（采访资料）Interview with Anders H. Hidle of Tristania

http://thepennydreadfools.yuku.com/topic/877/Interview-with-Anders-H-Hidle-of-Tristania#.UlgHqNJ7Kl5
Hey all,
Below is an email interview conducted with Anders Hidle of Tristania. We were scheduled to do a live interview, but something got screwed up somewhere, but Anders made up for that by going all out and really getting in depth on some questions.
Enjoy,
Ed Graham
Tristania Interview 11-17-01
Hey, this is Ed Graham from Penny Dreadful (www.pennydreadful.de) and KSCR Radio in Los Angeles. We were supposed to do a live interview a week ago, but somehow that fell through. I was told by Concrete that you would be able to do an email interview instead. Here are the transcribed questions that I was planning on asking you. Cheers, Ed Graham songofglory@hotmail.com
Youve just released a new album, World of Glass. First, I must say this album kicks some pretty serious arse. There seems to be a more unified sound, combining choirs, harsh vocals, clean male and female vocals. Vibeke seems more in the front with more solos. Personally, I like it a lot. Is this a new evolution for Tristania?
Thanks! Well, I think all our albums are different, and to me that is a good thing. It is important that there is a natural development between each album. At the same time it is important that we keep the basic elements in our music. I think Tristania has managed to create our own sound and identity, and it is important to hold on to that. Beyond The Veil was a success in every way, and it would be really easy to only make a part 2 of that album. This would not have felt right for us. We develop all the time, as persons and as musicians/composers. With World of Glass I feel that we have managed to take the whole thing one step further and at the same time that we still sound like Tristania. World of Glass sounds probably more modern than the two previous full-length albums, and I think the best thing about the album is its diversity. Some of the songs are probably the heaviest we have ever done, like The Shining Path or Lost and some songs are among the softest, for example Deadlocked. The songs on the album are influenced by many different styles of music, but at the same time they belong together.
All the different vocal styles is something that has almost become a trademark for Tristania, and I think it suits our music, because of its diversity. This is something we have focused on from the first album. On World of Glass there are 6 different vocal styles if you include the choir. The challenge when you use that many different vocal styles is to make it sound natural. Its not about adding every vocal style to every song. Its important that we manage to integrate the different vocal styles in the music, and this way it sound natural. Some pieces of music are made for certain vocal styles.
Vibeke is probably singing more solo and choir like harmonies on this album, if you compare it with the Beyond The Veil album. On World of Glass there is much more variation in her voice. We wanted to use her voice in different ways this time, and we wanted to show that she can do more than sing with the opera/soprano voice.
There is a lot of great choir work on the new album. Who composes their parts and who arranged the whole thing? How were the choirs recorded?
Einar composes and arranges all the choirs himself. This is something which he has done from the Widows Weeds album, so he is getting more and more experienced with it. Personally, I love the way his choirs sound, and I think he has developed a choir-sound that pretty much is his own The choirs are probably more essential than ever on the new album, and some of the songs are even partly based around a choir part (The Shining Path). We used choir also on Widows Weeds and Beyond The Veil, but the biggest difference this time and on our previous albums, is that this time we got professional singers to do it. On earlier albums we have done the choir part ourselves, with help from friends and stuff, but this time we wanted the result to become more powerful. If you compare, the difference is obvious.
How do you compose your songs? The songs on this album seem more structured than previously, less through composed as on Beyond the Veil. How has your writing changed since Beyond the Veil?
It is Einar and me who have composed all the music for World of Glass, but the whole band is involved in that process. The songs are "born" caused by an idea, a guitarriff, some piano-chords -anything. Then the songs develop from there. Usually the whole things start with Einar and me working together and putting things together. Then the band comes with feedback and tell us what they liked / disliked about it, and often comes up with ideas. Especially when it comes to the vocals, its very important to work close together with the different singers. A vocal melody is not just something you compose on an instrument. Every singer sounds different, and I think it is an important thing that the melodies are being made in close cooperation with the different singers.
On Beyond The Veil, most of the music was written by Einar and former singer Morten. Einar and me wrote two songs together on that album as well. We work very well together, and the composing process for World of Glass was a very natural process. We didnt decide what kind of music to make etc, we just did what felt right.
The songs:
I will say something about each song, and focus on the music (since I write music, not lyrics). I wont specify the specific influence and philosophy behind every single lyric, partly because I dont write the lyrics. Another reason is that we dont like to explain all the lyrics on the album, their contempt, and where they "came from". I dont think it is a good thing to analyse every single lyric too much and find the meaning behind every sentence. I think some of the mystique with the lyrics disappears when people try to analyse everything. I like the fact that people read the lyrics and make up their mind themselves what they think lies behind the different lyrics.
The Shining Path:
One of the hardest songs we have ever made. A brilliant opening track to the album, I think. Much of the music is based around the powerful choir parts. Vibekes parts are a bit doomy, but the song is also quite black metal orientated.
The shining path" regards the witchburning- processes - religious hypocrisy- people acting like animals. Religion is a powerful thing, and can make people do almost anything in the name of their God.
Wormwood.
Also on this song, the choirs are quite essential. Heavy guitars. Mid tempo. We added acoustic guitars in some of Vibekes parts, and it gave the song an extra dimension.
The lyrics on this song are quite apocalyptic, and off course there is a strong influence from the bible. I feel that the theme in this song (and for The shining path) is more valid now than ever, if you look at all the religious wars and conflicts around the world today..
Tender Trip on Earth? What inspired this ballad? Will there be more duets with Osten Bergoy in the future on recordings?
When we went down to France to record, almost all the songs were 95% ready. Tender Trip on Earth is an example of a song that is partly a result of jamming in the studio. The rhythmic guitar based verse with extreme vocals was an idea that came up a late night in the studio. The same thing was with the vocal melodies for Østen and Vibeke in the chorus. Originally, we had our minds set on another kind of melody there, but after trying this idea out we found out that it worked so well that we wanted do use it. I think Tender Trip on Earth is an interesting song and one of the best things about it is that all the different vocal styles are well integrated in the sound. Both Østen and Vibeke were more involved in the making of the vocal melodies this time, and Im sure that there will be more duets with them in the future.
Lost.
The electronics at the start of the song, is that a direction that Tristania is heading in the future, towards a quasi industrial feel?
This song is quite different from what we have done before.
Tristania will never record an electronic album, but to integrate elements like this in our music is pretty interesting, I think. However; this is not something which is totally new for us: the songs Heretique and Opus Relinque from the Beyond the Veil album also included these kind of elements, but on Lost I guess even more.
The violins on this song are also quite different than any other Tristania song: much more aggressive and rhythmic violins. The words for this song are written by Pete Johansen (violins).
Deadlocked.
A two chord ballad, only featuring the vocals of Vibeke. This song focuses on the feeling and the atmosphere, not technical guitars or complex arrangements. Probably the softest Tristania song ever, but fits in very good on the album, I think.
Selling out? A very depressing yet beautiful song. What inspired it? Has the band or members of it coped with depression before?
One of my personal favorites. Some industrial influences, but the vocals make this sound like typical Tristania at the same time. The vocals from both Østen, Jan Kenneth, Vibeke and Ronny very well integrated.
It is not like we are extremely sad and worried people all the time, but its very important I think that the lyrics suites the atmosphere and mood that the music creates. I think for example anxiety is something that most people can relate to in one way or another.
Hatred grows.
A classic goth / doom song. Slow tempo and quite doomy guitars. The song ends with quite powerful choir parts. One of the few songs on this album that would naturally had fit in on our first album.
World of Glass.
The title track with a chorus that is quite straight gothic rock, I guess. Again, a song with both Vibeke, Østen, Jan Kenneth and the extreme vocals integrated.
The Modern End. Is this a cover song? If so who did it originally and why was it included on the album? (Aside from the fact that it shows off Vibekes voice amazingly well.)
This song is originally composed and recorded by the Norwegian band Seigmen. This band is dead now, but now they call themselves Zeromancer. The main reason why we wanted to do this song is because it is a great song, and we are all huge fans of Seigmen. But we would never have done this song if we wouldnt felt that we could make a cool tristanian version of the song, and that it would fit in on the whole album. I think it fits perfect in on the new album, and Im very happy with the result of this song.
Crushed Dreams.
Crushed Dreams is a song I like very much, and I think it turned out to be interesting. Its quite characteristic with the kind of weird classical theme which makes the whole song stop for a while three times during the song. This theme is a result of creative work in the studio. We love to try different solutions
The religious theme I obvious in the lyrics for this one as well.
Was this a concept album? There seem to be recurring themes throughout the album.
World of Glass is not a concept album, but there definitely is a lyrical concept for the album. Most of the lyrics this time is written by Østen. Some are written by Einar, and the lyrics for the song Lost were written by Pete (violins).
The metaphor World of Glass says something about how fragile things are, and for us this was a suitable title for the album, with its lyrical concept. There are many links between the different lyrics on this album, though I dont think it would be right to call it a concept album. Anyway; themes like religion, paranoia and anxiety are things that several of the lyrics discuss. I think many people can relate to the lyrics for World of Glass.
All in all, the lyrics are less gothic and more modern this time. I think the lyrics on World of Glass are much more personal than before, we wanted to avoid the typical gothic clichès. Its important that the lyrics fits to the music, that the same mood and atmosphere is being created.
Its true that on World of Glass many of the lyrics contain some views on religion. Not in a satanic way, I would say, but in a critical way.
Now with the US making a mess in Afghanistan you clearly see how dangerous religion (fundamentalism) can be. There are fanatics and fundamentalists that support any religion, and every one claim that they have THE right answer. Today we see war which basicly is a religious war. That frightens me. As some of the lyrics on the new album also are about; these forces are really strong. I think it is very frightening to see what religion can make people do, in the name of their God. Personally, I think US and Bush really are doing the wrong thing by attacking Afghanistan. The only thing that theyre really achieving is that the religious and cultural conflicts all over the world gets sharpened.
The religious war will only be sharpened after this. People seem to forget that religion is cultural matter, and which God you believe in depends on where on this planet you were born. Yet everyone claims that their god is the only one. I guess we just have to wait and see what will happen in the future, but I have to say that I am quite pessimistic.
Vibeke is getting more and more in the front, like the lead singer of the band. Her voice seems even stronger on this album than before. Will this direction continue on future albums, having more of Vibekes glorious voice out in front as opposed to mere melodic background riffs as in the past?
Vibeke has always been important in the band, and maybe now she is more important than ever. On World of Glass there are songs that only contains her vocals. We have never done that before. Although you can regard Vibeke as the lead vocalist in the band, we will also in the future add all the other different vocal styles in our sound. Kjetil and Østens voices are just as essential for Tristania as Vibekes.
(From Stephane Vasiljevic of Penny Dreadful) Why don't we have all the lyric parts (especially Vibeke's) on your CD booklets? Is it to make us listen to her religiously?
On Widows Weeds and Beyond The Veil there are some parts of the lyrics that are left out in the booklet. However; on World of Glass all the (English) lyrics are printed in the booklet, also the lyrics for Vibeke. The only thing which is not printed are the latin lyrics for the choir parts.
Speaking of choirs, theres a Mariken Stene and Sissel B. Stene listed in the choirs for Beyond the Veil, and I assume for World of Glass too. Any relation to Vibeke? Do they have their own projects, bands, and recordings?
Yes, they are both in family with Vibeke. They are not participating on World of Glass though. This album was recorded in France and this time the choir members are professional singers from a music conservatory in the France.
How would you describe your music and evolution?
I find it very difficult to describe our music with just a few words, especially with the World of Glass album.
Many people (especially with the two previous albums) has called Tristania a gothic metal band. I dont think that is right. I mean; the gothic aspect is one among many other aspects of our music. Especially I think we showed this with World of Glass. Musical diversity has always been very important for us, and I think we have managed to create our own sound. Diversity has become something like a trademark for Tristania, and World of Glass is probably the most diverse album have made.
Pete Johanssen is the violinist for TSOTB, as well as a session musician with Tristania. How did you come to have him on your albums? Who writes his parts? Whats his background as a violinist?
Petes violins is a quite important element in our music. He has contributed on all our albums, and when we recorded Widows Weeds he hadnt met the guys of TSOTB. The violins are not as essential in Tristanias music as for other bands, for example TSOTB, but they add an extra dimension to our sound for sure. Sometimes we start with a melody or an idea that we have come up with and we try different solutions, but very often Pete himself comes up with his own ideas. On World of Glass so to speak every violin part is something that has come out of his own ideas. He is probably the best musician I know and has always tons of good ideas. Pete has been playing violins for 30 years in all kinds of different music genres. In Norway he is most known for playing in a band called The Tramps that plays Irish Folk music. He is no longer a member in that band, but has started a new metal band now, called The Scarr.
This is the first album without Morten Veland. How did the songwriting go differently? Morten was responsible for a fair portion of the songs on Beyond the Veil. Did his absence help shape the creation of World of Glass?
Ive already answered to some of this, but I can add some more. As you say, Morten was an important member of the band. Most of the music on the Beyond The Veil album was written by Morten & Einar together. I am sure that many people believed that Tristania without Morten would have big problems with the song writing, but I think World of Glass proves that they were wrong. It was Einar & me who wrote the music for World of Glass and the whole recording process went really natural and easy. Of course the pressure was huge - we had something to prove, but we didnt let that affect the creative process.
I think World of Glass is a fine a balance between the typical Tristania sound and natural progress. I think that we have managed to create our own sound, and its important to stick to this at the same as we have the natural development and progression.
Speaking of Morten Veland, why did he leave?
We dont want to say too much about this, since we think it is a personal thing. There were problems, though, and both social and musical differences within the band. We decided that it was the best thing for everyone that the band and Morten went on separate ways. I am sure that he will continue with music and we wish him all the best.
Tristania recently toured with Rotting Christ, Vintersorg, Finntroll, and Madder Mortem. How did the tour go? How was the response to both the new songs, and the new singers? Osten Bergoy and Kyetil Ingebrethson? Is there a band you'd like particularly to tour with in the future?
The tour included Tristania, Rotting Christ, Vintersorg and Madder Mortem. Finntroll was not a part of the package. It was a great tour in every way. All the bands had a really good time together and the response from the audience for us was great. It was extra fun for us to see how the audience liked our new songs.
Østen have been on tour with us before as a guest musician, but for Kjetil this was the first time. Both of them got very good response from the audience.
Speaking of Osten and Kyetil, how did they get involved with Tristania? Do they have other projects? How does Kyetil fit in the ensemble, as he has done no recordings or previous work with Tristania?
Østen is a good friend of ours, who has contributed on both of our previous albums as a guest musician and he has joined us also on European tours. He has become more and more involved in the band, and he was important when his melody lines on the new album were formed. Both with the lyrics and the music hes more important now than ever, so it was natural that he became a regular member. Kjetil is the replacement for Morten, and he has in my opinion an amazing voice. We just came home from the World of Glass Tour in Europe, and he did a very good job there.
I had the pleasure of seeing Tristania live last November in California. (Actually thats the reason I paid the outrageous price for the two-day tickets, just to see twenty-five glorious minutes of Tristania) And truth be told, five minutes into your set, there wasnt a man alive in that hall who wasnt madly in love with Vibeke, myself included. Gods, what a voice! All in all, forget Enslaved, the Haunted, Sadistic Intent, Rise, Testament, and Venom (bastards didnt even play) Tristania ruled that festival. What did you think of November to Dismember, the Southern California Metalfest? When will you tour America again? Next time youre all in California, can I buy you all a round or three of drinks, in appreciation for you taking the time to do this interview, and for your awesome music?
It was a nice experience for us to play in the US, although it felt really strange to travel by plain for almost 15 hours to do a 25 minute show! :) But we definitely want to come back and do longer shows and more than one Next time in California you can by us a round if the next round will be on me!
What musical training do the members of Tristania have? Any formal/classical training, either in performance or composition?
Vibeke has taken singing lessons since she was 6 years or something. She has musical education at different schools. No one of the other guys have any formal musical education.
Ive found some of the instrumentals, particularly Simbelmyne, have almost a Stravinsky feel to them. Who are your big influences, both classical and metal? What have been your musical influences and what are your favorite bands nowadays?
All the members of the band are into all kinds of music. In my opinion the best album this year so far is the latest release from Muse; Origin of Symmetry. I like classical, rock, pop, industrial, all kinds of metal etc etc I think it is extremely important as a songwriter to listen to many different types of music. I also believe that this is a main reason why World of Glass is such a diverse album, we are into so many different things. You have to be open minded about music. Einar is probably the one that has brought most of the classical touch into our music, and he is also the one of us who is most into classical music, and you should probably ask him about his favourite composers. Personally, I think there is loads of shitty classical music and some which is very good, as in any music style. I think one of my favourite composers must be Wagner. I dont love everything he composed, far from it. But some of it is fantastic. Pretty powerful.
Where do you see the whole metal scene headed in the future? The Goth/Melancholia scene is saturated with a million Tristania/Theatre of Tragedy/Sins of Thy Beloved clones. Do you feel a general stagnation setting in?
I think the labels made a big mistake some years ago when they started to sign all these gothic metal bands with female vocals. They realised that there was money to make, and the result was that far too many bands was signed up. The consequence of this is that there are a bunch of bands without originality and identity. I think the gothic boom is over now and only the band with identity will survive. As I said, one of the best things about Tristania the way I see it is the diversity. Also the many different singers we use has become sort of a trademark for us, along with the choirs which have a quite different sound than other metal band (for example Therion), the way I see it. We have managed to create our own sound, and we will stick on to that in the future as well, at the same time as we develop and have progress.
What does the name Tristania mean? Is it a reference to Tristan und Isolde? Love seems to be a recurring theme lyrically, so I thought Wagners quintessential opera about love might have been an influence.
The name Tristania has nothing to do with Wagners opera. The origin of the band name lies in the Norwegian word trist. This word is describing a feeling; sadness or melancholy.
What do you think music is? Where does the line get drawn between music and noise? I ask, because Penny Dreadful is dedicated to music with soul, and has no set genre of focus, merely good heartfelt music, which is why Tristania has been covered frequently there.
First of all; music is extremely important. I dont think human beings can survive without music it seems to be one of our basic needs.
I dont think see it as my job or anyone elses, to draw the line between music and noise if there actually is any? Maybe its more about the artist / composers intention?
What does the future hold for Tristania? Any immediate or long term goals?
Now it is all about touring and promoting World of Glass. We just did the World of Glass Tour in Europe, and it was great.
In January we will do a small tour in Mexico and South America. There are plans for shows in US during 2002 and also an Australian tour. There will probably be one more European tour next year as well, either as headliner or as a support act for a bigger band. But it isnt all about touring. We have already begun to work with new ideas and song material.
Thanks again for taking the time to do this interview. It will be published on www.pennydreadful.de Its a completely non-profit webzine, done purely out of love for the music. Best of luck to all of you; keep up the good work. My tankard is perpetually raised to toast your success. Cheers, Ed Graham