Kristoffer Gildenlöw (born in 1978)[1] is a Swedish musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist of progressive rock band Pain of Salvation.
Early life and education
Gildenlöw was born in Eskilstuna, Sweden.[1] He studied piano for six years until giving it up at the age of 13. He changed over to drums and bass guitar and started taking bass lessons at the age of 14. He went on to study electric bass, classical vocals, double bass, and music design.[1]
Career
1994–2006
In 1994, at the age of 16 years, Gildenlöw replaced the original Pain of Salvation bass player and became a member of the band. This line-up of the Gildenlöw brothers (Kristoffer and Daniel), Johan Langell, and Daniel Magdic recorded a demo called Hereafter, which the band sent out to record companies; they were signed by InsideOut Music in 1998. Gildenlöw performed on the following Pain of Salvation studio albums: Entropia (1997), One Hour by the Concrete Lake (1998), The Perfect Element, Part I (2000), Remedy Lane (2002), BE (2004). In addition to the albums, Gildenlöw performed on the live albums 12:5 (2003) and BE Live (2004), as well as the single "Ashes" (2000). There were several demos and unofficial releases of Pain of Salvation that also featured Gildenlöw's bass play: Hereafter (demo, 1996), The Painful Chronicles (magazine compilation album), and Live in Barcelona (fan club release).
Session musician and side projects: 2006–present
In 2006, Gildenlöw left Sweden and Pain of Salvation to reside in the Netherlands. The next six years were focused on creating his first solo album, but he also remained active in the music scene recording bass for various artists. In addition to studio recordings, Gildenlöw worked as a session musician for live performances and touring.
One of Gildenlöw's side projects is the progressive rock band Dial, founded in late 2003 by Liselotte Hegt, Rommert van der Meer and Gildenlöw. In the summer 2006, the band recorded their debut album Synchronized together with producer Devon Graves (of Deadsoul Tribe and Psychotic Waltz). The album was released in May 2007 through ProgRock Records.
In July 2007, Gildenlöw auditioned to lead sing for the israeli project Amaseffer but lost the part to Mats Levén.
Currently Kristoffer plays in the band Dilemma (band) and they recorded Dilemma's album The Purpose Paradox.
Solo artist: 2012–present
Gildenlöw's solo career as a singer-songwriter took flight with the release of his debut album Rust (2012), which he had been working on for six years.[2] It featured a wide range of guest musicians, including Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation), Fredrik Hermansson (ex-Pain of Salvation), Ola Hedén (ex-The Flower Kings).[2]
Gildenlöw signed a multi-project deal with Melodic Revolution Records in October 2015.
Gildenlöw's second solo album, The Rain, was released in 2016. It features Fredrik Hermansson (ex-Pain of Salvation), Lars Erik Asp (Gazpacho) on drums and percussion, Paul Coenradie (Valentine) on guitar, Anne Bakker (Blaze Bayley) on violins and viola, and Maaike Peterse (Ayreon Theater Equation, Kingfisher Sky and Kovacs) on cello. In an interview with Headbangers Lifestyle Magazine, Gildenlöw stated: "As 'RUST' had more of a 'theme' of growing older and coming to terms with past and future, the new album does have an actual concept to it. The new album is about the struggles and life of a man with dementia - Alzheimer's disease. Each song will deal with different memories, emotions, and ideas and this creates a good bone structure for the whole concept of the album."
.jpg)
