Winterstrain
In the case of Winterstrain,
it’s all about melodies. I believe that their main advantage is the melodies
and they know that. What do they do? They simply work on them really hard
and this has resulted in the creation of one of the best releases I have
heard these past weeks.
1. First of all, a typical question. Can
you give us a short bio of the Winterstrain history?
The first seed was sown in 1988, and over
the course of the next couple of years, we slowly grew into the band you
see today. We played live frequently the first years, but it became very
hard to pull it off as the band members started moving to other parts of
the country, and indeed other countries, for educational or romantic purposes.
The general conscription didn’t help, either. The five of us were enrolled
at three different points in time, so we were apart for a long time, and
other commitments were made while the rest were away. But we never split
up. We met and played together at every junction. Songs were written all
the time, mostly by me and Arnulf, but also Karl started to send us cassette
tapes of new music. We knew we would release an album one day, and the
chemistry between us has kept us going for all these years. We still live
far apart, but now we’re able to do a live gig at any time, with only hours
of rehearsal in front. We’re more glued together now than ever.
2. Recently you released your debut album after
almost fifteen years in the underground scene. Why did it take you so long?
To be honest, it was more than fifteen years!
Most of the delay has been down to the distance issues mentioned above,
but also the financial side to it. How do you record an album? Either you
go to a studio, or you build yourself one. I always dreamed of the last,
so I did as soon as I could. That done, we were all set to go! Making an
album for the first time means inventing the wheel again and again. Wasted
time, essentially! It’ll be faster next time. Now we know a lot more about
what to do and how to do it.
3. Can you inform us -by giving us some details-
on the recording sessions of your newest album?
Hmmm… recording stories? During the vocal
sessions for “Broken defence”, we did several takes on every part, as you
do in a studio. Then we picked out the best take on each part, and put
them together to one great performance. Even then, GH (singer) requested
a chance to sing the whole song in one take, to really dream away into
it. Well of course, go ahead… And what he did then was so much more soulful
than the other takes, that we kept it. The whole song is one and the same
take. I don’t think that is common these days, when all you’re after is
perfection.
Another one: I’d struggled a lot with one
specific song, to get the drumming right on it. I did so many takes I was
deeply ashamed, alone as I was. But at long last, I managed to nail it
pretty good, and went out for a bite. My son was not yet two years at the
time, and I don’t know how on earth he managed to do this, but I found
him in the studio (which is located in the basement of our house) banging
away on the computer keyboard… And all my drum parts were gone. Permanently.
I never found them again, and had to start all over. I think being cute
saved his hide right there and then…
There are also stuff on there that were only
meant as pre production material. Certain performances that were just pure
magic. Since the sound quality was good enough, we kept it.
4. I believe your main advantage is the way
you use the melody in your music. Do you agree?
Yes. That is our forte. We write and play
songs. Songs. That makes room for many good melodies. It seems making complicated
music to utilize all your technical abilities is pretty popular among musicians.
Some of them manage to stick good melodies on top of that, but quite often
you can tell it wasn’t a song to begin with. We go the other way around.
It starts with a song, that is lyrics, melody and chords. Then we play
this thing, jam over it, and new instrumental parts pop up that spring
from the soul of the song.
5. How do you compose the new songs?
96% of our material start out as lyrics. About
half the time with melody attached. As for the other half, the music is
written to the lyrics, and the melody is written from there. The song is
the core of every track. Not the playing.
6. Can you tell us a few things about the way
that you write the lyrics?
It is something that has come to me automatically.
I can’t help writing lyrics. I see something, hear something, come to think
of something… And some times, I get this urge to write. Some times there’s
a great idea, and I know it from the start. Other times, I have no idea
what I’m writing about, but I’m just plodding along, putting words to some
strong images in my mind. Often, I surprise myself, as the lyrics start
to reveal a story and take on a certain direction, maybe even showing itself
as a little mystery story, with a surprise ending or something… I am usually
in a very strong mood of sorts when I write. If you can’t understand what
the lyrics are all about, you’d probably pick up on the mood. That was
often the main attraction in lyrics for me. The mood that makes you feel.
But also the story that grabs you and makes you feel. I’ve been absolutely
nuts about lyrics my whole life. They are to me the point of the song.
Without them, there is no reason to play or at any rate sing! I do love
instrumental music, but that’s different because nobody sings, so the instruments
paint the picture alone. With lyrics, I love it when the instruments paint
the same or another facet of the same picture.
7. Which are your plans in order to support
"Return To The Mirror"?
We’ll do a few live gigs, and we’re doing
our best to spread the word. I have no vastly original ideas as to what
we can do. I’m not gonna hang upside down from a dildo-shaped balloon,
handing out copies of the album to the warring parties of a conflict that
gets a lot of press coverage… Would look spectacular on CNN, though…
8. Back in the early 90s when you started this
band, did you believe that one day you would be able to release your own
album?
Yes. That was one of the main goals in my
life. I am the kind of guy that makes sure he gets what he really wants,
even if it takes years upon years and piles of unpleasantries…
9. Tell me your dreams for Winterstrain.
My greatest dream is to be able to say that
all the people that our music is made for are aware of us, and have been
given a chance to make up their minds about our music. Next, I’d hope that
would garner enough fans to keep us going without day jobs… More down to
earth: I hope we will stick together, not die, and be allowed to release
all the albums we have up our sleeve. That would make me very happy.
10. Have you written any new tunes for the
next release or is it still too early?
The songs for the next album are ready. We’re
in pre-production. There might be we throw in a brand new song that is
not finished yet, but then another song will have to go. We’re not much
for albums that last more than an hour. I have said we could have writer’s
block for ten years, and not run out of material. We’ll have to release
several albums to keep from bursting!!
11. Thank you for your time and don't take
away the melody from your music :-)
Never in my life! Without melody, there can’t
be much left to call music. Thank you for these great questions! See you
later, man!
Antonis Maglaras
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