CHARLY SAHONA INTERVIEW

5th February 2010

Thanks for partaking in another interview with us Charly. Last time we spoke was around the release of Venturia’s “Hybrid” album, what happened since the release of that album to creation and imminent release of your debut solo album "Naked Thoughts From A Silent Chaos”? -
My pleasure to be with you one more time. Since the release of "Hybrid", nothing amazing happened to Venturia unfortunately. I mean, even if we had a good feedback, a lot of gigs we were supposed to play got canceled. As I didn't want to feel sorry about it only, I really felt the need to create some new music. I spent something like 9 months working on this solo album I really feel proud of.

Why did you decide to do a solo album now after 2 Venturia albums?
Actually, after the release of "Hybrid", I really wanted to work on the next Venturia. But as this album didn't make crazy the audience and as the sales weren't very good, I thought it was necessary to take Venturia's music to a new direction. I already had some ideas but as it was to close to the spirit of "Hybrid" , I decided to create some music for another project. I've always wanted to do a solo album and I had different options: First I was thinking of doing something instrumental with a crazy modern songwriting but I think a few people only would have been interested in it and the songwriting would have taken me a long time. Or, as I've wanted to do it for a long time, doing something more accessible with me on the lead vocal was the challenge I finally decided to take on.

Where any of these songs ever considered for use with Venturia or did you approach the writing sessions for this album with a blank canvas?
All the songs were written for this solo project after the release of "Hybrid". I wanted to do something raw, more direct and spontaneous than Venturia. The melodies and the riffs had to be the root of all the songs. I found some cool riffs, easy to play so I can sing at the time. The writing process in Venturia is different, more rich, versatile and longer.

The sound heard on the album is very unique, yet at the same time it is quite recognisable (i.e. you have your own sound), is this something that became apparent to you early on?
Yes, totally. It's funny because I didn't pay attention to it first. A friend of mine told me that too. I think this is because all the musicians have a strong musical identity and the chemistry is there.

The promo literature describes the album as Dream Theater meets Muse, which is a far analysis, yet there is more here on the album that is hard to describe. We live in an age where everything has to be related to something else to make it feel safe or likeable, how would you describe the album from your creators standpoint?
You're absolutely right, People needs to classify your music easily. The Dream theater vibe is because the musicians play with a great technique, and the Muse side is because I don't sing like a traditional heavy metal singer at all but my way of singing is a little bit closer to Matthew Bellamy. Well, how would I describe the music in this album? It's some kind of melodic power-metal with songs built around heavy riffs and strong melodies, embellished with crazy solos and very good musicians.

What do you feel are the key moments in the album?
For my part, I like the song "Relieved", this one came out really fast. This song is the last one I wrote. First, "Forgotten Past" was supposed to be the single but I wanted another catchy song , I was happy to have another highlight on the album.

I like the guitar solo on "River Of Lies" and I feel really proud of the piano on "Raise The Shadow" as well. As I don't practice the piano like I use to do it with the guitar, the singing and the songwriting for example, I always feel uncomfortable when I push myself to do a piano interlude. But in the end, something came out pretty fast and I really enjoyed it. I feel thankful to have this classical background that helps me a lot. Oh, there's a really funny story I have to tell you too!!!! Most of the lyrics have a sad and melancholic vibe. As I was writing the lyrics of the song "Forgotten Past", I was trying to describe the feelings of someone who remembers the good times he had in the past but unfortunately, these moments that are gone forever would remain in his memory only.

But before I finished to write these lyrics, I heard my neighbor arrive home with somebody else and as the walls are absolutely not soundproof. I could easily understand she arrived a little bit drunk with a new girlfriend. They spent the night having great sex together and this music sounded like poetry to my ears. I was not in the sad vibe "Forgotten Past" needed anymore, It was necessary to change the meaning of this song. So, the "good times are last forever" thing turned into something like "Seize the day, enjoy everything you can with the ones you love". This second option is much closer of who I really am and I like to tell this story anyway. Thank you miss-neighbor!!!!

Our review’s only slight negative was we felt the vocals were mixed a tad low and we wondered if this was down to debut album vocal nerves, which are unfounded in your performance – how do you feel about your vocals, or should I ask how was it to do lead vocals on album for the first time?
Oh, you have no idea the pressure I put on me. I think it was one of the biggest artistic challenge I've ever done so far. When I was a child, I wanted to be a singer before I wanted to be a guitar player but I didn't like my voice at all, that's one of the reasons why I 'd been practicing the guitar so much I think. Later, before we recorded the Venturia "New Kingdom" album, I worked my voice again, as our first singer decided to quit the band. I took some lessons but it was the same thing, I still felt uncomfortable and I was thinking "shut up and play the guitar". But one year and a half ago, I finally decided that I'll do this album with me on the lead vocals. I said about this project during a French interview for the "Hybrid" release, this way I had no other choice to do it. I was already used to sing sometimes in my cover bands and gained more self-confidence so it helped me to realize this project.

The writing of the album was actually really fast but what took me a long time was the vocal practicing. Nobody heard the demos with my vocals before we entered the recording studio because If I heard one bad comment about my singing, maybe I would have cut everything. But anyway, I finally had great comments about the songs and about my singing too from my band mates Diego, Thomas and sound engineer Carryl Montini. I kinda felt relieved. So, during the mix, I asked my talented friend Fabien Paraillac to mix the voice "into the mix" , not "in front of it". I also asked him to put some distortion on it .

My next challenge will be to put the volume fader up on the voice with no make-up either on the next album. Right now, I even feel more comfortable with my new status of lead singer. I take vocal lessons again with a great teacher, I keep on practicing every time I can do it and since the video of "Relieved" is online, I was asked to sing more in the cover bands I play with.

Your backing musicians in terms of personnel is very stripped down, yet at the same time the sound is massive, how did you go about building up this sound?
It's another big difference with Venturia where the musical background is full of keyboards layers, backing vocals , additional guitars, many stereo effects.....I wanted this album to be stripped-down like you say, more direct, raw and less clean than Venturia. As Venturia arrangements are very rich, there is not a lot of place for improvisation, the phrasing of every instruments has to fit with the music. On "Naked Thoughts...", the guitar riffs are more simple, there are not a lot of keyboards. This way, I said bass player Thomas James Potrel : "You're free to play everything you want, use your own phrasing and play rock and dirty", he did some great job as usual, I only asked him to change some little things . There's a lot of distortion on his bass sound, of course I told him this is the thing I wanted before because, he's not into this kind of bass sound but as he's very open minded, he agreed and it works great!!!! In the end I think the bass has a huge presence and it's part of the massive sound you can hear on "naked thoughts...".

Of course, what can I say about drummer Diego Rappachietti, we've been friends for ages now and one more time he did a really amazing job!!!!

This big sound you can hear is the equation of 3 musicians with strong identity who play together the same music in a powerful way. And of course, Sound engineering Carryl Montini and Fabien Paraillac did a wonderful job in the final mix.

There is quite a live vibe going on, where the basic tracks recorded in this way and then overdubs added later, or is it just a good use of a modern pro-tools environment? Talk us through the recording process and making of the album?
Everything you mention is right. First, I wanted "Naked thoughts..."to have this live vibe and I know that whatever you do, if there's a little thing that goes wrong with the music, the digital editing will help a lot. That's an amazing tool that allows you to keep the best tracks even if there is a wrong note, a little problem with the pitch, the time location. Digital editing will help you to delete what's wrong. The recording was actually really fast. I kept the keyboard sounds of the demos. I first recorded the guitars, then Diego recorded the drums during 2 days and a half and the bass was done at Thomas place. Thomas wanted to record after Diego so that his lines fit with the drumming. I finally recorded the vocals home with a good mic and preamp.

What have you learnt from previous recordings that helped streamline the making of “Naked Thoughts”?
It's been more than 10 years now I've been working in different studios, most of them used to work old-style. First I was rent as an artist to record some keyboards, guitars or backing vocals for local artists, I learnt to work fast, to choose the best sounds and arrangements for the song I was working on and I learned a lot of things during the mix process. After these experiences, you don't think, play and write music the same way. For the first Venturia album, I worked with Kevin Codfert who was doing with this album his very first professional production. He was really into all this modern technology and I was totally amazed to see all the virtual tools you can use to get the best sound possible and the crazy thing was to hear the really amazing stuff he was doing with one computer only!!!!! So, what I learnt from these previous recordings is how to work well, fast, safe, how to manage artists, recognize the people who work well. When you know exactly where you want to go and when you have the knowledge of everything that's possible to do, things are ten times easier.

The production is stunning, I am guessing you didn’t have a massive budget to work with (as is the industry standard these days), so what did you do to maximise the budget you had and get the results you have?
 You're right. For this album I had a really low-budget. But in the end it sounds great for all the reasons I just mentioned. Let me tell you why through the example of the recording of "Naked Thoughts...". Of course, I wanted to have Diego playing with me on this album too. Recording the drums is always a big deal. I was absolutely blown away by Carryl Montini's work when we recorded "Hybrid" and I wanted him to record the drums and the guitars again. He owns a big studio in Switzerland and of course a recording day there is really expensive. I called and explained him that I wanted to record with him but with a budget for 2 days only. He agreed and proposed to me a very cool deal, more, we had 3 days to record all the guitars and drums with no stress time. The recording of those instruments needs hi-quality preamps, microphones and sound engineer.

Diego is an amazing drummer and I knew that 2 days of recording would have been enough for him. Same thing with the guitar. As I used the reamping technique , all my parts were already recorded home (the dry signal of the guitar). We just had to put the mics in front of the amp and let the recording go. It took a few hours only. The sound is amazing because Carryl knows the job, he's a professional and he is always really involved into a project when he has a good musical and human connexion with the musicians.Thomas did the bass parts home, I did the same for the vocals. Doing all this stuff home allows you to save a lot of money.

For the mix, which is a very important step in the making of an album, I asked my friend Fabien Paraillac to do it. I use to work with Kevin Codfert for Venturia, Kevin is just amazing, but for this "Naked thoughts...", I wanted to have a different sound. I know Fabien's work and as he's a really good friend of mine, I knew that something cool would came out. As he works with a computer and Genelec monitors only, it wasn't as expensive as it is in a bigger studio. All the people that were involved in the making of this record are extremely talented, passionate and are friends of mine, that helps me to have a great production for a low-budget.

You’re a guitarist of considerable repute from those that know you, yet you always seem to worry about the song first and foremost. How long did it take to reach this point in your writing or has it always been a facet?
Correct, writing good songs is the most important thing when you make a record and it has always been priority number one for me. I know that a lot of guitar players are more into their playing and less into the songwriting process but it's not a good thing as 99% of the people want to hear a good melody, a nice groove, something they will keep in mind easily. Of course, I get very excited in front of a musical performance but I feel the same when a song is good, whether it's a Meshuggah or a Keane song.

Your guitar sounds great on the album, did you rely on 1 particular amp or did you re-amp your basic signal for the flavour you wanted?
Since I've been working with talented sound engineers, I'm happy with my guitar sounds. The guitar sound can't be ugly even if you play with the best equipment on earth if the guy doesn't know how to record it well. Now, I feel very relax when I have to record with the guys I just told you about and every time I'm recording a new album I change the sounds of the amps I use. Even if you recognize my guitar playing, the Venturia albums and "Naked thoughts..." don't have the same guitar sound. The amps and the presets were different each time. Actually, I find a good guitar sound really easily, I'm just doing a quick equalization. If your takes are good, when the mics are well adjusted in the good place with the best preamps, the sound will be good anyway.

As I told you before, now I've been using the reamping technique. I record home my rythmic parts with a clean and dry sound only, then I check with a hi-gain amp simulator if there's no buzz. I'm doing the same for the solos but I need an amp simulator while I'm recording. After that, you just have to send your wave files to the studio, then the dry signal will go into the amp. This way, in 3 hours only, all the guitars of the album were recorded.

You have played a few shows live, what gear setup did you go for on those dates?
I make my living as a musician and unfortunately not with my music only. I play something like 80 shows a year. I like to play with small equipment when I have to carry my gear. When I play in small clubs, I plug my pod X3 or XT into the mixing desk and that's all. This way, I can have access to all my prests easily wherever I play. When I play in bigger places, I use the Line 6 Vetta 2 combo amp. Line 6 products are so amazing, so easy to use, so modern. On the "Relieved" video, you can see a Mesa-Boogie but it wasn't mine. As different bands were playing the same evening on the same stage, everybody was using the same gear. I used the Pod X3, you can see it on the floor. I just used the Mesa as an extra monitor and I must say that the Pod into this amp sounds great!!! I've been playing with Line 6 equipment for a while now, and I've been endorsed by them just after the release of "The New Kingdom". I met Line 6 boss during a gig I was doing for Ibanez, I told him about Venturia, explained him that all the guitars and bass of the album were done with a Pod only and asked for an endorsement. I got it and feel very happy to be endorsed by the brands I like to play with.

I know you have an Ibanez endorsement, what is it about the guitars you like?
I play with 7 strings guitars most of the time. Only a few brands make 7 strings guitars. I've always been in love with Ibanez guitars. First because all my idols played on it and then when I began to build my own playing style, I realize that Ibanez guitars were perfect for the things I wanted to play. More, I like the look, the playability, the huge number of different guitars available... What about effects, are you a floor stomper or a rack kind of guy? - I'm more a "everything into a little box" kind of guy!!! I'm always amazed by the players that use big floor stomper. I must say it's interesting and beautiful to see. Same thing with the guitar players that use huge racks full of effects, amps... I wouldn't play with that kind of equipment because it's really expensive, it's hard to carry and to maintain. If something goes wrong, it can be a big mess before you solve the problem. That's the reason why I feel so comfortable with the Line 6 equipment. Maybe if I was really famous, playing on huge stages with a good guitar tech and roadies to take care of my gear ,I would think different. But right now, I feel good and comfortable with the equipment I use.

There is a video for the track “Relieved” up on YouTube and its getting some excellent feedback. Where was the video shot?
The last gig we played with Venturia took place in Paris in November, the video of Relieved was shot during this show. We used the images of the 4 HD cameras and did the editing with Franck Hermanny from Adagio who was playing with us this evening too. He's really into movie-montage. Thanks to him and to the Digital fufux team who filmed the show, I had the opportunity to have a commercial video for "Naked Thoughts...". All the Venturia gig was shot but the sound is not amazing. Anyway, maybe we'll use it as a bonus for the next Venturia release. Any more live dates lined up? Maybe we'll play in my place, Montpellier, south of France in 2 months. I'll have confirmation about it next week. Later, we should play 2 gigs in Switzerland. Nothing amazing for the moment, maybe we'll have new opportunities when "Naked Thoughts..." will be out. I'll spread the word of it on myspace.

Having been on the scene for a few years you must have seen a few changes happen. What’s the best and worst changes you have seen go on and how do they directly impact an artist like yourself?
It's true that everything changed with the internet. In the recent past there were only radio stations, tv channels and the audience choices were limited. Now, you can have access to everything you want. All the bands can promote their music really easily which is a great thing but indie bands are lost among a billion other different ones. As everybody has access to any kind of music with the illegal downloading, the problem is that bands can't get money from the cd sales anymore and everybody knows that making a record takes a lot of time and requires a lot of money too. As the sales go down and down, record companies, especially indies label can't help you a lot anymore. The only way to succeed is to create a buzz , if you're in touch with amazing people in the music industry and if there's a lot of money involved in promotion. So, times are hard for most of the bands. We just have to keep the faith and keep the passion alive.

What else is planned for 2010 and beyond?
I keep on trying to find some gigs to promote Venturia and this solo album. Right now, I 'm focused on the new Venturia. I already wrote 5 songs and we're about to record the demos of it. The songs are really efficient and I feel really excited about it. I guess the new Venturia album will be ready in a few monthes. I also have some ideas for another solo album and I'd like to release an instrumental EP as well with some crazy stuff. But I'll work on new music after the Venturia's album is done.

Anything else you’d like to inform or plug to our readers?
Thanks for the interest. Keep on discovering new bands and music and spread the word about it. I invite you to check out our myspace: www.myspace.com/charlysahona  and www.myspace.com/venturiamusic  , you can find us on reverbnation and facebook too. Don't hesitate to leave some comments. I will keep all our virtual friends and fans updated.

Charly, many thanks for your time.
My pleasure. It was great to do this very interesting interview with you. Cheers.

WEB LINKS
http://www.myspace.com/charlysahona
http://www.myspace.com/venturiamusic