Tinkerbell
I think that a good prologue
is the one that can match the identity of the presented band or at least
can reveal the essence you get from the given interview... So with Tinkerbell
my prologue has to be rather unconventionalm since they are an unconventional
band... I think the guys speak for themselves, so simply skip this part
and move on!
1. CONGRATULATIONS ON “VOLUME X”! HOW DO YOU
FEEL ABOUT IT? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO CHANGE?
Thanx, we’re pleased with the material on
Volume X but there are much more to come. Our ground material is good,
but the recording session wasn’t that well prepared. We got to have bigger
patience before we decide to walk into the studio. There are fragments
in the songs we’re satisfied with and so on. Change? The mix and mastering
could have been more accurate. Hmm, and probably we would like to be better
prepared and have more quality time in the studio. But nevertheless this
is a demo. Not even big, signed acts produce perfect albums, if there is
such a record?
2. I THINK IT’S NECESSARY FOR YOU TO PRESENT THE
CURRENT LINE UP AND BRIEF US ON THE BAND’S ENDEAVORS SINCE YOUR FORMATION.
Drums & Samples: Robin Kristiansson, great
at freesby golf.
Guitar: Thomas Olsson, hi-fi freak! He sells
TVs for a living.
Guitar: Marcus Nätblom, dance instructor
on his time off.
Bass: Mikael Lindgren, played the accordion
throughout upper secondary school.
Song: Harald Stangl, skilled classical singer.
We started out in late 2004 and we were not
sure of what kind of sound we wanted. But we wanted to sound heavy. Robin,
Thomas and Marcus had played together earlier so I, Harald, and Mikael
came into the group with new views of what the music would be like. All
of us love playing live. I don’t think you can deliver the same amount
of energy on a record that you do live. That is one of the hardest tasks
to accomplish. We’re all raised in Halmstad, Sweden and have known each
other for a long time through school. We want to grow as musicians and
as a band. Widen the view of metal and its elements.
3. IF YOU WERE ASKED TO WRITE A REVIEW FOR “VOLUME
X” WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TRYING TO BE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE?
Intensive and energetic metal. Great mix of
genres with heavy verses and melodic choruses. Great and odd structures
in the songs that make you remember the band. Interesting bass lines that
you rarely hear in metal. It’s a roller coaster of brilliance and carelessness.
4. WHAT’S THE BEST AND WHAT’S THE WORST PART OF
YOUR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO YOU?
Best: Challenging and fun to play with a great
mix genres.
Worst: Probably the fact that the metal scene
in Sweden isn’t as big as we’d like it to be. Playing metal doesn’t impress
your mother in law. Our music might be slightly difficult to digest so
to speak. Harald: For those who want to be entertained: I don’t see myself
as an entertainer when singing in Tinkerbell! I want to declare a state
of mind, unveil one side of the shattered truth.
5. HOW CAN YOU MIX SO HOMOGENEOUSLY ALL THOSE
CONTROVERSIAL ELEMENTS IN YOUR MUSIC? HOW DO YOU FIND THE “GOLDEN” BALANCE?
By experimenting! We are all musicians who
have, to each other, completely different musical backgrounds and influences
and by mixing everyone’s ideas we create our special sound. And when it
works it is awesome. There’s no genre incest, that is; we don’t just have
metal acts as influences. The music has to contain contrasts, if not in
one single song thus between our compositions. The spectrum of feeling
is huge. You want to explore it all!
6. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND? I MEAN ON
THE ONE HAND YOU PLAY MODERN MELODIC DEATH-HARDCORE, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND
YOU HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF PROGRESSIVE MUSIC IN YOUR SOUND. DO YOU AGREE
WITH THIS? IF NOT, PLEASE OFFER US YOUR OWN APPROACH SO THAT OUR READERS
CAN GET A CLEAR VIEW…
Your definition is ours as well! We play what
we think sounds good. But we undoubtedly play metal. We never discuss what
genre we’re playing. It’s totally irrelevant to us. If your readers want
a hint about what we’re doing just slide to our website and listen to our
songs!
7. I’D LIKE YOU TO EXPLAIN THE LYRICAL CONTENT
OF EACH SONG AND PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE INITIALS B.S. STAND FOR…
What is there to explain regarding our lyrics?
It’s totally free for interpretation. B.S. really stands for bull shit.
8. WHICH ARE YOUR SOURCES OF INSPIRATION? WHO
ARE THOSE ARTISTS THAT HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR SONGWRITING APPROACH OF SONGS?
Rob: Mnemic, Soilwork, Disturbed among others.
Thomas: Mudvayne, Slipknot.
Mike: Korn, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller. Play
the bass! Don’t hide behind the guitars.
Harald: I won’t mention any bands to put ourselves
out of focus. If I do everything we create will be compared to other bands.
I believe in my history. The world’s history and suffering.
9. WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK HAVE YOU RECEIVED TILL
NOW? WHAT WAS THE MOST FLATTERING AND WHAT THE MOST UNFAIR COMMENT YOU
READ ABOUT YOUR MUSIC?
We’ve received great reviews on Volume X.
Some comments have been made on the quality of the production and this
is something we’re well aware of. In the near future we’re planning on
recording professional. A funny comment was that everyone should be in
possession of “Volume X” except maybe Agda (Swedish name) age 97!
10. HAVE YOU SENT YOUR DEMO TO ANY LABELS? ARE
YOU PERHAPS UNDER NEGOTIATION WITH ANY OF THEM?
We have mostly sent demos to webzines but
some labels have received a copy.
11. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE RED AS THE MAIN COLOR FOR
YOUR COVER ARTWORK AND WHY DO YOU HAVE A MAN HANGING FROM A NOOSE? WHAT
DOES THIS SYMBOLIZE?
Harald: I was working with Photoshop a lot
when the artwork took form. I liked the shade of red with the simplicity
of black and white. It’s actually myself on the cover. I think it symbolizes
the place you end up if you don’t follow your heart. I really don’t want
to end up like that. Too many do!
12. THIS IS YOUR 4TH DEMO CD, SO WHY DID YOU NAME
IT “VOLUME X”? HAS IT GOT A CONNECTION WITH THE LYRICS PERHAPS?
Harald: There is no connection to the lyrics
what so ever. At first I didn’t want to name it at all. I just couldn’t
see the meaning in naming a demo. It’s just volume x, next time it might
be “beta version 3.01”. The day we record a full length album I’ll take
my time naming the record so it will turn out memorable.
13. WHAT KIND OF EMOTIONS AND THOUGHTS DO YOU
WANT TO CREATE TO YOUR LISTENERS WITH YOUR MUSIC?
Pleasure! A different but groovy sound that
will make you wanna bang your head.
Harald: We don’t have time for self pity or
suicidal tendencies and neither do you people out there. Ok, there are
lyrics containing contemplation of suicide but only the weak leave this
earth like that. Take the bad and make something good, grow out of it.
Depending on what the new material sounds like I write my lyrics and try
to match the words’ meaning with the right tone. Sometimes I sing for the
people and sometimes for myself. But I would like to enlighten more people
in the west about the fact that our prosperity is the sum of abused workers
living in misery, dying in poverty.
People should read more philosophy. The ancient
Greeks were masters of the mind!
14. HAVE YOU GOT ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS? HOW
ARE YOU GOING TO PROMOTE YOUR DEMO CD?
Post as many demos as possible. There are
no shows booked at this very moment…
15. SWEDEN HAS ONE OF THE BEST AND STRONGEST METAL
SCENES, HOWEVER FROM WHAT I LEARN GENERALLY THERE AREN’T MANY PEOPLE ATTENDING
LIVE SHOWS THERE. IS THIS TRUE? WHY?
It’s true and it’s the seamy side of playing
metal. Sweden has a great lineup of metal bands and it’s strange why people
don’t attend the live shows.
We Swedes are very spoiled with great musicians
in general. Sweden is the third biggest exporter of music. The Swedish
line up of internationally famous band is really great. We also blame the
Idol-concept and lame radio channels.
16. WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO
HAVE? A TITLE THAT COULD REPRESENT THE BAND’S ESSENCE AS WELL…
17. THANK YOU! LEAVE A MESSAGE TO OUR READERS…
Christine Parastatidou
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