Mike Oldfield – “Tubular Beats” (2013)

Label : earMusic/Edel

Review by Davide Torresan

I am 26 years old, almost 27, and I don’t know who’s Mike Oldfield. Yes, you‘ve read right. Sometimes I’ve heard his name, but I’ve never listened to his music. Or at least I thought it. When “Tubular Beats” arrived on my desk, I fixed this issue looking a bit around and I can honestly say that I was surprised by what I’ve discovered since he’s the author of the famous hits “To France”, “Guilty” and “Moonlight Shadow”. I was really blown away by his skills and the boundless musical talent of this artist. “Tubular Beats” was the album that pushed me to browse within his infinite discography.

This new album is not a new experiment for Mike since already in the past it has been released something similar. “Tubular Beats” is the summary of all his most famous songs in a dance reinterpretation. The author of this work is Torsten “York” Stenzel, a famous producer and dj in Ibiza which every summer entertains thousands and thousands of people on the dancefloors. The name, and obviously the album cover, derive from “Tubular Bells”, the most renowned work of Mike and from its sequels. Continue reading »

MIKE OLDFIELD release new studio album “Tubular Beats” on FEBRAURY 1ST

earMUSIC is proud to announce the release of “Tubular Beats” the brand new remix album by Mike Oldfield. The album will be released on February 1st, 2013 and will include the most popular songs by Oldfield who has worked on new arrangements and new sounds for his compositions.

All tracks have been reworked from the original multi-track recordings and remixed together by Mike Oldfield and multi-platinum awarded German producer Torsten “York” Stenzel.

Newly recorded guitar parts by Mike Oldfield have been added to the mix, making “Tubular Beats” a new album by all means. A brand new song featuring ex-Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen closes the album on a high note.

Before “Tubular Beats”, Mike Oldfield and Torsten Stenzel had already worked together but with this new album the duo could fuse their style in a full elaborate project for the first time, adding to Oldfield most famous songs their approach and taste with all solutions offered by electronic music.

Continue reading »

Interview : Hadassa Kosten – theNAME

Interview by Erwin Van Dijk

An interview with Hadassa from theNAME about their new EP “Enchained”. This interview is with Hadassa Kosten, the singer of the band.

The Excess Studio is a favourite place for metal bands to record their albums. Think of After Forever (“Reimagine”), Asrai (“Touch in the Dark”), and the more brutal stuff like Gorefest (“La Muerte”), Sinister (“Creative Killings”) and Prostitute Disfigurement (“Left In Grisly Fashion”). Why did you choose this studio?

We heard a lot of good stories about this studio and we liked the sound of some of the bands that recorded there. I also liked the fact that they have experience with mixing female vocals with metal.

The EP was recorded and mixed by Chris vd Valk and mastered by Hans Pieters. Hans Pieters is the man at the Excess when it comes to mastering but why did you choose Chris vd Valk for the recording and mixing part?

We heard good stories about Chris from band members of Magion, so we decided to give him a call. Once we met him we believed he would be able to make our new EP sound really nice.

And, did Chris have any influence on the music?

Not really. The songs as we wrote them, or as Silas wrote them, were recorded the same as they were written. I liked working with Chris, because he has a great hearing. If I was of tune, which was rarely the case of course , he heard it immediately and pushed me to do it better.

Song by song: what can you tell us about the new songs? About the music & lyrics?

“Enchained”: Is about someone that does way too much for the one he/she loves. He/she knows that, but sometimes you know you have to change your behaviour but you can not do it (yet)… I think it’s a real theNAME song: rough guitars, great drums, functional bass playing and catchy vocals. I mainly liked to sing the chorus after the bridge, because we never have parts like that in our songs.

“One”: Is about two lovers who become one again after a long, difficult period. The boys weren’t sure if they wanted to call it “One”, because of the song of Metalica. I think it represents the core of my lyrics, so in the end this song kept it’s name. I like that this song is also on the new EP, because it’s a bit different from the other theNAME songs. For this song I used an other part of my voice sometimes, which I liked doing for a change. I mainly like the middle part with the great solo of Silas.

“Mirror”: Is about someone who comes to see he/she is playing a part which is the dream of his/her lover. I really like the lyrics. It was my idea, but I wrote them together with my friend Anoesjka. I liked recording the middle part, because I never talk in middle parts. I think this one is really a theNAME song as well; rough and catchy.

“No Retractation”: Is a about the most perfect love between two lovers which also embraces all its imperfections. This is the only song of the EP I didn’t wrote the lyrics for, but I really love them. I really like to sing this song; it’s something else from what we do in general. I would be bored though, if this was the style theNAME always played. I really would miss headbanging and running around the stage. I think this song also shows what a great guitarist Silas is and what a great drummer Salvador. And listen to the solo of Silas; it’s beautiful…

Are these songs much different from your older work?

Not much, I think. You can still very much hear it’s theNAME. I just think our music gets more and more mature and therefore better. I think all the parts in the songs fit each other better and better. I think we’re playing it better and better as well.

This was not your first time in a studio. What have you done different this time?

Not really. I just wanted it to sound as good as I could, as always.

When can we expect a full length album or will we have to wait until theNAME has found a new drummer?

I hope next year. We better have a new drummer than; I can not wait to play a lot again and write new music.

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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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