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Interview : Mr.Curse – A Forest of Stars

Interview by Matteo Bussotti

Their musical style is indeed really unique. They take direct inspiration from the Victorian Age, creating songs which seems out of time, and that’ll bring you out of time for their atmospheres and their sound. I’m talking about A Forest of Stars, and I’ve interviewed their lead singer, Mr. Curse, to hear from him what’s the story of this band, and what will be its future after the release of their latest album, “A Shadowplay of Yesterdays”. The result…is something really worth reading. Welcome to A Forest of Stars‘s very strange and peculiar world.

So, Mr. Curse, welcome to Femme Metal! We are glad to have you here! The first question is: your latest album “A Shadowplay for Yesterdays” is nothing less than a complex album, starting from its name. How did you come up with the main idea behind this concept album?

The idea came together via initial conversations between The Gentleman and myself. These concerned the thought of madness; insanity. Also, the question of whether an individual is truly insane, or if the so-called madness is a product of their own imagination. There is also the question of whether or not it is the individual who is ‘mad’, or if it is in fact the world around them that has lost its grip upon reality. The name “A Shadowplay for Yesterdays” was intended overall to hint at the thought of a life flashing behind the eyes at the moment of death; the flickering thoughts, the shadowplay… I must also give a bid mention to our cohort The Projectionist, who’s extremely fine ideas and suggestions not only helped form the back-bone of “Gatherer of the Pure”, but to influence my lyric writing further throughout the record as a whole.

Were there any other ideas that you had to discard before coming up with “A Shadowplay”? Maybe something we will see in future releases?

We did in fact have a small pile of possible names, some of which may indeed be used in the future – whether as song titles, parts of lyrics or whatever should suit them at the time. They may of course end up discarded and left without purpose. There are many things I have written that have ended up this way.

Musically speaking, what are your main influences?

I cannot speak for the band at large; the influences are too many and varied. For myself, Darkthrone, Bathory, Burzum, Ved Buens Ende, Type O Negative, Beyond Dawn, Swans, Arcturus, Voivod, GGFH, Acid Bath, Sleep, Electric Wizard, Jethro Tull, Simon and Garfunkel, Steeleye Span, Skyclad, Devil Doll… the list is utterly endless. So much music has influenced me one way or the other, and I have an eclectic taste. I could go on and on and on and on and on…

And…historically speaking? Why did you get so fascinated by the Victorian Age?

It is all a part of our country’s rich heritage, and it seemed to fit the general demeanor of the band as a whole. You would have to ask my esteemed colleague The Gentlemen for a more succinct answer – though he has already answered this particular question in many prior interviews… In a nutshell, prosperity next to utter paucity; industrial triumph next to opiated squalor; religious fervor next to blasphemous alchemy. We enjoy the duality of it all. That, and the fact that so many parallels can be drawn between that time and the plastic-clad cathode ray gun farce that we call the present.

How are songs usually composed in A Forest of Stars? Who usually comes up with the ideas?

For the first two records, the majority of the music was written by our dear departed Mr. Kettleburner and The prolific Gentleman. Since TSK‘s passing over, we have recruited very talented new members to take up the mantle. Musically, “A Shadowplay for Yesterdays” was mostly written by The Gentleman and H. H. Bronsdon, one of our ‘new’ guitarists and musician / sound engineer extraordinaire. Significant additions were made by our other guitarist, Gtx. Grimshaw, and the rest of us all put our oars in one way or the other throughout…

Do you, Mr. Curse, usually write the lyrics, or do the other band members write something too, sometimes?

Up to this point I have written all the lyrics for our albums.

I really have to ask you this: who had the idea for your website? It is absolutely SPECTACULAR! I really loved it: the design, the style, the interactivity…everything! Congratulations on that!

That was a combined effort between The Gentleman and our wonderful colleague Lord Grum (www.grummedia.co.uk). It is indeed a site to behold, though once again, you would have to speak to The Gentleman to get the full story behind its creation. Suffice to say, it provides us with a most detailed and much tangled home amongst the spiders of the web.

What other themes would you like to explore in your next albums?

I wouldn’t honestly like to say for sure. Is ‘Anything and Everything’ a bad answer? I am most influenced by that which occurs around me at the time of writing – so even if I tried to say for sure what my lyrical influences would be for the next one, they would be liable to change without notice. Having said all this tripe, I am quite caught up in the crux of space and time. Also of gravity, the seasons, and heavy weather in general. These will always figure in my writing, as will my perceptions of the state of the so-called human condition.

What’s your relation with your fans, especially during your concerts? Do you tend to have an active relation, or do you tend not to interact too much with the crowd?

Again, I cannot speak for the rest of the band. Personally, I tend to stare intently out into space as I ‘perform’. It is the only way I can put myself in the correct place to be able to create the energy I require to get through it. I am not a great interactor, though I will always make the effort to speak to people after we leave the stage. It would be most ignorant and ungrateful of me not to!

Talking about the tour, where would you like to go? Is there special place or event you’d like to play at?

I have been very privileged to see some of Europa, and would certainly like to see more! I will go where ever the call takes me – I’m told I will even be going upon an aeroplane next year. I hope they’ve got some decent ‘relaxants’ for the journey… Not to be too evasive, but there are so many places I have not seen – I will not discount any, and will embrace each new place as a learning experience and something new. Having said this, I felt very at home in Frankfurt, Germany, and am very much looking forward to our little band playing Roadburn next year.

This is your third album…can you tell us, in your opinion, in which direction A Forest of Stars have evolved from the beginning until now?

In all honesty, I would say that we have done just that – evolved. Things have moved forward for us with each release simply because we do not wish to repeat ourselves or to bore ourselves with the music we put together. We are comfortable with our myriad influences, and so far have managed (I hope!) to incorporate them into our music without coming across as too much of a melting pot of horrors bound together with shit!

Now…spend some words to describe the other members of the band! You can be as serious/creative/funny/rude as you want!

At the risk of sounding like a trite so and so, I see the other members of the band as an extended family. We all look after one another and ensure that we get from one place to another in one piece (or in as few pieces as possible!) I would describe them as true friends and allies; I would not change them for the world – though I would add one to their number if I could – my attempts to resurrect Kettleburner in daemon form and to shoe-horn him back into the band have so far proven unsuccessful, though I have a few more dubious fine powders up my sleeve to try…)

Thank you very much for your answer! We hope to see you soon in Italy!

Thank you for your questions, Matteo.

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Interview : Grog Rox – Die So Fluid

 Interview by Robin Stryker

Die So Fluid is a maverick three-piece band, originally hailing from the UK and made up of Grog Rox (vocals/bass), Drew Richards (guitar) and Al Fletcher (drums/backing vocals). If you follow the alternative music scene, you have undoubtedly seen Grog splashed across the cover of magazines worldwide. Lest you think she is just a pretty face propped behind a microphone, Grog is also a sought-after session musician. Femme Metal caught up with Grog to talk about Die So Fluid’s third full-length album “The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime”, their recent tour, and the surprising bits about moving to a new country.

Welcome to Femme Metal, Grog! How was Die So Fluid’s recent headlining tour in the UK?

I had a ball thanks! My heart was warmed by the London show, especially when we filled the Scala. I got given flowers and toy pandas — really quite splendid.

For those of our readers who don’t live in the UK, where “The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime” was released in June, when will the new album be available worldwide?

It has just been released (November 5) in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Norway and Sweden, basically the North of Europe and we’re told the rest of Europe around January 15 in 2011. We’re currently negotiating who will act as the best channel for the album in America, there are a couple of exciting prospects for that so we’ll see!

What was the thinking behind staggering the release dates?

It’s to give everyone a chance to promote the album properly before we tour in each territory. It can get pretty complicated organising a worldwide release when you’re dealing with different PR companies, agents, promoters, distributers etc., we try to do it in such a way that we can physically go and play everywhere we put it out, at a time that makes sense and is realistic. I now live in America too, so structuring has become even more important. We’re currently doing a lot of press for Germany which involves quite a number of phone requests where the time difference has to be kept in mind.

You have described “The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime” as imagining different paths that life could have taken. Can you tell us about a few of the songs that you wrote with that question in mind?

Well, obviously the title track deals with that the most subjectively, but “How Vampires Kiss” talks about resisting the control of a vampiric relationship. So I’m saying that sometimes it can take great mental and physical strength to assert yourself, to fight free of an addiction or obsession that is distracting you from your true path. And even to take the tougher path, and resist the lazy one. I wrote “Mercury” with a similar thought in mind — but I was thinking about how you can’t carry guilt with you when you leave something behind. It’s really a song about sincerity. I believe most people enter into situations with good intentions and unions and plans that don’t work out how we expected are still important experiences that you carry for the rest of your life and learn from.

I’ve worked for celebrities who’ve got very upset when I moved on, I’ve ended relationships which have drained me because I’m on this mission where everything leads back to Die So Fluid and my role within it. To me, it’s a journey where we throw out all the ‘rules’, we do everything our own way regardless and, not that I’ve ever concerned myself with it as a concept, being a woman fighting to be taken seriously in a male dominated area of music seems to be becoming an increasingly important element of this whole thing. I’m so driven, I want to do something of worth with my time on earth, and because we don’t fit easily and neatly into one particular genre, we are like this band of maverick warriors, champions of the disparate and broad minded alike.

When you reflect on your own life, is there a particular crossroad where you are wildly curious about what would have happened if you had chosen the other path?

Sometimes I daydream about what life would be like if I took to the stage singing musicals! That’s because I love singing and performing and have a very strong sense of fantasy, and I’m probably imagining myself as a character from Moulin Rouge or something not very realistic, hehe. Also I wonder where I’d be now if I had’ve done a degree in fashion rather than fine art at Chelsea, which is where I formed my first band. The thing is, I can still do all these things and in a sense I am! I dress up the whole time and bring a kind of theatrical element to DSF, designing and making a lot of what I wear on stage. And in the band, I get to write my own music and express myself 100%, so I’m very lucky.

Speaking of major crossroads, you are both a newlywed and a recent Hollywood transplant. Have being married and moving to a new country brought any interesting surprises?

Relocating to a different culture is pretty big upheaval. It’s one thing visiting, and another really living somewhere new. The whole thing has felt very romantic because we wanted to be together and one of us had to make the move. The band are likely to be doing more and more work here in the US, so it made sense for me to be the one to up sticks. I’m an official resident now and I often feel quite surreal. I have two homes now! Things here can make you feel a little clumsy because they do things slightly different. It took me a while to get used to the horrific driving and the weird way you can have green lights for cars and people crossing at the same time. I like the way it gives me different perspectives on life.

I thought it might throw up some difficulties with Drew and Al still being in the UK, but so far it’s been ok. Drew and I have been writing material for the next album already by e mailing tracks (we both have recording set ups at home) and it’s been a good excuse for a holiday in the sun for Mr Drew ha ha. What’s really weird is how much more connected you feel with SkyPpe and the internet. Once upon a time, a move like this would seem so extreme, but I probably talk to my family more than I ever would normally since I moved away! We’ve always seen Die So Fluid as being an international band anyway, we’ll play wherever we have an audience.

Getting back to “The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime”, why did Die So Fluid choose “Mercury” as the first single and video?

When we listened to everything back, “Mercury” just seemed to jump out as a lead track because it’s so immediate and has such a high level of energy. It’s like a statement of intent, it sounds so determined and pounds away from start to finish.

Would you tell us more about the video?

The video is performance based and the director David Kenny used some spectacular lighting effects to convey the excitement you get when you see the band play live. We also accentuated our movements by filming performances sped up and slowed down, which was hilarious to do. I’m wearing one of my signature handmade sparkly catsuits in it too, like a rock superhero. I guess it’s been important to show me playing bass in recent videos to help get across the fact that I’m a musician, not just a pretty face.

Did you get to road-test most of the songs during the tour? Which new track is the most fun to perform live, and which did you get the biggest response from the audience when you played it?

We’ve road tested a few of them but not all cos’ there are so many songs fans demand to hear from “Spawn of Dysfunction” and “Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending”. Personally, I love playing “Raven” live and I reckon it’s got the best overall reception in the UK and Europe too cos’ we started playing that one fairly early. You’ll get to hear more of the new stuff at the upcoming shows.

Comparing “The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime” with “Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending” (2007), the new album is more eclectic, yet it also sounds more cohesive and seems to have ratcheted up the production values as well. What changed?

That might be to do with the fact that the new album was recorded in one continuous block of time. We had the funds to book the studio session as a whole this time where as NEGAHE was done in several short sessions whenever finances would allow! As far as production goes, I think that’s just an ongoing process where we are learning as we go and recognising how we can improve and better capture the ‘quintessential DSF sound’. I’d be pretty worried if there was no apparent development!

I was a bit surprised to read that Die So Fluid signed a two-record deal with DR2 (part of Demolition Records), since the band has taken the do-it-yourself approach with earlier albums. How did the label win you over?

Never fear, we are still the DIY gangsters! We still own the copyright to all our material and continue to play totally by our own rules. We just reached a place where we needed help with the logistics of this steadily growing operation. We had different licensing deals in place and had suffered at the hands of a couple of crooks disguised as sincere supporters of our cause, who shall remain nameless…for now, grr… But we did thankfully find ourselves in the hands of a good manager and an independent financial backer. We needed to find a label who could draw the reins together and take control of distribution, so that we could focus on writing and rock n roll. So we are still independent in that we are not financially beholden to Demolition, but we have a dependable conduit to sell our music to the world, and a much stronger support system in place. I think it’s important that everyone involved with Die So Fluid believes deeply in us and is ready to be resourceful and proactive. We know better than to just take our hands off the wheel and leave things to others, we learnt that through experience. I find it hard to trust anyone and probably drive people mad by checking up on things the whole time but it would be worse if I didn’t bother.

Die So Fluid has had the same line-up for all 10 years of its existence. What is the glue that holds everyone together during all the ups and downs of being in the music business?

Loving what we do. It always has been about making good music and not really giving a fuck about scenes and genres bla bla. When I think about how keen everyone is to stick you in a neatly labelled box, it really starts to depress me. I’ve got two boxes for you — open-minded or narrow-minded. I think we approach our band like an art form and I have never conformed to the ways that the UK mainstream press seem to like their female rockers packaged. To be honest I think I piss them off. I get the impression that if some Svengali or other claimed he had had a hand in ‘discovering… i.e., manufacturing’ DSF, they’d be a lot happier about the whole thing. I don’t have a chip on my shoulder, I like to think that I can be an inspiration by just doing a bloody good job and demonstrating that I won’t be held back.

When it comes to creating and recording an album, where does each person fit in that process? How about when the band is on the road touring? I hope you have someone who is brilliant at improvising repairs and finding food. 

Mr Drew and I do most of the writing. Drew comes up with a lot of guitar ideas, riffs and passages, sometimes whole verses and choruses and I get inspired by those. I take the ball and run with it. I usually write the vocal melody and nearly all the lyrics. Mr Drew is my sounding board. Occasionally I’ll suddenly write a complete song but most often I keep feeding the storage facility in my brain with lyric ideas inspired by films, stories, dreams, news items, conversations and then something will become really poignant and fit naturally into a musical idea. Al writes his drum parts as it goes along and makes arrangement suggestions. Sometimes we’ll have a battle but it always ends with the best decision being made after a bit of sulking.

With you living in Hollywood, while Drew and Al are still in London, what are the logistics of preparing for tour and working on new songs?

We practise on our own a bit and I start to build up my voice to touring strength. We book pre tour rehearsals and I arrive a bit early. I like the way it becomes more focused and organised. Bands can kind of start drifting on and on when they play every week but this way our meetings are exciting and fresh because we’re focusing on the tour and we get to hang out together and have an adventure! As far as writing goes, we’ve been e mailing our ideas back and forth and actually this move forced me into learning how to use my recording studio software properly at long last! It’s opened up a whole new world for me because not only can we get a head start on the next album, I can write my own stuff and have been doing projects with other artists too.

One of the random factoids that jumped out at me was the Finnish postal stamp of Die So Fluid. During your 2007 tour in Finland, could you resist sending postcards to everyone you know with that stamp attached?

Haha, yeah it was hard to resist! We sent out a whole batch, it was so awesome! We had to headline a Helsinki Halloween festival at the time and I had an infected tooth. I was sitting round writing these crazy postcards in the dressing room with my mouth swelling up and off my tits on painkillers!

What are the band’s plans for the remainder of 2010?

We’re playing Hard Rock Hell in Wales December 3 and playing a handful of select shows around that to blow the cobwebs off! We have a European tour commencing in Finland January 19, 2011 which will be really fun and we’ll be playing another string of UK dates in March, including a London date at Dingwalls.

Grog, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. Do you have any parting words for your fans at Femme Metal?

Shucks it’s a pleasure! Thank you for your continued support and believing in us. You and us against fucking idiocracy-world!

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Die So Fluid – “The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime” (2010)

Label : DR 2 Records

Review By Tony Cannella

From the U.K., the trio known as Die So Fluid manages to fuse elements of Metal, Punk and Alternative. Their third full-length album goes by the catchy title of “The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime”. Although the band specializes in in-your-face, edgy rock music, Die So Fluid certainly has a great ear for the melodic end of the spectrum. It is hard to believe that Die So Fluid is a mere three piece band. Lead vocalist Grog also plays bass and while she may not be the most technical skilled singer out there, she certainly makes up for it in raw emotion and power. From the opening number “Figurine”, Die So Fluid delivers their music with a raised fist and a sneer, behind a wall of raucous guitar riffs. “Hearts Are Hollow” has a sexy vibe to it. “Themis” is a track that really offers the listener something different, with its atmospheric, laid-back approach. The band gets back to rocking on “How Vampires Kiss”. This is Just a great big, energetic track. Other highlights include: “Mercury”, “If Wishes Were Bullets”, “What a Heart Is for” and “Sound in Colour”, which closes the CD. Die So Fluid have been plugging away for quite some time, and have already received some well deserved positive reviews for their efforts. With “The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime” the band seems ready to make the jump to the next level.

Rating – 83/100

Tracklist

1. Figurine
2. Mercury
3. Storm
4. The World Is Too Big for One Lifetime
5. Hearts Are Hollow
6. Raven
7. Themis
8. How Vampires Kiss
9. If Wishes Were Bullets
10. What a Heart Is for
11. Sound In Colour

Line Up

• Grog – Vocals and Bass
• Drew Richards – Guitar
• Al Fletcher – Drums

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