To-Mera

interview by - Wouter Roemers

UK dark progressive metallers To-Mera recently released their new EP "Earthbound" independently and appeared on Belgium's premier symphonic/gothic metal fest Metal Female Voices Fest at the Oktoberhallen in Wieze. After catching their set and obtaining their new EP Masterful Magazine recently had the chance to have a chat with vocalist Julie Kiss and guitarist/principal songwriter Tom MacLean about To-Mera's past, present and future.

Hi Julie! Thanks for doing this interview with us. What are you and the rest of To-Mera currently up to?

Julie: Well we're busy sending out promos/orders etc of the new EP at the moment. As we are releasing it ourselves it's a lot of work. Otherwise we're taking a bit of time off in terms of gigs and writing - there's just too much going on in our lives at the moment.

You recently opened up the second day of the Metal Female Voices Fest (www.metalfemalevoicesfest.be) at the Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium. Since this was your first time playing with To-Mera at the festival, how did you find it?

Julie: Yeah the festival was great, really well organized and ran pretty smoothly. We also had a pretty good crowd to play for so early in the morning, so it was fun... It was a pretty exhausting trip, though, as we played in Holland the night before (with Stream of Passion who also appeared at the fest later on). Then drove over to the hotel in Belgium after the show and before we knew it we were on stage again...I felt like hell! (Except it was cold... :}

To-Mera was formed in 2004 in Surbiton/Surrey, UK after you moved there from Hungary together with bassist Lee Barrett, who you knew since he released Without Face, your previous band, through his label Elitist Records. Tom MacLean was a big Without Face fan and introduced himself at a Dillinger Escape Plan gig after recognizing you. How much happenstance was involved in getting To-Mera formed?

Julie: A lot... It was a very unlikely event even from the times of Without Face, since we first refused Lee's offer to sign to Earache as we were signed to another label - in which case I probably would not have ended up in England, of course... So, years later Tom ran into me at London's Waterloo station where I've informed him that I was no longer the singer of WF and that I've formed this awesome new band (which at the time was not quite so awesome since it was missing half the members) ...but we've said our goodbyes nevertheless - only to meet again sometime later at the infamous Dillinger gig where Tom offered his services as a guitarist and gave me his email address. However, I didn't actually get in contact for months as I was a bit disillusioned with the whole member search by then (took almost 2 years). Thankfully, eventually I sent him an email, got a tape with some ideas and it all went from there. It was fate!

In July 2005 the "Demo 2005" was released, showcasing the two tracks 'Dreadful Angel' and 'Born Of Ashes'. It was recorded at The Peel rehearsal rooms, a music venue based in Kingston Upon Thames South West London. Also, the only London venue that has a dedicated progressive rock night. How was it recording this first demo in a makeshift studio and seeing how To-Mera had just formed? How did you get to meet and decided to work with French producer Brett Caldas-Lima?

Tom: We chose Brett because he had a proven track record of producing good results at a reasonable price in the most unorthodox recording location. Ironically, owing to budget constraints, both albums ended up being recorded in rehearsal rooms! The EP was the first time we used a proper studio!

The demo was met upon positive release globally, tagged To-Mera as "the best unsigned band of 2005" and eventually led to the deal with Candlelight Records. Lee Barrett founded Candlelight Records and was responsible for the discoveries of Emperor and Opeth, amongst others. Were there any others labels interested in To-Mera at the time?

Julie: Yes, we were talking with some other labels but ultimately we felt like Candlelight would be a good choice.

2006 saw the release of your godly debut "Transcendental". An album which took about about 18 months to complete after the reactions to the demo. Would you say that there was a lot of pressure to deliver something spectacular? Was this pressure self-inflicted or more pressure from the industry wanting to capitalize on this new promise?

Tom: We wanted it to be something a little different, and I think we succeeded in that. Looking back, the approach to songwriting was very different to how we do things now. At the time, I tried to write music around Julie's lyrics. Hence the schizophrenic nature of the music. More recently, and for most of "Delusions", we flesh out the music first, and then Julie writes around that.

I remember you were concerned with your vocals for the debut since you hadn't sung for a long time after leaving Without Face. Were you involved in any formal vocal teachings prior to rehearsing and recording for "Transcendental"?

Julie: Only when I was singing in Without Face but not really afterwards. I've only hooked up with my goddess of a singing teacher (Katie Saunders) after "Transcendental" - hence the more jazzy and cutting tone of "Delusions".

"Transcendental" opens with the track 'Traces', which sounds similar to the Dead Can Dance track 'Song Of Sophia' of their 1988 album "The Serpent's Egg". How much of an inspiration and influence is the music of Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard to you, individually, and the band collectively?

Tom: I've never heard them.

Julie: I love Lisa Gerrard's stuff but this melody is actually inspired by a Transylvanian folk song. (Dracula's favourite)

The production and recording for "Transcendental" were done by Brett Caldas-Lima. The album was recorded in a improvised studio in the backrooms of a pub in Veszprem (Hungary) with nothing but a laptop. The bass and keyboards were recorded in London while the audio mixing and mastering took place at Tower Studio in Montpellier (France). Tell us a bit about the recording sessions – that must have been a challenge!

Tom: It was a challenge indeed. We had to soundproof the room so the neighbours wouldn't complain, but then the pub would have live gigs next door whilst we were recording, which made playing some of the subtler moments decidedly tricky, since we couldn't hear them!

Building upon the potential of the 2005 demo "Transcendental" is a ponderous and dark progressive metal album with rich acoustics, tasteful strings and jazz sections. Tom MacLean is obviously the main songwriter – how much influence did the others have on this compositions as far as arrangements were concerned?

Tom: Akos played a strong part in helping the riffs fit together and making it groove. Lee brought a selection of death metal riffs to the table. Hugo and I worked on a few of the guitar/ key arrangements together (and provided the main theme for 'Parfum'), and Julie also had some initially melody lines that we worked around.

In 2008 "Delusions" was released which expanded upon the foundations laid with "Transcendental". The album was overall darker, heavier and more experimental than the debut. In hindsight, what progressions are you the most proud of on this album?

Tom: It was about everything coming together. The band members had all improved as musicians by this time. There were no limits in terms of what we wanted to try and do. There are bucketloads of musical styles, rhythms and guitar tunings! It's more complex overall, but, at the same time, more coherent and melodic. We're very proud of "Delusions".

"Delusions" was recorded in a borrowed rehearsal room with producer Brett Caldas-Lima in a style similar to your previous recordings. You basically set-up an improvised recording room and tracked the record guerrilla style. The production is simply outstanding – was this due to Caldas-Lima's recording expertise or did the band collectively came better prepared?

Tom: He did a good job with what he had to deal with. In some ways, "Transcendental" sounds more polished, but the production to "Delusions" gives it so much more colour. It was the first time recording with my baritone guitar, which made the guitars a lot heavier. But, as a whole, we had learned from the recording experience of "Transcendental", and so knew better what to expect and what to prepare for.

"Delusions" was an album of changes. It featured a new drummer and keyboardist: Paul Westwood and Richard Henshall, respectively and was also the last album to feature bassist Lee Barrett, who would soon decamp to concentrate on his label work with Candlelight Records and later Ascendance Records. What does Mark Harrington bring to the band compared to his predecessor?

Tom: Actually, the keyboards on "Delusions" were performed by Hugo, but he left the band shortly after recording them. Bringing Mark in on bass changed our sound drastically. He is confident and talented enough to be able to tackle some of the more demanding sections that Lee would omit, and he isn't afraid to play loud and hard either, so he made our sound become a lot 'fatter' and 'tighter'.

Both albums featured the stunning artwork of Eliran Kantor, who was still somewhat of an unknown at the time. Since then he has grown exponentially in name recognition and has lent his talent to a host of bands including Aghora, Masachist, The Old Dead Tree, Testament and Sigh.

Julie: Yeah, he's a very talented fellow. I loved the "Transcendental" artwork (originally done for our website) although could never quite get on with the "Delusions" cover...the inside of the booklet is awesome though, I thought.

Which brings us to your new independently released EP, "Earthbound". This new EP features four new tracks: 'Mesmerized', 'Earthbound', 'Arcane Solace' and 'Another World'. It is the first to be recorded with Jaime Gomez-Arellano at Zed One Studios and Orgone Studios. Tell us why you decided to work with this new producer and recording facilities?

Tom: We decided we wanted a fresh sound to reflect the style of the new members. Jaime has recorded for Paul's other band, Skaldic Curse, so we knew he could do a good job. But, in addition to that, Paul keeps his huge drumkit at Zed One Studios, so it made things a lot easier, logistically speaking.

"Earthbound" is also the first To-Mera to not feature artwork by Eliran Kantor. Instead you have decided to do the artwork yourself and it is nothing short of amazing. Will you also produce the artwork and design for the next full length album yourself?

Julie: Well, that's really kind, thank you. I didn't originally plan to do the artwork I was just playing around with some ideas and the guys really liked it so we decided to stick with it for the ep. I don't know if I would do another one - it's a bit early to think about another full length yet anyway...

Julie, over the course of all the band's releases your soaring angelic vocals have grown in range, scope and technique. Are there any new things you are willing to try on future material?

Julie: Sure, I'm always open to new things and my voice and interests are constantly changing, so you never know...

To what extent has material been written for a new full length album – and given the adventurous and ambitious nature of the "Earthbound" EP – what can we expect from that upcoming album?

Tom: We're taking a little break from writing to attend to various other matters in our lives, but maybe we'll resume in the new year.

Okay, that about sums it up. Feel free to end this interview in any way you like. If there's anything of importance we might have forgotten to mention or anything you'd like to add, just go ahead. Thanx a lot and all the best to all of you!

Julie: Thanks so much, Wouter. I think we summed things up pretty well - I guess we could maybe add that the EP is now available to order from the band's website at www.to-mera.com . Cheers guys & enjoy!

Info/booking: www.myspace.com/tomeraband

To-Mera

interview by - Wouter Roemers

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