To celebrate the release of one of the finest progressive albums ever in
"Walking On h2o", Virtuosity One managed to convince the band to undertake
a mammoth interview to discuss the album and band in more depth.
So what you have here is a 3 for the price of 1 interview - grab
yourself a drink, ideally put Walking On h2o on your hi-fi and settle
back for a great read and insight into an album destined to be a
classic.
Round
1
| Round 2
| Round 3
 Mind's
Eye Interview Round 1
Guys, thank you very much for agreeing to
this interview, and first of all congratulations in picking up the
virtuosityone.com February 2006 album of the month.
Andreas: Thanks, feels great to be picked out among
all the releases nowadays!
Daniel: Yeah! This is our first time so it feels great!
I have been following your website for quite a while so for me it’s
an even greater honour. Great job with the Goran Edman interview
by the way. He is a great friend of mine. He told me about you and
mentioned how satisfied he was with your interview.
Johan: Thank you! It´s a great honor!
Its been four years
since the bands last studio album 'A Work Of Art', what have you
guys between that album and your new masterpiece 'Walking On h2o'?
Andreas: I released my first solo album during 2005,
which took some time to complete. I´ve also been doing lots of other
music things on the side that I could write half a page about, but
the most important and time consuming thing for me has been the
solo thing. Daniel was very much involved in that album too with
producing, arranging and drumming, and Johan played bass on a number
of tracks.
Daniel: It’s been allot of session jobs as drummer
off course with artists like: Tears of Anger, Secrets Sphere, Philip
Bardowell, Speedy Gonzales, Seven Days, Hubi Meisel, Benny Jansson,
Faro… but I also had the lovely opportunity to produce, mix and
arrange for other artists as well: Xsavior, Novak, Maria Rådsten,
A tribute to Gary Moore, a tribute to Deep purple, Garcia and Wasai…
Most of these groups are minor or up coming artists but if you go
here:
you can find out more of them. I have been busy trying to make a
living as a musician and producer as you can see, a life not always
easy to balance with a normal life. I’m still waiting for my big
break when it comes to production. Let’s see if that will ever come.
I would love to produce a big artist and see if I have the right
amount of talent to make something for a larger audience. It’s totally
different, that’s why I’m so curious about it. I think this has
helped me to mature allot since our last album, to play with other
bands. It certainly kept me from shredding around with my drums
too much in this disc. Thanks Xsavior!
Johan: I´ve been keeping myself busy with Therion
(recording and touring), done a death metal-style album with Demonoid,
and I´ve done a few things with Daniel, like Tears of Anger and
Hubi Meisel. Basically, just trying play/work as much as possible.
What impact has the change of band personnel
had on the music?
Andreas: The more chefs the worse the soup gets, or
how do you say that in English? Daniel is head of everything this
time, and I have no complaints.
Daniel: Well, I wouldn’t say I’m the head of things
but I surely have all the ideas of how to get things going or started.
Our last guitar player Fredrik was amazing and in the end he might
have lost his way in music, just because of his amazing abilities.
I think its better this way as my song writing has developed more
into a rock/metal style while Fredrik’s song writing was more into
the lighter side of rock with even fusion tendencies. I now collaborate
with Johan and things get done pretty fast with him, there are no
arguments, just allot of fun. Today I also feel more confident to
try out my own ideas. With Johan on Guitars the sky is the limit.
Johan: Well, thank you! I think the music is more
focused this time around with, as Daniel said, less fusion tendencies.
The light side will always be there in one way or another because
we feel that variety is important - not only for the listener but
for our own sanity!
Do you feel the band is stronger for the
change?
Andreas: We have grown as musicians and individuals,
and we don’t have to prove anything to anyone, so in that sense
we are stronger. You already know the guys in this band can shred.
Good songs are first priority in my opinion.
Daniel: Yes, stronger but in fact weaker in another
sense. By weaker I mean that we are less players are forced to play
live with individuals outside the band. The fact that Fredrik left
made us closer as a group and friends. I mean nobody wanted to leave
the band with only three albums released. We wanted to do this until
we get to a point where we could say: Ok, I’m done, let the kids
play now. In my opinion we haven’t even reached half of our journey
yet, there is plenty of Mind’s Eye left for 10 years or more.
With only three members we can reach that goal, that’s one of the
real positive things that happened when Fredrik left, there are
now only three minds to ease.
Johan: I totally agree! It makes things a little easier
to accomplish, and I can honestly say that I´m having more fun playing
music now than ever before, so as long as we write music that is
exciting and valid to us... that´s all I could ever wish for!
5. Daniel, you wrote the vast majority
of the band's music, what did you look to produce in the music and
concept of 'Walking On h2o'
Daniel: For starters I would like to say that in general
I hate concept albums as far too many artists make them lacking
of the most important ingredient, a good story. To write something
like this takes time and you just can’t pull it out of a hat, these
things take time. That being said I have always loved “Operation
Mindcrime” and “The Dark Side Of The Moon” two of my favourite albums.
I wanted to combine these two albums into a modern written saga.
Now I’m sounding like mad scientist but I just felt the time was
right for a Swedish, well thought concept album to be released.
All the songs had been written a long time ago, most of them with
other titles which in the end didn’t fit the story, so I just changed
them.
To write a concept is hard work you really have to do some serious
research and even soul searching before taking this task. I had
to ask my self the question: “do I really want to write about how
sceptical I am of the world?” I am a happy person, no real worries.
Will people now think I am an anti American fighter? Do I want this?
Do I hate somebody? Will I feel good if they hate me? Man… tuff
questions.
After much soul searching the answer was YES, I can! Because that
is my born given right, to express my self freely. If I see something
wrong I change it and if I want to write about stuff that I think
are wrong I do it. Having that in mind, the whole world opened to
me. I saw everything clearly and I could start my journey. Off course
I had so much material (for at least two or three albums) so I had
to narrow it down to one. I spent many nights in front of my computer,
goggling around trying to find keys and doors to unlock. In my head
I was thinking all the time, if this will be my last record with
Mind’s Eye I have to end it with a blast, it has to be good. Looking
back at that year now I’d say it was enough work for at least five
people and I really don’t know how I pulled it off. All I know is
I’m never doing it again! Period!
The storyline is a
very rich one that I found myself being drawn into. Can you give
the readers a general outline of the concept and where the tracks
fall into this?
Daniel: It’s real hard story to get into if you don’t
use some imagination your self. The story starts of in a class room.
A teacher is trying to get the class to shut up. Then she goes off
to a world of lies, deception and corruption starting off with the
Darwin theory. The first song starts of with the moon landings,
a laughable topic in my book. Taking you next to the tragedy of
9/11, later changing topic to sense which we have lost trough out
our generation, namely Intuition or how other would call it telepathy.
Changing topic again to the mysteries of the Pyramids of Giza and
how an archaeologist falls in love with them, in the end thinking
he is a great Pharaoh. From mental illness we go off to physical
illness about drugs and how easy it is to get hooked on drugs. Drugs
make us forget about reality but the reality is that our world is
dying and that’s what next song is about, how are we going to save
it? no wonder the earth reacts with stuff like the Tsunami. Then
we end the first half of the album with some rules, sacred rules.
We have forgotten about honesty and honour. The old ways are disappearing
in front of our eyes and the new law is “everybody is you enemy”.
What happens next is a five song story about four different individuals
who don’t know each other but certainly have a connection to each
other. I really don’t want to give away this last story as I want
the listener to pick up the key and unlock the story themselves.
Even if they don’t see it it’s much better as one they will and
then they will get everything that I have talked about in the eight
first songs.
All I can say is that it ends with death but in a funny way.
The Japanese album ends with the cover “Sign o’ the times” which
rounds up things pretty nicely for the listener as these lyrics
are really negative against the world and tells you time’s wont
change unless you change them your self.
The opening instrumental 'Earth-the movie'
is a real captivating piece that sucks you into the album, how do
you go about creating something like this with the power to engage
the listener?
Daniel: With lots and lot’s of keyboards!!! No, seriously!
I’m a big fan of action movies. Action movies always start with
a big bang and I wanted this album to start like that. This intro
took me about a week to build up. The string arrangements alone
took me three days to complete. The mix of voices and music has
always attracted me and I have always wanted to write something
for a movie. I figure this was the next best thing so did my thing.
The key is to have a plan and draw a schedule of things. Start off
with some voices; throw in some strings, to pull them back, in with
the horns, drums pounding and Action! This is where I found my place
in music in the cinematic department. It’s almost like directing
a movie or making a good soup. I have been studying classical music
for a couple of years now by covering some songs which I like. I
have learned allot about string arrangements and “anticipations”
by doing this. Maybe not the typical thing to do if you are a drummer,
but I guess that drumming does not appeal to me in the same grade
as it did when I was younger. Today I’m more interested in how to
become one with the song and the arrangements it need artistically
rather than musically. Landscapes made of music so to speak.
I particularly enjoyed the blending in
of snippets from a JFK speech.
Daniel: Yeah, it’s gives the intro the sort of maturity
it needs. The strings attack you with lot’s of harmonies making
you smile then suddenly there is a serious voice speaking on millions
of dollars, money spend to go to the moon. The suspension kills
you and you just got to know what this is all about. This is another
element of which I like to play with, questions. I love planting
questions in people’s heads.
JFK was a well respected man and it’s said that he did many good
things for his country; the questions are. Landing a man on the
moon? At all costs? Certainly they had other worries to think about,
agree?
It’s a funny speech really. I laughed hard when I heard it the first
time. People starving in their streets, provably in their backyards
and the only thing they can think of is “Going to the moon”. That’s
tragic… I just hope the listeners see the irony in this whole intro.
I’m glad that so many people have enjoyed this particular part.
'A Rabbit In The Hat' questions man landing
on the moon, I am taking a guess at your ages, that like mine that
you were not alive when the first moon landing happened. Its a great
lyrical idea based on one of the most famous conspiracy theories
out there. Do you feel that you compared, to your parents, are likely
to be more sceptical about such historical landmarks?
Daniel: it’s obvious that most of our parents swallowed
the whole thing without even blinking. It was a show, just like
The Osmond brothers or Gilligan’s Island. To be sceptical was not
in their vocabulary. I mean it was too big to be a hoax they thought.
What they don’t really know is how easy it was to do it. There are
plenty of historical landmarks that have been removed from our history
books because of new evidence or new technologies proving them wrong.
Take for instance the Bible changes every 10 years their story to
fit the modern human. In the beginning Jesus walked on water and
all that stuff now he just walks around healing people. It’s all
just a show and people pay good money to see it. I remember being
a young kid seeing the flag on the moon waving, I remember feeling
a little shocked when I saw this not knowing why. When I later learned
that there was no atmosphere in the moon, I saw the whole picture.
I knew it my gut back then without having the knowledge it was just
like a bit of a long lost puzzle just turned up. I think TV can
screw with people minds, I mean we believe everything said on TV.
Terrorist attack the USA, yes we believe. Black people kill people,
yes we believe. It’ s like we have lost our own voice and our own
judgment. It’s easier to give that responsibility to another human
being, that’s why we don’t want to do it ourselves.
My mother remembers the whole thing with the Apollo landings and
even she and her friends where sceptical back then so I really don’t
think there were many supporter of this event back then either.
Round 2
 'A
Rabbit In The Hat' is the first of many infectious vocal hooks.
What bands do you look to inspiration for when it comes to these?
Daniel: Well, I had just listen to some cd’s which
I borrowed from Benny Jansson with some great players and then I
heard this guitar player Magnus Karlsson, he is really great and
what a song writer!! He inspired me to make a more assessable tune,
I added the dark twist into that song and there you have it.
This song was pretty easy to write as it almost wrote by it self.
In fact the intro and this song was a full song together but then
I thought it was too long… so I made an intro out of the first song
instead. As the lyrics have that controversial, dark room and lamp
on your face kind lyrics the whole song just became really easy
to digest. This is maybe the catchiest song ever written by Mind’s
Eye. Another strange thing is that I wrote this song last after
everything was done having another song as number one, but this
was too good to ignore I figured. A good choice I guess.
'Equally Immortal' has a lot of emotion,
influenced by the events of Sept 11, what were you looking to achieve
with this track?
Johan: It’s such a powerful song, and to make sure
that it translates to the listener you really have to give all you
have when recording. I guess we were successful!
Daniel: The song and lyrics really fit together on this
one. I wrote this song on a piano in a big acoustic room in my former
job as a school teacher. I was really shocked like everyone else
about the fact that allot of people died on this horrible incident,
but I also had many questions, questions that where unanswered…
so I wrote this song. Everyone who has heard the song say the same
thing, it’s powerful and that’s was exactly what I wanted to achieve,
like an alarm or signal to everyone out there telling them that
if we loose respect of life and are not afraid to die for lost causes
then our laws quickly loose meaning and sense cause they are all
build up around them…
There is a lot of musical colour in the
track, I particularly love the way it builds, it reminded me of
classic Journey in the sense where the musical impact was of high
importance and the lyrical value and vocal delivery just adds more
quality to the package.
Daniel: I have never listened to Journey but I have
always respected what they have done in the business. Lyrics are
as important as the song in my opinion and far too many bands skip
this important fact. Sting writes some amazing lyrics making his
music ever more beautiful, take that away and you only have half
the song. Just take lyrics like The shape of my heart… Just great
stuff!
Johan: Mission accomplished!
'Mrs Clair Voyance' is again home to more
superb vocal hooks and is amongst the heaviest moments on the album.
Where did the inspiration for this one come from and where does
it fit into the album concept?
Daniel: This song has some cool samples that I made
while playing around with… burps and other body noises… it’s true.
The two Low pitched loop sounds on the verse that you hear and sounds
like a Nine inch nail loop are actually many parts of my body and
some other sounds which I made my self so it’s completely my own
sounds. The song is about a lost art amongst us human’s, it’s simply
about “Intuition”. People used this element much more before TV
and radio made us all robots under the big wheel. I wanted to bring
back some of that into the concept and show that people who are
clairvoyant are not necessary wrong, they are just more opened to
it and therefore more sensible to this phenomena. I think we all
have it inside of us but we just can’t bring it out like others
can, sad as we without it we become more and more like walking meat
without souls.
Our review mentioned a great drum sound,
Daniel what kind and size of kit did you use and how do you like
to mic/record your drums?
Daniel: This was a very important album to me and
so I took really long time to set up the things that I wanted to
achieve with this album, one of those things being the drum sound.
The thing is that the drums sound is the only things microphoned as an
entire environment and that will give you the total sound of the album.
The overhead of the drums and room are really the most important things
when it comes to drum sound. As the songs are most pretty easy to play
and listen to. I wanted that Bonham sound but with a Phil Collins attack
to it. My kit is an old Premier XPK with Sapphire finish. Many people
ask me how I got that great drum sound wondering if I got huge drums but
nothing could be further from the truth. My smallest tom is a 10 x 10
and largest drum is 16 x 22 so it’s not like I have Tommy Lee’s bass
drum.
Smaller drums often sound better and tighter in the studio as supposed
to live where bigger drums fit the sound better. Being a studio session
drummer I find my drum set perfect for all musical challenges that I
have confronted during my 15 years of playing.
In a perfect world I should change my kit and upgrade but this kit has
been with me since the start and I have been trough some tough times
with it, survived them. It’s so much more than just a kit for me, it’s
my life and it’s been with me since I was 19.
 'Sahara In An Hourglass' is another up tempo
number, great eastern vibe which really brings to mind the desert.
Daniel: That’s so cool that you feel that! That’s was
actually was I was shooting for sonically in the beginning. The song as
you may know is about the Pyramids of Giza and this Archaeologist who
completely falls in love with these amazing monuments. He becomes
obsessed with them and eventually goes insane thinking he is a Pharaoh
in the end…
I love to build up these emotions in songs and create a set for the
listener. In the beginning there is only an acoustic guitars and Andreas
voice + a sample of desert wind which I made a long time ago. I wrote
this song at this awe full tripe I have in Morocco a couple of years
ago, I remember liking their music and thinking: “Wow, I want to write
something like that too!” The song fits perfectly with the whole concept
of the album perfectly as the pyramids are one of the true unsolved
mysteries of this planet. Who built them? Not the Egyptians anyway!
Johan: Cool! I really like this song as it is quite a departure
for us, I think.
The rich orchestration really adds to the tune,
is it a lot of work adding these orchestral backings and how do you go
about adding them?
Daniel: Thanks Andy! Well, the key is organisation. I really kept
everyone’s parts really simple, everyone is holding like a piece of a
big puzzle that only I know what to put together. I love to create stuff
like that as the other guys are really amazing when it comes to play
their parts. Johan’s guitars just made it really easy for me to work
with and the background vox I laid down behind Andreas just where enough
to push Andreas forward in the mix.
Arranging is a delicate thing and takes allot of time to build,
specially with chords like this. If you figured out the chords of this
song you would say: “Man that doesn’t work!” But it does! The
guitar layering on this song is so intense you can’t even imagine! In
the second verse there are 5 guitars elements playing different stuff
making you feel like it’s one. I also want to say that this is maybe my
best work ever as I am really pleased with how well this particular song
has been received by the audience and fans.
Andreas: - I just wanted to say that this tune is my
wife's favourite.
'Out Of My System' screams radio play to my
ears, yet the lyrical subject of drug addictions is quite dark. What led
to your merging of addictive pop hooks with the dark lyrics?
Daniel: That’s so funny that you say that as it was my
goal with it. In total I think we have two great radio tunes on this
album, this one and “Sacred rules” (which I wrote together with Johan).
We needed a dark twist in the album because it can’t be all happy tunes
can it? So I made this song which I think came out really great even
though it’s really simple. I love Nine inch nails and this had that vibe
to it. After a song like “Sahara in an hourglass” I needed a simple one
to make people exhale, you know what I mean? The song creates a great
stepping stone for the next song “Umbrellas under the sun”.
I liked the way the lyrics could also be
interpreted as relating to a broken relationship, what do you aim for
when writing lyrics and where does inspiration come from?
Daniel: Yeah, because it is a friend you trying to get rid
off when quitting with drugs. People do drugs because they feel alone
and drugs just fill this void. I had lot of friends from back in my
childhood who really just wasted their time with drugs, some fought with
it and some died. This was actually written after a friend’s story, so
it’s a true story. He is now off drugs but had a long hard fight with it
which he luckily won in the end. He once told me that he stills feels
the abstinence sometimes… That’s made me change the original lyrics in
the end from being a happy ending to a sad end.
The track reminded me a lot of Genesis around
the start of their more commercial period e.g. Duke. Would you say this
is a fair comparison?
Johan: That's quite a compliment! We've listened a lot to
Genesis, they are obviously a huge influence and I wouldn't be surprised
if that creeps into our music.
Daniel: It’s really an honour to hear people compare us to
Genesis and we all LOVE these guys. I think it’s a fair comparison as
the chords in this particular song are almost crafted in the same way
Anthony Banks used to do with Genesis. Man, I whish these guys go back
to the studio again and record and great record…
Andreas, how do you go about preparing to do
vocal tracks as there are a lot of different vibes throughout the album?
Andreas: -This time was a little bit special since I knew
Daniel had put four years of hard work behind every little fragment of
the album, so I really wanted to capture his intentions in my vocals. I
didn't just want to hit the right notes - I wanted to deliver the
message. So I asked Daniel to actually record the songs with himself
singing - which he did! He gave me a CD with his lead vocals, and that
was a great way for me to understand how he "heard" and felt the
melodies in his head. You know, if you ask ten different people to sing
a certain well known song to you, I'll guarantee you it would come out
in ten different versions. I listened for a few weeks to his takes, sang
along and let it sank in without stress. I guess that's why I was very
comfortable when it was time to record my vocals. First I expected it to
take a month to finish the vocals but I guess it was done in
what...seven days? A walk in the park. By the way, right now I'm selling
the CD with Daniels vocals on e-bay for only 2500 USD, shipping included
and you'll get a magnet for your refrigerator along with it ;-)
How many vocal takes did you need approximately
before all were happy with your performances.
Andreas: - It depends on lots of things such as your
physical shape that certain day. And it´s also different from phrase to
phrase, and song to song. Sometimes it took twenty takes before it felt
good, and sometimes I just nailed them in one take. You can be in
perfect shape and it's a piece of cake, an hour later everything sounds
like you could do it better no matter if you've recorded a hundred
takes. When that happens - time for a coffee break!
Daniel: I just want to add that Andreas level of vocal
stamina in the studio is by far the best in the Swedish music business.
He is able to sing for 10-12 hours straight in a row and still keeping
the tone, pitch and timbre really great trough out the whole session,
that’s something rare in this business and I have worked with them all…
The man is simply outstanding! I talked with Tommy Denander the other
day and he said the same thing!
I can hear quite a lot of growth in your vocals
even in the four years between 'A Work Of Art' and 'Walking On h2o', how
do you feel your voice is changing over the years?
Andreas: - Actually my voice just keeps getting better and
better, and I'm getting more aware of how to use it and make it sound
the way I want it to. It used to control me and set the limits, but now
I'm in charge - cause I know how to take care of it. I've widened my
range both up and down the last few years, which I'm very glad for. In
an ordinary job you get a raise after several years in duty. I keep
stretching my vocal limits instead, so when it's about time to retire
I'll sing over 12 octaves, ha - ha... No, seriously I've been singing so
much the last years so it feels like I've sung under the strangest
circumstances you could possibly imagine. I've also done lots gigs out
of my field which has given me a new perspective of the whole thing. And
it's been rewarding. Hard, real life, everyday practice pays off I would
say.
Any tips for aspiring vocalists out there?
Andreas: - Yes! Lots of tips, finally somebody's asking!
Here's my top three list of how you keep your voice in shape:
1. Don't sing before breakfast! Warm up your voice and start singing
carefully.
2. Drink water all the time while you sing, especially when your voice
feels tired or torn .
3. If you have a gig tomorrow: Don't speak when you're out partying.
Don't scream and shout - write notes instead! The voice level you keep
in a noisy club kills your voice. When the fun begins - time to go home
and SLEEP...Your voice is a muscle - it needs rest before and after that
extra effort. Be an athlete in that sense.
Damn, that's the best thing I've ever said in my life - Thank you for
listening!
'Umbrellas Under The Sun' is a potent blend of
classic prog with more modern timbres. What was the inspiration for this
track and was it an intention to mix the classic with the new?
Daniel: Yeah, again you are completely right! The blending
of new stuff and old school fits together with the fact that this song
is about earth and the poison we humans intoxicate it with, thus
reactions like Tsunami or Katrina.
The lyrics of this song where actually the last ones I wrote for this
album. To me it’s a flower power song about keeping earth clean with a
modern approach to it, and what a better way to do it than with the 70’s
style? Johan bass playing is nothing but grandiose, the cool thing is
that Johan is like a mix of Eddie Jackson (Queensrÿche), Mike Porcaro
(Toto) and Paul McCartney (The Beetles) and in this song he really shows
all his true colours.
Johan: As much as I love Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, Pink
Floyd etc... I also love Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, Metallica. I mean,
you are a product of what you listen to, so that's always going to be
part of the equation.
Speaking of Queensrÿche, the next track Sacred
Rules reminded me of that band at the start before travelling into its
own sound for the verse. What was the inspiration behind this track
musically and lyrically?
Johan:
Well, I just had this riff in my head that I had to get out . Then
Daniel and I worked on the rest.
The guitar and keyboards work well here.
Daniel:
Thanks, I see the chemistry here like a true relationship between old
friends.
Johan, what guitar equipment to get the wide range of tones heard on
h2o?
J ohan:
The guitar I used was actually my brother´s first guitar. It´s a strat-style
copy called Session. The amplifier used for rhythm guitars was a
Marshall JCM 800, and for the solos I used a Mesa/Boogie TriAxis preamp
& 2:90 power amp. The cabinet was a Marshall 4x12. I plugged into the
computer for the clean tones.
The only other player I can think who lays down
guitar and bass lines in a similar context is Mike Rutherford of
Genesis. Was it your idea to take up the guitar after the departure of
Fredrik Grünberger?
Johan: No, it was actually Daniel´s idea. I´ve been playing
guitar for quite awhile, but there´s a big difference between noodling
around at home and recording!
Daniel: Yeah, like I said so many times before. The answer
was right in front of us and finally we saw it.
What did you record first for h2o – bass or guitar?
JOHAN: I did
the guitars first. I prefer to do it that way, so I can really
concentrate on the bass when everything else is there.
How long have you been playing guitar and bass
and who would you say are your primary influences?
Johan: I got an acoustic guitar when I was 10, but I have
never really practiced guitar. I got my first bass not long after that,
and that I did pratice! The main guys for me are Anthony Jackson, Tony
Levin, Eddie Jackson, Chris Squire, among others. As far as guitarists
go I love Adrian Smith, Marty Friedman, Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth,
Reb Beach, John Sykes, Zakk Wylde…the list goes on and on.
The guitar work on h2o is another of the refreshing aspects of the album
in that, you aren’t listening to it and thinking “hey he’s thrown in
some Vai there, some Gilmour here etc..”, its definitely an album where
the playing is for the good of the song and keeping the sound true to
the band and its own vision.
Johan:
Thank you very, very much! That was exactly what I was going for! I
always try to play what´s right for the song, whatever that may be…
If the band get around to playing live (or touring on h2o) what role
will you play?
Johan: Oh, I will play bass – that´s
for sure!
 The
Nazca Lines was given an early preview airing on your official website
www.roundrec.com, why choose this track
as a preview?
Daniel: Mainly because it shows the full strength of the
band and the album at the same time. The full song has that cinematic
vibe that I wanted to come across with this album, so in that sense
it was perfect. Judging by the reactions I think it did the job.
The track is quite traditionally prog in the way it builds, but that
chorus is totally addictive.
Daniel: Thanks, It was made around a drum pattern I loved. As
the pattern was in 6/4 and it misses the first beat (just like in south
American music) II think it fitted perfect with the storyline and what I
wanted to do with the song. The chorus is actually something I had for a
long time and I saw the change to fit ii in the song. I developed it
allot and this is what came out of it. One of my proudest moments I
think.
Where does the Nazca Lines fall into the story of the album?
Daniel: Well, it actually the start of a five song concept in
the album. Like a zooming in and out in different peoples lives.
Everyone is connected though, showing the listener of how much we need
each other to live in this world. The story of the Nazca lines is a
fascinating one and perfect to pick up after the talking about the lost
knowledge of loyalty in the song “Sacred rules”.
Next up is I believe only the bands second instrumental, the wonderfully
titled ‘Flight Of The An.unna.ki’, what the hell does that title mean or
represent?
Daniel: An.unna.ki means “those from heaven who came” and the
language is Sumerian. The Sumerian people (first people to ever use
writing on tablets) used this name to describe the gods that they saw
and worshiped long before Jesus walked on water. They spoke and wrote
about lots of gods with possibilities of flying in “starships”. The
Sumerian people had enormous knowledge and already knew (back then) that
we had 10 planets orbiting around the sun. Their gods told them they
said. So I used this name to describe Ufo’s in the song. In the song
there is someone being abducted in the beginning, a flying stewardess. I
am sure that these gods, the Sumerians talked about are UFO’s so it was
kind of cool to use the name An.unna.ki in the song describing how they
abducted the woman and the flight they take to their planet with this
woman.
Musically it’s a gem from start to finish and one I always have to turn
up when listening to.
Daniel: Yeah, it always grabs me too. Though, I don’t listen too
much to the album at the moment.
It’s one track where you can tell you guys are paying tribute to prog
masters of the 70’s, to me the intro sounds like classic Yes with the
organ before moving into Rush territory and beyond… how did this piece
of music come about as it sounds very natural and jam like?
Daniel: The band did the music and I wrote the song. Me and
Johan kind of built the guitars together and the rest just came
naturally to us.
The instrumentation from all is superb on it.
Daniel: Thanks! We are all proud of it. The guitar solo is on of
my favourites in the album.
Heal My Karma has a great title, what inspired it?
Daniel: The song is the second part of the 5 song theme. The
song deals with the thoughts of a woman being captured by aliens. She
takes you trough a journey in the alien’s planet and back to earth and
her fiancé. “Heal my karma” she say as she doesn’t see it as an
abduction she sees it as a spiritual journey, sort of meeting god or
gods as in this case. Seeing her chance to get her soul cleansed from
the “sins” she made in her past.
The track could be described as one of the epics of the album with a lot
of different tones and variances within the track. How do you go about
making a track of 8 minutes interesting throughout?
Daniel: Well, variation of arrangements and orchestration is
what comes to mind. My song writing is kind of linear, I mean it has
verse, bridge and chorus, just like a normal song has. I work around
that, re-arranging every verse different and so on. Though, the main
difference if compared to other songwriters is (and I am sure about it)
the chord progression I use are maybe much more interesting than usual
and not your typical C,g,d hit song. I love the way Vivien Lalu and
Johans solo becomes one. The ending is maybe the hardest part I have
played on piano… It took me forever to cut… glad you liked it.
The track gave me a vibe to that of a more accessible Transatlantic.
Daniel: Yeah? Never heard them, though I think it’s an
interesting bunch of musicians. Accessible is the key to this album I
think. Maybe too accessible for other (someone said it was boy band prog
hahahaha) I still think people make prog too difficult to listen too.
 ‘When
I Whisper’ I thought brought back some of the more restraint sounds
heard on the previous disc ‘A Work Of Art’.
Daniel:
Yes, that disc was more romantic in that way that this song is written.
The song continues where “Heal my karma” ended.
It also serves well to
signal approaching the ending of the story.
Daniel: Yeah, the calm before the storm, literally I mean.
‘Poseidon Says’ is the true epic of the album, another great track that
crosses many different frontiers of sound. Did you compose this piece
intentionally as being the closing track?
Daniel: Johan and I wrote the chorus and other parts of that
song. The rest was made a long time ago by me. I had this vision of
creating a song that had it all and that could have the three most
important chorus fitting in the same chords. I difficult task if you ask
me. Never had so much problems doing melodies and writing chords for a
song like when I was working on “Poseidon says”.
What were you looking for to close the album and how did you arrive at
‘Poseidon Says’?
Daniel: To
close an album such as this is a very important task cause it when the
curtain fall so to speak. What’s better way to end and album like this
than with “death”. We all have to face it you know and it’s the only
thing we share with one another for sure. No matter who you are or as in
this case who you believe in.
The track I felt
incorporated many of the sounds heard throughout the album and acts as a
summary in some ways.
Daniel: Yeah, I though of using this song as the free Mp3
download but my wife and others told me it wasn’t a good idea as there
are still many people with modem connections out there and this people
wouldn’t like the idea of downloading a 11 minute song of 20 megabytes.
The closing was and still is for me a very important thing. I never
repeat myself and I have always tried to close an album different. I see
my self waving goodbye to people in the end of an album and if you want
to say goodbye more than once you have to learn to do it in different
kinds of ways. This also (I think) gives the listener a more cinematic
feel, almost like looking at the credit screen going up. I want to
achive the same feeling as an director gets when closing a movie.
I
believe the Japanese version of the album closes with a cover of
Prince’s ‘Sign O The Times’. What led to you choosing this particular
cover as the bonus for the Japanese market?
Daniel: Ok, first of all I have to let you know that all the
Japanese labels want to have a bonus song for their territory. When I
finished the album with the guys we took a listen to it and asked each
other which song should we use as bonus and I couldn’t decide. I mean,
it’s a concept piece, you can’t just throw in a bonus song! It’s like
reading a good book and then after the end you have a couple of pages of
Donald duck and co. that’s crazy!
So
I thought of making this song which I have admired for so long. It
fitted the concept telling people how stupid we are. I thought if I
couldn’t end the album with a song of mine then what better way than
ending with another artist. Prince is a genius.
How has the album been doing worldwide?
Daniel: Man, the buzz is and has been over whelming. Almost too
good!… I always say that’s it’s better to receive a 9 rather than a 10
because then you always have something to fight for in the next album…
what can I say? The reviews speak for them self’s. I am glad for the all
10’s, don’t get me wrong, We love to receive them too but it’s just so
unreal… and still is.
Looking back now a few months after completion, is it possible for you
to listen to ‘h2o’ without the personal involvement?
Daniel: I can actually listen to this album. Most albums I make
or play drums on I can only listen to once or twice and then I put it
away. I need time in between listening to this album though. Sometimes I
take it up to the studio and play it loud as hell from the beginning to
the end. It’s always a great rush.
What’s next for Mind’s Eye?
Daniel: There are so many plans for this band and I am finally
glad that we can make music together like we did before. A new album
called “A gentleman’s hurricane” is in the works and again there is
going to be something new. A heavier side of us will come out in this
piece of music. It’s s a new concept album but this time it’s 50%
fiction and 50% facts. The story about an assassin and his life, what he
went trough and who he killed. Giving the listener an even closer look
into the music of Mind’s Eye and the cinematic vision we are trying to
get across here.
Anything else you would like to add to end this interview?
Daniel: I would like to say thank you to all the fans of Mind’s
Eye. You guys are the reason why we still, after over 10 years in the
business still together as a band. We promise to continue for at least
10 years more. Our agenda has always been to bring cool and exiting
music to the scene. We have the luxury of making the music we like and
whatever we make the fans love it. We are much more than just looks or
clothes. We are musicians to the bone and I feel honoured to be doing
this for a living, thanks for listening and keep supporting “real”
musicians.
Guys, many thanks for your time and congratulations once again on
‘Walking On h2o’.
Daniel: Thanks Andy! You rule, thanks for giving the fans so
much to look out for. Without people like you we are all nothing. Keep
up the great work we truly appreciate it.
Check out
www.roundrec.com for more info on Mind’s Eye.
Links
|
