Biography

Taken from thearkworld.com

The Ark was formed in August 91 by Ola Salo, Jepson and Leari. They lived in a small industrial town called Rottne, about 20 kilometres north of Växjö, Sweden.
The drummer at the time was a guy by the name of Magnus Olsson. Leari has an older brother, Pelle, who at the time had a band called The Shiremen.

The Ark were allowed to rehears at The Shiremens rehearsal space, thank god... Not before long, The Ark began doing gigs in the area around Växjö and word started to spread. They made their own stage clothes with the help of Jepsons mother who teaches in the art of sowing... At first their look was a bit hippie and glam inspired but soon they developed a new style which they called "apocalyptic"...
-You see, in the summer of 91 when the band was formed, preacher son Ola Salo was convinced that the time of the apocalypse was in the near future... The signs that occur in the Book of Revelations were visible to him everywhere and he felt that it was time to build an ARK... This is why they needed a style that was adapted for "apocalyptic times"... The music was also apocalyptic, big, grand, mysterious and full of energy. It was music that was made to make people understand that they were living in a holy, mighty era and it was also supposed to induce strength into to the people so that they would cherish and live this last,
shivering times to the limit.

But, the apocalypse didn’t come, and in 92, drummer Magnus Olsson got the boot since he moved away from town due to starting his Agricultural studies. In his place Martin Rosengardten stepped in and with this new, astounding drummer The Ark took a serious stand in the flourishing music scene in and around Växjö. A recording contract surfaced in 96 with Energy Records and the classic "Racing with the rabbits"-Ep was released.

Unfortunately, the critics dismissed this new, daring wind in the grey music climate of the 90:s. The Ark was temporary knocked down but not knocked out. They understood that the world was not yet ready and they bided their time. One summer evening in 97, The Ark was playing a gig, standing on a truck at a local festival in Uråsa. It was raining hard and lead singer Ola Salo kept receiving jolts of electricity into his body every time his lips touched the microphone.. "Im gonna die tonight for your right to stand in the rain and listen to rock ´n´roll!" he said from the stage... Well, he didn’t die but after this particular gig, the band felt that maybe something had died, they were going nowhere and were seriously thinking of packing it in...

However, 2 guys in the audience were of a totally different opinion: - Martin Axén, a native son of Uråsa and an Ark fan since years back who said to them that they couldn’t quit. He went so far that he joined the band to be sure it would never happen. The other guy was Robert Jelinek (Lead singer in The Creeps, another successful Swedish band) and he saw something divine in The Ark. He happily embarked on a holy mission to get the band signed and started a quest among record companies and publishers to speak about the future in rock n roll: THE ARK!! Finally, his efforts bore fruit as The Ark signed a recording contract in 98 with Grand recordings and publishers Madhouse Förlag.
This was a time of change. Not only in The Ark´s new hometown, Malmö, but in the whole world, there is a new kind of curiosity awakening. A desire for something new, something else, something more. Colours and extravaganza comes back into fashion. Materialism and "good taste" is beginning to feel a bit boring and
sterile. People are longing for playfulness, courage and lust instead of coolness, distance and being hip. The hearts of the people are shouting: "We don´t wanna see another band that stands on stage, looking at their own shoes!" "We want entertainment! Superficial unpretentiousness is just another pose" "Give us something else!!" Who enters the stage?? Ladies and gentlemen… THE ARK!

More changes take place within the band, Martin Rosengardten is replaced by Sylvester Schlegel, an old friend from Växjö, who used to play in a band called "Tambureens". Grand Recordings merges with the larger record company Virgin Sweden. There is also a new Millenium, the Millenium of The ARK. For The Ark, it starts with a Scandinavia tour as special guest to "Kent", a very successful Swedish band. This means that The Ark get to play in front of thousands of beautiful, intelligent and friendly people... Some of these people in fact finds in The Ark, the band they’ve been longing for all their lives. During this tour, the first single "Let your body decide" is released and it’s a radio hit right away and reaches number nine on the Swedish Top Ten. In the summer of 2000 it is then time to release single number two: This time it more effort put in and they get a chance to record their first video. The title of the song is: “It takes a fool to remain sane”

What happens next is like an explotion. The song’s hammering message about tolerance and its questioning of the concept of normality puts the nation to a halt. People starts to think thoughts they perhaps never dared to think before. Soon, gratitude of the nation becomes apparent in a showering of precious appraisals:Grammy Awards (The song of the Year, The Artist of the Year) Most played song of Swedish National Radio The song of the year, Tracks (Swedish Top Ten) The group of the year at Rockjörnen (readers choice) It was even close the The Ark even got the prestigious Award, Nordic Artist of the year at MTVE Awards Anyway this is the song that makes The Ark embark on their journey abroad.

In many European countries many eyebrows are risen. Particularly in Italy where the song becomes a huge hit (summer of 2001 the song is stationed in Top Ten
position for over four months) To be able to release a full-length album is huge and for The Ark it was something they had waited for all their lives. So when
time had come for the release, in September 2000, of an album full of The Ark songs, it soon proved that there were others that had been waiting too.

Already in the first week of release there were such enormous amounts of the album “We are The Ark” sold that it went straight into number one on the sale charts. This meant that the world famous singer Madonna had to find herself booted down to silver position. "Echo chamber" follows as the next single and is also a huge hit. Massive tours of Scandinavia take place during the fall of 2000 and in the summer of 2001 The Ark conquerors every town they hit. Nevertheless, the majority of 2001 is mostly spent abroad with The Ark slowly but steadily building up a massive following in Germany, Holland, France and Italy among other countries. Ark-mania is upon us wherever we are in the world!"We no longer believe that the world is coming to an end but we still believe that we should live like it was.. There’s no reason to wait until tomorrow to do the things we want. When should we live if not today?? When should we enjoy ourselves if not now?? And WHERE can we do that, without getting harassed by those who doesn’t understand?? Well, the answer is easy… ABOARD THE ARK!!!"

This is the story so far in short. Together, we will form the future of the ARK. With together we mean the band of course but also everybody who wants to climb
onboard and join us on the Ark.. Its all of us together that makes this the phenomenon that it is..."