Entrevista con Andreas Kisser – Version en Español
[column size=1/2 margin=20]
An interview with legendary Brazilian guitarist Andreas Kisser. A very good talk about all of Sepultura’s ambitions in their most ambitious album’s work since Roots. It was produced by the talented Jens Bogren. In addition, our brother Andreas shares with us all the details of his parallel project De La Tierra “II”.
[/column] [column size=1/2 margin=10]
Sepultura always respecting their legacy continues their way without looking back, with constant work and indisputably a great quality, the Brazilians return with “Machine Messiah” confirming their desire to continue evolving and above all delivering what could be one of the best Metal Albums of 2017!
[/column]
To begin, let’s talk about the new album “Machine Messiah”. Jens Bogren was in charge of the production, replacing Ross Robinson who worked on “The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart”
What was the reason to record in Sweden and work with him?
Andreas Kisser: Well, we were looking for new influences, we have the privilege to have worked with great producers like Andy Wallace, Scott Burns, Roy Z and Ross Robinson with whom we did the last work “The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart” who by the way, is a fantastic producer that has very different characteristics from other producers.
Jens was a suggestion from Derrick (Green), as we were looking for something different, we wanted to work in Europe because since 1993 when we recorded “Chaos A.D.” We had not recorded in Europe, most of the records we made were in Brazil or the United States. And then came this opportunity to meet Jens; We already knew his work with Moonspell, with Kreator, with Opeth, with our friends from Angra, all references to the groups we spoke were very good and very positive, we finally met Jens on a tour and the chemistry was immediate, the connection was There, he was also happy to work with Sepultura, very open and was the perfect choice.
He is a young producer but with a lot of knowledge, very focused, very professional, with a lot of discipline but also very artistic, is the kind of producer who knows the history of Sepultura and worked with us to break our own limits, to do something better, something more Musical, put on bigger challenges musically speaking, Jens was perfect for all that plus we talked with our label, Nuclear Blast, and they also loved the choice.
We went to work in Sweden that is a fantastic country, of course, especially in summer, we enjoyed the whole country, first we were in the main studio (Stockholm) and then in Örebro, the city where Jens lives and has his studio. We are very happy with the sound and how it ended up on the actual record.
As you say, Jens is very detailed, very methodical and quite different from Ross…
Of course he is very different from Ross but very productive, not a boring method.
Was the production approach very different when you guys worked with him?
Ah yeah sure! Very different, but both excellent, both big but with different styles, that’s why we changed producers, have new experiences and venture into new territory, it’s a good thing because we get new things in addition to sharing with different people.
This work is really very different from the previous one, it feels the sound of Sepultura but it also is definitely surprising because (we) did not expect it would be so different, for example the battery of Eloy is still technical but it is a little more behind and unlike your guitars –specially solos- are very “on your face”, (we) had never heard a Sepultura album with those characteristics
Yes, we worked a lot of details, I had the time to work guitar solos because I usually do solo improvising, going to the studio and trying ideas but in this album I wanted to do everything more thoughtful, with more time, to fix the solos and to experiment Plus, trying different things, it was very good the time we had and the directions from Jens were also perfect.
Completely! For example in this record we realize that in the guitar solos, melodies are very worked, they go until a point that never I had heard in Sepultura like joining Derrick’s baritone tone, like in the opening track in which practically he does clean singing for a while and almost every track has at least 1 guitar solos, which is something surprising and different to what you guys have done.
Was it something thought? to make it different right from the beginning?
Yes! I thought that the song “Machine Messiah” could be an intro, it’s like an intro that creates an expectation for what comes next, of course, Derrick singing melodically with a slower and heavier tempo but with a lot of melody is something we had never done, Opening an album with a track like this, worked very well with the story we wanted to tell on the album. It was a great start and creates the expectation for what comes next.
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart” was a concept album. “Machine Messiah” has to do with technology… Could you tell us about the idea behind this?
Yes, it is not a futuristic or science fiction story but what we live and see today, with smartphones, computers, Google Glass and all that technology, such as GPS and things like that are part of our daily lives, All that is what we talk on the album, what is the balance between being human or really depending on robots? I think they are doing things for us but not helping us to develop as human beings, do you understand me?
Natural things like relating to people, today you go to a concert, a festival and you see all the people with their cell phones and you miss the real moment of connecting with your idol on stage, that’s what we talk about, Where the balance that must be had is to not lose all the human characteristics that we still have.
“Machine Messiah”, it is not a futuristic or science fiction story but what we live and see todayAndreas Kisser, Guitarist of Sepultura
As you say it’s not a concept of science fiction but it is interesting what you say because on the album if you feel a texture of that futuristic environment.
More robotic.
But at the same time it’s very organic like, for example the instrumental song “Iceberg Dances” which is surprising, it is the first time using a Hammond keyboard.
t’s one of my favorite tracks on the record, yeah, it’s a Hammond. He was a friend (Renato Zanuto) from Brazil who also arranges classical music and everything, he’s an excellent musician and in that theme there was space to add extra things and did a great job, there is also an acoustic guitar, a classical guitar, something I wanted to do since Long ago, to make a song in which I could use a classic instrument not only as an intro but as part of the theme and finally we achieved it on “Iceberg Dances”!
Or was it a song thought from the beginning to be an instrumental or Derrick tried some vocals?
No no, it started as an instrumental and its name and idea was intended as a pure instrumental, it was not any improvisation, it was actually composed to be an instrumental.
You told me about this friend who collaborates with the keyboards, are there more people who participate in the work?
Yes, there are another master (Kevin Codfert), a suggestion of Jens, to use violins of Tunisia, it’s a group, they are called Myrath Orchestra and they are Jens’ friends…they already worked in other albums like in the one of Moonspell’s and of other bands.
Jens wanted to do it in specific parts of some tracks, It worked very well and opened up other possibilities for the guitar, to do solos, to interact with the violins and as they are from Tunisia, there is a very unique characteristic from oriental music with the scales, the melodies are very unique of that region, I loved to work with them. Those are the only two guests.
This Sepultura album that has been slow to come out, it was normally scheduled for October 2016, which was what happened?
It was a Nuclear blast’s idea, the album was ready, we recorded it in May, June and in July it was all ready, mixed, mastered, with the cover but they thought it would be better to do it in 2017 because they were also busy with Many pitches mainly from Testament, Slayer and so many other groups.
For us it was better because we had more time to make arrangements for the new concert, we are working on a new video (Phantom Self) and also we could do many concerts to celebrate the thirty years in many cities of Brazil that we had not been able to play. It was something that gave us more time to not be anxious, the tour with Kreator for Europe begins the first week of February so I think it was a wise decision.
Speaking of your show at Rock Al Parque 2016 how did you think your return to Colombia?
Fantastic, Colombia is a very special country, very metal, we have a fantastic support of the fans. The first concert of De La Tierra was when we opened to Metallica in Colombia, these are very special dates for us, the first time we played “I Am The Enemy”, my first time with De La Tierra and it is a great joy to have those Opportunities to play in Colombia, not only in Bogota but we want to go to other cities like Medellín since the time only we played there was in a festival (Altavoz 2007) but it was very fast, we just played, we could not enjoy the city, we want to go back soon.
[pullquote align=right]Colombia is a very special country, very metal. The first concert of De La Tierra was when we opened to Metallica in Colombia, the first time we played “I Am The Enemy”. It is a great joy to have those Opportunities to play in Colombia![/pullquote]
Now you mention your other project, De La Tierra, you guys recently released this new album titled “II”.
What plans do you have for 2017, are you going to tour? You will be busy with Sepultura on the tour with Kreator for Europe and then with Testament in North America…
Yes, that has always been the biggest challenge of De La Tierra, to fit schedules, Maná is very busy, Los Cadillacs (Los Fabulosos Cadillacs), A.N.I.M.A.L. Also and now Sepultura with the new album.
We are working to possibly do a tour together: Sepultura, De La Tierra, ANIMAL, it would be excellent to make a Latin America, or maybe even the United States, it’s an idea that we are trying to make it come true, very soon we will have news of more dates but for the moment nothing’s confirmed.
And speaking of the new work, because I practically believe that you recorded Sepultura and then De La Tierra, right?
True! (Laughs)
How was that? How different is it to compose in Sepultura and in De la Tierra, who composes?
In De La Tierra we work with demos, I work in São Paulo in my ideas, Andrés (Giménez) in Argentina and Alex (González) in Mexico, Flavio (Cianciarulo) works more in terms of lyrics but this time I contribute some different rhythms that we develop in songs.
In Sepultura obviously I have more work to compose everything but De La Tierra is a collaborative process.
And if it was in May recording with Sepultura and in June I was already in the United States working with De La Tierra and everything was very different, of course Jens Bogren, Sweden and then Ross, working on a different project with him was amazing, fantastic.
How was working with Ross Robinson on this record as De La Tierra and Sepultura are two different bands?
How was working with Ross Robinson on this record as De La Tierra and Sepultura are two different bands?
It was incredible, Andrés already knew it, Alex and Flavio had not worked with him nor did they know him personally but they loved him, Ross is an excellent producer, he is a great guy, very professional, and also spiritual.
We achieved many things and it was an excellent experience to return to Venice Beach and work with him, I think Ross changed to De La Tierra, for the better, it’s more real, more alive, the sound we’ve achieved,the way we sound on this album is very powerful, Very lively.
Sony music is also very supportive, we have the video “Signals” that we shot in Buenos Aires and well we are scheduling agendas to soon announce dates for the tour.
Timeline: Sepultura 30 years
Andreas Kisser
Guitarist of Sepultura, De La Tierra
More about Sepultura:
- www.sepultura.com.br
- www.facebook.com/sepultura
- www.delatierramusic.com
- www.facebook.com/andreaskissercombr
Entrevista con Andreas Kisser – Version en Español
[icon-box icon=edit size=16 width=1/2]
Interview by: El Reverendo. Questions and translation by: Alberto Caballero & El Reverendo.
[/icon-box]
Leave a Reply