SEPULTURA
Progresion and Thrash Metal Erasing Borders The Brazilian Jungle shudders again with a hurricane of riffs and power by this band that is back in action with a job that will undoubtedly be the most anticipated by its fans in 2020, and that will mark a before and a after its growing history! We refer this time to the band SEPULTURA, and we talked to Sao Paulo with their Guitarist ANDREAS KISSER, who offers important details of his new record production, number 15 in the studio of a series of live and compilation works, and which he has name QUADRA, which will go on sale worldwide on February 7 via Nuclear Blast, and that breaks a silence of 3 years after its previous delivery Machine Messiah released in 2017. In this report Andreas tells us about his recent experience in the Fascination Street Studio by the hand of Jens Bogren in the production, and that at the discretion of our guest this new work would be the heaviest and strongest of his career in this current lineup that shares history with Derrik Green on the Vocals, Eloy Casagrande on the Drums and Paulo Jr. on the Bass. Then we share with you this interesting interview: Conexion Rock Radio: Andreas, greetings from Honduras, Central America, it's a great honor to have you here in this special interview for the fans of Sepultura who want to know about the upcoming news that the band have in 2020, welcome!! Andreas Kisser: Thank you. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to talk with all of you from Honduras, perhaps and with Quadra we have the chance to play in Honduras and rest of Central America, and it will be a joy to play for all of you when that time comes! CR: Start the interview in congratulating the band on the release of their new album called Quadra via Nuclear Blast Records, and for their fans this is a great way to start 2020 with a new album from Sepultura.
What expectations do you have in this new chapter for the band? AK: We are very happy with the final result of the album, we work again with producer Jens Bogren in Sweden because we had good chemistry with the previous Machine Messiah work of 2017, and that's why we repeated the process and that's why we went to Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, and the reaction of the people has been very positive and so strong for the two first singles, and especially with the release of the release that was last February 7, and this has generated a strong expectation, and we are eager to go on tour and sounding this album live, and for many Quadra is considered the best chapter in the history of Sepultura. CR: That's right, we all believe that this album will mark a before and after. Many are saying that this is possibly the best work in their modern era with this lineup, and the production with Jens Bogren has given a plus in these last works. AK: Without a doubt, he is an excellent producer, we are the same age, and he has a lot of information about the studio. He is a producer with a special simplicity, he is also a guitarist and we have a chemistry in the studio, he has a sense of humor, although the work was not easy for hours in the studio and recording a record as difficult as this, but he was already prepared for this matter and it was the perfect choice to make the production of this album, because he knows the whole history of Sepultura, where we came from, and because we are here, and the sound is also an important factor, likewise the Label as It´s Nuclear Blast, which we have been with them for 10 years and 4 albums released. This shows a very clear evolution at the collective level and as a group, in this album you can see the work of Eloy Casagrande on the drums, which is a monster, and is an excellent and incredible musician who helped us a lot, and this marks us that our passion for the music doesn´t die there, and it´s a pleasure to be on stage, it is what I love, what I do, and it is also very special to have an album like Quadra, this has caused a special connection between the whole band , is something that had not been seen in the history of Sepultura, and as a band we carry things in a well-structured and organized way, without dramas, without soap operas, and nothing overshadows an important moment like this.
CR: Curiously, the band's latest albums have taken conceptual themes (Dante XXI, A-Lex, and The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart) and this new one is no exception, for the cover everything indicates that it will be something related to the Ancient Rome, and especially with an emperor. Is it based on a book?
AK: In the last years we bring our concepts with messages, so the concept is very important for us. I started with the ideas about almost two years before entering the studio we were looking for a concept because I wanted to have more time to work to listen and do experiments. Then I started earlier compared to Machine Messiah, you looked for the concept and it was the most important thing, and I started with numerology, very common things of today like technology, social networks, what you buy, and I started there, and I found this book called Quadrivium that talks about the 4 liberal arts that are music, mathematics, cosmology, and geometry.
I find it very interesting because in this book there are the definitions of the numbers that represent the combinations of everything, and the number 4 according to the Quadrivium is the number from where things happen, the time of manifestation, and that is a Very important topic for Burial. We already talk about this in Kairos, and we always talk that we are in the present and the future and not the past. I think the number 4 is very supportive, from the Quadrivium this analogy is created, such as what happens in sporting events a basketball or football court, it is also a territory marked by lines, a set of rules that implies our life , no matter if you live in Mexico, Honduras, or Brazil. They are all different Quarters, with a different arrangement of both political and religious rules, of family, society, of certain most popular sports in the countries. We are a consequence we are victims of a cultural background, of the education of the school, everything and the Quadrivium Inspiration is divided. In Quadra we divide the disc into four parts, and each part has a slightly different characteristic of what Sepultura has done in its history, so with the concept everything makes sense, we look for the best parts, the best themes to represent each part of the album, and it was a very incredible process. Quadra has brought a concept that we believe so much in the idea we have in our heads, but most importantly because we defend these points of view, having been born in Saudi Arabia, for example, could have had a vision of the planet or of society, everything is completely different, and these differences are those that impose fear of generating phobias or stereotypes, or thoughts like "My God is better than your God", all these concepts are considered idiots, then Quadra brings this question that you should believe what you Mind you. As musicians that travelled, in our personal point of view we look how as the world is very different and so rich at the same time, and with Quadra we seek to highlight the differences. CR: I must confess something to you: when the name of the album was announced, I was investigating, and I thought: Quadra perhaps in Latin refers to 25, or perhaps for the period of a Roman Senator that is equivalent to 25 years.
AK: Quadra on the cover that appears the Roman skull represents the Senator. The set of rules that laws have made since The Senate, or Congress with politicians, all that represents money or religious ideas. The political ideas that you could define if you are true or wrong. Then the Senate represents the set of ideas and there is a world map in his head because they are also imaginary lines and that the borders are not real, and where everything is a concept that we have of our head. |
CR: How do you feel with the good reception that fans have given to the first singles: Insolation and Last Time?
AK: As I have said in all interviews for the release the reaction is incredible. It has been a long time since we had such a strong and incredible relationship from all sides of the world. It is not only because it is two tracks, they are the two strongest tracks we have presented, and we hope that the whole experience in Quadra is to your liking. For that reason, we are very happy with the feedback that has been very positive, and is creating the incredible expectation for the album now that it has gone on sale, and it only remains to tell everyone to enjoy it! CR: We know that in the Earbook version there is a documentary about the history of the band and a concert celebrating the thirty years, being together with Paulo the only musicians of the classical lineup. What is your point of view having now to Derrik and Eloy in the present lineup for Sepultura?
AK: This is the best version of Sepultura because we are in a very special moment not only the stage, because it is a group that is respected as men and as friends. We are not playing together just for money, or because we have no other choice. We are very happy with everything: the organization, the office with the managers, the labels that we have changed in all these years, and we have very organized people, who help us a lot to go to the rehearsal room and weigh and put all energy only Music, and this has had our full attention, has been the focus. What we had in the past years was very chaotic, I think that since Arise, Chaos A.D., and Roots, we have had very rapid growth, and everything we lived in those years was amazing. Suddenly the departure of Max and years later from Igor caused many changes, and for that reason both I and Paulo knew how to face the situation. When Derrik arrives at the band it was a time of changes in which we had to learn to survive, but now we are all happy with what we have achieved so far. CR: I want to be honest with you on this question.
As you said before the band has lived good years and bad at the same time, but that you have survived to this day. In the last days a relationship of love and hate has been reactivated and that has generated discomforts in the fans to the point of causing comments divided by some people (editorial note: prior to the release of Quadra Derrik Green has commented that the band enjoys from an excellent moment, on the other hand his former manager has lashed out saying that the band lives from the past bearing a name that does not correspond to them despite the fact that fans say that this present lineup has done in recent years high quality albums) With the respect he deserves to you and the rest of the band: what is your position on this type of comment? AK: I don't seem to answer that kind of comments. Unfortunately, what they are looking for is to stain the moment that the band now lives with Quadra, sometimes in the perception of the fan they see that the success of one is the failure of the other and they seek to make notoriety or set fire to an issue that years ago is off. They are respected the opinions of fans, whether positive or negative, but we are not here to waste energy. We have our history, and they (the other part) yours, so I will not respond to comments that come to pollute our environment, we are in 2020 and Sepultura lives a great moment now, so the best thing for us is not to respond to those statements. CR: Sepultura has been an influence for many bands around the world, and the message is: thanks for the important contribution you made over the years, what do you think about it?
AK: AK: I should be grateful for comments of this kind, it is incredible because the influence that Sepultura has had in all these years with changes in its lineup, personal and record labels, and especially we live a transition with technology. I remember that when the band started in 1984 there was a fax machine and a telephone to call New York once or twice a month, it was very expensive in those days (laughs) and we lived the transition of formats: Cassette, Vinyl, CD, Mini Disc (MD), Napster, and digital platforms now, and it is very interesting that we remain active after 35 years. I am 51 years old, and I feel in good shape, with the people who support us, to the media like you in Honduras who are witnesses of the history we are doing now. CR: What will happen when the band celebrates its 40 years?
AK: We don't think so far. The present is the most important thing for now. We have many tours ahead, the idea is to play in many countries until 2022, and when it is time for the 40th anniversary we will see what happens, we are focused on what we will do from now on, and make the decisions that involve the tours with tranquility, so we are going to put all our energy and make several projects with the band, and have our eyes focused only on the present. CR: With the trajectory that Sepultura has as you see the evolution of the industry. From the time of the label to now that almost everything is via the internet.
What would be your way of explaining to the new generations the reality of the current industry and what they will face? AK: I think music and art are on the street, it's not in the formats. We are still buying The Beatles records (laughs) on Vinyl or digital downloads. The industry always invents ways for people to buy the same product. How many times have we bought The Number Of The Beast or Master Of Puppets, and that trend makes such things repetitive, so the market is not art, it is a business that involves money. Art is on stage, doing something real and establishing an energy connection with people, the experience of traveling and composing makes all of that a special process. Painting pictures, doing poetry, giving a different point of view of reality, we have examples such as Picasso or Salvador Dali, Igor Stravinsky, Jimmy Hendrix and many others. A difference of doing art and doing business lies in that. In business we have to adhere to certain rules in society to survive and that means buying our own resources. In art things are done with honesty and energy, put soul and heart, and offer something interesting on stage, so all that evolves over time. For example: Mozart, his music was marketed, then with the arrival of the Gramophone if he viralized the sale of the Vinyl with Elvis and The Beatles that set a pattern of revolution in both purchase and sale of music, and now we have access to various formats Between digital and analog. Sepultura passed through everything, and here we make art, otherwise people worry about facing and see what options are feasible. CR: What is the message you want to send to those who read us, and thanks for your time in this special interview on Conexion Rock Radio
AK: It has been a great privilege to talk with you on this day, thank you very much for the positive messages regarding Quadra, always a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you very much Johonny for giving the space to Sepultura, and maybe and very soon we will have news about the tour in Latin America and Central America and there I hope to see everyone soon on the tour. Thank you very much for everything! Special thanks to Leoni Dowidat of the Nuclear Blast Promotion and Press Team for their help in making this interview possible, Andreas Kisser for the time granted in this report
For the Spanish version of this interview in this link For reservations of the new album we invite you to visit their online shop so you can purchase this and other products. In this link you can listen to his discography and next advances in Spotify In our multimedia section we present the singles: Insolation and Means To An End © 2020 Nuclear Blast |
|
|