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How did the band originally start and what was the original focus?
Well we started back in 2006 with three members from previous bands, Torben Pedersen, Jacob Hansen and myself,
which saw two other members, Boas Segel and Kristoffer Egefelt to complete the band,
and we wanted a soundscape which was inspired by modern metal but also a lot of electronica, because we listen to both genres,
so we started writing songs in 2006 and released the EP "Perceptual Confusion" in 2008.
What is the band aiming for today and how does it differ from before?
I think after we've released our debut album, we have different ambitions.
First we started with writing songs for our full-length album, which were at the same standard as we hoped for and that succeeded,
so right now our ambitions are to promote this album as much as possible, through touring and marketing,
and then write the songs for the next full-length album.
How would you describe your music to someone who is not familiar with it?
I think I would describe it as a mix between industrial metal, djent metal and also some melodic death metal inspired by the Swedish sound,
so in general it's a Scandinavian sound with metal and electronic influences.
Your album "The Edge of the Obscure" has been already released in Denmark. What kind of responses have you gotten to it so far?
So far we've got great reviews, really great reviews actually, we're very positive surprised about the reviews,
all of them are mostly top stars so it seems like that people can understand the concept of the album and the concept of our sound,
so we're really satisfied.
Is there a concept underlying the album?
Yes, the concept is that you follow a being which is based upon the name of the band, The Interbeing,
which goes through different roles of dystopian inspirations and also futuristic inspirations
and you follow this being through these roads, which ends up at the edge of the obscure.
What is the reason for such a gap between Danish, European and worldwide release dates of "The Edge of the Obscure"?
Well, we started locally with the Danish market, because
in Denmark we had a small fan base and through the rest of Europe we had to promote the record first,
so we had to make some preparations to make sure that the album was actually heard of,
and created some kind of hype around the album in the other districts around the world,
and that's why we started with Denmark then Europe and then the outside of Europe.
Your debut EP "Perceptual Confusion" was released in 2008 and got very positive responses. What took you so long to release a debut full-length album?
Well first of all we wrote the rest of the songs which took around I think almost a year, a year and a half afterwards,
we had all the songs complete and at the beginning of 2010 the album was finished, and then we started recording ourselves.
Afterwards the album had to be produced and then communicated to labels,
and I think we underestimated that time the duration for us to actually get the contract in place,
so I think it came down to us trying to experience this new period of getting the contract.
Were the songs from the EP originally destined to be featured on an LP or did that idea come to you later?
I think from the beginning we were very convinced about using the songs from the EP on the debut album,
we knew that they were great songs and we knew that the rest of the world wanted to hear them not only on the demo but also on the full-length album,
but we also wanted to give some sounds to our fans from the beginning so we released the EP in 2008
to make sure that people heard of us before the record came out. So yeah, it was intentional.
In March of this year you signed to Mighty Music/Target Distribution.
Why did you choose this label? Were there any propositions from other labels?
We had several propositions from other labels and the whole communication process took longer,
as I said before, than we expected, but we chose Mighty Music because it was a local label, a Danish label, which we knew,
and we trusted the agreement we made with them, we also trusted the whole package that we got from them instead of trying to make risks on foreign labels,
so we wanted to start locally so that's why we chose them to make sure that we start on a safe base.
As far as we know, you're planning a European tour this fall. Are there any confirmed dates yet? Do you have any other touring plans?
Yes, we're working on the European tour and so far we have some really good contacts in Italy and also Great Britain,
these are two countries we're communicating a lot with lately, but we're definitely striving for reaching as many European countries as possible,
if not in 2011 then maybe also in the beginning of 2012, or the rest of 2012, so our ambition is to reach as far as possible,
but right now it's Italy and Great Britain we're betting on.
What was the funniest moment, for you, during a gig or tour?
I think the funniest moment, we don't really have so many specifically funny moments on the scene but I think
the last one was when I got our bass player's bass in my face on stage which cracked my eyebrow.
Blood everywhere.
Blood everywhere. That was pretty funny. That was not expected or planned and we definitely laughed at it afterwards.
Do you consider yourself a part of the "djent" scene?
How do you think this "modern metal" scene that you're often considered part of relates to the "djent" scene?
I definitely think we're a part of the djent scene, we're also very inspired by djent music in general and of course
we start off with the pioneers such as Meshuggah and stuff like that, and we also listen to that kind of music,
and the whole djent scene, we feel that we're a part of it, we're also adding something else such as the industrial sounds or electronic soundscape,
so I think the modern metal scene relates to the djent scene by including the same features
but by adding something different to that djent scene. So yes, we're a part of it but we're also adding something.
How do you go about writing songs? Do you do it as a band or does each member have their own "field of work"?
I think normally we start out by writing a whole lot of ideas, riffs and passages, different structures,
and then when we start writing a song, one of us, sometimes it's me who brings out a sketch to a song or a structure of a song,
and then we work on those ideas trying to perfect every detail in every song and then
once the instrumental parts are in place we work on the electronics and then the lyrics, and the whole concept.
Do you use 8-string guitars? How would they affect you as a band and your writing style?
We don't use 8-string guitars. It's 7-string guitars. But we've talked about using 8-string guitars for the future,
and we don't know, maybe there's gonna be something on the next album, but I don't think it's gonna be just 8-string guitars.
I think we're gonna stick to the big H.
Yeah, if we go downtune, I think we're going to maybe mix the tune from an 8 string guitar but put it on a 7 string guitar,
so you still got low tune that we've released so far but keep it to the 7-string concept.
Are you already working on new material? Maybe there are some plans for the future you would like to share?
Yes, we are working on new material and it sounds kickass so far, we're really happy with the new ideas that we're working on,
and very excited about the second album, so it looks very good so far, the plans we have right now are, amongst others,
a music video that we're going to release in the late of 2011, and music video for one of the tracks with the album,
and also the touring part we've talked about before.
How do you feel about the band being compared to Mnemic and Sybreed? Were they your main influences?
I think our main influences varied a whole lot, we all in the band listen to different metal bands and also electronic bands,
of course Sybreed, Mnemic and Meshuggah, also all the djent bands right now, could be TesseracT or Vildhjarta, also electronic bands,
projects such as Amon Tobin and Massive Attack we listen to a lot, so we try to be open to inspirations.
Of course there are bands that we listen to a lot and definitely admire.
You've recently released a music video for the track "Pulse within the Paradox", based on scenes from Ricardo de Montreuil's short film "The Raven".
Are you going to film a music video for another track off the album?
Yes, we are planning a new music video at the moment, we have picked out a track,
we also know which company is going to produce the video, so everything is, so-called, in place,
the storyline is in place, the location, I think, is also in place, so we're gonna start working on that intensively the next month
and hopefully release it by the end of 2011.
Have you thought about collaborating with other bands/musicians? Who would you really like to work with on a song or project?
We haven't really considered any bands or projects to work with, we try to define our own sound and our own songs
and we're very excited about writing the new material for the next album. And I think that alone shows...
It's enough.
Yeah, exactly, we haven't really thought about collaborating with anyone right now.
That's all we wanted to ask. Last words are yours.
Well yes we have the European release on the 1st of August so the record is out now in Europe and stay tuned for the rest of the world,
go out and check it out, and also the music video for the next song, it's gonna be official within the next couple of months or so,
so keep an eye of that. We also have some good news such as new merchandise and other things
which will be published on our websites during the next couple of weeks and months.
So stay tuned for some good stuff!
Thanks for the support out there!