To-Mera
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
After releasing their stunning debut "Transcendental" in September 2006 through Candlelight Records UK dark progressive metal band To-Mera has rapidly been making a name for itself. In February 2008 they are slated to release their second record "Delusions". Once again working with producer Brett Caldas-Lima and artist Eliran Kantor To-Mera have crafted their most ambitious and forward thinking album to date. Masterful Magazine caught up with bassist Lee Barrett to talk about a number of subjects including the new album "Delusions", the changes in the line-up and how their incredible debut has opened many doors for them.
First off, I'd like to thank you for taking time to speak with me today. What is presently going on with the band? What new things are happening for To-Mera right now?
Well, we're basically just rehearsing and getting our new keyboard player Hen up to speed with the material. We're also looking forward to the album coming out and we're curious to see the reactions from the press and listeners.
Congratulations with your new record "Delusions" - this is definitely the best we have heard from To-Mera to date. How have the reactions from the specialized press and fans been so far?
Thanks! We're very happy with how it turned out too. Actually, the promo cds haven't been out very long and so far this is our first interview in support of "Delusions". I haven't seen any reviews yet. Hopefully we'll get a few good ones.
Your debut album "Transcendental" was considered a great artistic success by critics and fans. It led to prestigious one-off gigs with Dream Theater, Emperor, Fates Warning, etc. Did this put some pressure on you when writing/recording for this new album?
Not really. The main pressure was becoming a great live band and translating what we do on the stage. There already was a big expectation from some people before we even played our first show. Some of our early concerts showed our lack of experience in some ways, but things are good now to the point where I think we could confidently play with anyone and give them a run for their money.
How long was the process of putting the album together, as far as writing the music, the concept and arrangements is concerned?
The work basically started a couple of months after the release of "Transcendental". As usual it was Tom [MacLean, guitars] who was the driving force. We all have Guitar Pro software, and we use this to write the ideas and then swap the files by email. Things are added and taken away until we're all happy the song is finished. This time it seemed a little smoother than with the debut, but I guess this was down to experience and the natural flow of being comfortable working as a unit. This time we actually rehearsed as a band before recording which was a big help, and a few ideas developed out of that situation too.
"Delusions" sounds both brutal as well as technical and is expertly delivered on virtually every aspect. How important is it for you as a band to sound skilful, as well as brutal?
Well, I guess it's about sounding as good as we can possibly be. With the kind of music we play, it's just not possible to get away with sloppy playing. The brutal part is because we're a metal band and that's the stuff we love to play! But the correct balance is what we hope to aim for. We try and avoid constant technicality, because it would be boring for both us and the listener. The same applies to the brutality. I suppose with To-Mera even if you don't like a certain section of a song, the next one might be more to your taste! It keeps it interesting for us and I hope the people listening to the CD too.
I remember you did a video for 'Blood' from your debut "Transcendental". Is there also going to be a promotional video accompanying this new album?
No, not this time. It was quite expensive to do and in the end not many TV stations bothered to play it. It was a useful tool for things like YouTube, etc, and maybe even for some people that's the first time they got to hear the band. The songs on "Delusions" are all quite long too, and TV stations rarely play anything over 4.5 minutes (which is why 'Blood' had the middle section edited out for the video). This time I think we're going to spend the label's money on tour support instead and try and play as many concerts as possible.
Since the last record you have enlisted a new drummer and keyboardist. How have these changes impacted the band's sound?
Well, it is early days for Hen, but so far he's learned the material very quickly and he's a very skilful player. He's going to be fine. Paul [Westwood, drums] was something of a revelation for us in many ways. With Akos [Pirisi, former drums] living in Hungary it was pretty much impossible to rehearse. As crazy as it may sound, we never actually rehearsed a full song together as a band before we recorded the first album! Once Paul was in place we were able to start working properly as a band, and his ability to play virtually any rhythm allowed us far more scope for experimentation this time around and it shows with the newer material.
It seems that the jazz – and technical interludes have expanded compared to the debut, alongside Julie's impressive vocal range and technique. Was this done intentionally as to not be lumped together with the majority of other female fronted metal acts these days?
I think it was a natural progression for us. There's no point making the same album twice and I think we've all matured as musicians since. This new album flows more naturally than the debut and that's really a direct result of having more confidence in our own abilities and a willingness to push our own boundaries as far as we can.
In what way do you feel that you have improved since the last album?
As I mentioned before, there is definitely a lot more confidence in the writing and playing. There's also a genuine camaraderie amongst us and we now feel like a "proper" band. For my own part I've taken bass lessons for the first time in my life (I now know some scales!), Julie has been training hard and learning new styles and techniques, Tom has developed a more efficient playing style and overall this work has paid off for us all as a unit.
How much does To-Mera identify itself with this crop of female fronted metal acts around these days? You certainly are heavier, forward thinking and don't base whole albums around your attractive frontwoman.
People like to compare us with those typical symphonic/gothic bands, but besides having a female singer, I can't really see what we have in common with them. We're a progressive metal band who just happens to have a female singer. In the past we have turned down press opportunities where magazines were only interested in pictures of Julie, etc. She's just not comfortable in such a role and being seen in this way.
Give us some insight into the album, lyrically?
Julie wrote 100% of the lyrics, and this time around they're certainly darker and more depressive than before. There is a lot of studies regarding madness, unanswerable questions that gnaw at your brain, the futility of religious beliefs and the damage caused in the name of faith and other happy stuff!
Many bands seem to take it a little too easy when it comes to the lyrics. Would you say that the lyrics are almost as important as the music?
They certainly can be. Julie always works closely with Tom when writing, and the music for the most part tries to convey the sense of the lyrical theme. It's was no surprise when 'A Sorrow to Kill' turned out as dark as it did. The lyrics to this one just make you instantly miserable.
From a lyrical perspective what song on the album do you feel most satisfied with?
Julie would be best for this question I think, but unfortunately she's not around at the moment to ask.
You once again worked with Tower Studios and producer Brett Caldas-Lima for this album. Were there any differences you noticed this time going into the studio and recording compared to the last time?
We worked in almost exactly the same way as before, only a little more comfortably this time. We only had a small budget to record with and going to a "real" studio would be too expensive. We were able to borrow a rehearsal room from another band, Brett set up his laptop and microphones and we recorded it "guerrilla" style. He then took the recording back to France for the mix. I guess more and more bands are working this way. Recording budgets are getting smaller not bigger, since CD sales are dropping too.
Tell us something about cover artist, Eliran Kantor, you worked with for both releases. His work isn't typical for the genre and it perfectly fits with the epic nature of the band's music. Has he worked with any other notable artists, besides yourself and Detonation?
We found him on MySpace, actually. He certainly has a very unique style, and that's what attracted us to his work in the first place. He's very open to ideas, and is also excellent at getting his thoughts and interpretations across onto the page. I think we were one of the first non-Israeli bands he did work for, but since then he's also worked for Aghora, Mekong Delta, Sheavy, etc. Hopefully he won't become too popular because then we'd have to look for someone else.
Having received many good reviews in magazines and webzines from across the globe with your debut, do you feel that judging by what people have said about your material it has achieved the impact you thought it would?
Well, it was certainly a nice surprise! I don't think we had any real expectations of how we would be received, but it was good for us that so many people actually got what we were trying to do. There are an awful lot of bands out there all hoping that someone will pay attention to them, and so far we've been quite lucky in that respect.
As far as promotion for "Delusions" is concerned: are you planning on doing a series of gigs in the UK or are there any possibilities for To-Mera to do a full European tour in support of the new album?
We want to play a lot more in 2008. Anywhere where they'll have us! We don't care as long as we get to play. We were actually hoping for a European tour in February supporting a popular prog metal band, but it now looks like we haven't got it, which is a big shame.
Will you finally play Metal Female Voices Fest (www.metalfemalevoicesfest.be) in Belgium this year? I noticed Julie in the audience last year.
We haven't been asked to play, so maybe not. It's a very well run festival that attracts a lot of people and the organisers seem like lovely people, though. Maybe one day!
Thanks for the interview! Anything else we might have forgotten to mention? The last words are yours.
Just many thanks for letting us promote ourselves on Masterful. It you're reading this and you've not heard us before, go with an open mind to www.myspace.com/tomeraband . Cheers!
Booking: derekkemp@theagencygroup.com
Site: www.to-mera.com
