Picking up the guitar at the age of 8, Sven finally got something that interested him technically as well as artistically. For years he practiced daily for up to 8 hours. ‘No kidding’, laughs Sven, ‘I can still practice for hours without getting bored’.
From here to an article in Germanys leading guitar magazine (Gitarre und Bass in 2015), that is quite a stretch. How did that happen? Well...
Born and raised in Karlsruhe, Germany, Sven did witness the sensational rise of melodic rockers PINK CREAM 69, which greatly inspired him to do likewise.
Connected through Alfred Koffler (PC 69 guitar player) Sven formed a band with Peter Winter, one of the best vocalists in the greater area. To make a long story short, a demo was recorded with PC69 as backing band using Edo Zanki’s studio. This demo was pitched to ARIOLA Munich. Unfortunately at the end of the 80’s / beginning of the 90’s, melodic rock had a harder time to get major deals. After negotiating with interested business parties for over 15 months the opportunity to sign a decent deal was gone.
Sven decided to study musicology, delving into his love of classical music and ending up with a university degree.
Musically he formed CHANGES, first a three piece instrumental rock outfit that gradually morphed into a more song orientated band. A few more bands happened and then...
... singer / guitar player Klaus Schmuck, who had enjoyed nationwide success (SAT1 TV etc.) was looking for a partner promoting his solo album. They played a multitude of shows in Germany, focusing on Klaus’ solo album, gradually adding chart cover tunes and new tracks.
At this time Sven got interested in the production of records. He started to get himself into Digital Audio Workstations as well as the engineering and mixing of music.
He gathered ideas for a hard rock album, and when Klaus heard his songs, he volunteered to sing them - OCEAN BED were born. They released a few albums and EPs before calling it a day.
In 2009 Sven decided to write and release an all instrumental album called ‘in.com.plete’ which was released digitally only.
He also joined the classic rock band JUKE BOX HEROES as a bass player. There he hooked up with Jan Knopf, his #1 reason to join the band. ‘Jan is an outstanding singer, period! Perfect for classic rock’ Sven says.
Sven and Jan then decided to form HIGH ROAD EASY. Their debut 'Hotter Than A Thousand Suns' was released 2009, their 4th album just being released on April 2nd, 2020.
2013 finally Sven found the time to finalize and release his follow up solo album called ‘Standing Tall’. It features a mix of instrumental and vocal tracks.
While 'Standing Tall' features long time companion Klaus Schmuck on vocals, the following 2 records had a significant switch on the vocal front: Enter Udo Maurer another fabulous singer from Karlsruhe, who's raspy voice give the more rock oriented songs a new dimension.
'Udo is an incredible song writer. Together we write songs superior to anything we could achieve writing on our own. Plus he loves everything from heavy metal to blues rock, singer-songwriter and hard rock as I do. This is important, as my solo records are an outlet on all things that do not fit HIGH ROAD EASY. I like to explore fusion, blues, although I am aware that in my heart I stay a rocker', Sven says.
2016's "Happy Turns To Blue" and 2018's digital EP releases on bandcamp all featured Udo. The latest album 'Wonderful Things Come In Tiny Packages' bundles those EPs, adds bonus tracks.
'I know everything is more or less digital now. So I did this with the 3 EPs we released. Following PLINI, whom I admire. But then, I am a sucker for a CD. Nothing beats the feeling holding your own album in your hand. So that's why we did this CD release, too.'
As with all productions of Sven Horlemann, all instruments but the drums were recorded by himself.
‘The drums were provided by professional studio drummers, mostly it is Magnus Brandell, a former student of Mike Mangini.
In rock music you can’t compete with real played drums. You need that feel. Without it, why bother doing rock music at all? ' Sven shares his beliefs.
Another creative side is coming up with the artwork, photo shoots, graphic concepts and videos for all releases. 'That's what I enjoy doing, too. And it seems I am doing ok', Sven laughs.
