|
Degree Absolute’s self-titled debut album was
released a few days ago through the Sensory Records label; we have
put a few questions together to obtain more information on them…
Kenn - "Degree Absolute" is your debut album,
but you have been around for some time and I am sure a lot of our
readers don’t know much about you. So if you could fill us in on
your background…
Degree Absolute:
Degree Absolute was formed in
1999 when I started writing and recording material on my own. Doug
Beary and Dave Lindeman agreed to contribute after the initial
demo songs were completed. Doug has played drums for many, many
years and is probably best known as the drummer for Defyance. Dave
is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and contributes to
Laughing Alone, Questions, Confession, and Ask Nothing of Me.
I started playing when I was six or seven and taught music
for four years in the late 90s. We have all played in several
bands and performed miscellaneous studio work over the years.
Kenn – The album has just been released what kind
of expectations do you have for it?
Degree Absolute: That’s a good
question. I’m not really
sure. At this point, it’s
just a relief to have it released.
Kenn – The album has been on the way for a very
long time, why did it take so long time for you to finally get the
album out. And how is the feeling in the band, to finally have an
album released?
Degree Absolute: I relocated to Portland,
Oregon
in the fall of 2002, and several tracks were corrupted in transit.
It was necessary to re-record quite a bit of material.
Recording was completed in the summer of 2003.
Mixing occurred in July of 2004.
As far as finally having it released, it’s nice to have a
sense of closure. I finally
feel as if I’m able to move forward.
Kenn - If you should suggest one single song to understand the full Degree
Absolute musical potential, which title would you choose and why?
My personal choice would be “Exist”…
Degree Absolute: As far as potential
is concerned, I would select ”Pi” since it is most similar to
newer material when compared to anything else on this first album.
If I were to select one song that represents the remainder
of the material or overall mood on this album, it would be ”Ergo
Sum”. These two songs, along with ”Distance” and ”HMHB”
are the most interesting to me.
Kenn – What inspires you when you write a song –
walk us through the creation of a song…
Degree Absolute: Each song is
different. Something like
”Laughing Alone,” due to its simple structure, is written in a
much different manner than something like ”Pi”.
The inspiration for each song is quite different as well.
Kenn - Any touring plans for 2006?
Degree Absolute: There are no plans to tour.
Kenn - I was wondering – is there a deeper idea
behind the Mattias Norén artwork?
Degree Absolute: I couldn’t be more pleased with his work;
it’s one of his best covers, I think.
Yes, there is definitely a meaning behind everything, which
ties in with some of the underlying themes of the music.
Kenn - Let’s play an association game, please tell
us your first spontaneous thoughts about the following key words:
Family
Degree Absolute: Personal.
Politics
Degree Absolute: Tension.
Progressive Metal
Degree Absolute: Subjective.
Tiamat
Degree Absolute: Unfortunately, I’m
not familiar with Tiamat. However,
some acquaintances of mine in high school had a band with this
name. (That was my first
thought.)
Kenn – Name a person, event or maybe an album,
that have had a big influence on you life, and why?
Degree Absolute: My brother.
My earliest memories related to music involve him and
he’s primarily responsible for sparking my initial interest.
Without his influence, I doubt I would have ever picked up
an instrument.
Kenn – When you sit back to relax at home, what
kind of things do you do? Listen to music, read, watch TV or…
Degree Absolute: A lot of my free time is spent writing and
recording new material, working on projects, etc.
Otherwise, I listen to quite a bit of music.
I would estimate that I listen to somewhere between six and
eight hours’ worth of music in a day.
Sometimes. I read
more than in the past, but not as much as I would like.
We thank you so much for participating in this
interview and sharing this information and your thoughts with us -
these last lines are entirely for you. Any final words you would
like to round off with?
Degree Absolute: Thank you! I
appreciate the interview.
|
