Mattias IA Eklundh

Mattias, nicknamed IA, began drumming at the age of six but switched to guitar at the age of thirteen. In 1988 IA subsequently joined Danish metal band Fate as lead guitarist. Mattias appears on their 1990 album Scratch 'n Sniff. He later returned to Sweden, forming his own band Freak Kitchen in 1992 with drummer Joakim Sjöberg and bassplayer Christian Grönlund. The band played together for 8 years, until Sjöberg and Grönlund left in 2000, only to be replaced by Christer Hysén and Björn Fryklund. His three Freak Guitar solo albums are released on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label. In 2005, he grouped with Swedish bass guitarist and composer Jonas Hellborg in the Jonas Hellborg Trio. In 2007 the above Hellborg, together with Eklundh, Anders Johansson on drums, Jens Johansson on keyboards and the astounding V. Selvaganesh on kanjeera released the Art Metal album Vyakhyan Kar, followed by Jazz Raj, featuring Mumbai drummer Ranjit Barot, in 2014. Mattias has been with Caparison guitars since 1996 and has a long-standing signature guitar called the "Apple Horn". 2015 saw the release of an 8-string model bearing a factory set low A and E. He uses the Swedish True Temperament fret system on his guitars. For amps, Mattias exclusively uses Laney, also since 1996. Every year since 1999 IA hosts the Freak Guitar Camp, set in the Swedish wilderness. A camp for only the bravest, most dedicated of guitar players from all over the world… http://www.freakguitar.com