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 EMBELLISH
Interview
with
David
Gohe
Interview
by Salvo Russo
Websites
http://www.embellishband.com
https://www.facebook.com/Embellishband
http://www.lastfm.de/music/Embellish
Lyrics are half a song.
Hi, it is a pleasure for me to have this interview with you. First question. Embellish is a band coming from Spain and we cannot but mention your debut album along with the first video that was a revisited cover of “Twin Peaks”. What has changed since then?
Well, in fact it haven't changed so much. We are basically the same guys as we started this journey almost a decade ago. I look back and see a full album of good songs and great enthusiasm when it comes to record it. In the musical aspect we learned a lot from that record and how the songs should be, but if you ask me about the music industry in this country things have changed a lot since then and not exactly for the better. What has not changed at all is our spirit as a band.
The second album was heavier but at the same time more dramatic and intense. We know that the third album is about to come, how long do we have to wait? What can you reveal in advance about it?
Yes, the second album was a way to break the chains that tied us to our first work and tag "gothic metal". We wanted to make the album we wanted at that moment, without considering the parameters of the commercial as it did in "Black Tears... In "Blindead" if we wanted to add an atmosphere in the middle of the song that lasted 3 minutes we did it and none of us tought of anything else except if the sound was good. It was a more complex album, and it was not a "Black Tears part II" as everybody was expecting to be.
The fact is that we wanted to create songs as you say more intense but at the same time that they would last in time, and now listening to this album again I think that we got our purpose.
As for the new album, I can tell you that we will begin to record it in a period of three months. Until then we will be focusing on the details of production of new songs.
I got to listen to the first songs demos and I would say it will be the best album of our band so far. We got somehow some songs quite similar to the ones in "Black Tears...", direct songs, approximately 4 minutes each song, and probably more commercial, but at the same time they are not quite the same. In the middle / end of this year you guys will be able to give us your opinion.
Your music gathers the melancholic mood of Finnish gothic rock but there is also some electronic nuances, which is a winning card for me. What can you tell me about this important feature of your music?
Electronic nuances always has been a crucial basis in our compositions, almost as important as a member of the band, and the truth is that they will also be present in this new album but I can tell you that it won't have as much importance as in "Blindead". The new songs are more "rock" and more commercial, and this time have resorted more to classics like for instance, the piano or the violin sounds.
In the previous album, there are a couple of gothic ballads, such as in the first one. Will there be space for “slow” songs in the new one?
No, this time they won't fit . As I have mentioned, this album is going to be a little bit different but at the same time I believe that it will delight people who has followed us from the beginning, although we are not going to include those slow songs type that you mean.
What do you think about the actual scene for what concern metal music? There are too many bands and new trends, metal mixed up with trip hop and hardcore,sometimes dance nuances appear in rock songs. It seems as if the sound is more important than the songs themselves, isn’t it?
I totally agree with you in that assessment. The other day I was in the car with Marc (Embellish guitarist) and we heard for example the demo of HIM (Slippery When Dead) that has been recently leaked the demo of "Razorblade Romance". And precisely by exchanging opinions we came to the conclusion that that demo, while it didn't sound "album", was a hundred times better than any of his latest works, it kept the essence that made them a big band. Somehow that is exactly what we try to do with this new album.: We want to make songs which sound perfect from the very beginning, even when they are only “demos” and that we don't have to produce/remix/remaster so much.
What can you tell us about the lyrics and music? What do you usually make first? How much important are the lyrics for you?
I don't have a established work parameter in which I decide to do first.
Sometimes a melody comes to my mind and I begin to compose a song as a result of this idea, and sometimes on the other hand I have a written voice lines which already have the music included in the subconscious. Of course the lyrics are important, at least in my way of understanding the music unless your music sounds like a "pitbull". For me the lyrics are half a song.
After Him-blast in the early of last decade, many new “lovemetal” bands were born; arguably too many bands but only few good ones, what can you remember about that period? Are there any bands worthy to be mentioned (for you) that did not have the success they would have deserved?
Yes, I remember that time with warm in my heart because it was when our debut album was released; we played with many of those Finnish bands that at that time played Love metal. Bands as Entwine, The 69 Eyes, Charon, To Die For...
Regarding to your questions of course there are many bands that I liked at that time but unfortunately they did not get too far, as an example I would mention the band "Nude" I met them at the same time as we met Entwine. I keep an album of them but I haven't heard anything else from them. The same goes for "Silentium". They recorded a few albums but they ended up disappearing.
In the previous album, there are songs that
remind me of Entwine, which is, in my opinion, the “closest”
band to Embellish, not only for your voice. What are the main
preferences of Embellish?
Our comparisons with Entwine are always present and the truth is that we don't feel bad, quite the opposite. They are personal friends of ours, which we respect very much. We have a very curious story about this. Years ago when Entwine released their second album "Gone", I heard something from them and decided to buy the album. I didn't even heard the album yet and one night while I was going to perform a gig with Embellish I got lost on the way, not even the GPS could find the way and I was way too stressed 'cause I was late to my own show. I recalled I had that new album and I decided to play it and see if I was able to relax, imagine my surprise and the ones who were coming along in the car when we first heard Mika's voice! (smiles) I had the opportunity to explain this story to Mika in the Fatal Designs Tour and I was surprised a lot since in his opinion my voice was more similar to the vocalist of Charon!! (more smiles)
Are you already planning a new tour, perhaps together with another band?
The truth is we aren't. Currently we are just composing the new work and we are in the process of finalizing the details. Everything else will come, we don't think about anything else but to have it ready as soon as possible. And we have in our ranks a new member, Abel, our new drummer who is amazing. We've been talking of maybe performing some show in the near future, but we haven't decided yet anything about a tour.
The game of tower is the closing question. You are ona very high tower and with you there are 3 bands. You have to push down two of them saving the third one.Here are the names: ENTWINE, TO DIE FOR ,THEATRE OF TRAGEDY.
Hahaha, that is a tricky question. We love all those bands so much that we would save them all.
Thank
you, David!
Interview by Salvo Russo - Januar 2015
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