Simon Åkesson Quits Moon Safari

[Guess Who]

From the band's FB page.

"It is with mixed feelings that we announce that after serious consideration Simon Åkesson has decided to quit his band commitments. This decision does not come lightly for him, but circumstances in his life over the last couple of years as he's been having trouble with alcohol (that he's now making a serious attempt to get free from) has left him uninspired. He's a man who always gives 100% in everything he does musically, and as he feels he can't do that right now this decision, sad as it may be, is the logical one. He needs a break, period. If and when he feels he's in a better place to be an active member again we'll of course also welcome that decision, and him, with open arms. But, at this point we all feel his health and his well-being is the most important thing. There's really no way to express how important he's been to Moon Safari as a band. And it's even harder still to explain the joy he's brought to the rest of us as a fellow traveller, friend and inspiration. We'll just say that when the human race first makes contact with another species, send Simon! They'll all be laughing together about the absurdities of life within an hour, and he'll probably have them harmonizing by the end of the first day! He's just that good. And he'll be sorely missed. The remaining five members will now focus on completing Himlabacken Vol. 2. As far as the live work is concerned we've yet to reach a decision on a replacement for the lead keyboard. You'll know more when we do".

Moon Safari

[progeezer]

Very sad to hear this. Simon is a very special talent, and understands music theory as it applies to vocal harmony as well as anyone I've ever met, and I was singing doowop in 1957. It's because of Simon that I got back into the Hi-Los and the Four Freshmen after discussing them with him.

MS was very kind and contacted me back in 2009 when I was recuperating from surgery, and former member Tobias even sent me an autographed band photo and cd.

I'm surprised to hear of his trouble and wish him well on his road to recovery. It won't be easy for MS without him and I admire them for persevering.

[Guess Who]

I think that MS have just lost the band's driving force, heart and soul.

[miamiscot]

Get better, Simon! Sounds like MS will still be there when you're healthy.

Pure class from the Moon Safari gang.

[dregsfan]

Hopefully, Simon has already laid down many/most of his parts for the new cd by now.

[Scott Bails]

Wish him all the luck and hope I can as he tries to turn his life around. Rather surprising that they were so specific in that release, but hopefully he can get help and create again.

[progeezer]

Wish him all the luck and hope I can as he tries to turn his life around. Rather surprising that they were so specific in that release, but hopefully he can get help and create again.

I think the level of informative detail for fans and online followers would be surprising from an American band, but not so much from a Swedish band.

[Steve983]

Good luck to Simon, he is an immense talent.

[Plasmatopia]

I don't happen to have any of their albums, but they're obviously very talented. Rooting for Simon to change his life for the better.

[SteveSly]

Bad news, but sounds like everything is amicable, and is being done for the right reasons. I hope things turn out well for Simon. I just saw MS for the first time at ROSfest this year. I have a feeling he is going to be tough to replace.

[progeezer]

I'm not sure that "quits" is exactly the right word to use, since this all happened with love & harmony rather than acrimony and a return is certainly not discounted, but I agree that replacing the architect of all their vocal arrangements is a (perhaps too) tall order. We shall see.

[Koreabruce]

Surprised to hear that the reason was alcohol, but it's comforting to know that he is seeking help. I'd have thought he'd leave Moon Safari to pursue his a cappella group Accent, which seems to be his real musical love, especially considering all of their activity in the past year. Anyway, get well Simon! Hope you come back to Moon Safari in the not-too distant future.

[ThomasKDye]

That's a shame about Simon. I hope he gets better soon. Moon Safari's vocalists seem just about irreplaceable to me.

[JKL2000]

[SRS]

speculation is that the old friend and ally is Tomas Bodin.

[JKL2000]

Fire up the Simon Åkesson hologram!

[progfan915]

speculation is that the old friend and ally is Tomas Bodin.

I just saw confirmation of this today...Tomas joins Moon Safari!!

It will be good to see Tomas in action again, given the indefinite hiatus of TFK

[Koreabruce]

The real question is this: who will replace Simon on VOCALS? He was such an integral part of the Moon Safari sound.

[JKL2000]

The real question is this: who will replace Simon on VOCALS? He was such an integral part of the Moon Safari sound.

Geezer!

[progeezer]

Geezer!

At my age, I simply can't have the surgery required for me to increase my vocal range by about an octave & a half to cover Simon's parts, and the fallout from my kids would be devastating.

[moecurlythanu]

and the fallout from my kids would be devastating.

Your kids would go nuclear?

[chalkpie]

The real question is this: who will replace Simon on VOCALS? He was such an integral part of the Moon Safari sound.

Ozzy.

[Koreabruce]

Ozzy.

"I saw you dance alone down the waterline.... C'MON, CLAP YER FUKIN' HANDS!..... WE LOVE YOU!... You were searching for secrets lost in the setting sun..."

[JKL2000]

Unfortunate news from Tomas Bodin's Facebook page:

With sadness I have to cancel my part in Moonsafari.

Some years ago I had a major accident with my left ear. I got an extremely loud feedback note from a very close distance. The result was an recovery phase during 4 months.

Then things got better. I was once again able to work with music.

Unfortunately the problems have returned. For this reason I won't be able to play any live music atm.

I hope you all understand my decision.
Also sending warmth to the boys in the band.

Tomas

[Hurm]

And a statement from the band:

Bad News, Good News

Simon Åkesson returns to the line-up as Tomas Bodin is forced to cancel CTTE 2018 performance with Moon Safari.

Regrettably, Tomas Bodin is forced to cancel his planned participation on next years Cruise to the Edge festival. His tinnitus has been acting up (see announcement below) and it’s become a problem to the point where he’s now forced to take a break from live music performance. We both understand and support his decision and we wish him all the best in his recovery. We would also like to thank him for agreeing to help us out in the first place, he is and will remain one of Moon Safari’s closest friends and we hope to work with him more in the years to come.
The silver lining in all of this is that Simon’s situation has stabilized, and he’s ready to play. He’s still taking things slow but he’s making steady progress and he’s really positive about the future. This is of course wonderful news for both the band and the fans, as there’s just no better replacement for Simon Åkesson than Simon Åkesson. Welcome back to Heaven Hill, Simon!

We realise there have been some soap opera type twists and turns in Moon Safari lately. And we can’t promise it’ll all be smooth sailing from here on out. Well, hopefully on CTTE at least. But we’ll try to be more active with updating you on the progress of Himlabacken Vol. 2 and the band in general in the coming months, and we thank you for your patience!