blues jam, which became something like my second home. To this day, I've been to that same jam almost every Thursday and not only did it teach me the roots, improvisation, dynamics and communication but also friendship through music. (Mässingshornet, Malmö). I went to other jam sessions as well, among them a jazz jam and rock jam at local bars, also a lot of rehearsal room free form jam sessions went down.
2012-2013 I studied Afro American music at Oskarshamns Folkhögskola. One year was enough for me, I found that I preferred the free life I had in Malmö which had a more diverse and cooking cultural life. I hosted jam sessions three times a week for a half a year - a balkan jam, a rock jam and a blues jam, at Copenhagen Bar in Malmö. I started a power rock/blues rock trio named Magic Jove. We played quite frequently and that was the first band I ever played abroad with (Denmark, Norway). I also got my first studio jobs during this time, mostly singer songwriter and blues related music.
In 2014 I joined psychedelic progressive folk rock band Agusa and played with them for 7 years. Playing progressive music has helped me grow immensely as a musician as it exposes you to a diverse musical environment and requires a wide range of skills. Agusa was the first band I travelled around Europe with and that alone gave me such a motivational boost. We released records yearly and had a pretty good following. The positive memories I have with this band are countless; great people, beautiful venues and a lot of musical freedom.
From 2015 everything got into full bloom. I was playing a lot, both in Sweden and around Europe and with a large variety of bands - totally improvised space rock (Øresund Space Collective), balkan music (Zykopops), west african music like Fulani (Nyamacool) and Afrobeat (Olumo Soundz), blues (Georg Meggs). I also started to teach drum students privately and as a substitute teacher in schools, on a regular basis.
In 2020 I joined latin band Faela!, a local band I had known about since school, with some of the hardest working musicians in the area. We did multiple tours and the intensity of the shows were absolutely bonkers. The band displayed exceptional showmanship, unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
In 2021-2022 I left all of my local bands. I wanted space to create something new, to get time to reflect on what I truly wanted to do with my music career. I practised hard every day for something unknown and the universe delivered something very special to me, namely the British, progressive cult band Ozric Tentacles. From November 16 - December 5 I was on my first tour with them and GONG, travelling all over the UK. It was a very successful tour and a mind blowing first experience as the new drummer of Ozric Tentacles. It's an honour for me to play with them and I can't wait to see what exciting adventures it will bring!
You can find my full discography and sound samples of my bands further down this page.
Flattering Words
You've got to have a lot in your backpack to be able to improvise just like that, as you do. It is evident that you have played a lot in bands - being able to play technically is one thing, but playing with such a musicality requires control & knowledge
- Tomas Haake (Meshuggah)
Unique person, unique artistry
- Mino Cinelu (Miles Davis, Weather Report, Sting, more..)
When you play it's no circus, it is serious. You are really fantastic
- Morgan Ågren (Magma, Steve Vai, Tigran Hamasyan, Devin Townsend, Dweezil Zappa, Kaipa, Mats & Morgan, more...)
You play super groovy, really bad ass!
- Peter Wildoer (Darkane, Arch Enemy, more... )
You are the best afrobeat drummer in Sweden
- Jason "Timbuktu" Diakité
Gallery
Watch & Listen
Video montages of my drumming, former bands, multiinstrumentalist- & one man band stuff
Drummer: 21 videos of my drumming. All of them have been selected with a lot of love and intention. I wanted to display all that intense and wacky stuff that I explore in solitude; equal amounts of improvisations, compositions & grooves. I also threw in excerpts from live solos.
Bands & Jams: 12 videos, displaying some of the bands I've been playing with. I also included some jams with friends.
My experience in playing a wide range of musical styles has shaped who I am as musician. My ambition is to be able to enter any musical context with confidence, knowing that I can connect, provide and enjoy the moment to the full extent of my capacity.
When I adopt a new music style I'm humble before the masters and I want the learn about the origin of the music, then fusing styles together into a unique blend. I'm just a visitor in most genres, as I've only scratched the surface of each one of them and to know that is an amazing feeling. Then I know that I will always have something in my life that gets me excited beyond belief!
As a musician, this is such a cooking time to be living, being exposed to such diverse music from all over the world. I feel fortunate to be a part of the community and contribute with my interpretation of music.
With a diversity in bands and music styles I get to play a whole spectrum of venues, locations and for different audiences, which I consider to be one of the most exciting aspects of my passion and job.
Multiinstrumentalist: 10 videos from 2019 & 2020 displaying a glimpse of what I do with my quality lone time. I have material enough for many albums and one of my dreams is of course to make that into reality one day.
Full videos & many more on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tim.wallander
One Man Band: A video montage of clips from 2019 & 2020 where I play keyboard & drums simultaneously, sometimes singing and rapping along with that.
This came to be one day when I felt a desperation to let go of more creative steam, so I created what I call my spaceship. I also discovered that this was an excellent way for me to harvest the money without selling my soul. Also I found that this helped a lot with independency in my limbs. I've played 14 cover gigs in one week like this... yes, I had back pain.
Studio Jobs
Some of the artists I've done studio jobs for
Discography
My bands throughout the years, releases on Vinyl & CD
My Services
Freelancing
I have my own company for invoice payment, four drum kits for different styles, flight cases for snare & cymbals, a driving licence and a rehearsal space where we could rehearse for upcoming gigs. I'm versatile as a drummer and I love challenges, however I'm some BPMs behind in Metal. I have a lot of experience as a touring musician playing big venues as well as soft gigs at hotels, cafés, restaurants etc. I know how to adapt to various environments and I have just the right tools. Also, both my mother and my grandmother thinks I'm a really good guy! :)
Drum lessons
As a multiinstrumentalist I can prepare you for playing with others. Everyone loves to jam and here we infuse fun with practical tools. I'll teach you the basics like drum notes, beats, fill-ins, technique. Advanced level students will be challenged with more detailed playing, out of the box-thinking as welI as making the beats groove. I will try my best to answer all your questions and you can tell me what you would like to learn. Everyone is welcome. Teaching drum students is among the best things in my life, so I'd be sincerely grateful to have you!