BEHIND THE VEIL EZINE (http://www.veilgr.com)Christine (Greece) 2009

1.       First of all I’d like you to fill us in on what’s happening in the MECHANICAL ORGANIC camp at the moment.

A -  Well, we have been in writing mode for a while now and I guess we will be in writing mode for quite some time to come.  We have set a pretty hectic writing schedule for ourselves so I can’t see that changing for some time.  I’ve enlisted the help of some old musical friends for the next few albums and I must say they have made such a big difference to the sound.  We are constantly evolving and breaking new ground and our music has taken some really giant leaps forward.  We are all very pleased with our latest release Disrepair Part Two – The Pleasure Fled and you can expect more music that will push those types of musical boundaries.

2.       You’ve recently added some musicians to the band’s line up. So far MECHANICAL ORGANIC was your personal musical vision. How have things changed with the addition of the two new members?

A - Firstly let me reintroduce and introduce the two new member of Mechanical Organic.  Firstly Conrad, he has rejoined Mechanical Organic, he played on the first Mechanical Organic release “Flat Earth Society” but didn’t have the time to record the second Mech Org album due to other recording commitments.  I’m so glad Conrad is back on board because he makes such a big difference to the sound.  I have always said he is the perfect guitarist for Mech Org.  Everything about his guitar playing is outstanding and he knows exactly what a song needs in terms of heaviness and melody.  He is a true professional of the highest caliber.

 Secondly, we have Evan Harris on bass and other bottom end instruments.  I’ve been a fan of Evan’s for many years, I was even Evan’s roadie many years ago.  I have always been in complete awe of Evan extraordinary talent and I am very happy to have him lend his talents to the Mech Org sound. 

  In my personal opinion these two guys have given the new Mech Org release a much more mature sound. 

3.       Do they have a say on the compositions? Is it a team work or do you still write the music and lyrics? What kind of procedure do you follow?

A – Absolutely, both Conrad and Evan write their own parts.  I basically give them both a complete song including keyboards, drums, vocals, lyrics and also some basic bass lines and heavy guitar ideas and then Conrad and Evan write their own parts over what I have developed.  The system seems to work perfectly for us.  I really don’t have much say in what Conrad and Evan write.  They simply take my initial song idea and add their own personal touch.  I have complete faith in both Conrad and Evan and feel no need to tell them how to play.  Honestly, these guys are like idling Ferraris, they are built to go and I think they kind of hold themselves back in a musical sense when they write for Mechanical Organic.  They are both the best musicians I have ever worked with and I really love working with them both.  I’m very luck to have them both involved, they both bring so much to Mechanical Organic and I hope they will be around for a long time to come.

4.       Can you present “Disrepair Part Two – The Pleasure Fled” to our readers in a few words?

A – Disrepair Part Two – The Pleasure Fled is a song based on the truth movement and the corruption that has begun to develop within its ranks. Over the past few years I’ve noticed more and more infighting between some of the more prominent people within the movement. It seems some of the bigger names have been bought and paid for by the corrupt elite.  Now, what seems to be happening is that some of these so called truth seekers are mixing in a whole bunch of half truths as well as some blatant lies to take the focus off what is really going on. So now who do you trust, and where do you get your information from when the very people you used to trust are now spouting falsehoods.  Forget about the mainstream media, you won’t find any useful truth there, and now it is getting harder and harder to find alternative online sources that can be trusted.

  So basically this song is about the downward spiral of the truth movement and asked the question “Who do you trust and who do your believe, and how do you perceive, the innocent among them and the pillars of disease?”

5.       In which ways does your new album differ from your previous albums? How and in which ways has the band’s sound evolved and progressed all these years? Personally I think this is your most mature and best work to date, but I’d like to know what you think and feel about it…

A – Thank you for that compliment, I couldn’t agree more, we feel it is our most mature release to date.  I guess the big difference is the two musicians I am now working with. I really love this new release and how the sound has evolved since Conrad came back and since Evan has lent his serviced to Mech Org. 

  Firstly, Conrad has made such a difference to the way Mech Org sounds.  His input is an essential part of how we sound today as well as the direction we are heading in the future.  He brings melody and harmony, not to mention heaviness and his lead playing is absolutely stunning.  I personally think he has sacrificed a little bit for this recording, he really controlled his input and didn’t over play.  He gave the song exactly what it needed and for me that is the sign of a very mature player.  Expect much more from Conrad in the future, he is a wonderful player and I can’t wait to see him evolve and change as Mech Org transforms over the next few years.

  As for Evan Harris, he is an absolute genius on bass.  He has added that extra dimension that we lacked in the past.  When I listen to Evan’s ideas I love every note he plays. I’m a bass player by trade so when I listening to Evan he just makes me jealous.   He just comes up with stuff that I would never have thought of and he makes it sound easy.  As I mention before, many years ago I used to roadie for Evan when he was playing with the Australian progressive metal band Taramis.  I would watch him play back them and couldn’t believe my eyes.  Again, I personally feel Evan holds back musically for Mech Org but only in a good way, he simply gives the songs exactly what they need.  Again, these guys are gun musicians and I am honored to be able to produce music with them.

6.       Do you have to be in a certain state of mind in order to perform the songs as you want?

A – I love writing music for Mech Org.  The music, lyrics and song ideas just flow without any trouble at all.  Now that we are writing longer style songs thing are so free and easy.  Each idea flows into the next, nothing really repeats in terms of song structure which is really refreshing.  I don’t really plan the music in terms of arrangement, I just keep writing until I think the song has resolved or run it’s course.  It’s a different story when it comes to the spoken word dialogue we use for each song.  Each part needs to make sense and flow like a story.  So it is very important to get these passages sitting well within the music.  It’s also quite difficult to get the lyrics and vocal melodies to gel with the dialogue.  I generally get the dialogue arranged first and then work on the lyrics to support the main story.  I’ve begun developing a very original vocal style over the past few years when I don’t actually sing any lyrics at all.  I sing melodies and sounds and basically general melodic gibberish and a lot of chanting.  Which is quite difficulty to pull off, especially when you have to double and triple vocal parts and then do 3 part harmonies and then double and triple those harmonies.  I definitely can see myself developing this style further in the future. 

  In terms of my state of mind I simply try to write the best music and lyrics that I can.  And I try to write about things that interest me.  I don’t always fully agree with what I sing about all of the time.  I guess I write about stuff that I find interesting and I let the listener try to figure out what they believe. 

7.       Which are your sources of inspiration when it comes to the lyrics? Which are the main topics you deal with here? Why did you name the album this way?

A – The whole Disrepair series is based on different conspiracies that are currently hidden from the general public.  Each song deals with another aspect of these conspiracies.  I find this subject mater fascinating.  I don’t fully accept all the conspiracy theories that are going around but there are some that make a lot of sense to me.  I try not to delve into the whole alien/UFO conspiracy thing because I find that a little too out there for my liking.  I do however look very closely into shadow governments and some of the other darker things that are happening right now.  It is just a matter of finding subject mater that I find interesting and then attempting to find some sort of spoken word dialogue or podcast to use within out music.  Then it is just a mater of getting permission to use the dialogue.  All the people we have approached have been really generous and allowed us to use anything we liked.  I guess they see is as a way to reach more people with their message.  There are a number of high profile podcasters I would never approach because I know they will not allow the uses of their dialogue.  Most of those types of people are only in this thing for the money and some of them are even corrupted by the powers they expose.  Bought and paid for so to speak.

8.       Why did you decide to release a work with one song only plus its radio edit?

A – OK, the new plan of attack for Mechanical Organic over the next few years will hopefully see us moving towards releasing longer style songs, possibly around the 15 to 30 minute mark in length.  We will try to write and record two of these epic style tracks per year and release them through digital store such as ITunes, Amazon MP3, Rhapsody, Napster, Puretracks and many more.  The radio edit was simply added for radio stations as a shorted stripped back version that they could play.  We didn’t think they would play the entire 17 minute track, as most metal radio shows have limited time.  Our future promotional CD’s will also include a radio edit also. 

9.       Have you got any new songs ready? Can you give us some info about them?

A – We have already begun work on future releases.  I have mapped out quite a few songs and the recording process has begun on Disrepair Part Three and Part Four.  Part Three has a central theme revolving around the AIDS virus and the possibility that it was manufactured in the lab and release into the population.  And Disrepair Part Four is the beginning of a 6 part sub series examining Satanic Ritual Abuse, The Black Nobility and Mind Control.  This particular sub series will be big and dark and kind of doomy, I can’t say too much about it yet as it is still in preproduction.  But it is sounding good.

So as you can see we hope to keep a steady stream of releases coming out into the future that will expand upon the conceptual Disrepair series.  

10.   Once again the cover artwork is extremely beautiful! Who created it? What does it depict and how is it connected to the album title?

A – What I have decided to do is work with imagery and photography that depicts things in disrepair, such as rusty machinery and flaking paint work, dead trees, anything that is broken or in disorder.  I’ve also included a range mushrooms which appear in all the disrepair artwork.  They are included as a reminder that we are all kept in the dark and fed bullshit.  Insects also make an appearance in all of the Disrepair artwork which is a kind of link to the way the Elite act.  They seem heartless and insectile, they are without feeling and compassion.  Each new piece of artwork will be a unique mixture of all of these elements. 

11.   Have you got any plans for live shows? How are you going to promote your work?

A – I will never rule this out at all but at the moment we are focused on increasing out musical catalogue.  Our main aim is to continue the Disrepair series and to build a really unique back catalogue of music.  At some point I can see us playing live but right now we are really content to just write and record. There really isn’t a massive demand for progressive music here in Australia, it is growing steadily so we may put something together in the future.  Who knows, we may get out there sooner rather that later.

12.   Have you sent your work to any labels? Do you want to get signed or do you prefer handling everything on your own? What do you want to be offered in order to ink a deal with a label?

A – I decided a while ago that we would be exclusively independent.  The work load is much greater but at least we are in control of our own destiny and able to write music in whatever format and length we like.  I am very happy being independent and as long as I can see positive growth in the band and our following, I will continue to forge ahead on my own.  We don’t even send our new releases to record label anymore. Again, I would not totally rule out signing to a label in the future.  There may be a point in the future where we need to think about taking that step but at the moment I am quite happy with the workload and the extra responsibility.

13.   What kind of feedback did you have this far? What was the most flattering and what the most unfair comment you’ve read?

A - Here’s a couple of quotes taken from some of our more recent reviews:

 - “The truth is that the sound of Mechanical Organic continues, even in this new form, to stand to the upper levels of uniqueness.” Metal Perspective

“For anyone who wants "something different" they may just find it here in this Progressive, almost Avantgarde metal release.”  Metal Storm

“All I can say to close this presentation is that the end result is breath taking and mesmerizing!” Behind The Veil   Thanks Christine :o)

I love the fact that reviewers are still having a hard to pigeonholing our sound.  They really don’t know how to describe our music and that makes me very happy indeed.  One of the hardest things in music these days is to be original and unique without alienating the listener. I hope that this album and the new music we are working on now, continues to perplex reviewers.  The biggest compliment you can give us is to say we are unique and that we are eclectic, indescribable and original.  If we can achieve that kind of response on every release and continue to change and mature then I will be a very happy man.

14.   The music industry blames the Internet for the financial crisis they are in. Where do you stand on this matter? Which are your views and thoughts?

A – That’s a very hard question to answer.  From the artists/musicians perspective, we just want to get paid for the art we produce.  The internet is both a blessing and a curse.  Instead of getting negative I think bands need to get clever and use the net to their advantage.  Band like Radiohead and NIN are doing some really unique things with regards to selling their music online.  I think the future of music is heading towards a purely online digital format where fans will be able to purchase music directly from the artist.  I don’t think the major labels will ever completely die but I think the good independent artists will be able to sell their own products and make a living selling their releases directly to their fans digitally online, which is great for the indies.  Listeners need to support independent artists and look to buy their music from the band not from the label.    

15.   What kind of feelings and thoughts do you think your new CD creates to your listeners?

A – I hope people can hear the evolution in our sound. I hope it makes them feel happy, angry and sad. I hope it stirs some kind of emotional reaction. I hope they hear the message that each new release brings and I hope they begin to wake up and question everything around them.  I hope our music makes a positive impression and I hope that the music begins to break through to new fans of this genre, whatever that may be.

16.   Thank you! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A – Thanks once again Christine.  Indie musicians like us need all the support we can get and people like you are hard to come by.  I must thank you Christine for you continued support of Mechanical Organic.  And also thank you to all the new and old fans that have taken notice of our music and message over the years.   Stay tuned, there’s more to come.

Hey Christine, thanks you so much for the interesting interview.  Sorry it is so late.  I have been absolutely swamped with everything at the moment.  I really enjoyed answering your well thought out questions.  I have attached the interview to this e-mail.

Thanks you once again Christine, we are eternally grateful for your unending support.

Cheers

Ed