Interview with Cloudscape!
Thursday, 04 May 2006
Thanks for this interview!, my name is Leonel, in the name of PerfectProg.Com team!, now, lets begin...
All answers by “Mike Andersson” (Cloudscape)
1.Can you tell us How Cloudscape was born?
CLOUDSCAPE was born in 2001 out of the remainings of a band called DOCTOR WEIRD. DOCTOR WEIRD was formed in 1992 and we tried to get attention from
different record labels but, without success. We recorded a self-financed EP and a full length album finished in 1999. The feedback from record labels was very poor so, this led up to members quitting the band so, in early 2001 we decided to start all over again with new songs, a new formula and scrap all old songs from DOCTOR WEIRD. Here we are with our second release just around the corner as a new band....CLOUDSCAPE
2. Any other bands you have before Cloudscape ?
Yeah, all of us has played in different local bands but, no official releases so, there’s no reason for me listing the band names.
3. Do you or any of the Cloudscape members have side projects?
Yeah, Patrik and Roger has been involved in a female-fronted AOR band called ALYSON AVENUE and a melodic hard rock band called SECOND HEAT. Those 2 bands are really great so, check them out.
I (Mike) am involved in various projects and bands. I sang one song on the Dutch guitarist MARCEL COENEN (Sun Caged) solo album called “Colour journey” that was released in January 2006 through Lion Music. At the side of CLOUDSCAPE I am also lead singer in a Swiss progressive metal band called SILENT MEMORIAL. SILENT MEMORIAL is quite unknown in the U.S and Europe because; they have only released 1 album in 1998 (only in Asia) with Thomas Vikstrom (Stormwind, ex Brazen Abbott) on vocals. The second album of SILENT MEMORIAL will hopefully be released later this year or during 2007 all over Europe and the U.S but, everything depends how it turns out finding a proper label for SILENT MEMORIAL.
I am also lead vocalist and songwriter in a project band called PLANET ALLIANCE which includes musicians such as BOB DAISLEY (ex Ozzy Osbourne), MAGNUS KARLSSON (Allen/Lande Project, Starbreaker), ANDERS JOHANSSON (ex Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Hammerfall), MAGNUS ROSÉN (Hammerfall, Arose), CARL-JOHAN GRIMMARK (Narnia, Rob Rock), JANNE STARK (Locomotive Breath, Overdrive), JAIME SALAZAR (Allen/Lande Project, ex Flower Kings) and as special guest MATTHIAS “IA” EKLUNDH (Freak Kitchen). I have written 4 songs on this album, Magnus Karlsson has written 4 songs, Janne Stark 1 song and Bob Daisley 2 songs. It´s a melodic metal album. It´s not as progressive as Cloudscape but, a pinch of progressiveness is in one or two songs ;) . This album will most likely be released in September all over Europe. The album is being mixed right now (April/May).
4. Are you guys planning touring in the near future, playing on a festival or else?
CLOUDSCAPE will perform at SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL on June 9. I think the concert at SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL is the biggest thing that has happened in the history of CLOUDSCAPE (except for releasing albums). The festival has about 25000 visitors so, hopefully we will gain even more fans by performing there ;). When it comes to tours we don’t have anything scheduled. The are a German booking agency that have contacted us in order to plan a small tour in Germany later this year but, that ain´t official or confirmed yet so, we’ll see what happens. We really hope that we will be able to get out on the road meeting our fans supporting our new album CRIMSON SKIES.
5. In our website PerfectProg.Com we have several polls, can you tell us where your votes go on each one?
Personally I would vote for “Symphony X” as best progmetal band but, the bands you have listed are great bands all of them. Russell Allen is one of my fave singers so, he gets a vote for being the best singer. All musicians and singers have their own qualities so, personally I’m finding it hard to choose so, my choices are based on my taste. However, Marcel Coenen gets my vote for being the greatest guitar player who deserves more recognition than he has gained. Many great drummers to choose but, Mark Zonder gets my vote due to his inventive and technical skills as a drummer. Jordan Rudess gets my vote for being the best keyboard player due to his technical skills but, as close second I choose Kevin Moore for his fantastic contributions to the music of Dream Theater when he was in the band. John Myung is a great bass player so, he gets my vote. However, I’m very fond of Ed Platt as well.
6. Can you tell us about Doctor Weird?
I have already told the story about DOCTOR WEIRD but, the music was probably harder to get into compared to the music of CLOUDSCAPE I believe. I was actually keyboard player in DOCTOR WEIRD but, when we decided to start all over as a new band we parted ways with the vocalist in DOCTOR WEIRD so, that gave me the opportunity of taking over the lead vocal role. I have always been lead singer in all my previous bands but, when I was asked to join DOCTOR WEIRD as keyboard player in 1996 I had no band at that time so, I thought it would be interesting to try. However, I missed the lead vocal role shortly thereafter so, when we parted ways with the original DOCTOR WEIRD singer it was a natural thing for me replacing him.
7. What are your music influences in general for all of you?
Everything from hardrock from the 70´s up to now. There are no certain bands that we try to sound like. I guess our music we write comes natural and in some cases you might hear resemblances to some bands that we listen to but, we are definitely not trying to sound like a certain band. My personal influences musically are “Kansas, Rush, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Fates Warning, Symphony X, Yes + more...”
8. Great Prog Art in the website and cover albums, i know is Mathias work, what can you tell us about it, what do you think about him as a designer?
Thanx. We LOVE all of his work and he is a genius making covers and artwork. I think his kind of art fits our music. The artwork he has done for our 2 albums is more or less based on his thoughts and inner visions of the band name CLOUDSCAPE. He got free hands making our covers so, the only directions we gave him was making the debut in the colour of purple and the CRIMSON SKIES in red. Next time it will be a pink cover...hehe...juz kidding ;)
9. What are the future plans for the band?
Well, continue recording albums, try to get tours organized. We love composing music and performing live so, that’s what we’re gonna work for.....
10. Your first album, great!, it really blow me away, i love the vocals, the drums, the keys and guitar, but the bass gtr is just a little present or nothing at all, why?
Thanx a lot. Well, we deliberately put the bass a little back in the mix in order to get a bombastic and crystal clear production. I don’t think the bass is too far in the back as much as you claim but, to get the whole production strong you sometimes have to sacrifice something...hehe;)
11. What you guys expect from your music?
We hope that people like our music of course. We don’t wanna make the songs too proggy but, not too straight either so, I guess the combination between prog and melodic metal is a little bit unique for our sound. Great melodies and strong choruses is our main priority and we hope we’ll achieve that and that our fans agree;).
12. Who write the lyrics and music on Cloudscape?
The music is written by me (Mike) and Bjorn Eliasson (guitars). The lyrics are written by me, Roger, Patrik & Bjorn. All music gets arranged by the whole band in the rehearsal studio (sometimes more and sometimes less).
13. One of the greatest things in Cloudscape is the keyboard, why you don’t have one in your site or photos?
It´s me and Bjorn who records all keyboards on our albums. When we play live we use “backtrack” instead of a keyboard player. The good thing about using backtrack is that you get all the keyboard arrangements live. Another reason for using backtrack is that the 5 of us in CLOUDSCAPE are so close friends since many years back so, inviting a keyboard player in our band doesn’t feel necessary. The only “bad” thing about using backtrack is that you can’t do any keyboard solos but, we don’t have to either since we have 2 great guitar players in the band
14. Roger Landin please tell us what gear do you use to play?, please give us details about your drums, cymbals, heads, etc...
My equipment on stage is SHURE BETA58 WIRELESS MICROPHONES and I use a KORG TRITON LE synthesizer when I record the keyboards on our albums and when I write songs. On our albums I used Nuemann U47 microphones
Rogers equipment is:
Premier Artist Maple Drums, Zildjian & Sabian cymbals, Tama Iron Cobra pedal, Wincent sticks
Patriks equipment:
Gibson Les Paul Studio, Gibson Explorer, ESP Eclipse Vintage Black, Ibanez Prestige XL, Ibanez Prestige, Mesa Dual Rectifier, Roland Micro Cube, GHS Boomers strings, DÁddario strings, Jim Dunlop Jazz II picks, LINE 6 POD II
Bjorns equipment:
Hamer Chaparral Elite Sustainiac, Hamer Diablo, Gibson Les Paul Custom, Engl Savage, Elixir strings, Clayton USA picks, Korg X2 synthesizers
Haynes equipment:
Musicman Stingray, Skull strings, Marshall dynamic bass system + EBS cabinettes
Both Patrik and Bjorns has a lot more guitars than what I´ve listed but, the equipment I mentioned above is what they used on our forthcoming album CRIMSON SKIES.
It was great doing this interview.
For the ones curious about CLOUDSCAPE check out our debut album and our second album called CRIMSON SKIES that will be released on June 2.
www.cloudscape.se
www.myspace.com/cloudscapemetal
Take care and rock on!!
Cheers: Mike Anderson
CommentsWritten by Guest on 2006-06-03 23:40:01These guys own!Written by Guest on 2006-06-03 23:42:38 You cant beat Cloudscape's catchiness, heaviness, and song writing skills. I listened to Crimson Skies on my way to Hershey Park (Theme Park). This disc owns my cd player constantly.
