HB:  Hi Eddie, great to have you on the show.

Eddie: Thanks you so much for having me, I’m very pleased to be here.

HB:  Tell me a little bit about your new project Mechanical Organic.

Eddie:  Mechanical Organic is a project I wanted to put together to keep me busy in between other musical ventures I’m currently working on.  I really wanted to get back to my roots and put out something that would be heavy, progressive, unique and more “me” than anything else that I’ve been working on over the past few years.  By that I mean, I’m only guy steering this ship, I’m totally responsible for all the music all the vocal melodies and all the lyrics.  I have had help for a good friend of mine by the name of Paul Andrews who has played Guitar on the recording but other than that I’m fully responsible.  And I really like that freedom and that pressure.

HB:  Why do you find is so liberating to work on your own?

Eddie:  Exactly that, I’m on my own.  I don’t need to run a hundred ideas past someone for them to find one they can work with and I don’t have to wait 2 year for someone to come up with a decent idea. I love the independence of the process and the fact that I can create without inhibition.  It’s great feeling to be able to write music that really pleases me. 

HB:  It sounds like some of your other projects are difficult working environments where your creativity is stifled, is that the case?

Eddie:  No not really. The other two project I’m currently involved in are wonderful as well, but in different ways.  “Where Echoes End” is the band I’m in, we’ve just released out 3^rd CD and I’m really happy with the people in the band at the moment and the fact that we’re able to play live and do gigs to promote our CD’s.  “Pathway to Perception” is the other project I’m working on.  We release Guided Meditation CD’s and we’ve signed to New World Music.  We’ve released 2 CD’s so far both of which are being released in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.  We’re also working on our third release at the moment.  Both of these projects allow me to express myself in different way and I’m extremely happy being involved in both of them.  But I guess Mechanical Organic is where I get to really be myself without being restricted in anyway shape of form.  I’m totally in control of my destine.

HB:  You sent me a pre-release copy of your debut CD.  I gave it a couple of spins and was really impressed with the progressive style and overall uniqueness of the release.

Eddie:  Thank you.

HB:  How would you describe the over all sound of the release, and by the way, what is the title?

Eddie:  Firstly, the title will be “Flat Earth Society”.  At one stage I was thinking of calling the project “Flat Earth Society” but when I went to resister the domain name it was already taken.  Never mind.  Mechanical Organic is probably a better name anyway.  As for the style, well it’s really hard to pigeonhole the sound, as is most of the music I release.  It’s probably a mixture of predominantly Progressive Metal with a lot of Electronic and Industrial element thrown in for good measure.  When I say industrial I don’t mean the really noise driven music that is true industrial music.  I use a lot of industrial sound samples and sound effects to keep things really interesting. The sound is also heavy and kind of dark but ultimately the sound is a mixture of “Mechanical” instrumentation like computers and keyboards and “Organic” instrumentation such as vocals bass and guitar.  I guess that’s where the name came from.

HB:  So when will “Flat Earth Society” be released?

Eddie:  I’m hoping for a mid 2005 release.  At the moment I’m working with a guitarist friend of my by the name of Paul Andrews.  Once he’s finished his parts I’II head into the mastering studio to have it professionally mastered.

HB:  I was reading the lyric sheet you sent me and I notice a really political vibe running through all your songs, what can you tell me about that?

Eddie:  Around the time I started writing songs and lyrics for this CD I also began frequenting web sites such as Disinformation and Paranormal News and I became addicted to finding information that wasn’t published in the standard New Papers or broadcast on the TV News.  I began to realise that there was so much happening in the world that wasn’t making the headlines in our common media.  This information influenced me so much that I began writing songs using the article as subject matter.  It’s funny, I’ve learnt so much over the past year that the information I deal with in “Flat Earth Society” is almost irrelevant compare to what I know now.  The net is one big network of links and once you begin to unravel some of the political mysteries and conspiracies a whole world of dark secrets begins to unravel.  The next CD will be one heel of a journey I can promises you that.

HB:  So how do you go about writing music of this nature?

Eddie:  I generally start with the rhythm section, normally the drums and then bass but this time I started with the vocal melodies.  This was such an alien way for me to work but I wanted to try it out to see if I could come up with something a bit left of centre.  It’s definitely not the easiest way for me to work I can tell you that but it did give a unique perspective on the songs and a better understanding of the relationship between vocal and music.  So I started with rough vocal melodies and wrote the music around those ideas.  Once the songs where up and running I began developing the lyrics.  Once I get in the studio I begin the process of layering different ideas and instrumentation, slowly build a song around the vocal melodies.  It’s a really interesting process watching and listening to a song slowly evolve and come to life.  I have my own recording studio now so it’s really easy for me to spend time in there tinkering with different ideas. 

       
HB:  Considering the unique nature of your music and the fact that there is a electronic element to your music do you think it will appeal to Progressive Metal fans who listen to Dream Theater and Fates Warning? 

Eddie:  Oh absolutely!!  In fact I think this is the next logical step for Progressive Metal and I think you’ll find more and more bands adopting the use of technology to make their sound more out there and more unique.  You have to progress in music, and to progress you have to keep things fresh and interesting and I really believe that regardless of how you make/record your music as long as it is unique and fresh you should do really well.  You still have to write great songs and be able to play your instruments but at the end of the day you have to try new things and I think what I’ve produced is pretty unique in a lot of ways.  Put it this way, what I do sounds nothing like Dream Theater, or Fates Warning for that matter.  Dream Theater are the ultimate musical progressive band in the world and I admire their skill and respect them for everything they have done for the genre.  They are undoubtable at the top of their game and pretty much the masters of the progressive metal world.  I have no intention of trying to be like them or to copy them in any way.  I’m not interested in trying to compete with them or to follow in their footsteps. I’m doing this because I enjoy what I do and I think I have something to offer the Progressive public, but I guess you’ll need to judge that for yourself.

HB:  So what does the near and distant future hold for you and “Mechanical Organic”?

Eddie: Well firstly I’m going to make sure this recording is as good as it can be before it is released.  In the mean time I’m going to be working on the artwork for the CD and doing as much promotional work for it as I possibly can.  Once it’s released I will really start working hard on the next CD.  In between all of this I will probably need to focus on another Pathway to Perception and Where Echoes End CD.  So I will be very busy over the coming months and years.

HB:  Ok Eddie, that’s all we have time for, thank you for coming on the show.

Eddie:  My pleasure and thank you for having me.

HB:  No problem, talk soon.

Eddie:  Cheers