Hi Calvin. First of all, thanks for answer our questions in this interview.
Calvin Raspatul: No problem at all, it�s my pleasure to be answering this interview.
� Raspatul was formed in the nineties, in the 96 to be exact. How has the band changed in all this time?
Calvin Raspatul: When Raspatul was formed in 1996, there wasn�t much activity in the band, except for the usual jam sessions and constantly trying to improve our musicianship. Basically the band was playing a lot of cover songs from our favourite bands, and I guess that is what most of the bands started out doing. It was only in 1998/1999 that the band started to compose our own originals and also at the same time playing some gigs here and there. The band has definitely changed a lot during this period of time, with a more serious approach to our songwriting, musicianship and also having that focus to improve ourselves as much as we can.
� There aren�t many known bands in Singapore, the metal scene of your country is not well known. What can you tell us about it? It�s easy for the bands to be known?
Calvin Raspatul: There are actually quite a good number of Metal bands in Singapore, with a lot of new bands sprouting out these days. But sadly, one of the reasons why bands from our country doesn�t get as much recognition as it should get is due to the fact that not many of the bands here do any promotion overseas. We do have a Metal scene here but most of the bands here are not really productive in releasing albums, which I think it�s really vital in getting exposure and recognition in other parts of the world. I really can�t say much about the Metal scene here to be honest, I have lost touch with what is happening around here and there is really nothing to offer here anyway. It�s definitely not very easy to be known these days, especially when there is such a huge abundance of Metal bands coming out with new releases every month around the world. But with hard work, determination and of course with good networking, it should not be difficult to get some form of recognition. There are so many printed magazines, zines and webzines all around these days, I am very sure getting a decent review or an interview will not be a problem at all.
� Raspatul has a quite distinctive sound, among Death, Thrash and Black Metal. Tell me about the influences of the band.
Calvin Raspatul: We never really felt that we have a distinctive sound actually, but we do take a lot of effort in our songwriting process, and this is what probably makes every band different in their own way. For Raspatul, we try to write something that sounds really cool for us and then we will try to arrange the songs in a more unique way, and not just the usual verse-chorus-verse arrangement concept. Each and everyone in Raspatul have their own different influences, and we all do love other forms of music outside Metal as well. But when it comes to Raspatul, we know exactly what Raspatul is about, so that we try to maintain the sound and style of Raspatul. We don�t really have main influences when it comes to writing songs for Raspatul, but we all do enjoy bands like Morbid Angel, Testament, Carcass, Slayer, etc.
� Today originality is disappearing. Do you think that everything is invented or there is still a lot of music to hear and create?
Calvin Raspatul: For me personally I think that there isn�t anything much to create these days, almost everything has been done to death. In my previous answer, I mentioned that songwriting and arrangements are very important in Raspatul, so I believe this is the only way to set bands apart and to so-called reinvent the wheel. There is definitely a lot of music to create, but not in terms of inventing something really new that no one has done before. And in most cases, especially in the Metal genre, the majority of the �new� music are always being frowned upon, with the fans saying that they are not �true� Metal and what not. So for me, a band that writes good songs, with killer songwriting and song arrangements works the best for me.
� In the mastering duties of your work "Devils In Renewed Birth" was James Murphy. How does it feel to have one of the greatest there?
Calvin Raspatul: It certainly feels awesome to know that we are able to work with someone like James Murphy. I got in touch with James a few years back, and was actually considering him to either do mixing or mastering for a new Raspatul album. James got back to me real quick and said he would be glad to do some work for us. But when our singer Ayim passed away in a motorcycle accident almost 3 years ago, all our plans to do the new album had to be cancelled, as it was just impossible to do a new album without our singer. I quickly got the idea of compiling all our recorded tracks into a professionally printed CD and just around that time, Charles from Obskure Sombre Records have expressed interest in signing Raspatul for a one-album deal. So I took up the deal, and got in touch with James again for the mastering duties. James did a wonderful job on the mastering, and managed to get rid of all that mud and dust that was evident in the mix. It definitely sounds so much fresher with James�s mastering. Just like almost everyone, I am a fan of James�s guitar and production work, so it sure feels like a dream come true.
� About this album. We can found tracks of all your work since 2004. Could we say that here is stored in the history of the band so that people will know you and is a preview of works ahead?
Calvin Raspatul: Yes �Devils In Renewed Birth� is a collection of all our recorded songs into an album. The songs that you hear on the album were previously on the �Menghitung Ajal� EP and also on the �The Perfect Realm Of Jharkyannarkh Promo CD 2004�. Both of these releases were in CD-R format, due to the fact that there wasn�t any label support and we had to do everything by ourselves. We would very much like to have both of our previous releases in professional CD format, but the financial part of it didn�t allow us to do so. The main purpose of releasing �Devils In Renewed Birth� was something that all of us in the band would be able to hold on to something that is permanent and could keep as memories sake. Back in 2001 to present, I have done a lot of promotional work for Raspatul, so it would be easier to market this album to the public, as oppose to not having done a single promotion at all for Raspatul. So I can say that there will be quite an amount of people around the globe who knows who we are.