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Interview

Deutsche VersionInterview mit Textures (20.04.2008)

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HH: How are you doing after having done your new record?

Bart: Good! We are preparing for the new shows that are coming these months, rehearsing a lot, and we're looking forward to be playing a lot again! This week we'll go to the UK for a short tour, and after that we'll do lots of shows in Holland, also Germany, France, Czech Republic, and even Denmark and Slovenia.

HH: The artwork for your new record represents the title of it perfectly. Why did you call your new record Silhouettes? What's the meaning behind the name?

Bart: The concept is the struggle between light and darkness, between sun and shadow. It's the light that may shine upon a person, enlighting him, but also creating a shadow, the darker side of himself. So we chose a word that embraces that feeling; we chose Silhouettes.

HH: In which way does the title represent the lyrics?

Bart: The lyrics deal with the personal struggle of a man that has regrets and fears. He faces the darker side of himself, so it is a constant struggle between his good and bad side. Silhouettes is a word that concludes that feeling, it's a word that just fits with the overall emotion of the album.

HH: The songs "The Sun's Architect" and "Awake" remind me of The Devin Townsend Band especially the vocals, but while listening to "To Erase A Lifetime" it reminds me of Tool. Would you say that Devin Townsend and Tool have a certain influence on the songs of Silhouettes?

Bart: Well, Eric sings clean parts on Drawing Circles as well, so that's nothing new. But maybe you mean the diversity and the power he has now, well, that's a natural progression as well I think, Eric has found his place in the music now, and we know he can sing very well, so why not make use of it!? So in some parts we really have put Eric's voice in the spotlight, because that is what it simply deserves.
It's not particular those influences we thought of, we just wanted to lift the whole band, by making special or technical parts with powerful clean vocals on top of it.

HH: What is the commoness and the difference of Silhouettes compared to its predecessor?

Bart: Well, something we always will be doing is doing heavy beatdowns, just because we like it! Haha. The difference is that Silhouettes is more raw, more in-your-face, but also more BIG, and layered. We focused on melody more with the vocals, and on a big sound with the band behind that. We are very pleased with the result.

HH: All of your songs are very complex in every way but soon after listening to them two or three times one remembers a lot of the music. Do you have a secret formula or something to write such complex but sort of catchy songs?

Bart: Haha no, we just write what we want, but we do focus on using melodies that last longer, I mean melodies that you remember when the song is finished. Melody is a powerful tool if you can use it well. We experimented a lot with the melodic parts, and some have seen changes during the writing process a LOT. But that is the way to make them better and better.

HH: After your first record Textures have been awarded with the Essent Award for "Most Promising Act". How did it feel to receive this title?

Bart: It was an honour for us, it gave us a real boost to go on with what we are doing. Though it might be not the most commercial music that we make, it is cool to have some recognition from the outside, so we can go on creating this crazy music, haha!

HH: After recording your higly acclaimed second record Drawing Cicles Textures have been featured in some cover stories and have played some bigger tours. I think Textures can keep up that success with Silhouettes. What do you think?

Bart: Yes I think so! We will always keep creating this music, wether the reactions are good or not, it's just something we like to do! And with the amount of support we get of our fans, it's looking really good! Some people might leave because they only want to hear blastbeats, but some new fans come at the same time, because they like the sound. But we have a strong core of friends now that stick with us and spread the word, it's very cool to see.

HH: How important are the reaction of press and fans to you?

Bart: As I said, it is not a matter of life and death what the press says, I don't mind getting a 1 out of 10 by a death-metal reviewer of some death-metal e-magazine, haha, but the overall reactions on Silhouettes for example are not beneath 8 out of 10, it's incredible to see, and then I think those people are honest. But the reactions of fans always give me a big boost, bigger than press things. It means a lot to me when someone writes a message to our myspace saying that Drawing Circles has taken him through a tough phase in his life, that is some cool stuff to hear! So I save those messages in one big file, those are the things I do it for.

HH: Not only the first two records have been produced by yourself but Silhouettes too. Where did you get your recording experience to do such good jobs?

Bart: Jochem, our other guitarist has his own studio Split Second Sound. He works full-time, recording bands from Holland, but also from other countries in Europe. He's fully booked for weeks and that's going really good, so he has gained a lot of experience now. Also it's brings up new ideas for sounds and recording techniques for an album of Textures.

HH: How was the recording process for Silhouettes? Was it easier to record this album compared to the older ones?

Bart: Well, we did it in the same places as Drawing Circles, but we saved extra time to experiment in the studio. With the guitarsound for example, we checked out various guitar amps and effects for 1 day, just to pick the right sound for this album. It was a hell of a job, working fulltime for 3 months, but it is much fun of course!

HH: With the mass of melodies and riffs other bands are able to write three albums where you write one. Where do you get the inspirations for such complex records?

Bart: Well, what we do is write the whole year through. Really, every month each of us adds different ideas to a great database of mp3's, so it's like 10 new ideas per month. From that we build a lot of songs, a lot is left behind still... We have like 2 GB of small mp3's with short ideas, and I think 30% of that is used. So it's a process of listening and creating new parts from those ideas.

HH: What do the lyrics on Silhouettes deal with? How is their complexity compared to the music?

Bart: It's about the regrets and fears of a man that faces his shadow. They are quite complex, but displayed in a playful way, at moments they are very 'down to earth', and sometimes they a cryptic like an Edgar Allen Poe story. They go along with the songs perfectly, and the music grows more chaotic when the lyrics are more intense.

HH: Will you promote Silhouettes live in 2008? Will you visit Germany too?

Bart: Yes, we will play a lot, also in Germany! In August we have a show in Berlin, and also at Summer Breeze, that is going to be awesome!

HH: If you have the possibility to choose any band for touring together with Textures, which bands would that be and why?

Bart: Well, we played with Arch Enemy, and are going to do some more shows with them, that worked perfectly for us, that crowd likes us as well!
Some touring with The Haunted would be cool, for some thrashing nights. Meshuggah or Dillinger Escape plan would be good, they attract a lot of fans of diverse music. Strapping Young Lad, or Devin Townsend band for the same reason. Or Misery Signals, because we toured with them earlier and we make a good package, plus they are awesome guys!

HH: What are you doing when you're not working with or for Textures?

Bart: Stef and me are studying conservatory, and the others all have freelance jobs; Eric in designing, Remko in video-editing, Jochem in his studio, and Richard in a restaurant.

HH: What music do you listen to in your spare time?

Bart: To name a few artists that are not well-known or not much in the picture while they surely are woth it: Pat Metheny, Patrick o'Hearn, Necrophagist, Katatonia, Hate Eternal, Haji's Kitchen, Heather Nova, Vicente Amigo, Racer X, Peter Gabriel or Genesis...

HH: Imagine Silhouettes is a town, which town would that be and why?

Bart: I think Mexico city, the most creepy town of the world, where the shadow side of the ghettos are bigger than the centre. Where all sorts of thoughts come together, making a chaotic but structured labyrinth of different experiences.

HH: Thanks for your time and good speed! Any last words?

Bart: Thank you! And be sure to come to our shows in Germany!

Lord Obirah

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