PureVolume

TOMATRAX MAGAZINE
Interview by Richard
www.myspace.com/teearrem

Q: There's a fair few songs off your albums Solus Verum and Signals Screaming and the whole of Matrika available to be freely downloaded on your site, do you worry that people will just download the music and never buy the album?

That is exactly what happens, in fact. We have fans who buy the albums to support us, and that's why we put effort into the album as a whole, the CD packaging, lyrics/etc. We'll be doing the same for the next album. We're big fans of sitting down and paying attention to a full album rather than downloading a few songs here and there.
That being said, we offer mp3's of our music so people can download it and spread it around as much as possible. "Matrika" and "Solus Verum" are two albums that for the most part we're not promoting anymore so more tracks are available. For "Signals Screaming" and it's upcoming followup, a balance has to be maintained.


Q: You're also currently working on a new full length, how will this compare to the previous albums?

We currently have about 3/4 of the writing done for the followup to "Signals Screaming" and will most likely be recording this summer. The album will be a definite departure and will probably be surprising to a lot of people. It's much more progressive, heavier, and with different vocal and musical styles. We're aiming to record as soon as possible as we feel this album will spread quickly and stand on it's own merit. It's extremely different from everything I see happening in music today.


Q: When do you think it will be out?

We are hoping for a release in fall 2007 and I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be able to achieve that.

Q: Do you know what it will be called?

We have a tentative title and will announce that closer to the release date. We have a nasty habit of giving everything away too early because we're excited.

Q: Your lyrics are often thought provoking and challenging, when you write songs do you have lyrics in mind or do they come after youve written the music?

A little of both. In some cases the lyrics and music are written seperately, but there are a lot of cases where I write words based on the feel of the music. Either way, I have to line it up with what Scott and Bryan are doing so it harmonizes and accents. Lyrically, it seems whatever wants to come out comes out. It tends to be a mixture of specifics and cryptic message rolled into one. The next album will follow this pattern, but in a more aggressive sense than "Signals Screaming" did. There are going to be songs that are much more controversial though they are based on facts.


Q: How do you generally get inspired to write about a certain issue?

You have to relate to it in some way, and you never know what you're going to connect with until you learn about it. It could be anything because everyone has a story. You're not going to care about the indigenous peoples in Mexico, for example, unless you learn about them and that way relate their story to your own. You make it personal. People get inspired to work towards stopping diseases such as cancer from their own personal experience, or fighting against the international sex trade because they lost a loved one to it. Usually when you learn about things such as the slave trade, genocides such as Rwanda's in 1994, and other phenominons such as religious fanaticism and holocaust denial, it's an intense experience, but it's our collective story. I'm particularly interested in writing about irrationality, as it's so prevalent. Both Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins take on religion brilliantly in their books "the End of Faith" and "the God Delusion" and both books have inspired me. It does work against us that we tend to write about issues when people seem to be keen on leaving that to the elected reps, but in the end you can only really do what you yourself enjoy, and if it gives that small select crowd an option besides what's on their radio dial that is a good thing. It's the music that matters most.

Q: Do you ever have trouble coming up with things to write about?

There's never really a shortage. I'm always experiencing new things and going through different emotions. And even when I think I have nothing to write about, someone like John Travolta will make a comment about Anna Nicole Smith accepting scientology, or Rev.Ted Haggard will announce that he is heterosexual and that will give me ammo for the next year or two. Madness is the biggest topic of our times.


Q: What is more important for Inner Surge, to be known for their music or for the messages the music sends out?

The music is most important. This is why even though we do have some specifics in our music, we tend to keep some of the lyrics more general and cryptic in some cases. We want people to make the songs their own. The main thing is what you get out of the music you listen to, and what you do with that. The lyrics could be edited in many different ways and have a similar effect. We want to be known as a good band, not necessarily any particular kind of band, just a good band.

Q: You'll be featuring in the independent film "Cabras", what was it like to record for the film?

Filming the video was a great experience. It was all done in 2 days after filming at 3 locations. The song was taken from our album "Signals Screaming". Fredy Polania was the director and he did a great job. "Cabras" is currently in the running to be on Steven Spielberg's "On the Lot".


Q: You'll also be featuring on the soundtrack to Amok, how did that come about?

They were looking for metal bands for their soundtrack so we got in contact with them and they ended up liking the material. Amok is being released by Macabro Films, which has released quite a few films so we're excited to work with them.

Q: When performing songs for soundtracks are you given guidance on what they want or are you given freedom?

We don't typically record music specifically for film, and I'm not sure if we would do that. We write for our albums, and films may use the music from there provided an agreement is reached. We have to have full creative freedom when we're writing or recording music. Otherwise, we may just end up singing a song about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, not that that would be such a bad thing.

Q: You've talked about having a vendetta before going on stage or writing a song, have there been actual vendettas that youve felt you had to face when performing?

It's something that we've put into the music and I think is part of what makes us a unique band. We go on stage feeling we not only have something to prove, but that we have to fight through all the garbage on the radio and the news to get people to actually hear us. We have to play loud. We listen to the radio and don't understand it. It sounds like a lie to me, but then again, a lot of people enjoy Nickleback and Gwen Stefani, so maybe it's us. Maybe we're a niche band. I remember one show in Edmonton where I overheard some blatantly racist comments by a few people at the bar. When our set came around, I pointed this out in quite a public way. You never know what kind of effect it will have. Embarassment is the number one catalyst for change, I find.

Q: You've received a lot of critical praise for your past efforts, do you ever feel pressure with your new recordings to live up to the past albums?

Yes, I would say so. We want to make sure our new release is better than the one before. We'd probably delay the release of an album and go back to the drawing board if we had doubts. We definitely won't have troubles with the new album though, as so far it's sounding much bigger than most of the material from our other releases to date.

Q: What was it like to play along side Helmet at the Warped tour last year?

The Warped Tour appearance was good, though the best part was meeting Page Hamilton after their set. He was a very humble guy considering what Helmet's done in their career.


Q: What is the music scene like in Calgary?

There's a lot of indie rock and genre-specific music. I don't really know what to say about it. There are some potent bands though like Ahnabith Gish, the Evidence and Passado though that we enjoy. We don't really participate in the Calgary scene because we don't fit the concert bills, to be honest. Whether it's indie rock or death metal, what we're doing is more crossover than what's happening in general.

Q: Your songs often mix elements of punk, rock, metal etc (sometimes all at once), when you write the music do you think about what elements you want to put in the song or do you work it out as you go?

We tend to work it out as we go, although in some cases if a song starts out quietly or has a certain mood we try not to ruin it by bashing it to pieces. Whatever the song needs, we'll try to do. We're into a lot of different music so it has to come out somehow. I'm a big fan of Skinny Puppy, Portishead, Sinead O' Connor and Radiohead....mixing those influences with heavy music is a natural thing for us.

Q: Your first album was recorded in a homemade studio, was it hard to set that up?

I almost quit the project before it was started. The first album was basically done to get the songs out there and start spreading the word. The studio was basic. I would be doing the drum tracks and have to run back and forth between the mixer and the drum kit for the next take. It probably looked a little ridiculous. I'm glad that experience is behind me and we now go to Echo Base Studios for our releases and get to work with Casey Lewis.


Q: How did the recording of the follow up albums compare?

"Signals Screaming" was our best recording experience. Casey Lewis not only did a great job with the production; he's a musician so he was able to collaborate with the album and make some crucial moments work. This is why we'll be taking more time with him for our next album to make sure it's exactly the way we want it.

Q: Any question youve always wanted to be asked?

(set in the future)"What is your reaction to the recent international banning of religious teachings to children under 16 years of age?"


Q: Any Question you hate being asked?

"But...don;t you think L.Ron Hubbard has some good points?"

or

"Do you want to hear a joke? It's racist but of course I'm not racist...I mean..."