Interview - UNEXPECT

Martín: Hi there! Introduce yourselves and tell us why we should be listening to your music.
ChaotH: Well hello there, this is ChaotH from UneXpecT and I play the monster 9 string bass... yep... that's what I do. And why should you be listening to our music? Well, maybe just because if you took the time to read these words, you most definetly have time to invest in a more sensorial experience like... some weird-ish prog metal. I don't really know though. Nobody really should or shouldn't. I think that if you're interested in musicality, you may find something you like in our project or if you just want to headbang to odd times... that's how the cool kids do it.... yes. Nothing fucks up your neck like a 7/8.

M: You have a new album out now; tell us about the birth of “Fables Of The Sleepless Empire”.

C: Well, our previous album In a Flesh Aquarium was released back in 2006 and we toured extensively to support this record, mainly in 2008. So in 2009, when we got an e-mail from Mr Portnoy telling us that we were invited to open the Prog Nation tour in Europe, we all thought it would be more than pertinent to have a new offering. They were also suggesting that we had a new album to promote, which makes sense. So let's say that it was the main incentive to kick our asses and start writing new material, that and the fact that it's been some years already since the last. We composed most of the record in late 2008, early 2009 and began the recording in the spring of 2009. The album didn't see the light of day until May of 2011 though because we went through major changes in the band and we were waiting for the right time to release it. So the album is a collection of songs we've been working on between 2007 and 2009.

M: What are the main differences between your past albums and this one?

C: This one is better ;) Well, that would be my personal opinion though. I guess the difference is pretty much what all the reviews and critics said, I must agree with that. FOTSE is way more cohesive and flows more like songs and not like crazy bungle-esque riffage jumping all over the place. We still love IAFA of course but I think that we really reached a point where we found our sound more than ever before with this record. Everything is more cleverly planned out and we kept our madness while working on the song writing which was the real challenge for us. Our best effort so far I would modestly say.

M: How can we call your music: Avantgarde, Math Metal, Progressive, Experimental... Jazz from Hell?

C: You call it what you will my friend. Always fun to see what people are gonna come up with. Let's try to gather a couple of the labels we had in one sentence: Prog-Psychedelic-Avant-Garde-Experimental-Black-Cabaret-Fusion-Circus-Ambient-Math-Jazz-Opera-Metal. Sounds good to me.

I don't know. That will sound very stereotypical but, obviously the music is the music and definition is limitation so there should be no one label. What came back the most in the last couple years I think is simply Prog-Metal and I think that it's pretty accurate considering the ''wide-ness'' of that genre. But again... listen to it... and tell me... I make the music, I don't make the label. I'll bottle the wine but you taste it.



M: Your music is as eclectic as complex. How is the process to create that kind of music?

C: That's again the 3000 $ question. Hm... no idea. In essence, we really just make music that we never heard before and it was always the main directive line, if there is any. I don't know why bands would like to simulate something that already exist or create something that has been done already. Isn't way more exciting to push things as far as possible and travel the unbeaten path? But, to answer your question more adequately, 1 or 2 members brings a song idea with a structure and then we work on it as a band. It's interesting to me that any musician can write for any instrument. I play the bass but I write guitars and some drum and keys ideas as well and Syriak can bring a lot of weird drumming ideas and then Borboen orchestrates guitars with some strings and then Artagoth writes parts for Guitar, Drums and Piano and on and on and on so... it's a great way of getting outside of our comfort zone as musicians when you are faced with other peoples ideas that are very different from what you could have come up with yourself. And then we work on it forever in the rehearsal space and just try everything we can and re-record it and work on it some more. Then Lei and Syriak do an amazing job on the vocal composing and you're getting closer to an UneXpecT album. I love the whole process even though I still don't really know how we do it and what happens from A to Z. I want to jump back in composing. I promise that the next album won't come in 2016... hehe.

M: Is it difficult to maintain the balance between mess and harmony?

C: Well, I think that this is precisely what we got good at over the years and that can be shown on FOTSE. We found a comfortable balance between this over-orchestrated mess and the melodic flow of ideas. So, is it difficult? It's certainly not obvious but we're doing a better job at it now. My philosophy is... Learn your theory... but also listen to Grindcore... Now THAT'S balance.

M: Is there a main concept in “Fables Of The Sleepless Empire”? What about the lyrics?

C: There is no ONE concept in the album. The title ''Fables of the Sleepless Empire'' was the ultimate unifying ingredient that put all of these very different stories together collecting them in a sort of novels ''book'' and that really is where they come together. It ranges from Abstract thoughts to Social criticism to Exopolitics to Zombie love.... Indeed. Syriak is the one to talk about for the lyrical content. He can account for most of the lyrics on all UneXpecT albums. I personally wrote The Quantum Symphony and Artagoth wrote Silence this Parasite. I'm personally fascinated by the whole UFO and Exopolitic phenomenon and I think that it is actually the most important subject in our actual society because of the tremendous implication it could have on our world. In a nutshell, if we acknowledge the fact that indeed there have been crafts recovered and studied thoroughly and figured out and that we are sitting on new energy technologies and propulsion systems that could change our world forever we could then put an end to the senseless fossil fuel combustion era and start building something new. The subject is too big to fit on this screen but I'm always willing to discuss it so, anybody reading this, don't be shy to come up to me.



M: “Fables Of The Sleepless Empire” has a cool artwork, tell us about it.

C: The artwork was done by Mario Sanchez from Aegis-Strife.com . We took a long time to get decided on an official cover and we were hesitating between a couple of Mr Sanchez's pieces but I think that this pieces fits it perfectly and really well represents the ''simplest'' or ''purest'' feel of this record while hinting at the circusy vibe that seems to stick to us.

M: What can we expect about UNEXPECT´s live on stage?

C: I would only say that we have been known for our craziness on stage over the years. Come see for yourself and don't be afraid of being hurt....

M: What is your opinion about music in our days with the internet and mp3 downloads?

C: I don't claim to be a specialist on the topic despite our independence. We do things our way at our own pace but don't claim that we have it all figured out. I love the fact that I can find everything I want online and I also think that the internet changed the music in a radical way in the sense that it put an incredible acceleration to music evolution (but it also did the opposite). Now more than ever, you have all the information and all of the music of the world at the tip of your fingers so it's way easier not only for any listeners but for any curious musician to find anything they want, may it be new bands or instrumental techniques or information on the music industry or well, everything. The internet changed the world more than we think. It is nothing less than a tangible version of the ideasphere which is the conscience of the world. Deep. Deep.

M: Thank you very much for your time. Here you have space to write what you want as farewell.

C: I love kittens.

http://unexpect.com/unxpct/
http://unexpect.bandcamp.com/
http://www.myspace.com/unexpect