You have just released your new
album Perfect Balance. Can you remember when you first heard the final mix and what did
you think?
When we first did the final mix, it was in America.
Obviously I was there doing it. And we were really pleased. We thought it was our best
album to date, you know. I mean, often you think that and it's like a test of time. But I
really think that it's kind of come together this time with all the elements there. That's
why we called it Perfect Balance. Because, you know, I think it's got power and energy and
heaviness but it also has got melody and quiet passages. So it's dynamic as well. That's
one of the reasons we called it Perfect Balance, because, we think, musically to us it is.
As it comes to the music on Perfect Balance what
elements of it are essential to the sound of Balance Of Power?
Really, it's kind of what I just talked about. We
always like working with heavy riff structures from the guitar. But the main thing that
we're always trying to get across is a song. And a lot of bands in our kind of field are
very progressive. They often miss the point with the chorus vocal melody. And that's
really important for us. So we start with a heavy riff and then work on the chorus being a
big hook so you can kind of sing along to it later. Like it sticks in your mind. I would
say that that heaviness and that melody is kind of the trademark of Balance Of Power.
So it is a combination of heaviness with
catchiness.
Yeah.
The band currently hasn't got a keyboard player.
Yet keyboards are all over the record. Why did you include keyboards in the recording?
We do actually have a session keyboard player that
plays live with us. And he has done the recording on the album. It's a guy called Leon
Lawson. But he's not a full time member of the band 'cause he's also in a band called
Praying Mantis. And it just works better. We used to have a full time keyboard player in
the band before. A guy called Ivan Gunn. There were often problems keyboard wise. Because
we think keyboards are great, you know, and they serve their place. But essentially we're
a guitar based band. And when you have a full time keyboard player they want the keyboards
to play more of a part of the whole thing. So, since we split off from Ivan Gunn, we
decided that the best way is probably to have a session keyboard player so we can write
and create music how we want without having to fight for having less keyboards. I mean,
keyboards are great but sometimes if you use them too much it makes the music wimpy and we
rather stick to the heavy, crunchy guitar kind of sound and then we have keyboards to
embellish around that.
So, the band will not look for a permanent
keyboard player.
Well, there's no need at this stage. You could, in a
way, say that Leon is our permanent keyboard player. Because he plays live with us and he
records. And while he can still fit that in when he's playing with Praying Mantis as well,
then we're sure he will remain the keyboard player.
You are the drummer of the band and you also
produced the new album. Do you think that with you being the drummer the recording of
Perfect Balance was different than if the album had another producer?
I don't think so. I mean, as a producer in general I
do all the work as well. And I always try and be objective about the mix in general and
what you can hear and so forth. A lot of musicians they have this problem if they're the
drummer or the guitarist and they're involved with that, they tend to put that as
priority. And even make it overfed in the mix. But I think I'm objective enough to look at
the whole thing so when I'm actually producing I'm not thinking from a drummers point of
view. I'm just thinking of the general sound of the album.
And when you're recording as the drummer
yourself, what do you think of your role as the drummer within the band?
Oh, I think it's very important. Because I structure
the rhythm and feel from the beginning of the writing of the songs. Because we write
together. I'm right there at the beginning, trying out different beats. There's a strong
kind of rhythmical base to the whole thing, you know. It really moves all the time. I
think this is part of what I do. It's often simplified in some cases but I like that. I
like to get this almost trashing going with the drums, because I feel that. It makes it
feel good which is something different to this kind of music sometimes
Do you try to say that you're keeping your
drumming simple in a way, straight forward?
Yeah, I mean, I think so. I work on the overall feel
of the groove, rather than like "what kind of fill can I get in here. How many times
can I go round the tom toms on this part?" It's the overall groove and it's worked
out very closely with the bass guitar, you know. |
